WORLD LEADERSHIP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 October 1943, Page 4

WORLD LEADERSHIP

AMERICA MUST BEAR SHARE POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION STEPS TO PREVENT AGGRESSION (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 11 a.m.) NEW YORK, October 15. “America must bear its share of any military effort after the war, to prevent or repel aggression,” said Mr Willkie in a speech at St. Louis. He continued: “For nearly twelve years we have lived under the presidency of one man and the administration of one group. We are faced with the prospect of being asked to continue with that man and group in power for another four years. Irrespective of individual abilities and motives such a long continuance is hazardous to a free Government.” Criticising the Administration’s failure to heed Ambassador Grew’s warning from Tokio, Mr Willkie complained that this information was not imparted to the people, on the assumption that diplomacy must be secret. He said: “Yet all concealment and appeasement, through fear of aggravation, did not delay the menace one jot. The only result was that we as a nation remained unwarned and unprepared. If the people had been given the facts they might have been wiser than the leaders. Perhaps if today the Administration gave us the facts of our diplomatic relations with Britain, Russia, China, France and Italy, the people would come to a wiser conclusion than their leaders and will reach behind the closed doors. We were unprepared, mentally and physically, for Pearl Harbour and similarly we now are unprepared for what will come after the war. America must be willing to bear its share of any military effort to prevent and repel aggression. Military power and force alone is not the full and final answer. The real foundation of peace must be economic. Finally any plan for peace with half a chance of success must be built on a world basis. All the world turns to America for leadership and I should like to see this country exercise the utmost qualities of leadership and moral force to bring Britain, Russia, China and the United States to a point of understanding where they will make a joint declaration of their intention as a preliminary to the forming of a common council of the United Nations and friendly nations and eventually all nations.”