Evening star., 1939-06-17

would never be
invoked in the @>'
event that David Lawrence.
world war broke out again. For, In
any such serious situation, there
would be a special session of Con-
gress called almost overnight, and,
in less than weeks time, the Amer
lean people would be crystallizing
their views so that action would be
taken to fit the particular situation
arising.
If Great Britain, for example, be-
came embroiled in war, and if
Canada asked her neighbor for GER
tain supplies, it is inconceivable that
they would be denied. If the exist
ence of Canada were threatened and
the United States refused to export
raw materials, the incident would
mark the first break in the historic
friendship which has prevailed so
long between the two nations.
To talk of legislating a perma-
ment embargo on arms or credits
against Canada is to argue for
something which. in an emergency,
would be repudiated anyhow.
Since, therefore, the issue is aca-
demic at this time and there is no
real need for action except posi-
bly,, by repeal of the existing law,
to notify the world that the United
States maintains a free hand to
act as she sees fit in any emergency,
the only consequence of prolonged
debate is to give aid and comfort
to the Democrats, whose record thus
far in Congress has been submerged
because of the greater emphasis
placed on questions of foreign
policy. The neutrality problem can
easily be disposed of by creating a
national board or commission COM
posed of Senators and Representa-
tives and cabinet officers, to whom
full discretionary powers could be
delegated when the present law is
repealed.
For a long time, the Democrats
were worried lest the present ses-
sion turn into an investigation of
the New Deal. accompanied by
determined effort to amend such
laws as the Wagner Labor Rela-
tons Act and the Minimum Wage
statute and the Securities and Ex-
change Act. Had there been no
smokescreen of foreign issues, the
Democrats would never have got by
without some severe assaults on
their citadel. But the Republicans
came to their rescue.
First, there was the Republican
propaganda that high officials of
the administration here were re-
sponsible for the war scare in Eu-
rope. 1t did not seem to matter
that the British had a real war
scare of their own and that Hitler
was acting up in Central Europe.
Public opinion in America finally
refused to believe that the Gov
eminent here was taking the initia-
tive in bringing on war, and, when
President Roosevelt subsequently
made his dramatic plea for peace,
he gave further corroboration that
the Government was not trying
to bring on war. The Republican
strategy was rendered futile.
Behind the scenes, no doubt, the
New Deal was happy over the de-
bate because 1t turned public at
tention from domestic issues. If
the Republicans had followed their
traditional policy of going along
with the administration In power
on foreign policy and had concen-
trated on domestic issues, the ad-
ministration would have been in a
hole politically. Public sentiment on
necessary changes in the Wagner
law, on restrictions on w. p. A.
spending and on the far-reaching
effects of the unbalanced budget
would have been much more readily
built If the headlines from Wash
ington had not been monopolized
by war issues.
Now, as the session of Congress
Is at the midsummer stage and
there Is an anxiety of members to
get away, the only chance to focus
public attention on domestic ques-
tions is again about to be forfeited
by the manufacture of an artificial
issue on the arms embargo. The
theory Is that vote against the en-
barge will be regarded as a pro-war
vote, whereas a vote fore the en-
barge will be construed as a vote
for peace and that back home this
will be a factor in the next elections.
Well, If the world situation doesn't
change between now and November,
1910, 1t will be a miraculous period
Of status quo such as has not been
witnessed in recent years. The neu-
trality sentiment of America may
undergo many changes between now
and then, and, If the Congress
wishes to reverse itself in the Janu-
ary, 1910, session, due to public
sentiment, 1t will have an oppor-
tunity to do so.
To f1libuster or take up time in
Congress now with neutrality dis
cussions is merely to play into the
hands of the New Dealers, who
would like to have the critics forget
all about domestic issues. Doubt
less the Republicans, who have been
SO obliging before, will repeat their
unwilling courtesy in the next few
weeks.
(Reproduction r!ghts reseryed)