Ný saga - 01.01.2001, Blaðsíða 17

Forsetinn og utanríkisstefnan
that we are all of the same basic stock, fundamen-
tally.
And we want inter-marriage. I am alluding now to a
number of people - several thousand have already -
who are now under the jurisdiction of Secretary
Stimson, who are related by marriage with Ice-
landic girls, and who are going to stay in Iceland, if
you let them, after the war. It's all right. Now, I
don't protest against that one bit. We like it, and we
hope that some of their children will come over
here and become a part of the American family.
Now on the other things more practical, like
trade, I was saying to his Minister a few minutes ago
there is an American habit of cocktails, but we
haven't yet acquired the Scandinavian habit of the
things that go before cocktails. Don't sell us cod
liver oil, I don't like cod liver oil - laughter -but go
into the things that pay more money. Send us some
smoked salmon, and things of that kind that go well
before the cocktails. In that way you can help, and
we can help by general trade between Iceland and
the United States. After all, things are going to go
by trade a great deal in the future.
Il has been easier, because of the shorter dis-
tance, to send your hors d'oeuvres to England, but
they don't know a good hors d'oeuvres when they
see it. Please send us some, for we are very fond of
them. And specialize in them, not the vulgar stuff,
bul the specials. You can send us wool, for you have
a special kind of wool we don't know of here. And
so trade, if we go at it from the point of view of
building it up on special lines - Iceland is small, and
therefore you have to specialize - I think it can be
done.
And in the days to come - I am not speaking
about this treaty or that treaty or the other treaty
they are talking about now, but it depends very
largely on the spirit, very much on the spirit. If the
spirit is all right behind the objective, greater
friendship and greater trade, we can get some-
where.
You have your polilics, Mr. President, and you
have a legislature, the oldest legislature in the
world, incidentally. Over here I have my politics - I
am not taking a very great part in them - and I have
a legislature, a very young legislature, it's only 150 -
160 years old. They learn with age. (laughter) And
so I have great hopes that when this thing come up,
the Senate of the United States which has a great
deal to do with foreign policy will accept a treaty of
trade and friendship, inclusive - ali-inclusive - with
the Republic of Iceland, without saying No just
because they don't like the President of the United
States.
Now that's an ideal, and perhaps my hope will be
justified. Time alone will tell.
But, at least, in welcoming you to Washington,
you know that the present President has his heart in
the right place.
And so I drink to the first President of Iceland.
(the toast was drunk)
Heimild: Roosevelt Library. Hyde Park, New York.
President’s speech file, box 80.
Tilvísanir
* Ég þakka dr. Val Ingimundarsyni fyrir aðstoð við könnun
heimilda og túlkun þeirra.
1 Gylfi Gröndal, Sveinn Björnsson - Ævisaga (Reykjavík,
1994), bls. 318-21. Þingmenn Alþýðuflokksins birtu sér-
staka yfirlýsingu um að þeir hefðu allir kosið Svein
Björnsson 17. júní 1944, sjá Alþýðublaðið 27. júní 1944.
2 Pétur Eggerz, Minningar ríkisstjóraritara (Hafnarfirði,
1971) lýsir vináttu Sveins Björnssonar og Vilhjálms Þórs,
sjá einkum bls. 24-25. Björn Ólafsson greinir frá tilurð ut-
anþingsstjórnarinnar í Matthías Johannessen, Samtöl IV
(Reykjavík, 1982), bls. 24-32. Sjá einnig ummæli Björns
Þórðarsonar, fyrrum forsætisráðherra, í Matthías Johann-
essen, Saintöl III (Reykjavík, 1979), bls. 28-37.
3 Pétur Eggerz, Minningar ríkisstjóraritara, bls. 42.
4 Sigurður Eggerz gegndi veigamiklu hlutverki á lands-
fundi Sjálfstæðisflokksins á Þingvöllum sumarið 1943.
Sigurður stýrði þar fundi um „sjálfstæðismálið" en fram-
sögumaður var Bjarni Benediktsson. Sigurður Eggerz átti
langa sögu að baki í sjálfstæðisbaráttunni, varð m.a. ráð-
herra fyrir Sjálfstæðisflokkinn (eldri) 1914 en sagði af sér
árið eftir vegna „fyrirvarans" svonefnda. Sjálfstæðis-
flokkurinn klofnaði þá. Sigurður var einn af helstu leið-
togum „þversum" armsins. Aðrir Sjálfstæðismenn vildu
sýna sveigjanleika í samskiptum við dönsk stjórnvöld.
Þeir voru kallaðir „langsum" menn. Þar voru í forsvari
Einar Arnórsson, eftirmaður Sigurðar Eggerz á ráðherra-
stóli og síðar dómsmálaráðherra utanþingsstjórnarinnar,
og Sveinn Björnsson.
Heimdallur, félag ungra Sjálfstæðismanna í Reykja-
vík, hyllti Sigurð Eggerz á fjölmennum fundi í september
1943, sbr. Morgttnblaðið 21. september 1943.
Altalað var að Sigurður Eggerz yrði í forsetafram-
boði. Þannig kallaði blaðið ísland Sigurð „forsetaefni"
(18. ágúst 1943). í Alþýðublaðinu 13. nóvember 1943 seg-
ir m.a.: „Nú gengur þrálátur orðrómur urn það að Sjálf-
stæðismenn hafi ákveðið að sparka ríkisstjóranum alveg
þegar kosinn verður forseli og setja í hans stað gamlan og
afdankaðan mann, sem löngu er hættur að fylgjast með
því, sem gerist hérna megin grafar."
Ólafur Thors lét fara frani nokkrar skriflegar skoð-
anakannanir í þingflokki Sjálfstæðisflokksins vorið 1944
um forsetaefni. Sigurður Eggerz fékk allmörg atkvæði en
ekki meirihlutastuðning, sbr. Ólafur Ragnarsson, Gunnar
Thoroddsen (Reykjavík, 1981), bls. 38.
5 Matthías Johannessen, Ólafiir Tltors - Ævi og störf I
(Reykjavík, 1981), bls. 153.
6 Tillaga Arna Jónssonar birtist í blaðinu Þjóðólfi 16. nóv-
ember 1942 (II. árgangur 51. tbl.). Ásakanirum samvinnu
Sjálfstæðismanna og sósíalista í bæjarsljórn Reykjavíkur
komu t.d. fram í Alþýðublaðinu 18. nóvember 1943 og
Tímanum 8. septembcr 1944. Bjarni Benediktsson var
borgarstjóri í Reykjavík 1940-47. Um hann segir m.a. í
skýrslu leyniþjónustu Bandaríkjanna: „In his first years
as Mayor he initiated a policy of collaboration with the
Communists, but he is said to have become fully alive to
the Communist danger." Iceland, Central Intelligence
Agency, 1948, bls. D-l.
7 Matthías Johannessen, Ólafitr Thors - Ævi og störfi bls. 364.
8 Páll Líndal, Ingólfur á Hellu - umhverfi og œvistarf I
(Reykjavík, 1982), bls. 143M5.
9 Sjá t.d. leiðara Morgunblaðsins „Bækistöðvar á íslandi",
15