Evening star., 1939-09-18
'Landon, Knox
Asked 10 ParIey
Al White House
Will Attend Meeting
On Foreign Policy
Wednesday
By JOHN C. HENRY.

Alt M. Landon and Col. Frank
Knox, titular heads of the Repub-
lican party, will participate in the
bipartisan White House conference
on foreign policy and emergency
legislation scheduled for Wednesday
afternoon, it was announced today
at the White House.
The invitation to Mr.. Landon and
Col. Knox was extended by Presl-
dent Roosevelt in personal tele-
phone calls to the two men last
night. Their acceptance was imme-
diate, it was said.
Summoned to chart as nearly as
possible the legislative course of the
special session of Congress conven-
ing on Thursday, the conference will
be attended by Mr.. Roosevelt, Vice
President Garner, Secretary of State
Hull Speaker Bankhead, Senate
Majority Leader Barkley, House Ma
jority Leader Rayburn, Senate Mi
nority Leader McNary, House Mi
nority Leader Martin, Chairman
Pittman of the Senate Foreign Re-
lations Committee, Chairman Bloom
of the House Foreign Affairs Com
mittee, Assistant Majority Leader
Minton and Assistant Minority
Leader Austin, both of the Senate;
Senator Byrnes, Democrat, of South
Carolina, and Representative Mapes,
Republican, of Michigan. The addi-
ton of Mr. Landon and Col. Knox
TODAY brings the list to 16 in number.
No Governmental Coalition.
Remarking that the President is
"very happy at the acceptance OF
the Republicans who headed the
party's presidential ticket in 1886,
Stephen T. Early, presidential secre-
tary, denied the action presages for
nation of any governmental coali-
ton or bipartisan advisory group.
Actually, Mr. Early said, those in
vited are national leaders" without
regard to party or politics. To
stress this angle he cited para
graph of the Presidents radio ad-
dress of two weeks ago in which he
called for national unity with an
adjournment of partisanship and
selfshness.
The invitation to Representative
Mapes also was development OF
the last "a hours. his name not be-
ing in the original list of those in
vited Mr. Mapes is ranking Re-
| publican member of the House
Rules and Insterstate Commerce
Committees and is close adviser of
Minority Leader Martin in the
House. He is known to be partieu-
larly interested in problems of inter-
national communications.
Hoover Not Invited.
Asked why an invitation had not
been extended also to former Presi.
dent Herbert Hoover, Mr. Early re-
piled only that Mr.. Landon and
Col. Knox are titular heads of the
Republican Party.
Although Senator Byrnes Is not
member of the Foreign Relations
Committee it was indicated that
he was included in the conference
list because of his acknowledged
skill at handling important legis-
lation.
The meeting is to be held at ;
pm. Wednesday.
With Congress due to convene at
noon Thursday, Mr.. Early said the
President still has not yet begun
the actual drafting of his message
to the legislators. Neither has it
been decided whether he will pre-
sent it in person or have it read
for him.
Mr.. Roosevelt planned to lunch
today with Secretary of Treasury
Morgenthau. Earlier he was to see
Chairman Fly of the Federal Com
munications Commission and also
Donald Richberg, attorney for
American Oil companies seeking ad-
justment of appropriation damages
in Mexico.
AS the precise shaping Of our
future policy toward the European
war seemed to be pending the Presi-
dents message and the action Of
the special session, the Government
took steps today to prevent the
fraudulent registration of bellieerent
ships under the American ag, a
device which in effect wor' oe un-
neutral conduct.
Warning to Collectors.
The action was taken by the De-
partment of Commerce in a warning
to collectors and deputy collectors of
customs to scrutinize thoroughly any
asserted sale of a foreign-owne ship
to American interests. Any clause in
a sales contract by which the seller
would be permitted to repurchase the
vessels would be sufficient for refusal
of American registration, the de-
partment said.
In addition, it was pointed out that
Federal law provides for forfeiture
of a vessel if her documents are OBJ
tanned or used fraudulently.
The warning was prompted by the
possibility that belligerent countries
might seek to escape opposing block
AIDES through fraudulent identifica-
ton of ships as American-owned.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the
Associated Press reported that