AMERICAN LEAD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 November 1938, Page 6

AMERICAN LEAD

DEFENCE OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE BROADCAST TO THE LATIN REPUBLICS. REFERENCE TO IMPENDING CONFERENCE. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received This Day. 1.55 p.m.) WASHINGTON, November 6. Mr Sumner Welles tonight warned the world that the United States had embarked on a rearmament programme to assure itself of an adequate defence against foreign aggression in the Western Hemisphere. The address, broadcast to Latin America, was the first public exposition of an American defence policy covering the entire Western Hemisphere. Mr Welles indicated that the United States does not expect world peace to continue if armaments are maintained on the present basis and called on the twenty-one. American republics to maintain continued solidarity.

The declaration is generally interpreted to cover Canada as well as Latin America.

Mr Welles added that the United States Government was making every effort to strengthen the ties between the republics and stressed the importance of the inter-American Conference at Lima on December 12, to which Mr Cordell Hull (Secretary of State) was leading the United States delegation. Many observers believe that the question of an Inver-American defence programme will be discussed there.