AMERICAN VIEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 September 1938, Page 5

AMERICAN VIEWS

SENATOR’S SPEECH

HELP FOR CZECHS URGED,

(United Press Association—By ElectricTelegraph—Copyright).

LOS ANGELES, September 17.

Mr Key Pittman ; chairman of the United States Senate’s foreign relations committee, in a nation-wide broadcast, declared tlyit. the govern- ' meats responsible for creating Czechoslovakia and pledging her protection were morally obliged, to help her.' Stating that he was expressing persona] views, Mr Pittman added: “The. powerful democracies time and again have abandoned-the small democracies. If Czechoslovakia is abandoned, the small democracies have one alternative —to retreat and surrender with, the soft democracies, or to accept a peaceful slavery under the military dictators. Since it was carved out of Europe by- the Allies, Czechoslovakia has carried out the principles of demo-, eracy, winning the democratic peoples to acclaim that she has the right, to expect and demand protection from the governments which were responsible for her creation and which pledg-, od her support.”

Mr Pittman said that ‘ although the United States had no military pact 9 with Czechoslovakia, she was one of'l that reptlto-lic’s principal 4 breatorsV ’“No ; saying “h ! a's been subjected to''greater’ misrepresentation,” he‘ said, Mr Wilson s, ‘The Great War was ; (plight to make the world safe for democracy.’ . Even those with little, vision realise that there is an immin- j ent, crucial threat to democracy today. “That threat existed. in 1917 when the United States entered the war. b 7 that victory it was postponed. Through the totalitarian government’s steady advance and the democracies’ equally continuous retreat f and surrender of democratic principles, we have again reached a crucial issue.”

Mr Pittman reminded his listeners that the United States had" - failed, “yes, refused,” after the) Great War, to take-any part in the (advancement and maintenance of peaceful policies based upon the principles of democracy.

MAJOR WAR UNLIKELY. NEW YORK, Sejitelnber 17. r Declaring that. an [investigation had shown that the German and Italian claims to self-sufficiency were idle, the American Chemical: Society, which is holding its conference at Milwaukee, agreed that a major war in Europe was not likely within the nexjtfew years. Only Russia, it was stated, was near self-sufficiency.- Germany Jacked • tung--sten and molybdenum, which were essential for steel construction. Both Germany and. Italy lacked oil and .rubber. Substitutes had proved , unsatisfactory. v -