America’s Voice In The Pacific

DURING the month, the President of the United States warned the Fascist nations that the world’s greatest republic cannot be indifferent to any policy of aggression directed against the world’s democracies. The head of the Republican Party, ex- President Hoover, stated bluntly that, if London and Paris were bombed, the United States would have to move in their defence.

This gave check to the dictators, and to the Japanese. The latter, con fident that they had the steady back ing of Germany and Italy, were almost jaunty in their defiance of Britain and France, in Asia and the North-west Pacific, and the situation was drifting towards war. But the sudden, un expected, definite stand taken by the American leaders has caused an al most startling halt in the movement of international affairs; and the prospects of European peace are better, at the moment, than for a long time. Some permanent good may come out of it.

But, so far as the Pacific is con cerned, two things must be remem bered. It is impossible, in the nature of things, that there can be a peace ful settlement in the North-west Pacific. There will be peace only so long as the European nations remain strong enough to hold Japan within her present Empire. The other point

—and this is very important—is that those Presidential utterances in favour of democratic nations, and the re commendation of a Committee that Guam be fortified, cannot become an expression of United States foreign policy until accepted and ratified by the Senate of the United States. That may mean long weeks of argument, intrigue and underground engineering.

If Guam, away over among the Japanese mandated islands (see map in this issue) is to be fortified, it means that American foreign policy, in relation to Asia and the North-west Pacific, is going into reverse. The Tydings-McDuffie Act, passed in March, 1934, provided for the with drawal of the United States from the Philippines, by stages, to be complete by 1946, when the Philippines would have complete independence. Ameri can public opinion overwhelmingly agreed with the opinion that American interests should not extend westward of the Central Pacific line represented by the Aleutian-Hawaiian-Samoan islands—a line necessary to protect the Panama Canal. Although it has become clear, in the past two years, that if the Americans walk out of the Philippines, the Japanese will walk in, a decision by the United States to retain control of the Territory has not been expected, simply because U.S.A. has no vital interests to defend in the

Philippines or Asia. Facts of a por tentious character, not hitherto re vealed, will have to be placed before the American people before the policy represented by the Tydings-McDuffie Act will be abandoned.

The United States President, with his finger on the pulse of foreign af fairs, knows a great deal that he can not reveal to the ignorant masses, which sway blindly, from day to day, in accordance with the screeching of an ill-informed, propagandist press.

The President" knows that if he sup ports the democracies and preserves their institutions, he is keeping the world open and free for all Americans; whereas if the Anglo-French Empires are destroyed, and the world is brought into subjection to the Totali tarian States, the Americans will have to fight hard for their liberty, under conditions presaging their defeat. But American masses never will believe that—until it is too late.

So the relief gained from American intervention probably may be brief.

The Senate almost'certainly will tell the President to st?” at home and mind his own business, and, if the dictators are not sincere in their present plea for peace, the pres sure of the dictators upon the demo cracies will be resumed. Every respite is valuable, however. Britain is grow ing stronger, every week* and the time now cannot be far distant when the Franco-British alliance will be so strong as to put an uncertain wobble into the Berlin-Rome-Tokio axis.