Evening star., 1944-08-07
Political Tricks Seen
As Spur to IsoIotionism
Writer Warns of Half Quotes
From Roosevelt Speeches
By David Laurence

From Roosevelt Speeches
By David Laurence
Sometimes arguments made in the
midst of political campaign have an
effect long after the election, and the
danger today Is that isolationism in
America may be stimulated in the post
war years because Of misrepresentation
concerning the facts leading up to
Americas entry into this war.
Already 1t is apparent that even Re-
puolicans who are international minded
are making the mistake of thinking
they can get votes for Gov. Dewey by
citing President Roosevelt's promises
made in 1910 to keep the United States
out of the war.
Reference Is being made frequently
to speeches Of Mr.. Roosevelt. but in
selecting quotations the stump speak,
ers OF the Republican party ignore the
TACT that the Presidents main point al
ways was that he would not send Amer
lean boys abroad except in case of
attack, or that he would not favor
American participation in any war that
was foreign war" and hence did not
concern directly the interests of the
United States.
1t Is well known that Mr.. Roosevelt
in 1910 hoped that Hitler would not
be SO stupid as to provoke the United
states, and that America by supplying
alrplanes and munitions of war. and
taking all steps short of war" could
keep the European war from reaching
the United States and becoming an
american war instead Of a foreign
war"
Official Text Of Statements.
The European war ceased to be a
foreign war" when the territory of
the United States was attacked bv
Japan on December 7, 1941, and when
Italy and Germany thereupon declared
war on the United States. In the in
terests of fairness all the quotations
from the Presidents campaign speeches
IN 1910 that bear in any way on the
subject are given here as taken from
the official text:
WASHINGTON, Sept. II, 1s4O.-'I
nate war, now more than ever. 1 have
one supreme determination-to do all
that can to keep war away from these
shores Tor all time. I stand, with my
party, and outside of my party as
PRESIDENT OF all the people, on the plat
form, the wording that was adopted in
Chicago less than two months ago. It
said: We will not participate in foreign
wars, and we will not send our Army
naval or air forces to fight in foreign
lands outside of the Americas, except
in case OF attack"
DAYTON. Ohio. Oct. -, 1s4o.-"When
we speak of defending this Western
hemisphere, We are speaking not only
OF the territory Of North, Central and
South America and the immediately
adjacent islands. We include the right
TO the peaceful use of the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. That has been our IRA
ditional policy. -.
we are building total defense on
land and sea and in the air. sufsciert
70 repel total attack from any part OF
the world. Forewarned by the delio-
| crate attacks OF the dictators upon free
peoples, the United States, for the first
time In its history, has undertaken the
mastering OF its men in peacetime. Un-
preceoented dangers have caused the
United States to undertake the build
ing OF a Navy and an Air Force sufi-
clent to defend all the coasts of the
Americas from any combination of hos
| tile powers"
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. %. 1s4o.-'sTo
Republicans and Democrats, to every
man. woman and child in the Nation I
say-your President and your great
Secretary of State are following the
road to peace.
Platform of Our Party.
we are arming ourselves not for anv
lorelgn war. We are arming ourselves
not 1or any purposes Of conquest or in
terVentlon In foreign disputes. I repeat
again that I stand on the platform of
our party: We will not participate in
foreign wars, and we will not send our
Army, naval or air forces to fight In
1ofelgn lands outside Of the Americas.
except in case of attack"
BOSTON, Oct. 30, 1s4o.-"I give VOL,
one more assurance. I have said this
before, but I shall say it again and
again Your boys are not going to be
sent into any foreign wars. They are
going into training to form a force so
strong that, by its very existence. it will
keep the threat of war far away from
our shores. The purpose of our defense
is defense"
HARTFORD, Oct. 80, 1s4o.-"Ihe re-
suit OF that effort is to make the United
States strong enough in order to de-
fend itself from attack from the ont
side And you know, too, that we aim
to defend only against an attack from
the outside.
BROOKLYN, Nov. 1, 194o.-"I am
fighting to keep this Nation prosperou,
and at peace. I am fighting to keen
ou1 people out of foreign wars and to
Keep foreign conceptions of government
out OF our United States"
(Reproduction Rsobt, p.s.~,