Within One Hour

Thunder rumbled over the Mediterranean one day last week. The British-French Mediterranean fleet ploughed eastward to a rendezvous at Alexandria, Egypt. Lighter craft of the Italian. Turkish and British Navies played hide & seek among the islands of the Aegean. And in London the Admiralty announced that the Mediterranean was closed to British merchant ships--they should forsake the strait at Gibraltar and go the long way to the Orient round Cape of Good Hope (see P. 30).

Within one hour of this announcement, Franklin Roosevelt instructed lanky, prim William Phillips, U. S. Ambassador to Italy, to call on Premier Mussolini. Afterwards Ambassador Phillips saw Foreign Minister Ciano twice. And in Washington the Italian Ambassador. Prince Ascanio Colonna, visited Under Secretary of State Welles and both stalked up the street, flecked with the shadows of spring foliage, to call on the President.

Such were the physical events. By their implications they made the trend of Mr. Roosevelt's foreign policy clearer. Since his Christmas Eve appointment of Steelman Myron C. Taylor as his personal representative to the Vatican, the President has been extremely solicitous about U, S.-Italian relations, has regularly back-patted King Vittorio Emanuele III, and upheld the hand of Pope Pius XII for peace. The time had come for a more pressing effort to keep the war from spreading to the Mediterranean.

Among European diplomats one fact is axiomatic: in economic matters there is no satisfactory substitute for trade with the U. S. If Italy goes to war the raw materials, foodstuffs, petroleum which she now gets from the U. S. will be cut off instanter. This was the one card which Franklin Roosevelt had to play against war but there were other cards that he might play for peace--perhaps a promise of better trade relations, perhaps a reciprocal trade agreement, possibly even recognition of the conquest of Ethiopia (the U. S. yet addresses Vittorio Emanuele as "King," not "King and Emperor").

If one or more of these concessions could save southern Europe from war, doubtless the President and many a U. S. citizen would consider them well justified. Assuming that Franklin Roosevelt made such a move last week, it was significant--the first time in World War II the U. S. had gone beyond moral wrist-slapping, the first step in economic intervention in Europe. If Mussolini rejects it, it may be forgotten. If he accepts, the President will score his first success in limiting World War II and U. S. policy toward Europe will have a new precedent.

Last week the President:

>Told his press conference that if it were not for advertising someone's wares he would say he had taken great interest in reading American White Paper, a book on U. S. foreign policy by Columnists Joseph Alsop & Robert Kintner (TIME, April 29).

>Designated Sunday, May 19, as "I Am An American Day," in recognition of citizens attaining their majority or who have been naturalized this year.

>Challenged candidates for the Presidency and Congress to abandon "glittering generalities and specious promises," to state "just how you would change the laws if you were in office" (see p. 21).

>Vetoed a Naval personnel bill which would have accelerated retirement of rear admirals and marine corps generals, pleading the "extremely difficult and uncertain status of international relations."

>Received quick action from Congress on a resolution granting him additional powers to "freeze" foreign credits of belligerent nations in order to prevent such credits falling into the hands of unlawful owners.

>Appointed as U. S. District Judge for Eastern Washington Senator Lewis Baxter Schwellenbach, 45. For a long time political quidnuncs have been sure that big "Louie" Schwellenbach could not possibly be reelected, and his name was mentioned in vain for every possible judgeship, low & high. But the President finally eliminated any worries that deserving Democrat Schwellenbach may have had.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.