Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

20 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
American mothers to fi ght on the battlefi elds of Europe. Th at
is why I label that argument a shameless and dishonest fake. 30
Finally in November, after German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
had attacked Poland and after Great Britain and France had
declared war, Roosevelt’s campaign against the Neutrality Act
met with some success. Congress repealed the arms embargo,
which had prohibited all sales of military supplies to any belligerent
nation, and replaced it with a cash and carry policy. Th e
Neutrality Act of 1939 permitted “cash and carry” transactions;
arms and other military supplies could be sold to belligerent
nations, if they were paid for in cash, not credit, and if they were
not transported in U.S. vessels. 31
Our “Neutrality Patrol” had not been in operation two months
when the U.S. heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa, on patrol in the Atlantic,
trailed and greeted by radio the German ocean liner Columbus.
Columbus, on a cruise in the Caribbean when war broke out in
Europe, had managed to reach Vera Cruz, Mexico. Her captain
wanted to dispose of his ship there because he did not believe
he would be able to run the blockade to return to Germany.
However, Berlin ordered him home. He set out on December
13 and soon found his ship accompanied, in relays, by two U.S.
destroyers. As Columbus sailed eastward, Tuscaloosa took over surveillance.
In accordance with FDR’s directive, it announced in
English every four hours the position of the German ship. Th e
British destroyer Hyperion heard the announcement and investigated.
She located Columbus on December 19, about 425 miles off
Cape May, New Jersey, and fi red two shots. Th e Germans scuttled
their ship. Two of her crewmen were lost. Tuscaloosa picked up
30 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Public Papers, 1939. Portion of address published
in Franklin D. Roosevelt, Quotations from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Republican
National Committee, 1940), p. 37.
31 U.S. Congress, Events, p. 223.