Evening star., 1937-01-05
Futility of Legislating a
Neutrality Policy Shown
To the Editor Of The star:

To the Editor Of The star:
BY requesting and securing from the
Department of State license to export
to the Loyalist government in Spain a
consignment of airplanes, engines and
parts valued at $2,777,0O0, one Robert
Cuse Of Jersey City, said to be natural
lied American citizen of Russian birth,
has raised an issue which promises very
shortly to bring to head the whole
question Of our neutrality policy.
The President and Congress are placed
in q position of extreme difficulty. The
present neutrality act cannot. without
additional legislation. be construed to
apply to countries in which civil war
prevails (unless the belligerent status OF
the rebels should be recognized by the
United States and no legal means exist
to prevent such shipments. II the Ctlse
shipment were sent to Spain, as appeared
likely, the United States might be placed
in q position OF helping to prolong
struggle which its citizens would like to
see ended and in which they desire 10
take no part. If, on the other hand, the
United States should forbid the eXporta-
tion of similar shipments to the LoyallSt
government OF Spain, 1t would thereby
indirectly strengthen the forces seeking
to overthrow a government with which
the United States maintains friendly re-
lations and would give the Spanish gov
ernment cause to regard the embargo as
an "unfriendly act"
Meanwhile the situation in Europe has
become even more tense by the belief
that American planes were about TO be
shipped to the Loyalist government OF
Spain in entire accordance with the laws
of this country. Great Britain and
France, whose factories are said to be
working overtime to supply arms and
munitions for their own protection, are
attempting to establish policy OF strict
non- intervention in the Spanish situa-
ton. The American shipment doubtless
"embarrasSeS" them.
Whatever the Cuse shipment Of planes
to the LoyaliSt government demonstrates.
it shows clearly the futility of "legislat-
ing" a neutrality policy. 1t is apparent
also that halfway measures in drafting
a new neutrality act would be likely to
place the United States in other and
equally difficult situations. To add civil
wars" to the present act suggests at once
the need for criteria to tell us when
domestic disturbance has reached the
stage when it can be called a civil war.
Shall the new act attempt TO nix such
criteria or leave 1t entirely to the Execu-
tive to do so? A strictly worded act
which would apply to cases such as the
Cuse shipment might result in the COM
mission of an unneutral act by the
United States and thereby play directly
into the hands OF the rebels. You can
not "legislate" foreign policy because
it is always the unforeseen circumstance
that occurs. Rather than do this IL
would seem better to give the President,
in his discretion, the power to embargo
any and all exports to countries engaged
in hOStilitieS. In such case, we could
only hope that his discretion would be
used in the way best calculated to keep
the United States out of the disturbance.
Whatever legislation may be passed, it
will probably be compromise. Is 1t not
best to attack the problem by placing the
manufacture and sale of all arms and
munitions of war under the supervision
of the Federal Government and by en-
acting legislation forbidding the exporta-
ton of such arms and munitions except
with the express approval OF Congress?
Perhaps it would appear to be going
somewhat far to prohibit the expectation
to any belligerent country of any COM
modify or thing, whatsoever, without the
consent of Congress, but how else can
a Gordon sanitaire" be placed around
the belligerents? And, after all, isn't
this the only effective way of keeping
the United States out of war? The
question of whether to recognize bellig-
erency of the parties in given case
would be delegated to the Executive. In
cases of civil disturbances where the
Executive has not recognized the bel
ligerency of its parties, he should have
the authority. in his discretion, to de-
clare that such state of facts existed as
warranted the application of the neu-
trahty legislation, because the disturb
ance endangered the peace Of the world
and. consequently. created the possibility
of the United States being drawn into
war. SYDNEY q. GESI.