Evening star., 1939-07-12

tions-may be the unwilling cause
OF American participation in a fu-
ture war.
The Senators have refused to al
low the rights of international law
to be exercised by the Department
of State in behalf of American citi-
zens in time of war, and have in
sisted upon putting the American
Government in the position of IA
Voring Germany and Italy and
Japan in the event of an outbreak
of war between the axis powers and
Great Britain and France.
For the immediate effect of the
refusal of the Senators to repeal
the 'partiality'' provisions of the
existing neutrality law is to deny
the British and French the expec-
tation of being able to come to
American shores and buy their sup
plies OF airplanes, arms and ammu-
milton, even though the exporters
sell at their own risk.
The action of the Senators could
easily be the basis for the provoca-
ton of ill-feeling between America
and the European democracies and
between the United States and her
northern neighbor-Canada. Presi-
dent Roosevelt and Secretary Hull
see the dangers in what the isola-
ZIONIST Senators have done and are
insistent that the present laws be
changed, but it cannot be done evi-
IDENTIFY at the present session of
Congress. This NAV mean the call
ing OF an extra session in the au-
tumn.
Embargo Against Axis Meaningless.
Mr.. Roosevelt may find in the
interim that American public opin-
ion does not relish the idea of for
bidding Great Britain and France
to have American munitions in time
OF war, because that's what the
action of the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee means in the end.
For the German and italian navies
are not strong enough to come to
America for wartime supplies and
SO an embargo against selling to the
so-called axis powers is meaning
less. Hence the refusal of the Sen
ate Foreign Relations Committee to
allow the Senate to vote on the
proposition of removing restrictions
from the neutrality laws is just the
same as if the Senators had said
openly that they wanted to bring
about situation in which one side
can benefit while the other cannot.
The Senators of the "isolationist"
bloc maintain, of course, that they
do not wish to favor either side, but
that is precisely the argument made
by the pro-German Senators be-
tween 1914 and 1917 when agitation
Tor an embargo on arms and on
credits was proved to have been
inspired by German sources. Ger
man constituencies in America were
influenced to persuade Senators to
vote for the embargo and it was one
of the most bitter fights of the pre-
war period.
Today the German point of view
has triumphed without any influ-
ence from Berlin. The change is
based on the fear of German at
tacks on American shipping and on
the notion that the President and
the Secretary of State cannot be
trusted to do the right thing at the
time an emergency arises and that
legislative restriction is better. It
is amazing that the same Senate
which has been willing to delegate
almost unlimited powers to the
President to run the fiscal affairs
of the Nation, to allow boards and
commissions to legislate on labor
relations and a dozen other vital
matters in American economic life
is unwilling to trust the present
Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, to
see to it that America is not drawn
into foreign war.
More Undeclared Wars.
Great Britain and France, disap-
pointed at the unwillingness of the
Senate Foreign Relations Commit
tee to permit trade in war time
to be governed by international law,
may find it more convenient in the
future to adopt the japanese idea
Of ''undeclared war" Proclamations
of war may become obsolete on ac-