Evening star., 1939-06-28
The Neutrality Bottle

The Neutrality Bottle
The neutrality battle has opened
in the House with unexpected fury.
Administration forces, until recently,
had anticipated no great difficulty
In getting approval of that body on
the Hull neutrality program as in
corporated into the so-called Bloom
bill. The bill was favorably reported
by the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs in short order and seemed
headed for early enactment. by the
House despite a gathering storm
from the isolationist forces. But on
the eve of the measures debut on
the floor, administration leaders in
the House went into huddle and,
IN apparent fright at the belligerent
aspect Of the opposition bloc, decided
to capitulate before the opening
guns were fired. They are said to
have agreed to let certain provisions
OF the Hull program go by the boards
In the hope OF saving what both sides
concede is the most important part
OF it-that which provides for re-
peal Of the 1887 Neutrality Act with
its arms embargo provision.
The determination of the House
leadership to make last-ditch fight
for elimination from the statute
books Of the detruncated 1887 law
which, through its embargo clause,
tends to place dangerous shackles on
the President with respect to his ira
ditional and constitutional author
ity as sole organ of the Nation in its
external relations" (the quotation is
from John MarshalD, is highly COM
mendable. In this connection it is of
interest to note what the Supreme
Court had to say as late as 1886 on
the question of discretionary powers
Tor the Executive. In upholding
presidential proclamation against
arms shipments to participants in
the Chaco war, the court said: when
the President is to be authorized by
legislation to act in respect of mat
ter intended to affect a situation in
foreign territory, the legislator prop
erly bears in mind the important
consideration that the form of
the Presidents action-or, indeed,
whether he shall act at all-may
we'll depend, among other things,
upon the nature Of the confidential
information which he has or may
thereafter receive, or upon the effect
which his action may have upon our
foreign relations. This considera-
tion, In connection with what we
have already said on the subject.
discloses the unwisdom of requiring
Congress in this field of govern
mental power to lay down narrowly
definite standards by which the
President is to be governed" The
embargo provision of existing law
certainly restricts the President to a
narrow and definite course in any
given emergency-ignoring the fact
That greater freedom of action con-
celvably might be absolutely essen
tial to avert American involvement.
Among provisions in the Bloom bill
which, for lack Of vigorous champion
Ing may be sacrificed in the cause of
all important embargo repeal, is the
one which would empower the Presi-
dent to describe combat zones into
which American ships and nationals
would not be permitted to venture.
This would amount to abandonment
OF the carry" part Of what amounts
to the "cash and carry" provisions of
the bill, and would open wide the
doors to the very type of wartime
shipping operations which the Nye
Munitions Committee and other au-
thorities have asserted were largely
to blame for American ENHANCEMENT
in the World War. Unless one holds
the preposterous theory that Presi-
dent OF the United States would de-
liberately misuse his office to plunge
this country into war, enactment of
the combat zone provision would
mean only that ships flying the
American flag would have to keep
clear Of dangerous areas, that bel
ligerents desiring to trade with us
would have to come and get it" at
their own risk-not ours. That Is
,<vo1 {$xr ~
riety-especially If the additional
safeguard of divesting the goods Of
American title Is taken as provided
in. the "cash" section of the program.
Surely the dollar value to American
shipping interests, or even a possible
curtailment our potential foreign