AT CROSSROADS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 19, 2 November 1938, Page 5

AT CROSSROADS

CHOICE BEFORE THE WORLD. FORCE, OR LAW AND ORDER, THE AMERICAN VIEWPOINT. , (United Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 11.10 a.m.) NEW YORK, Nov. 1. The view that the United States lias a responsibility to exert her maximum influence to help mankind and find peace and justice, was expressed by the Secretary of State (Mr Cordell Hull), .addressing the National Foreign Trade Convention. He said: ‘•'The world is at the cross-roads, hut its power of choice has not been lost. One of the roads is increased reliance upon armed force as an instrument of national policy, and so long as the construction of armaments for such a purpose continues to bo the centre of national effort in some countries, the policy of arming inescapably becomes a universal evil. The other road is ■ ever-increasing reliance upon peaceful processes and upon the rule of law and order in relations between individuals and among nations as trust in pledged word and order under law replaces the doctrine of aymed force and the practice of lawlessness. “We in America are' less immediately affected than most other nations by the tensions prevailing in other parts of the world, Jbut it is undoubtedly our duty to ourselves to render the adequate armed- forces needed for our security. It is equally our duty to ourselves not to relax one whit our efforts to exert our maximum influence toward helping mankind to choose the road of peace and justice rather than the road of war. “It is my considered judgment that nothing which occurred in recent weeks has discredited in any way the principles or basis on which we are seeking to bring about restoration of sound economic conditions as the foundation 11 of durable peace. . “The drift toward complete national self-sufficiency is far from making headway, while excessive trade barriers continue to weigh heavily upon international commerce. The major part of world trade is still carried on by countries which are not attempting to be self-contained regardless of cost. As experience accumulates it becomes increasingly clear that thp trade methods of those few countries which proclaim autarchy as their avowed purpose steadily exhaust the countries which practice them and arouse even more intense resistance and retaliation on the part of othei'9.' ‘ , “The programme which we advocate offers the only practical alternative to the drift toward the anarchy of economic warfare. Its workability has been demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt. It can be embraced by all nations to the benefit of each, and all. Our own best interests and the concern which all must, feel for the future of the human race imperatively require that so far from abandoning our programme of ' trade agreements, we put redoubled vigour into our efforts to enlarge its scope and effectiveness. We should intensify our endeavours to influence all nations by example and every appropriate means of persuasion open to us to return to the tested basis of healthy, sound- trade, -monetary stability and financial probity. No nation can escape its share of responsibility for y fashioning mankind’s choice of the road which the world will l follow.”