Evening star., 1939-11-03

ans, the admln- E
istration has
won a notable David Lawrence.
victory.
When 1t is considered that the
Republicans lined up almost solidly
against repeal of the arms embargo
and the Democrats almost solldly
for it. the partisan nature OF the
voting receives an emphasis which
Is undeniable. Just why 81 per cent
of the Republican strength IN the
House should find themselves voting
against the embargo's repeal, while
86 per cent of the Democrats found
themselves for 1t, even though the
measure was one Of the most con-
troversial in many years, will not oe
explained on the ground OF preslden-
tial influence through spending or
patronage or any Of the other Gus
tomary powers supposed to be Wlelo-
ed by the administration.
Evidence Of Solidarity.
The truth is that the 81 Repub-
iicans who did not stick with their
party, but, under the leadership OF
Representative Wadsworth Of New
York, voted for repeal despite the
apparent partisan lineup and the 36
Democrats who deserted their party
leadership so as to vote against re-
peal, all emphasize by contrast how
little break in party lines really oc-
CURED on an issue of such Nation
wide interest. When only 81 out OF
a House membership of 435 abandon
party lines, it does look as II party
solidarity on both sides OF the aisle
has developed irrespective Of the
grave nature of the international
questions confronting America today.
Perhaps it is the coming campaign
OF 1910, perhaps it is the third-term
Issue in the background, perhaps 1t
is the recurrent fear of the Executive
discretion as exercised in the past
and perhaps also 1t is the residue OF
severa! years of bitter combat be-
tween the President and his oppo-
sitlon. but the appearance OF q
division in the House such as the
embargo vote reveals foreshadows' q
political campaign of bitter intensity.
AS for the President the vote shows
again that without the help of the
conservative Democrats in the House
or Senate, the measure he has sought
to have Congress adopt would have
failed and world history might have
been signally changed. The impor-
tance Of keeping the party harmonic
Gus by giving attention to the views
of the conservative Democrats will
tend to increase as the problem Of
holding the party together becomes
more than ever pressing to the
administration.
Margin Is Surprise.
The margin of 81 votes by which
the embargo was eliminated is larger
than anybody had foreseen. The
belief is being expressed here that
the final debate did line up some of
the doubtful ones. If this is the
case, it Is the first time this has
happened in long time. Persuasive
speeches came from both sides Of
the aisle, but one of the most con-
vincing was from the lips Of Repre-
sentative Wadsworth of New York,
who put the whole issue on the plane
of future commitments of American
policy toward weak countries. He
said that the embargo's retention
worked in favor of the stronger
nations with resources and made 1t
difficult If not impossible for smaller
nations hereafter to assure them
selves Of a supply Of munitions II
they should be caught in a war
waged against them by aggressor
states.
While there are a few technical
steps to be taken before the embargo
repeal has been formally enacted,
the fight is about over. It has not
lasted as long as expected. One
reason doubtless was the seizure Of
the City of Flint by the Germans.
Had the new bill been written into
law, the City of Flint would not have
been permitted in the war zones.
The incident may have brought a
hasty end of debate. The new bill
virtually forbids all voyages to
belligerent countries. especially In
Europe. The full effect of the new
measure on trade with Europe has
yet to be appraised and there will be
difficulties for the allies which they
did not have in the last war, where
as, the Germans are carrying on a
submarine campaign much more
effective at this stage of the war
than in the corresponding early
months of the last war.