Evening star., 1951-02-10
Partial 7extof HooverF foreign Policy Talk

Partial 7exto.
A partial tert OF former PreSi-
dent Hoouer's speech last night
tollotDS.
Fellow Americans,
I have been urged by many
thousands of you to again discuss
with you our foreign policies.
A responsibility rests upon me tc
speak out from so years of per-
sonal experience with most of the
peoples of the free world and with
Russia and China. I have been en-
trusted during 35 years with high
responsibilities by my country
ment.
There is nothing sacrosanct about
foreign policies as witness the
tombstones which have beer
erected over many of them in the
last 10 years. They bear the in
scriptions Undeclared War, The
Alliance with Stain, Teheran
Yalta, Potsdam, Dismantling o1
German Peacetime Industry. The
Promoting of Mao Tse-tung.
Many men, including myself
have demanded the revision o1
these policies at each wrong turn
ing.
The Present Problems.
The problems which we face
are of far larger dimensions than
the current discussion on sending
contingents of American boys to
Europe.
Their appraisal must also in
clude:
l. Land war strengths.
2. The defense of the American
people and the Western Hemis-
phere.
3. Our economic capacity over q
long period.
4. The United Nations.
5. Our policies in the Far East
6. The North Atlantic Military
alliance.
Policies in these six categories
cannot be separated from each
other - they are all interlocked
We may again appraise as best
we can the present military
strengths for land war in the
world. >.
Strength of the Kremlin.
The Kremlin directed horde
has under arms and in reserves
probably 800 combat divisions
with 10000 tanks. am now told
they have over 10000 mostly tao
tical planes and they have with
their satellites fifty million men
available for cannon fodder.
| In World War II. when Russia
was without the satellites, the
Germans failed with 240 we'll
equipped divisions to overcome
her.
The nations Of Europe in the
Atlantic Pact have at the present
moment less than 20 equipped
and trained combat divisions
available for European action.
There is here a stark reality
upon which our foreign policies
must be based. With any seeable
land forces from non-Communist
nations, even including the Unit
ed States, land offensive against
the Communist could bring no
military victory, no political con-
clusion. But that does not mean
that there are no other methods
Of stopping the Kremlin's ambi-
tions.
Hemisphere Defense.
The second stark realism upor
which our foreign policies must bs
based is the defense Of the West.
ern Hemisphere.
may say at once that will
proper economic action this hem
isphere can be made self con
| tanned in critical raw materials
From a long professional career
and from years as Secretary O
Commerce dealing with sucl
questions, I might qualify in thi
field.
Moreover, this hemisphere car
be defended from Communist
armies come what will. It is still
surrounded with a great moat. Tt
transport such invading armie.
either 5000 miles across the At.
lantic or 5000 miles across tn,
Pacific would require transpor
ships and naval protection which
the Russians do not possess ane
could not build or seize, no matter
what further countries they oc.
cupy. If we have a proper nava
and air strength, we could sinh
them in mid-ocean. With some.
what more attention paid to oul
defense, this would apply to in.
vasion via the Bering Straits
Hitler could not even cross thu
English Channel. Atomic bomb.
do not transport troops over the
ocean.
Economic Realities.
Communist armies can no more
get to Washington than any alice
armies can get to Moscow.
The third stark realism upor
which our policies must be bull
is our economic capacity. TIL,
bleak outlook of the world ma,
well last more than a decade
possibly two of them.
The new budget calls for Fed
eral spending of over $71.6 billion
This $71 billions alone, plus Stat
and local expenditures, is abou
37Fo of our national income.
That is beyond the long endur
| apca 0f anv natiOn and foto1 r