Evening star., 1940-11-26

when the official position of the Re-
publicans and isolationists was that
there would be no war, and when
Senator Borah said that he had
superior resources" of informa-
ton to those enjoyed by the Gov
ernment and that these sources as
sured him that war would not come.
So Congress adjourned, war came
and our National Legislature was
sadly discredited.
Ever since then, whenever RooSe-
velt wants the boys to stay in town
all he needs to do is to hint that
it is time for them to go home and
they ring the welkin with angry cries
that they owe it to their country
to stay on the job.
Congress of Cowardice"
The truth is-as previously noted
in these columns-that this Con-
gress is the Congress of our Mu-
nich-men, our defeatists and our
appeasers. 1t was chosen and re-
ceived its mandate from the people
in the great wave of disillusion and
DESPAIR which followed the betrayal
of Czecho-Slovakia in October, 1888.
One month later our people went
to the polls and-in mood of po-
litical disgust and moral nausea
elected the members of the Seventh-
Sixth Congress.
This was the Congress that muffed
every chance, that blocked every
l 1F
and confusion-it was a Congress Of
cowardice, collection of Lillipu-
tians, whose once clear impuse was
| Illustration.
1t was only after the fall Of
France that this Congress picked up
| courage from Roosevelt and from
the people. Faced with the White
House taunt that all they dared
do would be to make speeches, they
dared to pass the Selective Service
Act and complete the appropriation
for our great rearmament program.
Whenever they slack off, Roosevelt
needles them with a hint that they
might as well go home-and they
angrily vote to. remain in session
paid by the public.
Congress of Courage" Ahead.
The Seventy Seventh Congress
will, accordingly be Congress Of
courage. 1t received its mandate
from the same calm, determined
electorate which voted Roosevelt into
a third term with a landslide. 1t re.
ceived its mandate from the over.
whelming majority of our citizens,
who stood fast against all appeals to
fear, hatred, ignorance and prejudice.
1t received its mandate from the
American people, in their Reputation
Of defeatism, appeasement and de-
spair of democracy. 1t received its
mandate from the voters who stopped
and reversed the drift toward in
creased Republican strength in the
House and purged the Senate Of
some of its most bitter anti-New
+ Dealers, such as King of Utah,
Burke of Nebraska and Vic Donahey
| of Ohio
That is why the New Dealers are
delighted and secretly amused at
the little game Roosevelt has been
playing on Capitol Hill. That is why
they look forward with eagerness to
the growing mood of legislative de-
termination-in Washington. That
Is why they chuckle over the simple
faith of some conservatives that II
Congress remains in session it can
still knife the New Deal by passing
the Logan bill to hamstring the New
Deal agencies and by adopting the
so-called Smith amendment" tos
the National Labor Relations Act.I
For the die is cast, the decisionl
has been taken, and the country is
going forward under a broad grant
of power to President Roosevelt and
his New Deal-Democratic party to.
promote the general welfare and to
defend American democracy through
more-not less-social legislation.