Evening star., 1938-01-03
TYD|NGS ATTACKS
WAR REFERENDUM
Senator Tells Town Hall it
Is Potential Invitation
to Aggression.

40 AoolA6oONu Wy ANA1oOOA 4A4lldlu e..
Tydings of Maryland last night before
Town Hall as a potential invitation to
aggression against the United States
and as strait-jacket upon the Gov
ernment in protecting the lives Of
American nationals abroad.
The Maryland Senator coupled his
attack upon the Ludlow proposal, for
which 2l8 members of the House of
Representatives have signed petition
to discharge the House Judiciary Com
mittee, with demand that Congress
act to curb Japan.
His three point plea that Congress
forbid continued extension of credits
to Japan-bar Japanese goods from
the United States, and prevent sale Of
American goods to Japan-evoked
rounds Of applause.
He was speaking in place of Aldous
Huxley and Gerald Heard, who were
to have debated Roads to Peace"
Illness prevented Mr.. Heard's appear
ance here and indefinitely postponed
the debate.
Emphasizing that there is no royal
road to peace, Senator Tydings
launched into an assault upon the
Ludlow plan to amend the Constitu-
ton with a challenge to the theory Of
its sponsors that the American people
are less likely to vote for foreign war
than is Congress.
He agreed with the peaceful motive
of the Ludlowites, but insisted upon
his right as member of Congress to
vote for or against declaration of
war.
Envisaged Dangers to Safety.
Mr. Tydings envisaged grave dangers
for the safety of the country in de-
lays, which he considered inevitable,
in obtaining an expression Of popular
approval of a war, and found a possible
negative result of the referendum to
be bid to aggressive forces to attack
the United States.
The threat of force implied in the
American protests to Japan over the
Panay sinking, he declared. might
have been absent if the referendum
were a part Of the Constitution. and
this weakness would have made Japan
less willing to give this country salts
faction.
LAS long as foreign governments are
uncertain Of the tenor Of our people, !"
he declared, things can be accom-
plished which would be impossible II
tho yaon1o bovo raoictnra %ha;r ~
tention not to go to war. The threat
Of force is preventive against inter-
national crime just as policemen are
preventives against local crime"
He cited the Presidents constitu-
tional power to control American for
eign relations and declared this proper
because of his superior facilities for
knowing what is happening abroad,
and added:
THE President would be in a weak
and pitiable position in conducting
foreign relations if it were supposed
the people might not be in accord
with his actions"
Three-Point Proposal.
Japan has broken treaty with the
United States by invading China. he
asserted in advancing his three-point
proposal for congressional action
against that country.
If the United States. the biggest
consumer OF japanese SILK, were to
turn to the use of cheap substitutes
Japan would never regain that market.
Japan is one Of our biggest customers
for cotton, and we would lose this
market, but we could absorb our loss
thousand times better than Japan
could absorb hers" he said.
The speaker was cross-examined bv
panel composed of Harold Hinton of
the New York Times, Representative
Hamilton Fish of New York, and Col.
Sherman Miles, U. S. A. Edward
Keating, editor of Labor, presided.
COL Miles took exception to eco
nomic boycotts as the imposition of
American political will upon a foreign
nation which might lead into, rather
than avoid, war.
Representative Fish saw danger
rather than avoidance of foreign war
in selecting aggressors and termed the
Neutrality Act an attempt to change
international law.
Mr. Keating objected to the conclu-
sion that the Neutrality Act has
failed before 1t had ever been tested.
The program Of Town Hall for the
next two weeks has been altered, with
Henry Pratt Fairchild scheduled to
speak January on "The Recent Busi-
ness Recession and the Way Out" and
Gen. Hugh johnson following him
January Is on topic which has yet
to be announced.