Evening star., 1939-07-03

Charles G. Ross. amendment re-
jecting the proposed outright repeal
OF the arms embargo in the present
law and writing into the pending
bill an embargo on the shipment of
arms or ammunition" to beligerent
nations. The amendment was
adopted by 214 votes to 173.
One hundred and ffty-eight Re
publlcanS, out of total party mem
bership of l69 in the House, either
voted or were paired for the Vorys
proposal Exactly seven Republicans
voted against it.
Talk about politics ending at the
water line
The names of the seven who
stayed outside the Republican pha-
lanx deserve to be set down. One
OF them was Bruce Barton of New
York, and the writer records his
name here with special pleasure in
view OF the animadversions in this
column last week on a neutrality
bill speech by Mr.. Barton. The
others were Ball of Connecticut. Cole
Of New York, Kean of New Jersey,
Mas Of Minnesota, Stearns of New
Hampshire and Wadsworth of New
York.
Distinction Hypocritical.
What of the bill itself? As was
said here recently. the compromise
that it seeks to write into the law
is thoroughly hyprocritical. Where
as the law as it now stands forbids
the sale to belligerents of arms,
ammunition and implements Of
war the proposed modified en-
barge runs only against arms and
ammunition. The House says it is
all right for the United States to
carry on a wartime trade in mill
tary airplanes, trucks and other
equipment covered by the phrase
implements of war" but all wrong
to sell "lethal" weapon to a bellig-
erent.
An attempt was made in the
House debate to justify this unreal
distinction between kinds of Weap-
ons on the ground that it would
! comfort" our people, and doubtless
some OF the members had that no.
ton in mind when they voted for
the Vorys amendment To ad-
vance such an argument is to put
a pretty low estimate on the in
telligence of the people.
| The bill as it came out of the
House bore little resemblance to
the measure which, carrying out
the recommendations of the Secre-
tary of State, sought to give effect
to consistent policy-that of per-
mltting belligerents to buy any of
our commodities. arms as well as
wheat cotton, scrap iron or any
thing else. on the cash-and-
basis. 1t would be consistent also
to close our markets completely to
bellgerentS, but not even the most
ardent isolationist is willing to fol-
low the embargo idea through to its
logical conclusion.
Bill Now Hodge Podge.
What we have in the House bill
is a hodge podge of confusing
provisions, written there partly out
of a misguided effort to satisfy all
parties to the controversy over our
foreign policy and partly out of
sheer desire to discredit the ad-
ministration.
1t Is generally assumed that the
snarl produced by the action of the
House will prevent any neutrality
legislation at this session. The
present law, then, with it's ban on
the shipment of arms, ammunition
and implements of war, will remain.
Since the cash-and-carry provisions
of this law, applying to all other
articles of commerce. expired on
May l of this year, without renewal,
the sale of all these articles can be
carried on in the usual way. and
all can be carried in American as
well as foreign bottoms. IN order
to gain their ends with respect to
munitions, the isolationists pay the
price of seeing restrictions removed
from ordinary commerce. 1t may
turn out to have been a price dan
gerous to the peace of the United
States.
The worst of the whole sorry busi-
ness, though, is the encouragement
which the House action tends to
give the aggressor states of Europe.
1t is Hitler and Mussolini who are
entitled to be "comforted."