Washington, Feb. 3. PRESIDENT Roosevelt broke his silence in the hot Congressional battle over the sale of war planes to France today by flatly denying he had placed the United States frontier the Rhine" during his recent conference with the Senate Military Affairs Committee.
Lifting his ban on direct quotations in his daily press conference, the President said the report was a "deliberate lic".
The President defined a four-point foreign policy including his opposition to entangling alliances and his sympathy with peaceful maintenance of complete American independence of all other nations. A hundred newspapermen attended the conference, all anxious, to have the President reveal what transpired at the secret meeting he held ear! this week with the Military Affairs Committee. The President said foreign affairs and the sale of planes to France had been discussed, but denied he had said or attempted to give the impression that the United States would undertake to defend France with American troops in Europe.
Senator Key Pittman, Democrat of Nevads, was present at the press conference today for the purpose of Feporting the proceedings to the Military" Affairs Committee which was reported meanwhile to be hotly debating whether or not to publish lis recent. testimony regarding the sole of Americun war' planes to France. The meeting was held be~ hind locked doors, but it was re: vealed no decision had been reached today.
The President's statement of fore eign policy, as recorded directly by the "White" House stenographer while he spoke, was as follows:
Our foreign policy has not changed and itis not going to change. If you want a comparatively imple statement of this policy, will give it to you.
Firstly, We are against any angling Aianees, obviously.
Secondly, We ure in favour of the maintenance of world trade for ourselves.
"Thirdly, We are in complete sym~ pathy with any and every effort made to reduce or limit armaments.
"Fourthly, asa nation—as the American people—we are sympathetic with' the "peaceful maintenance of Political, cconomle and social in" dependence for all nations."—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.