WENDELL WILLKIE TESTIFIES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 12 February 1941, Page 6

WENDELL WILLKIE TESTIFIES

EFFECTIVE U.S. AID FOR BRITAIN Advocates Enactment of Administration's Bill PROVISION OF DESTROYERS EACH MONTH [United Press Association—Bv Electric Telegraph—Copyright] (Received 12th February, 1.10 p.m.) WASHINGTON, 1 Ith February. Mr Wendell Willkie testifying before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee declared that the only way that Congress can aid Britain quickly enough is to enact the Administration’s Bill with modifications. He urged the United States to provide Britain with five to ten destroyers monthly. “We should be able to do this directly and swiftly instead of through a rigmarole of dubious legalistic interpretations.” He suggested that aid under the bill be limited to the British Commonwealth, Greece and China, because these were the only countries at present subject to aggression; but Congress should retain the power to pass upon any aid for others becoming subject to aggression. He also urged a time limit to the bill and that Congress should retain power to terminate by joint resolution the President’s extraordinary authority under the bill.

TO LIMIT OF CONSCIENCE “I have gone to the full limit of my conscience in supporting the administration’s foreign policy because of my great desire for national unity. I have wanted to see America stand united before the world as a friend of all fighting for liberty, and as a despiser • of all aggressors and despoilers of the democratic way. It would be

United States and not reluctant for a fight. Such a calamity would have two results: Firstly: In order to compete with those powers we would have to adopt totalitarian controls, losing our liberty here and at home. Secondly, eventually we would be drawn into war against one or more of those powers and they would so cramp, hinder and infringe upon us that we would be forced to fight. In that event we would be fighting alone in a different battle in the same war as Britain is now fighting." Mr Willkie defined the aid for Britain as meaning “not to work for Britain but with Britain to defend an area of freedom.” THE GREATEST HAZARD Mr Willkie said: “Britain’s greatest hazard is the destruction of shipping, i It is essential that not only the northI ern ports through which Britain chiefly j breathes be kept open but must be j kept supplied with enough shipping to ; nieet the people’s and military procurement programme’s needs. Britain needs still more destroyers. “Merchantmen are crossing the Atlantic without nearly enough protection, sometimes a couple of destroy - lers protecting 30 to 40 ships. If we make destroyers available to Britain they should be reconditioned in the United States yards. The fifty destroyers delivered recently were extremely valuable but owing to congestion and shortage of mechanics Britain found difficulty in reconditioning all simultaneously.”

truly inspiring for us and for liberty levers everywhere if the bill could be adopted with a non-partisan and almost unanimous vote.” Mr Willkie rejected suggestions that Congress should provide billions of dollars credits and said he did not feel that credits alone would provide effective and immediate aid necessary. “The problem is rather the immediate disposition- of certain equipment much of which cannot be purchased because it is owned by the United States Government and under domestic laws at present enforced the United States is ■‘tenable to deliver such equipment to a belligerent without a cumbersome and lengthy subterfuge. If we do adopt the policy of aid to Britain, above all >it is necessary to make the aid effective. 'Rendering ineffective aid would be dis- • astrous and it would give Hitler just as good a pretext against us as effective aid, but if our aid is ineffective Britain ' may go down.” NOT FOR BRITAIN BUT WITH BRITAIN Arguing against the isolationist contentions that the United States should not concern herself with anyone beyond the American shores, Mr Willkie said that he believed such a policy would inevitably result in the destruction of our * «ivil liberties, loss of our freedom and ' eventually war. “If we isolate ourselves Britain may have great difficulty in surviving None can say at present whether or not Britain can win. but we -knew if she is defeated, totalitarian.* will control the world. Under .those circumstances Germany would . probably make a drive whether economic or military against Latin America and perhaps Japan would drive southward to the East Indies. Thus the United States and Canada would be rirged by totalitarians using totalitarian trade methods, unfriendly towards the

He said that Britain’s needs were both immediate and long-term. “Aeroplanes, munitions and ships are largely on order in the United States, but it will be many months before the efforts begin to show significant results. Destroyers are an example o' the kind of thing Britain needs but which are difficult and even impossible to obtain through the mere granting of credits. The United States aircraft programme will provide little help in 1941 but will not begin to give Britain air supremacy until 1942. The -hope is that with the fulfilment of the long-term requirements Britain will obtain complete supremacy over Germany, but Britain may not hold out long enough to use those future materials and weapons unless certain immediate requirements are fulfilled and these will have a most direct bearing on the bill.” He added that he saw piteous and heart-rending destruction in the northern industrial towns but the damage of productive facilities was relatively small. BRITAIN’S INTEREST (British Official Wireless) (Received 12th February, 1.30 p.m.) RUGBY, 11th February. Mr Wendell Willkie’s evidence before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been followed with close interest in Britain. Mr Willkie said, according to a Press message that Mr Churchill told him that destroyers, merchant shipping and bombers were Britain s chief need which the United States could supply He urged that the United States’ construction programme be speeded up and said that he understood that there would be a steady flow of fifteen to twenty destroyers monthly by 1942.