The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-02-23

house Of representatives motion tC discharge from committee a resolu- tion by MT. Ludlow of Indiana tc propose an amendment to the Con- Stitution providing a popular vote for the declaration of war. I op- posed this motion, which was defeat ed. Congressional mail was heavy while this motion was pending The vast majority of the mail urged SUD- port of the Ludlow resolution, anC the tendency in most of this mai was to assume that opponents oi the Ludlow resolution were enemies of peace. Here again the labelling habit put the whole thing on the basis Of pacif1sm and militarism in- stead of looking at the facts and making a decision.
 On the face of it the Ludlow resolution looked like a desirable proposition. Why wouldn't it be a fair thing to let the people decide for themselves whether they would go to war, or refuse to go to war? If this simple proposition had been all there was to the Ludlow resolu- tion would have voted for it. How ever, a little analysis of the matter soon reveals what dangerous mechanism we would have been set ting up.
 Look back to the Panay incident in the waters off China. One of our navy ships was sunk in deliberate attack by the Japanese. Naturally American opinion was outraged. But the matter was settled SenSibly. The state department emerged from the affair with American dignity and Selfrespect preserved, and we did not go to war. We can still leave the killing in the Far East to the Japanese and Chinese. They are at war but this is none of our buSi- ness.
 Different Results
 But the Panay incident could easily have been made the basis for calling popular referendum on war if our Constitution provided for it. The results of such an election would, I feel sure, be far different than the results of the negotiations carried on by the secretary of state and the Japanese government. Such referendum would at once split the country into two divisions, those favoring peace and those favoring war. Peace is unfortunately a dull subject to make speeches about; war has always given Roman holiday to orators. With war running for office, so to speak, national passions would be inf1amed against the Jap anese, the Panay incident would soon be exaggerated into a tre- mendous issue, and the chances are very good that war would be elected by a landslide.
 "The Ludlow resolution, in my opinion, while on the surface tend ing to preserve peace, would in prac- tice be an unnecessary factor lead ing to war. say it would be un- necessary because the congress has never been in advance of popular opinion with regard to declaring war On the contrary, both the president and the congress, conscious of the responsibility given D them, have al- ways been far behind the popular emotions on the question of war even to the point of becoming the victims of public criticism and inn patience. We recall the ridicule which was heaped on President Will. son for weeks prior to the declara- tion of war in 1927 because of his so-called peace at any price atti- tude, and when war was finally de- clared, those members of congress who voted against it were denounced as traitors, and the late Senator LaFollette of Wisconsin was hanged in effgy in his home state, burned in effigy in his home state, burned his furious attack on the proposal to declare war.
 Cooperate"
 These are times when we in the United States must walk circum- specify and beware of our very thoughts. There are two outstanding dangers in the present situation. The first and greatest is the danger of convincing ourselves, or being convinced, that we should-for some ideal reason-'cooperate' with some foreign country against another for eigr country, presumably to help the right triumph over the wrong.
 We in the United States must be careful lest we be embroiled in the incessant game of sparring for the balance of power which is at the bottom of the European quarrel from one century to another. We went into the World war to help the right triumph over the wrong, and we got the Versailles treaty and the di- vision of colonies among our allies which looms now as one of the bases of Filters warlike speech on the opennig of the ReichStag.
 "The second gSeat danger is one which turks in the back of our minds like a guilty desire and constitutes | A~