America Sees the Peril
In his message to Congress asking for an extension beyond one year of the term of military service last Monday, President Roosevelt sought " acknowledgement " of a national emergency, and dwelt on the increasing gravity of the situation and the danger which was coming closer to the western hemisphere. He spoke of the sequence of conquests or attacks, of promises and broken pacts, of propaganda and conspiracies, which had passed beyond Europe into Asia and even into the Americas. Mr. Sumner Welles, the Acting Secretary of State, supplemented this warning statement by declaring that the Government had information of a further act of aggression intended by Germany if she succeeded in defeating Russia. The fact which is in- creasingly staring Americans in the face, and has become the governing factor in their foreign policy, is that the Nazi threat of domination is a threat to America as well as to Europe, Asia and Africa, and that the United States has no escape from involvement in the question of world security. Isolationism has no meaning if you cannot be isolated. The realisation of this truth is a new fact in the American consciousness, and shows how far Americans have travelled since 1920. It has made possible the remarkable speech delivered by Mr. Sumner Welles last Tuesday, when he said that after the war some instrument must be devised to restore order and provide "security," in the form generally of an association of nations strong enough to guarantee disarmament and equal economic opportunities. All this, be it noted, is advanced not in the interests of Europe alone, but of America and the world.
