THE ROAD TO ENDURING PEACE

...But throughout the world, among friendly and enemy nations alike, it is the United States of America which is regarded as the leader, the pace-setter, the arbiter, and above all, the friend of the down-trodden and the enslaved...

...There is some significance in the fact that during recent months there has been a singular absence of the kind of starry-eyed statements we used to hear about "one-world," "one-world-government," and "international police force to police the world and keep the peace...

...We have done fairly well in the former, miserably in the latter...

...Sumner Welles has said, that the future of Europe is something which affects the future of every country...

...Well then, has not this bidding for Germany's favor already begun...

...What has the United States said or done to prove to the enemy peoples that they have listened to lies for 10 years, that this republic never has and never will engage in a war of subjugation, that we fight neither for land nor for enslavement of any peoples...

...It must be evident, even to the blindest, that there is no interlocking coordination between our war aims and our peace aims—and that lack of coordination may cost this nation and our Allies precious lives that need not be lost...

...None of us should be unmindful that the leaders of the Allied governments face tremendous difficulties in reaching mutually acceptable compromises...

...Later I learned that many statesmen had long advocated it, notably Briand of France...

...Two Major Weaknesses Have we changed our role here in America from protector of the weak to destroyer of minorities, from a Republic which for 150 years has been a lodestone for oppressed and enslaved peoples all over the world to a coldly designing imperialistic state which makes deals with decadent political satraps, from a nation of freemen with high moral principles to an aggregation of bootlickers...

...We betray our sacred honor and the lives of thousands of our countrymen if we admit for one moment that the alpha and omega of our foreign policy is to whip the aggressor...

...The future organization of Europe could well be patterned after that of Switzerland...

...And in our own case, an alliance with Britain and Russia is bound inevitably to involve us more and more deeply in European and Asiatic power politics...

...But if it is true that the European peoples are unwilling to get together into a free economic federation, if they are so blind as not to have learned the lesson of history, if they have profited nothing from two major blood baths in 20 years, if they desire to continue to fertilize the soil of the continent with fresh generations of their young men,—if these things are true, I see no earthly reason why this democratic republic should continue to waste its treasure and expend the lives of its citizens every 20 years in bringing order and peace to peoples who desire neither...

...President Roosevelt himself, early in June, sounded the death knell of such ideas when he said, "We are not thinking of a super-state with its own police force and other paraphernalia of coercive power...

...Isn't it sound military strategy to ease the road for them, to lower the casualties, to speed the march into Berlin...

...the facts belie it...

...and 2. We are frittering away the authority and prestige we had a few months ago to lay the foundations for establishing a peace which is in accord with the fundamentals of this democratic republic...

...Why, there will be a vacuum—the most tremendous vacuum in government in all recorded history...

...And how has he endeared himself further to these people in the last 11 years...

...Surely, the military subjugation of the enemy must be only a means to an end if this nation's principles and objectives are not to become suspect all over the world...

...they...

...What do they fight for...

...One reason for this failure is, of course, that it is no easy thing to bring quickly into being agreements between allies on such major matters as the future fate of a conquered enemy...

...As old as war itself are the means taken of bringing pressure on potential allies, of cutting off neutral sources of supply of war materials, of reducing the enemy's will to resist by every means...

...Such a policy means that our Government believes that war is inevitable—a necessary part of the life of mankind...

...The longer we wait to espouse openly the idea of such a democratic federation or united states, the more difficult and dangerous will the situation become...

...For it must be plain that both Britain and Russia will woo the new Germany in an effort to keep her out of the other's sphere of influence...

...That is a result that we must at all costs avoid...

...Are we to continue to fight interminably, exhausting our financial and economic and natural resources, and even more important, the flower of our young manhood until we have become a nation of women, old men, and cripples, bankrupt in men and materials...

...In such a state, Germans would make up scarcely 20 per cent of the total voting population...

...It is an answer that is buttressed by experience both in the United States and Europe...

...And there is the even more ominous argument that such involvement would lead to dismemberment of the Empire, simply because Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are unwilling to bind themselves to the European continent...

...What do we expect in Europe—what kind of governments can reasonably be established with a chance for successful survival ? It is not so much a question of what we desire—we may desire much, but we must face practical realities of what is possible, what will work in that conflicting religious, social, political, and economic cauldron that is Europe...

...In Britain, like in the United States, there are men who oppose the impairment of British sovereignty by membership in a European union...

...within it the vast majority of non-German Europeans would be an effective democratic check against Prussian or Junker control of national policies...

...belong within the realm of military might and strategy...

...The answer is two words—unconditional surrender...

...By a ruinous war which has decimated the population, laid waste to the principal cities, brought enslavement and starvation to a majority of the people...

...Consider first, our own United States as a pattern...

...Beyond that, ominous silence...

...it is even more clear why Finland, or Greece, or Yugoslavia fight...

...On the contrary, if history is any judge, alliances tend rather to breed wars...

...Consider this seeming miracle of Switzerland—a nation originally made up of 25 little states with different nationalities, languages, traditions, customs, and religions but united into a pacific and democratic union in the very heart of this boiling and exploding Europe...

...Russia, I believe, can be "sold" now on the idea of an economic European federation if it can be demonstrated that neither Britain nor the United States will dominate such a federation, and that it can be so constituted that a resurgent Germany will not be able to use it to build up a military power strong enough to threaten Russia...

...The last free elections in Germany proved that nearly half of the total population opposed him and his policies...

...Are there to be "good" fascist states in postwar Europe, recognized and approved by us...

...Are we spilling blood of American boys in Europe to crush national socialism or monarchism or limited democracy and pave the way for the establishment of communism...

...For what does the United States fight...

...Most important of all, the American people may want to know now, before election day, whether this world organization will be established and this nation and its people committed to it BEFORE we know what are the broad general terms of the peace...

...it is fear of enslavement by other nations, of forced labor in foreign countries, of wholesale executions of the population, of partition of their country, of vassalage and extinction...

...And throughout history, she has used the balance of power and disunity in Europe to save her...

...We have here the peoples of all Europe...

...And the foreign policy of a nation is dictated and motivated by the national aims of that state...

...Moreover, neither the army, the armament industry, the foreign policy, the currency, nor the national economy would be Germany's, nor that of any other single European state...

...A Federated Continent I suggested that we have experience in Europe as well as in the United States to guide us...

...It is well to explore this idea of an economic federation of Europe, this united states of Europe...

...Isn't it clear that regardless of Germany's military defeat, she will have won the war politically...

...if the leaders of the major powers propose it and foster it, a united states of Europe becomes almost certain...

...If we are, how explain our Allied attitude toward the supporters of fascism in Spain and Italy...

...Is it so difficult to realize what a return to this balance of power means...

...And the people's opposition to international control of our own destiny has finally percolated up to our leaders, our Government...

...himself—what we propose to do...

...Germany, or any other European state, would cease to be a threat to the peace and security of the continent and of the world...

...we have sought to propagandize the enemy into submission...

...means of speeding the successful military conclusion of the war...

...When a nation finds itself at war, its first objective is to win the war quickly, with the least loss of life and treasure possible...

...But are they our peace aims...

...In effect, Germany will hold the balance of power...

...I do not agree...

...Are we sacrificing our lives and our treasures to eradicate Emperor-worship in Japan, or to enslave a particular group of Asiatic peoples, or to establish an economic hegemony in the Pacific...

...From a purely Russian standpoint, its policy of a weak and disunited Europe with many of its states leaning heavily on the Soviet regime for economic and military support is readily justified...

...it is important to understand why it is necessary and why it is more likely to work than any other plan yet considered...

...whether it would divide the world into spheres of influences patrolled by Britain, Russia, and the United States...

...President Roosevelt's own tentative plan, announced to an anxious world on June 15, is still clothed in such ambiguous language that it is difficult to understand or analyze...

...whether the smaller nations of the world would have any authority over their own fates...

...Under such a situation, war will never end...

...These people can get along with each other as well on European soil as they do on American soil...

...Details aside, every objective is subordinated to the immediate task of bringing the enemy to terms...

...The underlying cause of wars largely lies with economic maladjustments and disadvantages...

...The answer to the question of peace in Europe is, in my opinion, a federation of European states, a sort of United States of Europe...

...It is this segment of British public opinion which, if followed, must inevitably lead to a clash between Britain and Russia over the extent of the balance of power to be exercised by these two great states...

...If President Roosevelt's plan finally evolves into what it now appears to be, namely a hybrid resulting from a cross-fertilization between the military-alli-ance-of-major-powers theory and the consultative-as-sembly-of-a-league-of-nations plan, it may have the fatal weakness of both parent policies...

...These questions are not asked in a spirit of criticism or censure...

...And the first immediate effect of any such program will be a definite weakening of the enemy's will to resist, despite all of the propaganda which Hitler and Goebbels have poured out to the German people...

...This much is clear about it—its base is the same as that of the old League of Nations...

...The idea of the British parliament being under the direction of a majority of continental nations is repugnant to them...

...Now, what about the second objective—the building of a reasonably enduring peace in Europe...

...What would have been our history if each of our 48 states maintained exclusive sovereignty with the tariff barriers and the business, social, and political restrictions that flower from sovereignty...

...It abjures a super-state and an international police force, but it proposes an international organization of "peace-loving" nations, "a fully representative body with broad responsibilities for promoting and facilitating international cooperation, through such agencies as may be found necessary to consider and deal with the problems of world relations...

...Undoubtedly...

...are they the objectives of our foreign policy...

...The geographical area is far smaller...

...No, the German people fight simply because they fear not to fight—and that fear is not fear of Hitler and his Gestapo so much as it is the false fear that has been pounded into their minds by their own government day after day for a decade...

...While we "wait and see" Russia has not remained idle...

...Roosevelt's Plan It must be abundantly clear, as Mr...

...To destroy the enemy's will to resist...

...It is relatively clear, then, why Germany fights, or why England fights, or why Russia fights...

...it was not only the good people who came here and only the bad remained...

...And it also follows that to bring stability continental Europe must be represented in the decisions which affect ttuj future of Europe...

...the life and treasure we have expended so fulsomely to end dictatorship may well result in the creation of a series of dictators all over Europe, if for no other reason than to bring a semblance of what will be called stability...

...That means that this is a case simply of kill or be killed, a war of survival...

...There are honest and conscientious people here and abroad who believe that such a world order is possible only through the establishment of a single world government...

...Our people do not want to be ruled, directly or indirectly, by any person, or any Council, or any world government not under their direct control...

...That it lacks defmite-ness and clarity may be due to two easily understandable factors—final agreements have not been reached between the Allied powers...

...We have a duty therefore, I believe, to speak—in concert with our Allies if possible, alone if necessary—but to speak forcefully and unequivocally on what our policies are and will be for victor and vanquished alike...

...If we are, then how explain the proposals of some of our international "do-gooders" that we must help Japan to reestablish herself, or of others who insist that the Emperor is not to be criticized...

...already responsible men who will influence the postwar government in such countries as Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Finland favor it...

...The stabilizing effect upon the world that would be created by a great free trade area in Europe as a counterpart to the great free trade area of our own country cannot be over-emphasized...

...What do we demand of the enemy before we will stop killing him...

...Twenty-one years ago when I urged that we should take what action we could to help establish a European federation patterned after our own Government, I believed it was an original idea...

...What an opportunity for power-hungry men, either within those lands or from other lands, to seize control...

...Will we, in winning the victory, have lost the war...

...The Answer For Europe While fully realizing President Roosevelt's problem in making clear, simple, unequivocal statements at this particular time, I believe, nevertheless, that the American people would like to know whether the proposed council of nations would be all-powerful...

...We can do much to avert its initial coming into being by taking action now which will make clear to all the people of the world—the occupied lands, the enemy...

...And what will happen in Europe the moment hostilities cease...

...Already there are evidences that this policy of "wait and see" will bring us into troubled waters by war's end...

...Such a federalized Europe would negate the possibility of a new and resurgent Germany threatening the weaker neighboring states or even obtaining hegemony in Europe...

...These men in Britain are not unwilling, however, to sponsor a European federation which would not include Britain...

...we have customs, social problems, religions, economic and industrial situations varying from state to state and certainly from region to region...

...Moreover, it is a fundamental of sound liberal thought that the workers and farmers of each nation prosper in direct relation to the prosperity of the workers and farmers in other nations...

...It presumes an association of national governments, an assembly, a council, a world court...

...They are pursing policies which they deem best for the welfare of the Soviet Union...

...I should, perhaps, interpolate here, that I am not criticizing Russia or its leaders...

...How interpret Russia's "Free German Committee" already functioning in Moscow...

...what is to be done about Germany and Japan...

...We have done the obvious in these fields—we have sought to cut off outside sources of war supplies...

...To uproot Hitlerism...

...What Russia's policy will finally be—whether a Soviet-dominated federation, or an alliance of the border states with Russia, or complete integration within the Soviet of many of the smaller nations—will depend largely upon whether we use the influence we now have to bring about a peace that is in the interest of our people...

...Like Switzerland, there is no basic reason why the countries of continental Europe cannot be united democratically into a single federation, free of tariff barriers—a single political and economic entity...

...For Hitler and National Socialism...

...Don't we owe something more than that to those who are storming the beachheads of Europe...

...even the ethnic and religious differences are no greater than in our own country...

...there will be revolution after revolution...

...But I have contended that the American people will not yield its sovereign right as a free people in these United States...

...The free flow of gold, both raw and finished products, between the European states will do much to restore economic equilibrium between Europe and the rest of the world...

...They bring sharply into focus, it seems to me, two points: 1. We have failed to exploit every non-military...

...What kind of governments do we want in Europe and Asia...

...it is an answer that is practical and workable for Europe and holds out the best guarantee against future involvement in European affairs by this republic...

...But it is a stupid government indeed which does not at the same time exert every economic, social, and political pressure it has to aid in that subjugation of the enemy...

...Let us consider this question of war aims...

...But the history of military alliances, and particularly in modern times since the Holy Alliance, clearly negates the contention that the way to peace lies through alliances of major powers...

...By and large, the methods are military...

...These are our war aims—they are clear enough...

...A Dangerous Vacuum Isn't there food for thought in the fact that the will of the German people to resist has shown no outward crack...

...The price we paid for our freedom was too dear for that...

...the agricultural and industrial problems are more homogeneous...

...The Job Can Be Done Britain's problem is not dissimilar to that of Russia's, although in England there is already a substantial body of public opinion which favors a sort of united states of Europe...

...Unless the United States takes ah active and forthright part in pushing the idea of a democratic union of Europe, we face at the end of the war what will amount to a partition of the continent into British and Russian spheres of influence...

...How far and how long can Britain remain quiet and not make counter-bids unless a definite European policy is decided upon now ? Some people contend that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to bring the European states into agreement for a democratic, economic federation, a united states of Europe...

...Therefore, when foreign policy loses direction, war begins to lose its meaning...

...the people of this nation are soon to choose a national Government to lead them for what promises to be four of the most important years of the nation's history...

...There are, of course, others in Britain who fear the future with a united Europe and prefer a postwar Europe divided by a new balance of power...

...That is the first objective—to hasten the end of the war by every means at our command, for by every, minute that the war is shortened American lives are saved...

...Britain, like Russia, throughout her history, has been threatened by continental nations...

...How more effectively and soundly can the standards of living be raised throughout Europe than through such a policy of free flow of goods...

...Am I conjuring up spooks and goblins...

...Primarily, the people of the United States are concerned with the establishment of some kind of a world order in which it will be difficult for nations to become embroiled in warfare with one another...

...The races, the religions, the modes and manners of all Europe are in this land...

...How interpret the shrewd Russian propaganda which tells the German people that Russia does not seek the dismemberment of the German Reich...

...Most governments in Europe are puppets which will fall with Hitler, and even the others will totter in the political convulsions that will ensue...

...They require only the right conditions of economic and social cooperation and they can get that through a democratic European federation...

...To efface fascism...

...Yet, we have made a success of union largely because the social, political, and economic problems are considered and treated as a national problem., Basically the problem in Europe is not greatly different...

...There are still other honest and conscientious people here and abroad who believe that a stable world order that will keep us out of future wars is possible only through a military alliance of the larger allied nations — Britain, Russia, possibly China, and the United States...

...Since then I find myself in the company of such men as Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Clement Atlee, and Sir Archibald Sinclair, all of whom both before and since the present war have strongly urged the creation of a federated European state...