Appeals to the Government for intercession against Britain’s Palestine policy were voiced on the Senate floor today by James M. Mead (Dem., N.Y.) and Francis T. Maloney (Dem., Conn).
“We can ill afford such a surrender,” Senator Mead said. “If we are to win out against the forces of hate, unbridled and ambitious dictators, we can only do so by a reaffirmation of faith in the sanctity of treaties. Not by retreat but by standing firm can the democracies of the word prevail. Britain, the League of Nations and the United States promised Palestine to the Jews. They must keep their promise, in honor to themselves and in justice to the Jews.
“Our Government must make clear to England that we do not recognize the new policy, no more than Japan’s breach of the Nine-Power Pact with reference to Manchukuo. What a gulf there is between the Balfour and the Chamberlain declarations. The former with its high promise and exalted moral tone lifted the hearts of men while the latter…drops us to the low and base depths of disillusionment and cynicism.”
Senator Maloney, saying he was “in deep sympathy” with the Jews’ plight, urged President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull “to do everything consistently proper and possible to relieve the anxiety and heartaches of these sad people.”
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