The Dominion. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1940 THE UNITED STATES AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 118, 12 February 1940, Page 8

The Dominion. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1940 THE UNITED STATES AND THE WAR

Two announcements from Washington are indicative of 1 resident Roosevelt’s active interest in the progress of events in. Europe and H prospects of an enduring peace. One is the statement byM,t. Cord Hull Secretary of State, that informal diplomatic convei sations have begun with various neutral States with a view to the eventual res torra. ion o/world peace on a sound and lasting basis - the other is; theimpend i departure for Europe of the Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Bumner Welles, for a personal survey of conditions in Italy, Germany, ini aii . and France in the capacity of adviser to the President. Although Mr. Welles will carry no proposals or authority to enter into' “™mtments on behalf of the United States, the coincidence of these announce Zts is suggestive. .The President can hardly be better ™ the state o£ affairs in Europe than he rs at present by h own embas, os in the various capitals. It is a reasonable assumption, ffierHoK, that part of Mr Welles’s mission, in addition to gathering freJi"d P on-tl°e-spof impressions ot European altitudes toward the war, will be to explore the possibilities of peace. -.imed The trend of Mr. Roosevelt’s diplomacy appears to be aimed at circumscribing the area of the war, and assisting the e J°' ts others to bring it to an early termination. He realizes, and has publicly stated g this conviction, that the more widespread it becomes and the. longer it is protracted the & reater . th H dange ? becoming actively involved. At the same time he is bound to ta e notice, as the head of a great democracy which P”des itself on iL civic liberties and international humanitarianism, of the s t 0 free institutions and the reign of terror and persecution. n Euioje. Whatever may have been the real depth of American feeling toward the wlr in August and September last, there can be little doubt that the evenis of the past five months, and the documented revela ions of German and Russian duplicity, have produced a definite of feeling against the European aggressors. This hasi beer accentuated bv Russia’s act of stark aggression against Finland, fm whom the United States has a very high regard. In a statement today the President declares that the sympatll y 98 per cent, of the American people is with Finland in her prese - deal, and he makes no attempt to conceal his opinion of Russia s_action. This swing of opinion is reflected by the action of Congress in voting credits totalling more than the entire Finnish war debt to the United States, and making available various American Pjoduct emergency needs. As one important result the Presidents ha nd has been greatly strengthened. Ex-President Hoover, who had picviotisly advocated a policy of absolute isolation, and was one of the severest critics of the Administration’s “measures short of war policy, is now one of the leaders of the campaign for the o Finland. All through, the Presidents moves have been dnec ed against European aggression. The famous cash and cany clause of the American Neutrality Act, for example, was a blow to Ge - many and a distinct and valuable service to the Allies. Again, quite recently the United States Government removed certain reprisal duties imposed on Italy, an action which was interpreted as; a friendJy gesture and a hint that America regarded with approval Italy s neutiality f The announcement of Mr. Sumner Welles’s visit to Europe has been hailed with gratification in Britain, and he is assured of a cordia welcome and every facility for making his investigations mission recalls the fact that in the last war the late ex-President Woodrow Wilson’s confidential adviser, Colonel House, made a similar journey to Europe, and no doubt has greater significance than appears on the surface of the announcement.