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Show Bruckart's Washington Digest Momentous Question Faces U. S. In Matter of Helping Finland Places Our Country at Forks of National Policy ; Possible Possi-ble Involvement in Current War Seen as Great Peril; Other Nations Might Come Begging. By WILLIAM BRL'CKART VVNU Service. National Press Bldg., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. The question of aid to valiant little Finland Is a And, further, does anyone hold the conviction for a minute that there would not be a veritable deluge of propaganda in this country In be-tialf be-tialf of loans to Norway or Sweden or even England and France, once the ice is broken by help to Finland. The second point, therefore, is that if a precedent is established by extension ex-tension of aid to Finland, it is surely possible that loans to the others would follow. I said it was "possible;" "possi-ble;" I believe it is probable. What then becomes of the ironclad iron-clad Johnson act? That law, pushed s proposition that Is getting right close to home. Whether we like it or not, it can hardly be denied any longer that the proposal to extend money help to the Finns has brought the United States to a fork in the road of national policy. through by Sen. Hiram Hi-ram Johnson, the California Republican, Republi-can, makes it impossible im-possible for any government to borrow bor-row money within the United States if that nation has not paid its war debts to the United States. Finland, of course, is the only one of fcfaaaa..aea"-ftiiJ it is accepted as William a fact that our sym-Bruckart sym-Bruckart pathies as a nation and as individual human beings are with the Finns. There can be no question that almost all right-thinking persons hope that the butcher, Stalin, and his dastardly schemers meet ultimate destruction. That is the hope. The end, of course, may not be what we hope, but it is no sin to hope for results with which we agree in the matter of freedom for any distressed people. The I amazing thing is that the Finns have accomplished as much as they have. Sen. Johnson the World war borrowers bor-rowers that has even attempted to repay its borrowings and so a loan to Finland does no violence to the Johnson act. Yet, I have a feeling that if the ice is broken, and passionate appeals ap-peals are made for help for the others oth-ers on the side of freedom if those thincrs rnme about. I am very doubt- Nor has anyone of common sense paid any attention ever to the Stalin's Sta-lin's preposterous lies of the reasons rea-sons for the Russian attack. But those things are behind us. There is confronting us, now, today, a momentous question. Our national na-tional decision must be of momentous momen-tous importance. This is so because, be-cause, as I stated above, we are at the forks of the road of national policy. Moreover, we cannot be blind to the fact that the question of aid to Finland comprehends a decision wherein domestic matters are just as vital as those involved in the international in-ternational relationship concerned. I think we can forget about the amount of money involved. After all, the $60,000,000 that would be loaned is a mere drop in the bucket when measured by the gigantic totals to-tals with which the Roosevelt administration ad-ministration has made the nation familiar. So, the intrinsic worth of the aid can be passed over. ful that supporters of the Johnson act will be able to hold the line against the onrushing waters of propaganda which our own government govern-ment would quickly employ. President Roosevelt, I believe, was a bit tricky in the way he presented pre-sented the proposal for a Finnish loan to congress. At first, we writers writ-ers were informed from mysterious sources that there was a drive under un-der way at the Capitol that was to lead to a loan for Finland. There were quick denials of that from congressional con-gressional quarters. President Avoids an Open Frank Recommendation Eventually, the situation was clarified. clar-ified. Mr. Roosevelt sent identical letters to the speaker of the house and the president of the senate. He called attention to American sym- American Involvement in War Is Crux of Question Succinctly stated, the question which lies in the background; the footpad that awaits an opportunity to slug unsuspecting innocents; the man-killer that must be watched for is American involvement in the . current world war! That is the heart, the crux, of the question, although al-though I believe it is not as apparent appar-ent as it is real. It must not be overlooked. I am unwilling at this moment to assert, as a personal conclusion, that granting of a $60,000,000 loan will lead definitely to the brink of American participation in that European Eu-ropean catastrophe. But I am more unwilling to declare a conviction that we can remain out of the bloody maelstrom if such a loan is made. It is a situation so fraught with dangers to our future, as a nation, that almost anything can happen. It may be said that a gift of moneythat mon-eythat is what it will result in for the chances of repayment seem to De nii will do no more than cause a fresh wave of hatred for us on the part of the Russians and Germans. Let us picture it this way and suppose sup-pose the decision of congress is to pathy for the plight of the Finns. He indicated that the bulk of the people hoped that, if anything should happen to Stalin, ft would be something some-thing of consequence. But he avoided avoid-ed an open, frank recommendation. The President made a case in his argument for the loan, yet he did not follow the usual course of making mak-ing a recommendation. It was unusual un-usual restraint on the President's part, something quite different than he always had done theretofore. What Mr. Roosevelt did on the proposal for a Finnish loan, therefore, there-fore, was to say to congress, in effect: ef-fect: "I am for such a loan but the responsibility is yours and if it has a bad flareback or if it gets ns into trouble, you will have to take the blame." The President's course respecting his letters on the Finnish loan had the unexpected reaction of recalling his position concerning repeal of the arms embargo. Most persons will remember how vigorously the President Pres-ident insisted on repeal of the arms embargo because, as he wrote congress, con-gress, "such a statute is unneutral." It will be recalled, moreover, Mr. Roosevelt and his spokesmen in congress con-gress said with a great show of patriotism pa-triotism that this nation must do nothing at all that will involve us in a war that is distinctly Europe's trouble. Distinction Between Selling Goods and Lending Money It seems to me there is a distinction distinc-tion to be drawn between permitting the warring nations, or any of them, to come here and buy supplies and pay cash on the barrel-head for them, and the course that is not suggested. They buy them, pay for them, cart them away in their own ships that are manned by sailors of their own nationality. To make a loan of United States government money to one of the warring pow- loan the money: Russia and Germany Ger-many start a vigorous press and propaganda attack upon the United States. We will be called every sort of vermin that has a name, if the propaganda follows the usual Russian or German pattern. Ignorant Ignor-ant citizens of the two countries will be driven to angry passion, willing to do anything to punish America. The chain of events moves to the open sea. An American ship, not bound for warring countries, guiltless guilt-less insofar as war rules are concerned, con-cerned, is sighted by a Russian or German raider. Our ship goes down. American blood has been spilled. And, the next step? Other Nations Then Might Come Begging Help From Us Now, let us examine another possibility. pos-sibility. It is this: if we extend financial finan-cial assistance to the Finns, does it seem likely any of the other nations na-tions Norway or Sweden, if they get into the Baltic trouble, or England Eng-land or France will overlook the opportunity to beg help from us? ers, however, is a national and not a private, act. It is official. It represents rep-resents a determination of policy by the constitutional methods that are prescribed. These same methods are used in the declaration of war. There are numerous other phases of less importance. None of them strikes me, however, as affepting the inescapable conclusion of the dangers inherent in the proposition. t :j nt uA I T As I said at the beginning, I am not willing to assert that extension of the loan will bring about entrance en-trance into the war and that no other result is possible. I certainly am not going to say that refusal of the loan will keep us out. There are so many possibilities, so many things that can happen, that I believe we will be better off if we do not make that lqan. My position is selfish, admittedly. I have consistently argued ar-gued that it is a foreign war not ours. Surely, we cannot help ourselves our-selves by allowing our sympathies to control our judgment. |
