The Charlotte News

Thursday, January 9, 1941

TWO EDITORIALS

 

Site Ed. Note: In "His Restraint", we find Cash now, unlike his cautionary statements of January 4 in "A Denial", giving due warning that a direct assault on the United States would cause a defense building program like never before--as it turned out, a quite accurate prediction. Of course, Hitler had his uneasy Japanese allies do the deed for him. The result, in the end, however, was the same.

More Miracles

Our All-Out Effort Is To Include Peace-Time Comforts

It's a far different prospect from Winston Churchill's "blood, toil, tears and sweat" that Franklin Roosevelt, holds out to his people in this crisis. Not alone guns but guns and butter, rich creamery butter, are to be ours simply by the passing of a few money miracles. Listen:

"It is not enough to defend our national existence. Democracy as a way of life is equally at stake. The ability of the democracies to employ their full resources of manpower and skill and plant has been challenged. We meet this challenge by maximum utilization of plant and manpower and by maintaining governmental services, social security, and aid to those suffering through no fault of their own. Only by maintaining all of these activities can we claim the effective use of resources which our democratic system is expected to yield, and thus justify the expenditures required for its defense."

For defense the President can have from Congress, with the full and free consent of the people, all that it takes to the extreme limit of our national resources and beyond. But the strain might become in time too great if the country is required not only to gird itself for war but simultaneously to maintain and replenish the New Deal wardrobe.

For what the President proposes is that democracy shall train for the fight of its life--on cake. That the money miracles of defense would not be worth passing unless it was accompanied by the passing of the miracle assuring plenty for non-defense. Only a negligible $600,000,000 is to be lopped from the ordinary expenditures of the previous budget.

He is a great President in many respects. He has at heart the welfare of the people and the preservation of their liberties and their national freedom. But he is certainly a profligate when it comes to appropriations. He cannot deny himself or anyone the golden moon.

 

His Restraint

It May Choke Adolf but He'll Not Fight Us--Yet

Mr. Hitler hadn't planned it that way. Indeed, he had told Rauschning that the United States was so dull-witted and so decadent that it may not be considered at all. Confusing it with propaganda would be easy, and there would be no more Woodrow Wilsons.

The propaganda was still on tap. The stooge newspaper threatened darkly and at the same time posed as stupefied little innocents. That man Roosevelt was saying things poor good Germany never dreamed of, had no historical sense, didn't realize that America got its civilization from Germany, and was dangerously and needlessly offering "provocation to Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia."

An unbelievably arrogant fellow. But gentle peace-loving Germany would trust the good sense of the American people, would refuse to be provoked.

Arrogant. A strange word indeed. But the stooge newspapers, like Ambassador Bullitt, were probably right about one thing--Adolf was not going to allow himself to be provoked, and though it choked him to contain his rage. Not yet. Some fool Nazi submarine or raider commander might precipitate it by a rash act, but aside from that the danger of immediate and overt war with Hitler was almost nil.

For war would bring a great part of the American navy pounding through the Atlantic to hunt down German submarines and raiders, to protect England, to hurl Italy out of the war. And would produce such productive effort as has not yet been thought of--would almost certainly seal the total destruction of Germany.

And Adolf had not planned it that way. He must destroy England first and lay his hands on the British navy. After that he could deal with the "arrogance" of the `United States.

 


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