RAIDERS A MENACE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 September 1941, Page 5

RAIDERS A MENACE

“We cannot go about the defence of the United States by the use of longrange invective. When a person seeS| a rattlesnake poised to strike he does not wait until it has struck before he crushes it. Those submarines and surface raiders are the rattlesnakes of the Atlantic. They are a menace to the free pathways of the high seas. They are a challenge to our sovereignty. They hammer at our most precious rights when they attack ships of the American flag, symbols of our independence, our freedom, our very life. “It is clear to all Americans that the time has come when the Americas themselves must be defended. Don’t let us split hairs; let us not ask ourselves whether the Americas should begin to defend themselves after the fifth attack, or the tenth attack, or the twentieth attack. The time for active defence is now. If submarines or raiders attack in distant waters they can attack equally well within sight of our own shores. American naval vessels and American planes will no longer wait till Axis submarines or raiders strike their deadly blow first. “Upon our naval and air patrol, which is now operating in large numbers over a vast expanse of the Atlantic, falls the duty of maintaining the American policy of freedom of the seas. That means, very simply and clearly, that our patrolling vessels and planes will protect all merchant ships: not only American ships but also ships of any flag which are engaged in commerce in our defensive waters. “It is not an act of war on our part when we decide to protect the seas which are vital to American defence. The aggression is not ours. Ours is solely the defence; but let this warning be ciear. From now on if German or Italian vessels of war enter waters the protection of which is necessary for American defence they will do so at their own peril. “The orders I have given as Com-mander-in-Chief of the United States army and navy are to carry out that policy at once. I have no illusions about the gravity of this step. I have not taken it lightly. It is the result of months and months of constant thought and anxiety. In the protection of your nation and mine, it cannot be avoided. “The American people have faced other grave crises in history with American courage and American reso-

lution. They will do no less today. They know that the times call for clear heads and fearless hearts, and with that inner strength that comes to a free people conscious of their duty and of the righteousness of what they do, they will with Divine help and guidance stand their ground against this latest assault upon their democracy, their sovereignty and theii fieedom.”