Evening star., 1939-07-13
The Neutrality Crisis

President Roosevelt and Secretary
Hull have good cause to be gravely
concerned over the failure of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
to act on the vital neutrality prob
lem at this session of Congress. Their
anxiety is shared by many well-in-
formed persons who realize the dire
implications of such inaction. In the
light of the smouldering fires of Eu-
ropean unrest, 1t is dangerous for
Congress to shut up shop without
repeating or modifying the present
Neutrality Act, the embargo section
of which is q definite menace to
world peace-and consequently to
American peace-because it has the
effect Of aligning the United States
with the aggressors in their visions
OF conquest. The latter would suf-
fer no i'll effects from an arms en-
barge because they are we'll equip
ped with planes and bombs and
guns and bulwarked by great NUM-
tlons plants-some of them recently
seized in -Slovakia. France
and England on the other hand, need
additional arms and planes. The
United States, by refusing to repeal
the embargo provision, serves notice
on the aggressors that their pros
pective victims will be deprived of
an important source of essential
instruments of defense. The heils
with which the Nazi press greeted
the recent embargo stand of the
House and the action of the Senate
committee is indicative of the en-
couragement which this sort of isola-
tionism gives the dictators.
But there are even greater hazards
in the course to which the Senate
committee has subscribed. It does
not require an alarmist point of
view to envision the reaction of
the American people if the worst
happens this summer or autumn
across the Atlantic, as many COM
petent observers fear it will. It would
take little more than a few ruthless
air raids on London and Paris-With
possibly the death or injury of
some American citizens or the de-
struction of American property-to
stir the passions of our people to
fever heat. There would be demands
for action by this Government-for a
special session of Congress to con-
slder the emergency. And undoubt-
edly the most insistent demand
would be for repeal of the embargo
act handicapping the democracies
in their fight for existence. But then
1t would be too late to change our
foreign policy without risking the
wrathful charge of the aggressor ma
tlons that we were casting neutrality
TO the winds and taking sides while
the battle ragged. Lifting of the en-
oargo after war has broken out
we'll might be regarded by Europe's
trouble-makers as an act of war on
the part OF the United States. The
very ENHANCEMENT feared by the iso-
lationists would come swiftly, ines
capably. 1t is with these ominous
possibilities in mind that the Presi-
dent and Secretary Hull have deter
mined to continue their efforts to
obtain at least some Of the safe
guards against involvement con-
tanned in the legislative program
proposed by Mr.. Hull. The foun-
dation of that program was re-
peal of the embargo provision. Its
keystone was cash and carry" pol
icy OF trade with belligerents, under
traditional rules of international
law. That the Senate should turn
its back on these reasonable peace
proposals without even considering
them in committee is unworthy of
the greatest deliberative body in the
world"