Evening star., 1939-07-09
New Dealers Blame
Neutrality Setback
On ; Bad Breaks
Bonnet Speech, Moore's
Absence, McReynoIds'
Illness Cited
By the Associated Press.

| lIIuCSS SlSu
| By the Associated Press.
In retrospect, administration off,
cials are laying their defeat in the
House on the neutrality issue to
three pieces of bad luck"
The first was speech by Georges
Bonnet In which the French foreign
minister was reported as saying
there would be no war if the United
States would declare, in advance,
that if war came it would find her
aligned with Great Britain and
France.
They assert this had disastrous
reaction on Capitol Hill, leading
some Congress members to believe
France was inviting the United
States into an alliance. Some Off
cialS thought Foreign Minister Bon
net would have done better to keep
silent.
The second was the fact bad
weather delayed the round trip
flight to Europe of 80-year- old r.
Walton Moore, counselor of the State
Department., so that he returned
here three days late, after the vote
in the House. The veteran Mr..
Moore, who spent many years in the
House and Is the State Department
liaison man with Congress, might
have had enough influence with his
old cronies to have turned the
scales.
Blow to Leaders.
The third was the illness of the
chairman of the House Foreign Al
fairs Committee, canny Representa-
tive McReynolds, Democrat, OF Ten
nessee, whose generalship and in
fluence in the House also might have
brought victory.
The House action was a terrific
setback since Government leaders
had counted confidently on House
passage of their ideas principally
elimination of the ar S embargo)
and on the probability that a vic
tory in the House might influence
some Senators.
Still carrying on their fight, how
| ever. officials are marShaling argu-
ments against the House bill Fore
most of these is a contention that
! it cannot be administered.
In this connection. they stress the
necessity of distinguishing between
arms and munitions" and "imple-
mentS of war"
| The present Neutrality Act calls
| for an embargo on the shipment
of arms, munitions and implements
of war. The House bill leaves out
the words implements of war" so
as to exclude from the embargo. ac-
cording to various House members.
such things as airplanes and trucks.
/ Actually, the only new exclusion
would be airplaneS, since trucks are
not now included.
Clause Omitted.
The House bill does not state.
however, who shall say what are
arms and what are implements.
The present act at least provides
that the President by proclamation
shall enumerate the articles to be
embraced in an embargo. The House
bill omits this clause altogether.
Representative Vorys, Republican,
of Ohio, who introduced the House
approved embargo amendment. said
Interpretation of what constituted
implements of war could be left to
the courts. officials, however. are
concerned with administering the
bill before test cases are taken to
the courts
The National Munitions Control
Board, which issues licenses for the
export OF arms, munitions and i'm
plementS of war including air
planes) has long list of scores of
the products they have in mind,
ranging from small arms to big guns,
airplanes TO warships. explosives to
poison gas. officials say it contains
many articles that might defy clasSi-
fication as arms and munitions or
as implements of war.
While the White House and State
Department are openly dissatisfied
with the House bill, some contend
it would be extremely helpful to
Britain and France-in the event of
European war-because it permits
shipments of airplanes to bellig-
erentS.
They point out that Great Britain
and France seem to be reasonably
Self-sufticient in producing all war
equipment except planes. In their
feverish rush to rearm. the British
and French have sought only one
weapon in the United States-air-
planes.
Britain and France, in fact
have extensive arms manufacturing
plants. Their prime need from the
United States in the event of war,
some argue, would be raw materials