Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-02-21

now confronting the American peo-
pie and Congress succinctly, as fol-
lows:
I'VE are impaled on the horns of
difficult dilemma. If we do not act
boldly and wisely to revise and re-
state our traditional, legalistic and
tsolationist conception of neutrality,
we remain in the gravest danger of
being driven, against our will, even,
into international controversy and
conflict. in the probably imminent
event of war abroad. For we cannot
insist upon our own liberties and
commercial rights without opposing
the powerful group of nations-with
whom we have the greatest political
and moral sympathies-who will not
yield their control of the seas and
who, as belligerents, will not permit
neutrals to engage in business as
usual for the purpose of making
money by dealing with their enemy.
That enemy moreover, will in all
probability be declared 'aggressor'
in the eyes of the so nations of the
League of Nations, virtually all of
whom are likewise signatories of the
kellogg BRAND pact which the
United States has sponsored and, in
deed. initiated. That is the first horn
Of our dilemma"
War for Munitioneers Opposed.
But the American people are
overwhelmingly opposed" said this in
terV1eWer, ito riSking war protecting
or defending the traditional rights of
the munitioneers to deal with bel
Ggerents, are they not?"
That is certainly true" replied
Senator Pope, land there is no doubt
a. all that Congress will make perma-
nent the prohibition against supplying
arms, ammunition and implements of
war. directly Or indirectly, from the
United States to belligerent govern
ments or factions. We are all in agree
ment as to that. and almost all as to
the wisdom Of prohibiting loans and
commercial credits for war purposes.
But 1t so happens that, while these are
definite steps forward. they are but
fraction of the problem. The really
puzzhng, difficult and dangerous aspect
OF the matter concerns the wider sub
Ject of munitions, or contraband of
war, in the light of the conditions of
modern warfare-of the 'totalitarian'
warfare of today"
You are referring to the starvation
blockade of the British against the
Germans in the World War, and the
German rejoinder of unrestricted sub
marine warfare?" he was asked.
Contraband Not Defined.
'Yes, and the aerial warfare of to-
morrow, which will make surface yes
sels-whether merchant vessels or
dreadnaughts-as insecure as prairie
chickens un1er flock of hawks. Our
second dilemma appears in the cir
cumstance that. since there is no
agreement as yet as to what is 1egiti-
mate contraband of war, we can
neither afford to insist upon a right
to trade in it with belligerents, or to
renounce it entirely and refuse to pro-
tect all our exporters who deal in it,
fer that would ruin U.S."
why so? Because everything is al
legged to be contraband by one or an
other belligerent?"
We'll, almost everything, except
perhaps chewing-gum and ostrich
plumes. We might adopt the ostrich
instead of the turkey or the eagle as
our national emblem" he added. 1.-THE
attitude of certain Senators toward
international affairs would appear to
justify It,"
What do you think that we ought
to do about it?"
"Of one .hiAg am very sure" he
said, that whatever we do-and we
must do something to reduce the area
Of controversy and increase our secur-
ity-we ought not to try to do it en-
tirely alone. In developing an ade-
quate law of neutrality we should
think of it as world-law, and en-
deavor to persuade and convince as
many other neutral nations to join us