Secretary Hull responds to the Munich Agreement

The Munich Agreement has been hailed in Great Britain as "Peace for out Time" and has been respected by the French and Italians. There is no doubt the Germans are over the moon about it and that Czechoslovakia despises it. As for the United States, the reaction has been one of cautious optimism and concern for a near future of warfare. Secretary Hull released this statement:

"As to immediate peace results, it is unnecessary to say that the afford a universal sense of relief. I am not undertaking to pass upon the merits of the differences to which the Four-Power Pact signed Munich on yesterday related. It is hoped that in any event the forces which stand for the principles governing peaceful and orderly international relations and their proper application should not relax, but redouble, their efforts to maintain these principles of order under law resting on a sound economic foundation."

Secretary Hull meets with German Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Dieckhoff

Today, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull talked with the German Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Dieckhoff about the European situation. He told the Ambassador that this Government had been earnestly hoping that the German Government would reach a stage where it would decide to support the program of peace and orderly progress which the United States had been striving to keep alive and to advance.

The Secretary said that there was only one alternative course: the course of force, militarism, and territorial aggression with all the accompanying hurtful and destructive practices.

Secretary Hull speaks of Foreign Policy

The Secretary of State in an address at Washington, March 17, 1938, declared that the momentous question was whether the doctrine of force would once more become enthroned or whether the United States and other peaceful nations would work unceasingly to preserve law, order, morality, and justice as the bases of civilized international relations.

The Secretary said that the United States might, if it chose, turn its back on the whole problem and decline the responsibility of contributing to its solution. But he warned of what such a choice would involve. It would mean a voluntary abandonment of some of the most important things that had made us great; an abject retreat before the forces which we had consistently opposed throughout our whole national history. Our security would be menaced as other nations came to believe that through fear or unwillingness we did not propose to protect our legitimate interests abroad, but intended to abandon them at the first sign of danger. The sphere of all of our international relations would shrink until we stood practically alone among the nations, "a self-constituted hermit state". We would find it necessary to reorganize our entire social and economic structure, which would mean lower living standards, regimentation, and wide-spread economic distress.

All this, the Secretary said, would be done in order to avoid war. But, he asked, would this policy give any such assurance? He believed that reason and experience definitely pointed to the contrary. We might seek to withdraw from participation in world affairs, "but we cannot thereby withdraw from the world itself". Isolation, he declared, "is not a means to security; it is a fruitful source of insecurity".

Secretary Hull emphasized that for the sake of our own best interests we must maintain our influence in world affairs and our participation in efforts toward world progress and peace. Only by making our reasonable contribution to a firm establishment of a world order based on law "can we keep the problem of our own security in true perspective, and thus discharge our responsibility to ourselves".

A Good Offence is a Good Defence

Congress continues to debate the President's requests for more military funding to rearm the forces and get America's Army and Navy up to scratch. Secretary of State Cordell Hull took it upon himself to address Congress in a letter yesterday.

He stated categorically his opinion that the proposed naval program was needed for the defense of the United States. Referring to the desire of the people and Government of the United States to keep out of war, he said that those who, with a full sense of responsibility, were advocating this program, were doing so in the belief that its adoption would contribute to achieving this desire. Secretary Hull pointed out that the Navy, even with the proposed increases, would not be able to embark upon offensive or aggressive operations overseas.

The Secretary also declared that the proposed program did not contemplate naval cooperation with any other power in the world that the policy of the United States was to avoid both extreme internationalism and extreme isolation; that, while avoiding alliances and entangling commitments, it was advisable to confer and exchange information with other governments having common objectives and, when practicable, to proceed on parallel lines. Finally, the Secretary said that if every peaceful nation insisted on remaining aloof from every other peaceful nation and on pursuing a policy of armament limitation without reference to relative armaments, the inevitable consequences would be to encourage and even to assist nations inclined to play lawless roles.

Hull says US can't intervene in Romania

U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull declared today that America cannot intervene in Romania's internal affairs.

In the last week of the year, the National Christian Party established a government at King Carol's request. Octavian Goga formed a government that many fear will be vehemently anti-semitic and much like Germany's Nazi Regíme.

Neutrality Act Extension to go back to Congress

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously recommended to the Senate today the extension, with only minor modifications, of the existing Neutrality Act until May 1, 1937. The move was made with the intent of shelving further neutrality discussion at this session of Congress.

Representative Kloeb of Ohio introduced a parallel measure in the House, and said he would ask the Foreign Affairs Committee to report it favorably as soon as possible. It is apparent the administration is working to push the extension through congress before the February 29th expiration.

Secretary Hull also noted that the administration would not oppose the dropping of its own neutrality proposal.

Senator Clark opposes the plan of putting consideration of a permanent neutrality policy over to the next session of Congress. He plans to amend the Pittman continuing resolution so that the present temporary plan would extended for only a matter of 60 days.

He noted that just because its an election year and members are involved in their respective campaigns, for action to be deferred.

Senator Johnson also has commented that many people are mistaken about the virtue of the neutrality act. He believes that the act would likely involved the nation in another war rather than keep us out.