ROOSEVELT'S PART

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 81, 3 October 1938, Page 9

ROOSEVELT'S PART

MOVE TO AVERT WAR

MESSAGES TO NATIONS

WORLD CONFERENCE BEING CONSIDERED

WASHINGTON, October 1. The Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, last night confirmed reports of President Roosevelt's part in the dramatic move to avert war. He released the text of a message sent to every nation in which the United States was diploj matically represented instructing | the American emissaries to comj rnunicate with the respective Governments "to obtain a cumulative expression of opinion" which "might possibly at this late date influence the course of events and contribute to the preservation of peace in Europe." The emissaries were instructed to stress the United States Government's opinion "that the situation was so critical and the consequences of war | would be so disastrous that no step should be overlooked or omitted that j might possibly contribute to the main- ! tenance of peace." ! Two days later, after the nations had had time to file their appeals, President Roosevelt sent a personal note to Signor Mussolini, and still later a second appeal to Herr Hitler. REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR ORDER. Mr. Hull in a statement said: "As to the immediate peace results, it is unnecessary to say that they afford a universal sense of relief. I am not undertaking to pass judgment upon the merits of the differences to which the Four-Power Pact of Munich is related. It is hoped that in any event the forces that stand for the principles governing peaceful and orderly international relations and their proper application should not relax but redouble their efforts to maintain these principles of order under law resting on a sound ■ economic foundation." While the official attitude is to await the further subsidence of the European storm before appraising affairs, the question of calling an international economic conference is being quietly considered. Whether President Roosevelt might act is not indicated by the Administration. The proposal is strongly favoured by Senator Edward Burke, who says that the most vital question to be discussed is currency. Mr. Hull is pressing on with the reciprocal trade agreements programme, which has the similar object of economic appeasement. Details of the Anglo-American agreement are expected to be released shortly. ARMAMENTS QUESTION. Reports from Europe that the major Powers may soon attempt some form iof armament reduction and limitation | are being read with the greatest interest here. Official comment is refused, but it has long been the Government's declared policy to reduce armaments and to work earnestly for limitation whenever the opportunity offered. Mr. Hull disclosed that the United States yesterday urged Poland not to resort to force in demanding Teschen and Silesia. Representations were made through the United States Ambassador. Hailing the backing of President Roosevelt's peace appeal as another proof of inter-American co-operation, the State Department revealed that eleven American Republics sent messages to Germany and Czechoslovakia similar to that dispatched by President Roosevelt. Central American and South American newspapers are insisting on the necessity for a more formal American alliance favouring democracy in the event of a European war.