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Show The battle of Washington Isolationists Fear U. S. Has Pledged Aid '- BY BRUCE CATTON : ' WASHINGTON One of the most Important angles of the whole arms embargo fight is the Isolationists' feeling that there Is much that has not been told In the history of the months immediately im-mediately before the outbreak of the present war. Bluntly, they suspect that th American government somehow, somewhere, committed itself in prewar conversations with tie British. There la no direct evidence to support such a charge. The accusation accu-sation may never be made openly while embargo repeal Is being debated. But the fact that a number of senators feel that the administration has already become be-come Involved In the European quarrel is an extremely important impor-tant factor in the situation. To explain why they feel -that way it la necessary to recall some of the background of the present crisis. . Were British 'EaKMrageeTr Early last - April, President. Roosevelt bade good-by to a group at Warm Springs, Ga and promised to return in th fail "if we don't have a war." A week later Senator Walter F. George of Georgia rose in the senate to say: "When that declaration I made by the president of these United States it will arouse and It baa aroused a genuine fear throughout this nation that somebody haa afforded some encouragement en-couragement to the distinguished English statesman (Lord Halifax) Hali-fax) who today said that America, Amer-ica, the United State, was in full sympathy with, or shared fully, th expressions that had Just been made In the bouse of commons by the English premier." On April 11. at a White House ' 1 press conference. President Roosevelt by warmsy indorsing a Washington Post editorial, implied im-plied broadly that any general European war would involve the United States and that this country should stand with England Eng-land and France against any nart-fasrtst design to dominate the world by force. English Slew Cp Baying On April 13. President Roosevelt Roose-velt made his famous peace ap- Brae CattM's Washington Washing-ton eoluma here presents the second stery ef a new aerlee, golag behia the scene fas what Is the meat Important fight la th werM today f the Amerieaa pea-" pie. He Is bringing U tss pea the naapekea influ-. influ-. suseea whica a a gavaxaiag -the split la the neutrality law battle. peal to Hitler. Britain's purchases pur-chases of American munitions dropped abruptly. ' Senator John A. Danaher of Connecticut points out that Britain Brit-ain bought licenses for S26.611.-797 S26.611.-797 worth of arms and munitions muni-tions in the United States In 1938. In the first four months of 1939 she bought $14,006,000 more. But from the end of April to the end of August she bought only- (701.000 in which same four-month per led Franc bought S60.000.000. Here Is the way some of these Isolationists put these facts to- -gether: In April, th president talked freely of war and of the danger dan-ger of America becoming in- - - at i volved. He made a dramatic peace appeal to Hitler, offering substantial benefits to Germany. Ger-many. On April 28, Hitler contemptuously contemp-tuously rejected the peace appeal and simultaneously announced abrogation of the German-Polish nonaggression pact the Anglo-German Anglo-German naval agreement of 1935 and the Anglo-German consultative consulta-tive pact reached at Munich the previous autumn. On the heels of all of which, the British but not the French . practically stopped ordering munitions in America. Fear Premise Was Made Now ask the isolationists Isn't all of this at least a hint that soma pledge went from Washington to London; that after af-ter a final appeal to Hitler the United States government said something in London which con--Vi need the Britiah that Americas-aid Americas-aid of soma sort would be forthcoming forth-coming in the event of war. so that the British let up on their frantic effort to lay in a full aupply of munitions before the embargo could be applied? This interpretation may be the wildest and most fantastic misconception mis-conception imaginable. It may never be offered publicly. But the important thing is that a substantial number of U. S. senators feel that it is tolerably close to the truth. It is because they do feel that way that they are waging such a bitter, last-ditch tight against repeal ef the arms embargo. For the fear which haunts them is the fear that some commitment exists which will take the nation into war unless then is an about-face. NEXT! fag i ia esamlae president's piaa. |
