Excerpts from the Press Conference in Warm Springs, Georgia

(Military aggression and the control of world trade—Effect on our safety and prosperity when small nations lose their independence.)

THE PRESIDENT: I hear you want a picture of the General? [Speaking to the photographers who desired to take a picture of the President with General Watson.]

Q. We will take that after the Conference.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you think he will look all right then?

Q. Yes, I have got him out of the wind here.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you think he can survive that long? There is an awful strain on him.

Q. I know, but he is bearing up under it nobly.

THE PRESIDENT: All right.

I have been talking all over the place this morning about the international thing; and there is a statement being issued, I suppose about this moment, by the Secretary of State, which we talked over this morning and which is being given out by him with my full approval in relation to Albania. I won't tell you anything more about it because it speaks for itself.

Q. Mr. President, have you been informed as to the latest news from there? I had a message a little while ago that the Italians marched into Tirana—

THE PRESIDENT: [interposing] The capital? . . .

That is what I got over the telephone.

Q. Mr. President, did you talk to Europe by telephone?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yes. . . .

Q. Mr. President, can you give us any idea as to what this Albania business means, as to what they are driving to? It does not seem to be very valuable territory.

THE PRESIDENT: I cannot talk about Albania directly because that is covered in a State Department statement by the Secretary of State. But, if you want another story like last week, "sources close to the White House" on one phase that you have not touched yet, I think it would be all right to talk about it.

This is what might be called the second phase of military aggression. One of the results of successful military aggression by any Nation or group of nations is the control of commerce, not only within their own territory but in other territories—other independent nations—which they can threaten because of their military power.

For example, if military domination were to keep on expanding, the influence of that military aggression would be felt in world trade all over the world, for the very simple reason that the aggressor nations would extend their barter system. The Nations of the world that pay better wages and work shorter hours are immediately faced, because of the barter system of the aggressor nations, with a loss of world trade. That is obvious because the aggressor nations can and do work their people much longer hours and for much lower pay.

Therefore, the nations that do not belong to the aggressor group are faced with three alternatives: The first is to build the old Chinese Wall around themselves, and to do no world trade whatsoever—no exports, no imports, to try to live wholly within themselves. The result of the Chinese Wall method is to reduce, necessarily, the national income because they immediately are unable to export any of their surplus goods.

But, assuming that they do not adopt the Chinese Wall policy of having no trade, no shipping, you come down to the two other alternatives: The first is to lower their own standard of living and try to compete in the world markets by reducing the wages they pay and increasing the hours of work. That would be one alternative for us, if we did not go to the Chinese Wall method.

The other alternative would be to subsidize the export of American products as a national policy. Immediately you do that, it means that the subsidy has to be paid out of the Federal Treasury; and, while it would begin on half a dozen products that had strong Congressional backing, it would get into the logrolling end of things, and we would have to subsidize practically all of our products. That would mean a vast sum of money spent on subsidies; and that would either add to the national debt, or we would have to pay for it out of the taxpayers' pockets by increasing the whole of the tax system from top to bottom.

That is one reason why all of this—the continued expansion of military aggression—is necessarily bringing us, every single day that it continues, closer to the time when we shall be faced with a loss of our trade and our shipping, and have to make the choice of one of those three methods.

That is an angle of the present international situation that ought to be given a lot of consideration because it affects, of course, not only industries and industrial workers in the United States—large businesses, small businesses- but it also affects the farmers and all of the agricultural end of the country.

Now, those are words of one syllable, but I think you get the idea. It is a phase of this thing, the international picture, that ought to be stressed.

There is a swell story for you.

Q. Would you care to mention, Mr. President, for the same kind of treatment, what you were telling us going down on the train to Florida about constant disappearance of borderlines of independent nations and how that brings closer to every democracy the threat of aggression nearer its—

THE PRESIDENT: [interposing] Of course that is a part of current history—the continuing disappearance of the independence of small Nations. Of course, you can go back to the famous Senatorial conference. What was said was, of course, perfectly obvious—that the continued political, economic and social independence of every small Nation in the world does have an effect on our national safety and prosperity. Each one that disappears weakens our national safety and prosperity. That is all there was to the Senatorial conference.

Q. I think we ought to be able to write something on that.

THE PRESIDENT: You are doing all right.

Q. Are you going down to the pool?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.