| Show Bruc karts washington digest feeling of unrest in europe europ e reaches our side of atlantic permeates administration and to some extent congress result Is great and increasing mystery pre presidents secrecy approved facts about pla plane e sales by WILLIAM BRUCKART service national press washington D 0 washington the feeling that has 0 obsessed europeans for weeks that thai they are approaching toward some international crisis seems to have spread to our side of the atlantic right out of the air so to speak we are made to feel that great questions are about to take shape and that we in this country must be ready to decide them the germ or whatever it Is has taken up its domicile within our administration and to some extent in congress and the result is great and increasing mystery most sources in washington did not believe that the so called settle ment anent of the european crisis at munich last september was in tact fact more than a stopgap stop gap as I 1 reported to you at that time the munich failure has become more and more evident and the very atmosphere Is charged again with exactly the same type of 0 bated expectancy in a general way of course we all al I 1 know that the worldwide difference e between the democratic for forms ms 0 of f government and the dictatorships Is at the bottom of the whole thing we know as well that hitler and mussolini have challenged the european democracies by the boldness of their dictatorship actions in taking practically what they want in the way of additions to their empires we know furt furrier furU lier ier that the end nd decidedly is not yet insofar as the hitler and mussolini ambitions are to be considered and wrapped up in all of this is the genuine friendship that the united states has for france and england beneath the surface things have been going on in our own government the president the department of state and the military and naval services know what is taking place in europe and they are advised as to what may be expected PI plans ns were being formed and developed ve loped so that steps could be taken here at the roper proper time all of this was done in more or less secrecy as it always has to be done since public discussion of such delicate matters could tilt us very ca easily from the frying pan into the fire genuine danger of war but not immediately because ol of the necessity tor for avoiding wrong impressions which is a vital thing in international relations president roosevelt told the military affairs committee of the senate confidentially something of the inside story I 1 believe he did right in shielding those facts from general knowledge tor no one knows knovs how they could at or forano would aid be distorted in aerman german or italian newspapers but this air of mystery has back fired in al a curious way it has aroused certain portions of the country into a veritable frenzy particularly some members of congress and they have siezer upon a relatively unimportant thing as their weapon in striking at mr roose belts foreign policy they have jumped all over the presidents neck about the sale of airplanes to france airplanes that were manufactured and are being manufactured by private plane builders and which are being sold for cash to the french government it is made to appear that this Is a terrible thing the howlers bowlers are saying that mr roosevelt has alo violated the spirit of the neutrality act and that he should never neve r have given permission for the sale of the planes there are other charges flying about also but they are unimportant here I 1 have dug into the situation as far as Is possible I 1 believe and I 1 tail fail to get very much excited about the whole thing there is of course the genuine danger of war although I 1 am not convinced that europe is going to break out tomorrow sometime probably but not immediately such a clash ot of hopes and convictions vict ions and traditions and falth faith as obviously occurs between the philosophies of dictatorships and democracies is bound to lead to use of force but I 1 think there is the probability that itis it is further away than this jittery feeling of the world now indicates frances purchase of american made airplanes to get back to this airplane thing I 1 should like to set out some of the facts france ts Is buying american made airplanes several hundred ot of them she Is doing this because her own airplane production has stalled and france has sufficient gold to bu buy them elsewhere the french military service must have them in cake th ereis that outbreak of force that seems so on the sar sur tace jace tor for the reason that germany and italy are superior to france in thil theair the aar ajr the contracts were let in this country after mr mi roosevelt had haa talked over the whole question with his cabinet and with th jhb 0 war and ay departments and C certain ertain lead ers of the airplane industry they were authorized after ambassador bullitt in his reports from paris had laid bare the whole situation I 1 am told that mr bullitt advised mr Rooi roosevelt evelt to treat the matter as a routine chatto thatto thai to talk much about it would ex excite c ite deop people ae unduly well the bullitt idea was working until the unfortunate accident out near los angeles when a big bombing plane fell ell injuring a i member of the french mission that is in this country buying the planes then out popped the secret and out came the critics of the roosevelt foreign policy it is not within my power to say whether mr roo Roosevel ts foreign policy is rig right ht or wrong I 1 do not believe belleve anyone can tell yet any foreign policy is something of a gamble if it works theauthor the author is a hero if it falls theauthor the author of the policy promptly Is termed a sap but of this phase I 1 can can write why should the howlers bowlers now arise and denounce the presidents foreign 1 policy on the basis of sales isles ot of planes to france when more than a year ago the british government began buying planes from our manufacturers an why Is it wrong to let the french buy and right to let the british buy or to state the matter affirmatively it seems to me that we cannot well differentiate between two nations with whom we ve have friendly relations foreign policy opposition making itself look foolish I 1 do not regularly burn incense j at the roosevelt dais but when I 1 believe his opposition is making itself se if look foolish I 1 believe they ought to be called what they are it if they ran can show where the present foreign policies are ridiculous now is their opportunity it if this criticism of mr mi roosevelt Rooseve IV were directed at his actions with respect to spain or japan per perhaps haps there would be something worth considering it will be recalled that the president persuaded plane manufacturers and many others as well to discontinue sales to the japanese for use against china it will be recalled also that indirect assistance ewas was given the so called loyalists in spain aid that surely must be looked upon if done honestly as asheld help to the military forces although disguised as provisions tor for those who suffered back of the lines all ali of this was done while we have a n neutrality utra lity act through which congress believed it was taking away certain powers from tb the chief E executive x ec tive so I 1 repeat that there is cause it appears for criticism of some of th the e presidents foreign policies but it does not seem that critics have joined issue with the chief f executive on any sound basis I 1 always have felt that there Is too much secrecy secre cyin in general governmental m administration tant squirts holding unimportant jobs are forever and eyer taking themselves seriously to the point where they would not dmit admit it was pouring down rain if it were raining cats and dogs from that level of officialdom on up and down the line one finds that sort of thing in gur our government I 1 saw a congressional committee chairman refuse just the 0 ther other day to let newspaper men see a sia statement lement that he wh was inserting in the committee record a record that is as public as the light of day it was silly but it was typical cal president has authority to shape foreign policy when it comei comes to foreign reka relations however the situation Is entirely different the constitution wisely enough provides that such matters roust must be dealt with by the president it allows him the power of negotiation but it curbs that po power by requiring him to ask congress tor for a declaration of war in other words the president Is provided with authority to shape and conduct the foreign policy the dealings with foreign nations but bu he must have the approval of congress which represents the people when the concluding phases of those negotiations are reached and the nation is about 1 to be bound that condition di tion was arranged at the outset odbur of our nations history it hai worked well thi the rights of the people are imply amply krotec protected ted think tor for a moment what the situation would be it if our foreign policies were in the hands harda ofa of demagogues in th the house ehouse or the senate I 1 hazard a guess that some of them would talk as long ssi as hitler did the other dagand day and create just as much griet grief y I 1 so I 1 firmly believe there should be some secrecy about our bur foreign policy and that the president should have some so me liberties tn in working out arrangements with other governments alter after all any program program that thai he has must eventually be published and debated by congress 0 western newspaper union |
