WORLD NEW DEAL

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 28, 28 October 1942, Page 5

WORLD NEW DEAL

Start Now Urged By Willkie FEELING IN ASIA (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Received October 27, 10.50 p.m.) NEW YORK, October 26. ‘‘My globe-girdling tour of 31,000 miles in 160 hours vividly illustrates that there are no longer distant points in the world. The myriad millions of the Far East are as close to us as Los Angeles to New York' bv the fastest trains, and therefore the thinking and planning of the future must be global,” said Mr. Wendell Willkie in a broadcast today. "There exists in the gigantic reservoir of goodwill toward the American people, created by the Americans who have founded hospitals, schools, and colleges in far corners of the world and pioneered new roads, airways, aud shipping lines. In addition, the motion pictures have enabled the peoples to see what Americans look like and hear their voices. Furthermore, the peoples everywhere admire the aspirations and accomplishments of American labour, business and industry, knowing that they did not necessarily lead to political control or imperialism. "I found a dread of imperialism everywhere, but the world is aware that we do not seek to impose our rule upon others or to exact special privileges. They know that we are not fighting for profit, loot, or territory or mandatory (power over the lives and governments of other people. “Thousand Cracks.” “But this reservoir of goodwill is leaking at a thousand cracks. The holes Were not punched by Hitler, but by us. For example, our flow of war materials to some of the nations I visited was tragically small, compelling me to. cease talking of American production. You would not believe how few bombers China has received. You would agree that we have little reason to boast if you knew how far Russia feels we are not fulfilling our commitments.

“If we continue to fail to deliver the promised materials to our allies the reservoir of goodwill will turn into resentment. Five million Russians and 5,000,000 Chinese have given their lives in this struggle. We owe them more than boasts and broken promises. The Russians and Chinese are not satisfied with the Atlantic Charter, and they ask, ‘What about a Pacific Charter, and also a World Charter? Is freedom supposed to toe priceless for the white man, but of no account in the East?’

“Discussing India, the wisest man in China said that when India’s aspirations for freedom -were put aside to some future unspecified and unguaranteed date, it was not Britain but the United States that suffered in the public esteem in the Far East. That wiseman was not quarrelling with British imperialism in India, though he did not believe in it, but he was telling me that the United States, by its silence, had already drawn heavily on the reservoir of goodwill in the East, where they were unable to ascertain from our Government’s wishy-washy attitude toward India what we were likely to feel after the war about the other hundreds of millions of Eastern peoples. Colonies and Commonwealth.

“Throughout the whole of the Far East freedom means the orderly but scheduled abolition of the colonial system,” Mr. Willkie continued. He emphasized that he did not refer to a commonwealth of free nations but a colonial system under any nation. Americans were too apt to speak of the British Empire, and they must recognize that in vast areas in the world there was no longer a British Empire but a proud commonwealth of free nations. The British colonial possessions were the only remnants of the Empire, and millions of men and women throughout the commonwealth were working selflessly and with great skill toward reducing the remnants and extending the commonwealth in place of the colonial system. The Americans must share with Britain the responsibility of making the whole world a commonwealth, of free nations. Mr. Willkie deplored the “atrophy of intelligence produced by stupid, arbitrary, or undemocratic censorship.” and said, “The record of the war to date is not such as to inspire any sublime faith in the infallibility of our military and naval experts.” He criticized the idea that non-military experts and unofficial persons should refrain from making military, economic or political suggestions on the conduct of the war.

“Let us have no more of this nonsense,” he said. “The military experts as well as the leaders must bo constantly exposed to democracy’s greatest driving-power—-the whip-lash of public opinion.” Mr. Willkie reiterated that a second fighting front must be established in Europe. He expressed the hope that a considerable force from India would attack Burma so as to relieve pressure on China and Russia. He pointed out that India was America’s problem just as the Philippines were Britain’s problem. The Americas’ half ignorant and half patronizing attitude toward many people in eastern Europe and Asia must be abandoned. An American representative of Cabinet rank should visit Russia. Global Peace.

He believed that we would wiu the war, but said we must also win the ]>eaee. Three tilings were necessary for that:

“1. We must plan for peace on a global basis. “2. The world must be free-econo-mically and politically. “3. America must play an active and constructive part in freeing the world and keeping the peace.

“The hundreds of millions in eastern Europe and Asia are no longer willing to be Eastern slaves for Western profits. Our Western world, our presumed supremacy, are now on trial. Russia. China and the Middle East are conscious of their potential strength, and they want the United States to join them in creating a new society free from the economic injustices of the West and the political malpractices of the East. “They expect us to use our enormous power to promote liberty and justice now, not after the war.”