Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-07
Congress
Apprehensive
OF War Vote
Convoy, Then Overt FIGHT
in Attack Held Possible
BY PAUL MALLON


words 10 smooth over the real
apprehensions of this assembling
Congress. now cogitating Mr..
Roosevelt's initial advice. What
they are saying is that it will
be "a momcntouS session" They
mean they fear war will come
before them as voting PROPOSE
ton within their next two years,
possibly within one
In talking with them you will
find majority has apparently
noted the development of Ameri-
can position since the conflict
-bfei4e- In Europe; n Deter
mined neutrality, 90 Quiet aid
to Britain and then go Open
aid.
No one can know what fur
Their progression in that line will
bring. but a fourth step of I'M
limited credits by leasing is at
hand, and fifth might well be
conveying the delivery of goods
Ia Britain, then tsiXth) the overt
act of fighting on the seas when
the conveys are attacked.
THERE is a group preparing
TO resist this course of pos
sibilitieS, small. poorly organ
lied band of minority Republic
GINS and Democrats in the
House and more efficient
wing functioning in the Senate
under the leadership of Senator
Wheeler, who is succeeding. in
part, to the. place of the late
Senator Borah.
A casual check indicates no
more than Is senators have been
actively working with Wheeler.
However, he may swing far
more than that number away
from the doubtful and confused
-contristS on certain issues, but
he is fighting a tide.
At the other end of the con-
-gressional-fiife- Is growing
number of those who hope with
Senator Carter Glass that the
navy IS sent over Ito blast hell
out of Germany
THEIR hopes are hampered by
Il the fact that our one-ocean
fleet will receive only two addi-
tional new battleships delivered
in 1911. (Thesc two were
started in 1879 our two
ocean fleet will not be finished
for five long ycarS-1916.
Admiral Stark has said the
completion date could be adj
vanced a year To Is months by
the utmost effort. and this no
doubt will be done, but there, is
still a preparatory matter of
three and a half years ahead Of
us. tNo keels of the two-ocean
program have yet been laid
Between these congressional
extremes is the great majority,
very serious and worried. in
contemplation of the gravity of
the problems confronting il, but
not by any means timid or
lacking in determination to fol-
low the rearmamcnt and British
aid features of Mr.. RooSevelt's
program through to the limit.
DIG man of this Congress will
I'D be Sam Rayburn the fair
minded, serious Texan
If the day of congressional
bosses had not been terminated
by moderniZatlon of the rules.
and if Rayburn was less sternly
democratic in his ways. he
would be hailed as the successor
to Joe Cannon and Champ
Clark. AS it is. he IS the
dominant authority in the House
and the most influential man IN
the whole of Congress.
He rules by remote control.
simply by knowing everything
that is going on. Mr.. Roosevelt
has come TO depend on him.
White House telephone calls to
his office have become increaS-
ingly frequent of late
Rayburn is thus taking a po-
stion as the first active speaker
OF the House since Garner. His
past few predecessors have
either been-iif or d1snCilncd 10
gather in the relnS OF power
that were available.
His associates say he has
gained Mr.. RooSevelts conf
dence by speaking frankly. a
practice not widely followed by
government officials IN their
White House dealings.
1t Is probably that same trait
of honest talking which enabled
Rayburn to be Gamers best
friend and a White House leader
in Congress in a period of po-
litical confusion within the
Democratic Party
INVERTED tales of some
,,..yto fDorf~inpp,s md o,-.,,