THE PRESIDENCY: Temporary Extinguishment

From President Roosevelt to the State Department's scrub ladies, Washington officials last week had their labors interrupted by the rape of Czecho-Slovakia (see p. 16). The scrub ladies once more found their nocturnal activities impeded by anxious young men decoding dispatches from London, Prague, Paris, Berlin, Bucharest. The President had to decide what to say, what to do. Since he must not say in public what he really thinks of Herr Hitler, his most important statement of the week was made through the icy Bostonian lips of Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles:

"This Government . . . cannot refrain from making known this country's condemnation of the acts which have resulted in the temporary extinguishment of the liberties of a free and independent people. . . .

"It is manifest that acts of wanton lawlessness and of arbitrary force are threatening world peace and the very structure of modern civilization. . . ."

Mr. Welles's word "temporary" neatly conveyed Mr. Roosevelt's wishful conviction that Herr Hitler's ultimate downfall is sure. The statement as a whole was preliminary notice, to be more thoroughly and forcefully worded this week, that the U. S. did not and would not soon recognize Czecho-Slovakia as part of Germany. Minister Wilbur Carr was told to close his legation in Prague, come home. But other branches of Franklin Roosevelt's Government had to face facts. They took steps which not only recognized Adolf Hitler as CzechoSlovakia's new ruler but dealt him backhand blows.

President Roosevelt's Post Office Department ordered all mail to Czechoslovakia held temporarily at Manhattan and Paris, until its senders could recall letters and funds they would hate to have fall into Nazi hands.

His Treasury Department ordered all imports from Czecho-Slovakia treated at once as imports from Germany, thus depriving them of tariff concessions formerly en joyed under the CzechoSlovak trade treaty.*

His Attorney General ruled that it would be legal to apply a 25% penalty tariff on all dutiable German imports, except those proved unsubsidized by the Reich, before releasing them from customs. The Treasury announced such penalties would become effective April 22 and would be adjusted after release to equal the subsidy.

This last act was one of those "short of war, but stronger and more effective than mere words" to which Franklin Roosevelt referred in his January message to Congress when he discussed dealing with the Dictators. It is expected to put an end to Germany's export trade to the U. S., which amounted to $92,000,000 in 1937, $64,000,000 last year. Said Adolf Hitler last January. "The German people must export or die."

President Roosevelt's Senate spokesman on Neutrality, Chairman Key Pittman of the Foreign Relations Committee, brought forth a plan to amend the present law so that the President need no longer prohibit munitions sales to belligerent nations, but only forbid U. S. ships to transport any goods to belligerents and U. S. nationals to travel on belligerents' ships. A "cash & carry" plan for all exports to belligerents would obviously work against Adolf Hitler, who in case of war with England and France would lack both cash to buy and ships to carry.