Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-10-28
SEEN and HEART
around tie
NATIONAL CAPITAL
By Carter Field :

S0nCeQ Dy democrats, UO ilOI WdliL
a midterm convention.
Here's the Point
The point is that Republican
running for the house of representa-
tives next year, say in Massachu-
sets, can run on any platform he
pleases. He can tell the folks in
his district, for instance, that he
wants all restrictions on cotton
planting stopped, so that cotton will
be cheap, and there will be plenty
of work for the local textile mills,
thereby enabling them to compete
with those of other nations. He can
promise a fight to the death to bar
all textile imports, especially from
Japan. He can promise to fight ev-
cry appropriation for water power,
irrigation and reclamation projects
out West, which help to keep up
taxes but bring no local benefit to
his district. And in doing all this he
will not be handicapped by any ma
tional party platform, or any party
leaders promises or speeches.
Out in the West, where water re-
source appropriations are wanted,
the Republican nominee can prom
Use to work like everything for big
appropriations for this type of work.
He can promise anything he believes
will help his candidacy, regardless
of the attitude on the same question
of any or all other Republican candi-
dates.
Sen. David I. Walsh is fond of
telling story of when he was chair
man of the Democratic senatorial
committee in an off year election.
He tells of how he changed his line
of speeches every time he crossed
a state line, making speeches in
each case in line with the campaign
being made by the local Democratic
senatorial candidate.
Neutrality Law
The present neutrality law, on
which so many political leaders and
pacifists pinned their hopes for keep
ing the United States out of war, is
virtually in the scrap basket. 1t
was repealed, so to speak, by edict.
Not formal edict, but presiden-
tial speech, which not only disclosed
clearly the attitude of the admins
tration, but which also received
overwhelming approval from the
country.
There were a few criticisms, not
ably that of Representativ Hamil-
ton Fish, New York's widely known
windmill litter, but they were just
the exceptions that proved the rule.
incidentally Mr.. Fish was one of
the few commentators who pointed
out just what the new policy laid
down by President Roosevelt means,
for there is no doubt whatever that
it puts the country squarely on
the road to entanglements, which
the neutrality law sought to avoid,
and might very easily lead to war.
The Presidents plan is nothing
less, in fact, than economic war,
started with view to making phys
ical aggression improbable. The
President approves Sanctions" but
would rely on economic pressure
rather than 60 as far as Article x
of the League of Nations covenant.
Article x provided for contribution
of man-power by all the member
nations of the league to constitute
an international army which would
police the world, crush the agrees
sor in any war and virtually impose
judicial settlement of all interna-
tional disputes.
President Wilson thought Article
x the "heart of the covenant" He
bitterly resisted any reservation
with respect to it. Opponents on the
treaty, looking for issues on which
to arouse the country, made much
of the fact that enforcement of Arti-
Gle x would mean American boys
again fighting in foreign wars, with
which, they insisted, we had no con-
Germ.
Never Invoked
Article x has never been invoked
by the league. No one has really
ever tried to invoke it, Which, some
think, proves that Wilson was right
about this being the heart of the
covenant. They say that failure to
invoke Article y against Japan five
or six years ago, and Italy last year,
showed the hopelessness of the
league as an agency for maintain
ing world peace.
But now President Roosevelt is
willing to 60 just as far, and then
on beyond, anything the league has
actually done or contemplated do
ing. Isolation" and quarantine"
for aggressor nations are proposed
by the President as the British ap-
pear to be moving toward a boycott
of all Japanese goods.
Support from the country has as
sumed such magnitude that the Pres
ident will find it difficult to take a
backward step, should this later
seem desirable. This means less
exports to Japan, and sharply cur
tailed purchases from Japan de-
spite the old motto that "Trade will
find a way-so long as there is a
| profit"
Lawbreaking is successful in the