Evening star., 1938-12-11
Vandenberg Opposes
Neutrality Change
To Name Aggressor
Fears War os Result Of
Presidential Power
To Select
ByG. GOULD LINCOLN.

A proposal by the administration
that the Neutrality Act be amended
so as to give the President authority
to discriminate between "aggressor
nations and victim" nations would
lead Immediately to one of the brisk
est rows seen in a long time in
Congress.
Such authority, in the opinion OF
Senator Vandenberg, Republican. OF
Michigan, would be placing on the
President responsibility for declar-
ing. as between two or more warrine
foreign nations, which is the ag-
gressor. A declaration of that char
acter, the Michigan Senator insisted
last night. would be almost an i'm
mediate step taking this country
into war.
While no statement regarding the
administrations attitude in this
matter has yet been made, a drive
for such a change in the present
Neutrality Act already is under way
Senator Vandenberg's statement
was made in reply to letter from
the Detroit League of Nations Asso-
citation. Recalling President Roose-
velt's speech in Chicago on October
S, 1887, in which the President spoke
of "quarantining' aggressor nations
Senator Vandenberg said the recon-
mendations of the League appeared
to be in line with the attitude of
the administration,
Letter From League.
The leagues letter, signed by Mrs.
Orville j. Bond, executive secretary,
said:
THE Detroit League of Nations
Association strongly urges your sup
port of any move to revise the pres
ent neutrality law to make 1t pos
sible for the President to diScrimi-
nate between victim and aggreSsor
nations in the application of embar-
goes. We would further urge the
inclusion of such embargoes of es-
sential raw materials for war pur-
poses as well as ammunition"
The letter then seeks to unite with
the power to designate "aggressor'
nations the administration deter
mination to increase greatly the
ornaments and preparedness of
this country, as outlined by the Pres
ident in recent statements to the
press. 1t continues:
THE speeding up of national
mobilization as we'll as armament
expenditures clearly indicate that
even the United States cannot es-
cape the inevitable result Of the col
lapse of collective security at Munich
The increasing aggression of certain
nations as direct result of Munich
is forcing this country to shape its
defense policies in accordance with
the general insecurity in which the
world now lives.
There is a very direct connection
between our present insecurity and
the present form of our neutrality
law which does not permit discrimi-
nation against an aggressor nation
So long as we refuse to make any
possibility of discrimination, we
definitely encourage aggression in
the world at large"
Mrs. Bond concludes her letter
with an assertion that an amend
ment permitting discrimination
would do much to deter nations from
aggression.
Vandenberg's Reply.
Senator Vandenberg in his reply
said
Il am unwilling to permit any
President of the United States to
commit this Nation to any route
which may lead to war. In my view,
only the Congress of the United
States, acting in conjunction with
the President, Is entitled to make
any such ominous decisions. To
permit q President to identify an
aggressor in a foreign war and then
permit him to apply sanctions In
any form Is to permit him to align
the United States as a direct parti-
san in foreign quarrel.
In an unanimous Supreme Court
decision recently it was asserted in
another connection that, every
journey to forbidden land begins
with a first step
I'm my view, the identification Of
foreign 'aggressors' and the applica-
ton of American Sanctions is, or
may be, the first step to American
participation in other peoples wars.
Through the use of such a power, a
President. acting solely upon his own
responsibility, can create an interna-
tional crisis for US which subse-
quently might leave the Congress
J.