Evening star., 1941-07-10

from Ohio can't tell the President
what to do because he can't get into
] the White House"
mo Election This Year"
There was laughter among the
Senators and in the galleries.
Senator Taft sought to differen.
tiate between sending American
forces to China to protect Ameri.
cans there during the Boxer Re-
bellion and sending them to Iceland
where there were no Americans tc
defend.
Senator Connally denied there was
a difference. He said:
There is no election this year
This is no time for guerrilla warfare
! against the administration
Senator Danaher ridiculed Sena.
tor Connally's observations.
"All that was needed to complete
the picture" Senator Danaher said
was Gov. ODaniels' hill billy band
Gov. O'Daniels, who campaigned
for the chief executive post in Texas
with a hill billy band, has been
elected to the Senate on the basis of
unofficial returns.
Senator Danaher said Senator
Connally had made no adequate an
swer to Senator Tafts fortnight
speech.
Sees Majority Against War.
In his speech, that aroused Sem
ator Connallys acerbity. Senator
Taft said that the majority of the
| American people would vote against
war even while they supported aid
to Britain if they had a chance to
I record their opinion in a national
referendum.
He thought the President in send
ing American troops to a danger
zone was infringing upon a pre-
rogative of Congress. He explained
his position
Since he is commander in chief
of the Army and Navy, if he wants
the Army or Navy to 60 anywhere
in the world, they will obey MIN,
and in this sense he may perhaps
have it within his power today 70
begin war with Germany by order
ing the Army to land on the Ger
man coast.
But this does not mean that he
has any legal right to order an at
tack on Germany. The mere fact
that power may be usurped is no
evidence of legal right"
Senator Taft characterized the
landing of troops in Iceland as ar
act exactly equivalent to aggres-
sive war" He said the facts in the
case in no way permitted the in
depreciation that the step was taker
in the interest of defense. He OBJ.
served:
/ If the occupation of Iceland il
defense, then any act the President
cares to order is defense. If he
can send troops to Iceland on thi!
ground, he can send them to Scot.
land or England. He can senc
them to Portugal. These countrie!
are no further away than Iceland.
| Senator Connally was vigorous ir
stating his disagreement with Sen.
ator Taft's whole point of view.
IF the President wants to senc
the entire Navy to Europe water!
tomorrow, he's got that power,
Senator Connally said.
Senator Connally said it didn'
amount to a tinkers dam" wheth.
er Iceland was part of the Western
Hemisphere because Iceland is ar
outpost of the United States"
McCarran Asks Referendum.
The Naval Committee is consid-
ering resolution by Senator
Wheeler calling for a Senate inves.
tigation of the newspaper reports
Of hostilities in the Atlantic.
Senator McCarran, Democrat, OF
Nevada, joined Senator Wheeler in
challenging President Roosevelt to
ask Congress for a declaration OF
war against Germany.
Mr.. Wheeler said yesterday that
it would be logical and decent" for
the President to ask a war declara-
ton rather than seek to take us
into the fight through the back
door,"
II am satisfied" Senator McCar.
ran told reporters today, that any
attempt to obtain a declaration o1
war would be defeated so over
whelmingly that no one would raise
| the question again"
Shooting Orders" Debated.
Senator Hill Democrat, of Ala
bama, the majority whip, had this
comment on Mr.. Wheeler's chal-
lenge:
4 certainly assume that if the
President ever felt it was necessary
that we 60 to war for the protection
of the vital interests of the United
States he would ask Congress for a
declaration of war at that time"
The question of whether the At
lantic Fleet got shooting orders
when the occupation of Iceland be-
gan was a question intriguing the
Capital.
This impression, precipitated by
President Roosevelt's declaration
Monday that the fleet had been in
structed to take "all necessary steps
to maintain communications be-
tween Iceland and the United States
was strengthened yesterday by a
pointed press conference reference
by Secretary Knox to this declara-
ton.
British Isles Bases Urged.
Today's discussions of the defense
and foreign policy issue also featured
Mr.. WILKES advocacy Of Ameri.
can bases In Scotland and North.
ern Ireland, and the disagree: