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Show CAN AMERICA STAY OUT OF WAR? The question of the day is: can United States stay out of the general European conflict that now seems about to burst into the lull horror of enlarged, grueling warfare? Will Dunint, author, newspuicrman and lecturer, says not and predicts tha; "prnpaRanda and our moral susceptibility" suscepti-bility" will have 'this country involved as a belligerent in the European war within 11 months. Because our sympathies are already with France, England Eng-land and even more with tiny Finland, the prospect of war is a shattering possibility. One thing may save us, and thus democracy: our ex-the ex-the World war The memory of what haDDened J" " ' v - then, the billions the war cost us a debt not wholly paid our economic sufferings as an aftermath, the futility of our effort as demonstrated by current renewal of an old battle after 21 yearsthese things may save us. An irish patriot, Maurice Walsh, in writing of the position po-sition of Ireland as a neutral in the European war in a recent issue of the Saturday Evening Post, offers this advice and warning to United States: "Great Britian looks to the United States now, as she did in 1914, for moral, financial and, later on, military support. And Ireland plays a part in the history his-tory of Anglo-American relationships. rela-tionships. No matter how your President, or your Foreign Office, or your press may assure you about your neutrality at least, about your military neutrality we Irish tell you that England is quietly confident con-fident of bringing you in on her side, with all your ships, and all your bonny fighting men, and all your money besides. The British diplomatic corps will do the job neatly, as usual. You are afraid? You may well be afraid. Here in Ireland we say that England is hard to beat in a pitched field, but that she is capable of defeat. But, we add, around the green-cloth green-cloth council table she is absolutely abso-lutely invincible. Don't heed Hitler's Hit-ler's aDDarent victories, such as ed her own game every time. We know! We have met English statesmen four times since 1921 around the council table and we are no slouchers at a talkfest but these Englishmen bested us every time without taking the wraps off, even if they once had to use the threat of "Immediate and terrible war." We came away with our tails between our legs and we bit each other's ears when we got home. Here in Ireland we say: "When you meet British diplomats, lift the green cloth to see the cloven hoof. If you see it, carry on. The devil is a straightforward strai-ghtforward sort of gentleman as compared with British diplomacy; you have somo hope of seeing what he is driving at; be of good heart. But if you see no cloven hoof, then throw up your hands and surrender. The game is as good as up." That is our idea ot British diDlomacv. and we've had Munich or the forestalling of the hundreds of years' experience Anglo-Soviet pact. England play- with it." Aside from the above, in which there is probably more than a germ of truth, we Americans are, in coming weeks if the war in Europe is enlarged going to hear and read much about the high ideals of one or other of the major warring war-ring nations, nil calculated to either sweep us into the mael- strom or keep us out. But, no matter to which side Americans are extending their sympathies, there is an awkward record, the reading of which, we think, should make all Americans determined to remain Americans, to the end that our nation be not again dragged into the comity of double-crossing, hypocritical diplomacy of the Old World- Here is the record: Blocked effective sanctions a-gainst a-gainst Italy, when latter invaded Ethiopia, 1935. Sacrificed Czechoslovakia to appeasement policy, 1938. Violated Syrian mandate by letting Turks take district of Hatay in deal for Anglo-French-Turkish alliance, 1939. Defaulted on war debts to United Uni-ted States up to and including the present time. Germany Spent from 1919 to 1933 complaining com-plaining against the treaty of Versailles and trying to evade many of its provisions. Spent from 1933 to 1939 tearing up the treaty of Versailles. Decreed military conscription 1935. Occupied the Rhineland in violation of the Locarno treaty in 1936. - Invaded and annexed Austria. 1938. Sliced off a portion of Czechoslovakia, Czecho-slovakia, 1938. Invaded and annexed the remainder re-mainder of Czechoslovakia, 1939. Took Memel from Lithuania by extortion, 1939. Started, according to the best information available at present, a new world war, 1939. Poland Seized a large part of Upper Silesia from the League of Nations Na-tions in defiance of the result of plebiscite, 1921. Seized Wilno, capital of Lithuania, Lithu-ania, 1924. England Carried on intermittent bombing bomb-ing of tribes on Northwest frontier fron-tier of India, 1920-1939. Supported Japan against United Uni-ted States at time of Manchurian invasion, 1931. Failed to deal effectively with' Italian aggression in Ethiopia, 1933. Sacrificed Czechoslovakia to appeasement policy, 1938. Broke Balfour promise on Jewish Jew-ish homeland in Palestine, 1938-39. 1938-39. Defaulted on war debts to United States up to and including the present time. France Blocked every effort to induce the victorious powers to disarm as promised in the treaty of Versailles, Ver-sailles, 1919 to 1933. Carried on economic war upon prostrate Germany, 1919-1929. Dominated the League of Nations Na-tions which put seal of approval upon Polish seizures of Silesia in 1921 and Wilno in 1924. Occupied the Ruhr valley of Germany on this reparations pie-text, pie-text, 1923, with Prime Minister Poincaire privately expressing hope the Germans would not pay t-:o France could annex the valley. Unofficially supported Japanese Japan-ese invasion of Manchuria until realizing her stand was undermining under-mining her own insistence upon sanctity of the Versailles treaty, 1931. |