Evening star., 1941-03-07


Jay C. Hayden. houses OF Con-
gresS, in 1887, Mr.. Roosevelt ap-
parently acted on the assumption
that he had received carte blanc to
fix over the Government to suit
himself. And despite the diSillusion-
ment he then suffered, he seems to
be proceeding on the theory that his
reelection for a third term consti-
tuted a popular mandate not only
for aid TO Britain but for one-man
control in all matters Of American
foreign relations.
Just plain citizens, watching the
Senate debate during the last three
weeks, must have wondered why.
with more than tWo-thirdS of that
body listed in favor of the lease-lend
bill, administration leaders have ap-
peared to be at the mercy Of the
opposition. The reasons most COM
mentators give for this condition
are: First, the Senate's tradition OF
unlimited debate and, secondly, the
ineptness of Mr.. Barkley and the
other Democratic floor managers.
Suspicious of President.
The Senate rules are calculated to
foster delay, and Mr.. Barkley's pen-
chant for filibustering against him
self is amazing. but there is a third
and much more important element
in the present situation. 1t Is that
while at least three-fourths of ths
! Senators ardently favor all possibls
aid to Britain. short of direct war
/ involvement, about half of these
/ suspect Mr.. Roosevelt of more far
reaching designs.
| The most obvious underlying SEN
atorial fear is that the Presidents
impulsiveness will take the United
| States into war and that the sweep
/ ing powers proposed to be given him
in the leaSe-lend bill would increase
this possibility. Not so frequently
expressed, but even more troubling
to many Senators is their suspicion
that Mr.. Roosevelt sees the war sit
uation as an opportunity to promote
social and economic changes both
at home and abroad and that he Is
planning to use the big money bag,
that would be handed him by the
lease-lend bill to this end.
Hence a great many Senators, who
nave declared their intention TO vote
for the bill on final passage, are con-
spring, some of them openly and
others secretly, to whittle it down by
amendments This state of mind
makes it impossible to obtain the
1 two-thirds vote necessary to apply
cloture, even to inaugurate night
/ sessions such as might wear down
the opposition orators.
| People Believed Suspicious.
Mr.. Barkley did call for opening
/ Senate sessions an hour earlier than
usual but on Monday and Tuesday,
/ the first two days this was in vogue,
q half hour or more was required to
muster quorum. One day last week
the Senate was forced to adjourn
shortly after S o'clock for lack OF q
quorum 1t is a remarkable circum-
stance that, with more than two
thirds of the membership supposedly
at his beck and call. Mr.. Barkley IN
not able to command the bare ma
jority necessary to keep his legisla-
tive machine going for six hours
a day
There is ground for believing the
people. no less than Congress, are
vaguely troubled by suspicious con-
cerning the underlying implications
of the lease-lend bill. All polls have
shown an overwhelming popular ma
jority in favor of American material
aid to Great Britain, China and
Greece. Tests of opinion on the
lease lend bill have shown pro ma
| jorities almost as large. But persons
who have felt strongly enough on
! the subject to write to their mem
bers of Congress are in ratio
| heavily against the bill.
Supporters Of the measure, dis
turbed by the latter manifestation,
have induced newspapers and radio
stations in some States to urge
their readers and listeners to writs
the legislators in favor of the bill,
Fight Could Have Been Shortened.
One point upon which all legisla-
tive strategiStS are agreed is that
the fight could have been very much
shortened by calling in majority and
minority leaders and permitting
them to have hand in drafting the
bill. Both Senator McNary and
Representative Martin, Republican
leaders of the Senate and House,
have said they expected such call
and were fully prepared to Coop
crate
True, the bill could not have
! kpA
the bald form in which it was orig
inally introduced, but neither will
it pass in that form. 1t already has
been contracted by some 20 amend
ments, inserted in the House or
Senate. The life of the legislation
has been restricted to two years. In
stead of virtually unlimited spend
ing, which it originally authorized,
the value of goods the President Is
permitted to dispose of without ad-
ditional appropriations, now is linn
tied to $1,000, 100000. The restric-
ton of the Neutrality Act against
use of American vessels to carry
supplies to Britain is reiterated.
Similarly the use of American naval
vessels to convoy such supplies In
specifically forbidden.
Might Have Been Avoided.
Unless all signs fail, the admin
istration finally will be forced to
accept something approximating the
now pending Ellender amendment.
stipulating that the bill does not
grant the President additional
powers" to use American land or
naval forces outside the Western
Hemisphere.
The point of all of which is that
these amendments have or will be
accepted only after weeks of acri-
monious debate, whereas they might
have been written into the bill orig
inally without loss of time and with
out damaging its professed purpose
to make the United States the ar
senal" of embattled democracies.
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