THE ARSENAL OF THE DEMOCRACIES
YEARS ago, when the policy of appeasement was in the ascendant in this country, Mr. Churchill saw the reality of the danger that was approaching Great Britain. In like manner President Roosevelt today, when there is still talk of appeasement in certain American circles, sees the reality of the danger that is approaching the Western hemisphere. In his ".Fireside Talk " broadcast last week- end he called upon his country to leave nothing undone to keep war away from America by giving unstinted aid in the form of munitions and ships to Great Britain. His eloquent appeal to his countrymen to turn America into " the arsenal of the democracies " rested upon a clear- sighted recognition of the nature of the conflict that is con- vulsing Europe. This, as he discerns, and as Hitler himself has acknowledged, is no local struggle. He recalls that it is the Nazi dictator who declared, " There are two worlds standing opposed to each other," and added, " I can beat any other Power in the wide world." Mr. Roosevelt calls upon the American people to note Hitler's proclama- tion that there will be " no ultimate peace between their philosophy of government and ours."
The recognition of this fundamental cleavage between the Nazi and the democratic systems, and the consequent certainty that the war will be extended if Britain is defeated is the determining factor in Mr. Roosevelt's policy. Now, as ever since the end of the last war, the United States is intent upon keeping out of actual participation in hostilities —a fact which is understood and appreciated in Great Britain—and with this point of view the President firmly associates himself. But with equal firmness he insists that Great Britain is fighting her battles not only for her own independence, but for the security of America. If Britain falls the Nazis will organise Europe for the continuation of the struggle, which would then have to be fought out between the Old World and the New. Mr. Roosevelt re- pudiates the idea that the Atlantic would be sufficient, if Britain fell, to deter Hitler from aggression against America. Would he not say to any South American country in which he could secure a footing that he was occupying it to save it from aggression by the United States, just as he occupied Belgium to save it from Great Britain? Of the two worlds of opposing systems which are pitted against each other Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperialist Japan are the protagonists on the one side, Britain and the United States on the other, the fortunes of the latter being no less involved though Britain alone is a belligerent.
The facts that President Roosevelt has to take into con- sideration are that almost the whole of the United States desires to avert actual participation in war ; that an over- whelming majority regard the Nazis as a potential danger to America; and that a considerable majority believe that the best means of keeping war at bay is to give the utmost aid to Britain. But there are important minorities who do not accept the third proposition. Of these one group is of opinion that appeasement might still prevail; that America might use her influence to secure a negoti- ated peace. To whom Mr. Roosevelt replies that a negotiated peace means a dictated peace—a peace which would be used by the dictators to prepare for another and yet greater war, which would be waged with America. To another minority group, who believe that Britain will be defeated, and that the help which the United States gives will be wasted, he replies that Britain will not be defeated. " The Axis is not going to win this war," he declares with a conviction that is based on " the latest and best informa- tion." Moreover, he intends to do all that his adminis- tration, backed by the vast resources of American industry, is capable of doing to make sure of a British victory. He insists that his nation's whole industrial power must be devoted to the paramount end of producing armaments. Luxury production must be sacrificed; " business as usual " must be discarded; everything must take second place to the national necessity of arming Britain to defeat Germany It is a speech reassuring indeed to the Government and people of Britain, to the Greeks and the Chinese, and to all nations oppressed or fearing oppression who see in the fight that Britain is putting up the sole hope of the restora- tion of sanity in the world. In this country even in the darkest moments of the last year there has never been any important section of the people who accepted a defeatist view. On the other hand, there were none who did not realise the magnitude of the task we had to undertake when France fell out of the war, the tremendous odds we had to face. The British Empire, less than half equipped for war, had to stand up single-handed against a fully-armed Germany aided by Italy, in alliance with Japan, and capable of drawing upon the resources of all the occupied countries. It is not surprising that there were those in America and elsewhere who doubted our capacity to maintain so ap- parently unequal a contest. Yet even when we were at our weakest, after the withdralVal from Flanders, our Air Force won the battles of the air which frustrated German hopes of a summer or autumn invasion. Since then this country has demonstrated its capacity to organise striking forces overseas which have resulted in brilliant victories over the Italian army in Libya and destructive blows at the Italian fleet. Its actions have been such as to make it obvious that ours was a horse worth backing. Even Germany is at length forced to realise and acknowledge that this is likely to be a prolonged war.
The issue of a prolonged war, in which the morale of both sides is high, depends upon superior power of main- taining the sinews of war. Which side -can continue to suffer destructive blows dealt at its industries, railways, ports, shipping and other communications, and at the same time continue to pile up equipment so as to secure the overwhelming superiority which will spell ultimate victory? There is little doubt but that in recent months the R.A.F. has done far more damage to German industry than the German Air Force has done to British. But Germany had an enormous initial start, and his the factories of the occupied countries to draw upon as well as her own. There is no denying that our shipping losses, even if they can be reduced by improved defences at sea, will impose a serious strain upon our capacity for renewal. But all of these anxieties assume entirely different proportions if we know —and President Roosevelt assures us that it is so—that behind our own industrial effort are the entire industrial resources of the United States. At the present time we are still relying mainly on our own production and that of the Empire. But within a few months munitions and equipment of all sorts will be pouring in in rapidly increas- ing volume from the unlimited American " arsenal," and our present inferiority—even now far from being what it was in the perilous summer months—will give place to a superiority, and ultimately to an overwhelming superiority, with which German productive power will be gradually crushed and our own military supremacy made certain.
The task for this country is to hold out during the interval that remains before we have brought our own war production to a maximum, and before it is massively sup- ported by that of the United States. We need no longer fear that we shall be paralysed by incapacity to pay. There again President Roosevelt has promised that America, either by " lease and loan " arrangements or other means, will help us to bear the burden of a war fought in her interests as in ours. Our most urgent need, along with that of more aeroplanes, is for more ships—merchant-ships to replace losses and war-ships to convoy the vessels on which our supplies depend. In regard to both of these needs America can help. She is with us. She regards our war as her war, our defences against Germany as her defences. It is for us still to go on bearing the Blitz- krieg on our cities, to send out our ships and trawlers to the dangers of the sea, to arm soldiers, sailors and air- men for battle, and to bear the losses in human life. That is the part that the British Empire is called upon to play on behalf of all the democracies of the world. But we shall do so with renewed hope and unshakeable confidence, know- ing that the American President, with the approval of his countrymen, has pledged his country to labour on our behalf and send every ton of munitions that it can possibly spare.
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