Evening star., 1941-12-11
Smathers Minute
Late in Race 10
Cast Vote for. War
Senator Speeds Back
From Jersey for Action
Against Germany

Senator Smathers of New Jersev
raced against time to make the war
roll call against Germany in the
Senate and lost by exactly minute
He was in time to answer the roll
call vote on the war on Italy, how
ever.
Despite the cooperation OF four
police forces, the Senator arrived on
the floor Just in time to learn ne
was too late for the first vote.
Many members of the House had
difficulty in reaching the Capital In
time to vote on the declaration OF
war against Germany, but all OF
them later had an opportunity to
declare in the House that If they
had been present they would have
voted in favor of the declaration.
Tinkham Oversleeps.
Six House members reached the
chamber too late to vote on the
declaration against Germany, but
were in time to vote on the declara-
ton against Italy. They were Rep
resentatives Allen of Illinois, who
was at the O. P. M; Flannery.
Scanlon and Weiss, all of Pennsyl-
vania, who had to charter plane
from Philadelphia to Washington,
Magnusson, Washington, a Naval
Reserve officer, who was at the Navy
Department endeavoring to find
out when he would be called into
service, and Tnkham of Massachu-
sets. who oversight and was not
awakened in time to vote on the
declaration against Germany.
Immediately after learning that
Germany and italy had declared
war on the United States, Senator
Smathers who had gone to his At
lantic City home last night, notified
his office here that he was on his
way and started back to Washington
With Dick Rogers. a Senate clerk,
at the wheel he headed for the
New Castle Ferry. At the ferry. he
told the change taker to call ahead
and notify police en- route he was
coming through.
Speeds at Is NJ. P. H.
At the other end of the ferry he
was met by a Delaware State police
man. Shattering the States strict
speed rules. the Senator speeded
as high as rs miles an hour. At
the Maryland State line, he was
escorted by Maryland police to the
outskirts of Baltimore, where city
police cleared his way through the
heavily congested downtown area.
Maryland police Joined him again
at the Baltimore city line and be-
hind q motorcycle escort and police
car, he came to the District line
where city police met him and took
him to the Senate entrance of the
Capitol.
There Edward Keeley, his sec
retary, had been waiting on the
steps for half an hour. When the
secretary heard the sirens in the
distance he dashed inside to find
roll call had startd.
Rushes Inside.
The Senator leaped out of his
car calling, Have we missed it,
Ed?" and rushed inside without
waiting for an answer. The entire
trip took slightly less than three
hours, cutting an hour off the usual
fast driving time for the trip.
It was the first time he had left
the city in three weeks. His Of
fee explained he was concerned
about his wife, who is expecting a
child.
AS the first roll was being called,
two other Senators Andrews OF
Florida and Tydings of Maryland -
were hurrying to reach the cham
ber. Senator Andrews was conduct
ing a committee hearing and, like
Senator Smathers, reached the
chamber just a moment after it had
been completed. He could not be
recorded on the resolution against
Germany, but, with Senator Sma-
thers, voted on the next resolution
against Italy.
Senators Tydings did not reach
the Senate until half an hour later.
Explaining he had been delayed by
a late train, he announced he would
have voted for both of the war resol-
utions and for the bill to lift re-
strictions on the sending of Ameri-
can land forces beyond the hemis-
phere.
Four other Senators were unable
to be present. Senator Bone, Demo-
crat of Washington, and Senator
Wagner, Democrat of New York,
have been in i'll health; Senator
Wheeler, Democrat of Montana, was
called to Massachusetts by illness in
his family; and Senator Lee, Demo-
crat of Oklahoma is ont of town