Evening star., 1941-05-25
The Neutrality Act

Inc NeutTQliIy ACT
IT is no eXaggeration to say that
the address which the President will
make to the Nation Tuesday night
Is one of the most anXiouSly awaited
pronouncements of his career. And
1t is not at all surprising that this
should be so.
There can be no doubt that the
war is fast approaching a decisive
phase On land, in the air, and more
particularly, on the seas, the deci-
sion-a fateful one for uS-iS taking
shape The fight, as Secretary Of
the Navy Knox puts it, is one for
control of the high seas, 'and may
God help US and forgive us if we
don't bear our share of this battle
against human slavery" Possibly
that language is overly charged with
emotion, but there can be no doubt
that the menace to America is i'm
minent and deadly in the extreme.
The hour certainly cannot be far off
when we must decide whether this
Nation is to stand still or move for
ward in the direction of rendering
more effective aid to Britain while
there remains time for such assist
ance to play a part in determining
the outcome of the fighting.
Those who advocate more vigorous
action on our part are clearly of the
belief that the Neutrality Act should
be repealed. Secretaries Knox and
Stimson, if not advocating repeal in
80 many words, have made no secret
of their disapproval of the statute
and the restrictions it imposes on
the movements of American mer-
chant ships. The President himself.
in his letter last week to Admiral
Land, used cryptic language which
has aroused considerable Specula-
ton. IF we are going to keep away
from our shores the forces that have
convulSed the Old World and now
menace the New" he said, the job
will be done in large measure by the
ships and sailors of the merchant
marine" Whatever Mr.. Roosevelt
may have meant by that phraseol-
ogy it is certain that the ships and
sailors of the merchant marine can
not lawfully play any part in the
delivery of supplies to the British IN
combat areas as long as the Neu-
trality Act is on the statute books.
The history of this statute has
been a rather curious one. In its
original form it carried a general
ban on the export of arms and mu-
nitions to any belligerent. During
the special session of Congress IN
1889 the arms embargo was dropped,
ostensibly opening the American
market to any nation that could pay
cash for arms and transport them
in its own ships, but actually re-
stricting such sales, as far as the
European war was concerned, to
Britain and her allies, because of
their control of the seas. The sec
tions which forbid American ships
to enter combat areas or to carry
passengers or goods to any belliger-
ent were retained, however, and it is
these provisions which are now draw
ing the fire of those who believe that
the act is a positive menace to our
own security.
According to Rear Admiral William
GlaSsford, commander Of the United
States Yangtze naval patrol, the bat
tie of the Atlantic is being lost at
this time by Britain and I'VE are not
only facing inevitable defeat of Eng
land and collapse of the British
Empire, but also defeat of the United
States unless something is done"
That something" may prove to be
repeal of the Neutrality Act and a
reassertion of our traditional doc
trine of the freedom of the seas:
some still more drastic STEP or per-
haps we will merely sit tight and
do nothing beyond that which al
ready is being done Whatever the
decision, it will be governed very
largely by the attitude of the PreSi-
dent, and it is that fact, together
with the gravity of the risks attend
ing any course we may take, which
makes his forthcoming address OF
such extraordinary significance.