to abuse our system; and we have Tamany Hall in New York and a worse
thing in Chicago. If you have time to read chapters XVll and XVlll of
my Wilson book you will see why many high officials in Europe criticize
us. But the democratic spirit is as real with us now as at any time
since 1865. If Roosevelt is defeated it would be a serious set-back
which would greatly affect the countries of Europe where democracy is
already being abandoned
altogether. If we yield in part how much worse our system would be-and
over here the historic democracies of Switzerland, Holland and Sweden
are almost trembling with fear.
 
 
I have been a little surprised at the failure of the Balkan Ministers
here since my return. They all formerly talked freely and hoped to see
a loose union of their little countries, settling their boundary
disputes among themselves. Now they are silent or show such a fear of
Germany that they must give up outside relationships- everything
depends on the Fuhrer.
 
 
More interesting to the President, perhaps, is the fact that
Latin-American Ministers here: Brazil, Argentine, Chili, Columbia and
Nicaraugua are frankly Fascist, although they speak highly of the
present United States policy toward them. They all seem to wish Europe