Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-03-29
By W. S. MANN.

1Copyright, 1920, by The Washington
starr
WASHINGTON, March 27.-How
much longer is this country to continue
70 operate under war time laws en-
acted to meet an emergency, Is a cues
ZION that IS agitating many members
Of congress. Many Of these laws were
framed so that they would go out
of existence when peace was pro-
claimed by the President, or within a
given number of months thereafter.
With the peace treaty unrati1ed ana
back in the s~afekeeping of the Presl-
dent, tho pathway toward peace Whlch
its negotiations opened appears 10 pc
effectually closed. While the Repub-
aiceus In the senate and House-and
eooe of he Democrats-believe that
congress should go ahead and put
through q Joint resolution repeating
the war resolution, 1t IS understood
Ahat the President will not approve
sucb a resolution. and the chances of
passing it over his veto are remote.
With these avenues closed, however,
there remains a third, the enactment
Of a law repeating these war time acts.
Restive because nothing has been done
10 put an end to many Of these laws,
members of congress are about to
act. It is believed. Undoubtedly. any
resolution providing for the establish
ment of peace between the United
States and Germany will carry a pro-
vision for the repeal Of war time legis-
lation, temporary in character. but
IL the resolution cannot become n
law, senators and representatives Will
put through a repeal acts relating only
30 the laws In question.
Bills providing for the repeal Of the
RNAT avI E,AT al,4~11 ant hatra, n1pan1Nr
been introduced in the senate and
house. one Of the latest of these a
bill offered by Senator Gore, of Okla
homa, a Democrat. Other bills have
been introduced to repeal the espion-
age act, the trading with the enemy
act, and other war time laws. The
United States practically has been at
peace with Germany for sixteen
months, yet many of these laws. which
congress intended should cease to be
operative when peace came. are still
alive and are being invoked.
At the time OF the signing of the
armistice In November, 1918. INC be-
fore that, there was agitation for re-
construction commissions of con
gress. to make recommendations for
readjustment legislation to meet the
end of the war conditions. The Dem
ocratic administration frowned on
biAio oH6StStlOi. anu ilbL4llG hdS
done. In consequence the only two
long steps toward readiustment by
congressional and executive action
have been the law for the return OF
the railroads to their private owners
and their restoration, and the return
of the telegraph wires to their own
ers.
Senator's France of Maryland and
Borah of Idaho, have been among
the most outspoken opponents of
continuing longer on the statute
books laws which give vast power to
the executive. The Maryland sena-
tor IN an address in the senate this
week made a plea to return to the
Americanism of Washington, Jelfer-
son, Lincoln and Roosevelt. He CON
tended that the majority of members
of congress through patriotic motives
yielded their judgment and accepted
the stupid policies of blind and re-
dictionary b~ourbonism."
"B%ourbonism is not Americanism "
he said, land all the foolish efforts of
the reactionaries to create the new
American crime of radicalism are
doomed to failure"
Those members of congress who
are pressing most earnestly for G. re-
peal of the war time laws contend
that the enormous growth Of execu-
tive power under these laws Tend to-
ward tyranny. As Senator France