FACING THE FACTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 May 1941, Page 5

FACING THE FACTS

MR HULL ON WAR ISSUES

TIDE OF FORCE MUST BE TURNED BACK.

NEED OF OPEN TRADE WHEN PEACE RETURNS.

i By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrighti WASHINGTON. May 18.

The Secretary of State. Mr Hull, in a broadcast address inaugurating World Trade Week, said: "There is little use talking and planning foreign trade unless the outcome of the war is favourable to the free peoples. At present our foreign trade consists increasingly of making the tools of defence and placing them in the hands of the nations i.v.i. are resisting unlawful attack; and this trade is futile if the goods don't reach those for whom thej are intended. When we set ourselves a task we finish it. and we will not permit our purpose to be frustrated. Only thus can we look forward to brighter day. "During tiie past year we have seen ruthless aggression against the enslavement of nations that were too weak to resist and we’re crushed by unbounded military fright fulness,. In the conquered territory organised brutality and coercion have been carried on to the utmost. The safety of our nation —of every free nation —is in mortal danger. It is a mistaken assumption that two oceans, plus our desire for peace, will protect us. The dictators' paramount purpose is to secure control of the high seas, which is essential to their programme of world domination. Every consideration of our own defence and safety requires that wc see that Britain receives adequate supplies for a successful resistance.

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION. "We must not be weakened by internal division: we must devote our whole energy to our essential tasks and avoid delays caused by business complacency or by strikes, which would gravely endanger the national’ safety. The greatest national effort must be made, or we will find ourselves surrounded by the aggressors and compelled to fight virtually alone against great odds for our national existence.” Mr Hull outlined the principles on which the policies of the world must be oased after the war. such as avoidance of extreme nationalism; no discrimination in raw materials, which, should be made available to all nations; international agreements to protect the interests of the consuming countries; and an international finance structure that would facilitate essential enterprise and the continuous development of all countries permitting payment consonant with the universal welfare. ,

"Unless we have a system of open trade it will be impossible in the future to buy or sell except on military terms." Mr Hull said. "Unless the system of open trade becomes firm-' ly established there will be chronic political instability and recurrent economic collapse. In the final reckoning, the problem is the establishing of the foundations of an international order in which the independent nations will co-operate freely. Such a world order would not be new. but it would be renewed, and it would liberate rather than enslave. "We cannot do this till we arc free from the scourge of a military menace and malign political intrigue of the basest character, and only then will' the foreign trade revert from cargoes of weapons and explosives to commodities that nourish, heal and enrich. "This nation is resolved to evade no issues and to I'acc the harsh facts. We believe we can create a safer and more prosperous world. We have the toms and resources, the brains and the hands, but first the tide of force must be turned back."