tries to remold our western civilization, it is natural that we should be reviewing here the various aspects of democracy. I have noticed in recent years a wide-spread questioning among our people, and particularly among the younger generation, not with regard to the foundations of democracy itself-God forbid that we should ever lose the faith in government by the people and for the peoplebut with regard to some of its more superficial aspects which have been mistakenly taken for integral elements. In place of stampeding away from the fundamentals of democracy for no better reason than the obsolescence of certain of the methods of its application, our best minds are engaging in a serious effort toward preserving its substance. What I wish to emphasize today, however, is that the self-analysis which is proceeding within the camp of democracy itself, is peculiarly a call to the mind and heart of the young generation. It is an exciting adventure to be crossing, as you are, the threshold between two eras at an age when your minds are still open and your reasons and emotions still adaptable; to assist in the choice of our future course is a task which should fire your imaginations and call forth the best that is in you; and the prospect of living to see the answer to the great question of where our civilization is going, is a privilege for which your elders may well envy you. The building of our future life in America is, necessarily, in the first instance a task for domestic action. Yet, from all I have said, it is clear that our best efforts are bound to come to naught if the pacific competition between the divergent economic and political systems now wooing the allegiance of mankind should seek a solution through the arbitrament of arms, or, even if it stops short of war, should follow methods which create and preserve ill will or hamper the natural flow of trade so vital to recovery. It is not possible to cloister a nation's foreign policy away from its domestic life. That policy is an essential part of the national being. It is not merely a protector from foreign encroachment and a promoter of interests abroad: it stands as a beacon in the world for the particular type of culture it represents. To a large extent, one nation judges another by its foreign policies. Just what ultimate modifications in our own foreign policy may emerge from the gradual restatement of democracy which we are now undertaking, I would not be rash enough to predict. From the very nature of international relationships, it is clear that we are not sole masters of the forms they will take, dependent as they are on the interaction of our own desires with those of other countries. I believe, though, that from a brief outline of certain major aspects of our foreign relationships, I may be able to indicate to you certain tendencies. Let me emphasize, however, that the present administration has not broken with any of the basic policies which are the traditions of American democracy. It has merely added here and filed off there and has reinterpreted its principles and practices in harmony with the general modulation of our national thoughts. More particularly, it has had to bear in mind, and continues ceaselessly to bear in mind, that general deterioration in the international situation to which I have already referred. It is natural, in view of this last factor, that virtually every major element in our foreign policy is directly or indirectly connected with two central objectives of which I spoke at the beginning, namely, to assist in the prevention of war and to insure that, in any event, the United States shall not be involved in war short of having to defend itself against direct aggression. Before modern students, there is no need to emphasize the importance of economic and trade rivalry as the causation of war. In fact, it is sometimes claimed by critics who hold other views that this factor may have been overstressed in recent years. Be that as it may, the present administration is devoting much effort toward stemming the tide of economic nationalism with its accompanying disastrous throttling of international trade. It is endeavoring, through a series of trade negotiations, authorized by an amendment to the Tariff Act of 1930, to reverse the process of building ever-higher tariff walls and of imposing sundry trade restrictions, and by mutual concessions to stimulate anew the flow of an international exchange of goods and services beneficial to each participant. To date, trade agreements, reducing tariffs on a wide variety of articles, have been signed with five states, and negotiations are being carried on with some dozen additional countries. It is my hope that in time a network of such agreements will stimulate our trade with countries scattered over the whole globe and, through the example they set to others, induce them to conclude similar treaties among themselves, thus breaking the log jam behind which trade and production have been dammed and which is responsible for a larger proportion of world unemployment than the mere percentage of foreign to domestic trade would, at first glance, indicate. The guiding principle of this effort, and one which alone can - prevent our modern industrial and commercial civilization from deterioration, is equality in trade, in its rights and in its opportunities. In the political as opposed to the economic field, I should like to touch by way of example on just a few of our direct relations with foreign nations, for in these the spirit of the administration's foreign policy has found its most concrete embodiment-the spirit which Presi dent Roosevelt has defined as that of the "good neighbor". The term is a general one, but it has a well-defined meaning and content, as was clearly indicated at the recent Conference of American States at Montevideo, at which I had the honor to represent the United States. The American delegation went to this conference determined to consider every question raised, not only without bias or prejudice, but with an appreciation of the several points of view represented by the other 20 nations in attendance there. The result of this sympathetic approach was to add impetus to a shift in public opinion throughout Latin America that is one of the most remarkable in recent years. The people of Latin America had come to look upon the United States with a certain suspicion, at times verging on bitterness. They lived in apparent fear of further territorial expansion by the United States, or of intermeddling in their domestic affairs. The reassurance given them by the President in his inaugural message was heightened by the attitude of the American delegation at Montevideo, and particularly the acceptance by this Government of the resolution providing that "No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another." This declaration creates a precedent which, in my belief, will never be abandoned. Hand in hand with the development of our friendly relations with individual nations has gone our effort to assist, without sacrificing traditional principles against political entanglements, in the building and strengthening of a cooperative system of pacific settlement of disputes and security against aggression. In the field of armaments, we have played a leading role in the long and thus far discouraging effort to bring about a limitation and reduction of instruments of war. We have advocated the abolition of weapons peculiarly suited to destroying fortifications, with a view to increasing security by strengthening the power of defense, as compared with the power of attack. We have pressed for the conclusion of a treaty controlling the manufacture of, and trade in, arms and implements of war. We have stood for the extension of the Washington and London Naval Treaties, which expire next year, or, if this is not possible, of their basic principles and provisions. We have proposed the conclusion of a clear and simple pact of nonaggression, which cuts through a maze of technicalities and singles . out as a criterion of aggression the sending of armed forces of whatsoever nature across a nation's frontiers. We have expressed our willingness to consult with other states in case of a threat to peace, with a view to averting conflict. We have in practice associated ourselves with the League of Nations' consultative procedure both in connection with the Sino-Japanese dispute over Manchuria and the Peruvian-Colombian dispute over Leticia. I could go on reciting other evidences of our constructive efforts-but it is less the efforts themselves than their underlying purpose that I am trying to outline to you today. That these efforts have not given the results we hoped for is due in large measure to the suicidal race in armaments going on throughout the world. Each increase in armament has been met by a further increase, till today the vicious circle is virtually paralyzing all opportunity for permanent productive or creative work. Nations are rapidly bankrupting themselves in this race, and the toll it exacts in national resources is second only to the losses sustained in war. A return to the atmosphere of peace and stability, a return to international sanity, requires that this trend be reversed. The nation that will not play its part, and thus retards our world progress, should be branded. The nation that strives unceasingly, and despite discouragement, for a reduction and limitation of armaments will be found in the vanguard of the march of civilization. There are certain fundamentals that must govern the life of any community, be it of men or of nations. Among these are justice, humanity, understanding, friendship, and cooperation for the common good. These principles guided the early settlers in Jamestown, the Pilgrim Fathers in Massachusetts, and the early pioneers who crossed the mountains into our great western country. Upon these principles the democracy of the United States was built. It is these principles on which our foreign policy should and will be based. Such a policy will preclude interference in the domestic concerns of others and will cause us to reject any trammels on our independent judgments or decisions, but, at the same time, it will enable us by mutual understanding and cooperation to play an active part in attaining a higher level of civilization for all. Such is the picture I would leave with you today, as you finish your education and prepare to enter the world of action. Your generation has for solution problems more complex than have faced any preceding generation, and your responsibilities are correspondingly great. If you will meet these problems courageously, yet with understanding; with faith in democracy and the traditions of our past; with a willingness to return to the habits, industry, and hardihood of preceding generations, who never knew the meaning of ease and indolence; with a willingness to rely on yourselves and not admit dependence on any governmental agency for help except in real emergency; and, finally, with a realization that no one country can stand alone, and that each must contribute for the common good-then the future will be yours, and you cannot fail. 765.84/870a 48 The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Italy (Long) [Telegram] WASHINGTON, August 18, 1935-1 p.m. 136. You are instructed to seek an interview at the earliest possible moment with Mussolini and to hand him a copy of the following message which I am sending him at the direction of the President: "I am asked by the President to communicate to you, in all friendliness and in confidence, a personal message expressing his earnest hope that the controversy between Italy and Ethiopia will be resolved without resort to armed conflict. In this country it is felt both by the Government and by the people that failure to arrive at a peaceful settlement of the present dispute and a subsequent outbreak of hostilities would be a world calamity the consequences of which would adversely affect the interests of all nations." HULL 49 49 Stat. 1081; 22 U.S.C. 441 note "Neutrality Act" of August 31, 1935 JOINT RESOLUTION Providing for the prohibition of the export of arms, ammunition, and implements of war to belligerent countries; the prohibition of the transportation of arms, ammunition, and implements of war by vessels of the United States for the use of belligerent states; for the registration and licensing of persons engaged in the business of manufacturing, exporting, or importing arms, ammunition, or implements of war; and restricting travel by American citizens on belligerent ships during war. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That upon the outbreak or during the progress of war between, or among, two or more foreign states, the President shall proclaim such fact, and it shall thereafter be unlawful to export arms, ammunition, or implements of war from any place in the United States, or possessions |