| U.S. SHOULD GET ALL THE FACTS ON
CHURCHILL-F.D.R. MEETING
Brooklyn Eagle Editorial - August 15, 1941 The secret meeting somewhere at sea between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill is one of the most sensational and history-making developments since the outbreak of the war almost two years ago. It is natural that Mr. Churchill, leader of an empire in the midst of a vast war in which its very existence is at stake, should wish to hold such a conference with the head of the most powerful neutral nation in the world to discuss plans for the successful prosecution of the struggle and to map out peace aims for the world "after the final destruction" of the enemy. Mr. Roosevelt's position is utterly different. The United States is not at war. The President has no personal authority to commit us to such a course and it is by no means certain that he could muster support for it in Congress if that is his intention. The deep-seated feeling throughout the nation against our becoming involved in a shooting war is generally recognized and the close vote in the House on the Army training extension bill demonstrated in our opinion, not so much the reaction of its members on the specific issue involved as it did the extent of the opposition to anything suggesting a move toward war. In spite of these differences in the position of the two statesmen, it seems to us that Mr. Roosevelt was fully justified in conferring with the British Prime Minister on the question of the supply of munitions of war to Britain. For we are completely committed to this policy by the passage of the Lend-Lease bill, and the action of Congress on that issue has had the warm support of the vast majority of our people. In view of the help we are giving, it was also highly desirable to secure a statement from the British government as to what its war aims are. So that pledge that no territorial or other aggrandizement is sought is most reassuring. By the very fact of our support of the British we are tacitly committed to the destruction of Nazi tyranny and certainly we want "sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them." The majority of the eight point peace plan as embodied in the joint declaration should find wide favor here. However, many Americans resent the idea of our setting ourselves up as the Number One World Policeman to straighten out all troubles and to bring abundant life to all lands or, as yesterday's statement put it, in words similiar to those previously used by Mr. Roosevelt, to "afford assurance that all men in all the lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want." That is a large order and we might well ruin our own country in trying to bring about such an ideal. These eight points are in many ways reminiscent of of President Wilson's famous "Fourteen Points" but it is well to remember that Mr. Wilson did not enunciate them before we entered the war but on January 8, 1918, long after we had become an active belligerent. The official statement obviously does not reveal all that occurred at the Churchill-Roosevelt meeting. With the possibility of developments in the Orient, in North Africa and elswhere which might be of vital concern to us, it is but natural that the Administration should be anxious to discuss courses of action which might then become necessary. The mere presence of of America's ranking military and naval officers bears out that assumption. But it must be borne in mind that the United States is not now an ally of Great Britain in this war. It happens that our interests lie parallel to hers, that we share her distrust of Hitler and all he stands for, that we admire her heroic fight against great odds. And Congress has voted to send her needed ships, planes, guns, and other munitions.That is all. It is natural then that the question is being asked whether any new committments were made. We believe that Mr. Churchill is a close enough student of American governement to realize that President Roosvelt is in no position to make such commitments. Only Congress can declare war. And if events seem to be swinging in that direction, the leaders of the legislative branch, who must take the responsibility for such a step, and the people themselves, who must do the fighting in any war, should be speedily informed of the facts upon which the spokesmen of the two nations based their discussion.
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