NO ASSURANCE OF PEACE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 4, 6 January 1939, Page 7

NO ASSURANCE OF PEACE

AMERICA MUST ARM

PRESIDENT’S WARNING SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF! CONGRESS UNION WITH OTHER DEMOCRACIES (By Telegraph—Pre* Association Ccpy right] WASHINGTON, Jan. 4. ‘•Dictatorship may command the ful strength of the regimental nation, but the united strength of a democra- | tic nation can be mustered only when j its people, educated by modern stand- j ards, know what is going on and j where they are going and have the conviction that they are receiving as large of material success and human dignity as they have a right to receive,” said the President of the United States of America, Mr. F. D. Roosevelt, in his speech at the opening of Congress. Standing on the Speaker’s dais in the House of Representatives, flanked by the Vice-President, Mr. J. N. Garner, and the Speaker, Mr. W. B. Bankhead, President Roosevelt, wearing a grey morning coat, for 45 minutes gripped the crowded Chamber and overflowing public galleries. In ringing tones he read his challenging message, the text of which he refused to modify, despite lastminute threats from Berlin. He gave a warning that the war which threatened to envelop the i world in flames had been averted but i that it had become increasingly clear 1 that peace was not assured. Un-| declared wars, armament building and j threats of new aggression, which were ■ both military and economic, were go- j ing on on all sides, he said. Challenge to Three Institutions. “Storms from abroad directly chai-I lenge the three institutions indispen-I .sable to America,” said Mr. Roose-! velt. “The first is religion. It is the | source of the other two, democracy ’ and international good faith.” Making a charge that good faith I and reason in international affairs • had given way to strident ambition j and brute force, the President declared: “Defence of religion, democracy and good faith between the nations, is all the same fight to save one. We must now make up our minds to save them all. We, no more than other nations, can afford to be surrounded by enemies of our faith and our humanity.” Must Associate With Other Nations. Insisting that the American Republics did not dissociate themselves from other nations and other continents: the President added: “We as one of | the Republics reiterate our willing-, ness to help the cause of world peace,! but the world has grown so small and : weapons of attack so swift that no nation can be safe in its will to peace as long as any other single powerful nation refuses to settle its grievances at the council table. “The democracies cannot forever t let pass without effective protests acts of aggression against sister nations, acts which automatically undermine all of us. There are many methods, short of war, but stronger and more effective than mere words, of bringing home to aggressor Governments the aggregate sentiment of our own people. Our neutrality laws may actually give aid to the aggressor and deny it to the victim. The instinct of selfpreservation should warn us. We ought not to let that happen any more.” The President asked for adequate defence. Armed forces and defences strong enough to ward off any sudden attack and key facilities that maybe immediately utilised and rapidly, expanded were the underlying strength of citizenship. President’s Personal Magnetism. It was easy to see why the President’s bitterest opponents fall victims to his personal magnetism. Republicans and Democrats alike accorded him a terrific ovation and listened with the most intense silence, punctuated by outbursts of applause, particularly for his references to dictatorships and happenings abroad during the recess. Mr. Roosevelt clearly made Congress more of one mind on the question of defence. His remark that war is not the only method of commanding decent respect for the opinions of mankind was obviously approved by the majority. This is interpreted as a hint of economic sanctions against aggressor nations. The majority of members also cheered his hint of a revision of the neutrality laws which Mr Roosevelt pointed out could aid aggressors. The declaration that no American flinched from the determination to do his share in protecting against storms from any quarter provoked a thunderous demonstration. Forecast Borne Out. The speech bore out forecasts that Mr. Roosevelt was leaving Congress more to its own devices than previously. Significance is attached to his statement of the necessity of revamping executive processes into a more effective combination. However, the President gave no sign of weakening' his policies, domestic or foreign. On the contrary he envisioned the maintenance of Government activities in order to convert America.from a £12,000,000,000 national income country into a £20,000,000,000 one. How domestic policy is being linked up with foreign policy was emphasised by a remark that “the dangers within are less to be feared than the dangers from without.” If therefore the solution of the problem of idle men and idle capital is the price of preserving our liberty no formless and selfish fears can stand in our way.” At the conclusion of the stirring peroration Congressmen, Senators, and the public rose and cheered him to the echo.