The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1940-05-16
(By Staff Writer)

NCAlC1O1IS III avs 1lCd1 dIIO SO1lSA CD
is going through the motions /o1
speeding up in preparation fol
adjournment, the observer sitting
on the sidelines notes great dea
more evidence of political consid'
Grafton in the goings on in botf
houses, than of real interest ir
the national welfare.
Practically the only measure Of
consequence which this session Of
the 10th Congress has considered
on its merits apart from its politi-
cal effects is the group of legis-
lation which comes under the
head of National Defense.
There has been practically nc
opposition from either side OF
either chamber to the approval OF
plans and appropriation of funds
for charging the Navy, the Air
Corps and the Army, and OF &C
cumulating a supply Of war ma
terials which might be difficult
to get if the war zone is further
extended. Not that anybody SER
iously expects the United States
to become involved in the war,
but you never can tell.
The clearest exposition that has
been made of the war policy OF
the United States as it has been
shaped by the present Admins
tration, and the details of the dis
cussions and actions which led up
to it, is contained in book called
american White Paper" written
by two bright young Washington
newspaper men, Joseph Alsop
and Robert Kintner.
Unofficial Document
It is a purely unofficial docu-
ment, but it bears internal evil
dence of having been compiled
from official information. 1t has
created a sensation in political
circles, and its young authors
seem to be on the road to wealth;
for the paper-covered volume is
reported to be selling at the rate
of 5000 copies day at 81 copy.
This correspondent has no per-
sonal interest in giving the book
a free puff, but does not hesitate
to recommend that every intelli-
gent American of any party
ought to read it. 1t is the most
enlightening document yet pub
lished in its exposition of the way
in which the President, his Cabi-
net and the American diplomats
abroad handled the troublesome
problem of what the American
position should be when the war,
which they foresaw long before
it broke, should finally come.
The effect of this document is
not likely to be the development
Of opposition to the Administra-
TONS policy of trying to help the
Allies in every possible way
without making any commit
ments which could possibly in
volve the United States in actual
warfare. That is almost the only
point of Administration policy
which is not subject to violent at
tack by the Republican minori-
ty, as we'll as from within the
ranks of the Democratic Party.
Some very funny things have
been going on in Congress, all
of them obviously motivated by
political consideration. There was
the shelving of the proposed
amendments to the Wages and
Hours Law, for example
It was evident early in the ses-
sion that a majority of the MEM
bers favored changes in this law.
The minority group which wan
ted no change, managed by par
liamentary manouvering to bring
it up for consideration in such
way that any member could offer
any amendment which he thought
might be productive CT votes in
his home district to help him get
reelected.
HOdge-POdge Results
The result was such a hodge
podge of amendments as to make
the old law completely unwork-
able, so that on the final vote
practically all Of the members
agreed that the only thing to do
with it was to toss it back into
the pigeon-hole and let the next
Congress tackle it.
The mystery of what happened
to the second Hatch-Dempsey bill
to control political activities, in
the House Judiciary Committee,
probably never will be solved.
A secret ballot was taken in the
Committee with the results, as re-
ported by Chairman Summers, of
fourteen votes against reporting
the bill to ten in favor of it. But
as soon as that was publicly an
nounced Representative Dempsey
of New Mexico made a private
canvass of the Committeeman