Evening star., 1940-08-06

Constitution, the
calling out of David Lawrence.
the National Guard may become
equivalent to entry into a war in
which there has been an invasion
by foreign forces.
Section of article l of the Con.
stitution says:
THE Congress shall have power
s"' to provide for calling forth
the militia to execute the laws OF
the Union, suppress insurrection
and repel invasions."
It Is generally conceded that the
United States will not enter the
present war except when attacked
or, to put it another way, only ito
repel invasion" There will be no
necessity for formal declaration
of war hereafter, or for the Presi-
dent to get any further authority
from Congress in the event that
the bill authorizing the National
Guard Is passed by both houses of
Congress this week. At a moment S
notice, the President as commander
in chief of the Army and Navy can
order both into instant action ito
repel invasion" and he can send
troops to any part of the United
States or to our overseas possessions
and even into foreign territories if
such action is part of an expedition
which is endeavoring ito repel in
vasion."
In view Of the suddenness with
which aerial warfare can be bepqn,
1t may become necessary for Ameri-
can airplanes abruptly to land on
bases in nearby seas where action
hostile to the United States may
have begun or be in contemplation
by other air forces.
Authorization for Action.
Heretofore, the President could
always order the landing of ma
rines on foreign territories pre-
sumably to protect American citi-
zens and their properties and it
has never been considered neces-
sary to get formal authorization
from Congress. Our naval forces
have appeared in foreign ports and
In the case of Vera Cruz actually
bombarded the town and landed
naval forces in 1914 without a pre-
vious authorization from Congress,
though, in this instance, President
Wilson did seek and did obtain
congressional ratification shortly
thereafter.
Once the die Is cast, however
authorization Is rarely withheld for
American forces are then in the
midst of their military or naval
operations. In the present case
everything will depend on whether
the Nazis make move either di-
rectly or through their French
pawns. There are parts of the
Western Hemisphere now belonging
to France through which embar-
rassment may arise if the Nazis de-
eide to launch any attacks or tc
assist in the fermentation of trouble
The calling out of the militia gives
the President power to repel any
invasion on United States territory
with the National Guard, but he
has the broad power already to send
the Regular Army into any part OF
the world where the Navy has gone
to protect American interests.
Possibility of Attack.
1t is generally supposed that the
draft army and the National Guard
will be trained for home defense
and that the regulars will be used
for any overseas duty if an emer-
gency arises.
The trainers Of the Constitution
may never have heard of a "blitz-
krieg" but they did take into ac-
count the possibility of sudden
attack when there would not be
time for a President to assemble
Congress and obtain q formal de-
claration of war. In present day
history, formal declarations of war
have become obsolete. Undeclared
war is the rule rather than the ex-
ception. For this reason, the pre-
caution being taken by the Presi-
dent in summoning the National
Guard to service is in line with the
belief OF the founding fathers that
Congress could provide in advance
for the calling out of the State
militia "to repel INVASION
There is nothing in the Constitu-
ton which defines what invasion"
means but 1t is to be assumed that
invasion" is synonymous with at
tack by foreign power against any
territory or military or naval force
OF the United States.
Interests Defined,
Recently both Houses of Con-
gress by overwhelming vote defined
American interests in this hem
isphere. This was in connection
with a resolution reafirming the
Monroe Doctrine. Would any in
vasion of the Western Hemisphere
conflicting with the terms of that
resolution be considered an Gin
vasion" in the sense in which the
Constitution uses the term? The
answer is that the President by the
end Of this week will have obtained
full authority derived from two
steps, each of which has been sepa-