The Wilmington morning star., 1941-01-03
NEW SESSION OF
CONGRESS WILL
CONVENE TODAY
Continued From Page One)

legislators. The structural steel is
a temporary safeguard, and will
be removed as soon as permanent
repairs can be made.
Speaker Rayburn and Rep. Nc
Cormack D.-Mass.). house ma
jority leader, got a verbal outline
from President Roosevelt today of
the chief executives estate of the
union'' message, to be delivered
to congress Monday. Rayburn said,
after comforting with MIR. Roose-
welt at the White House, that the
message would be livery inter
esting."
Important Issues
While the issues before the new
congress are less numerous than
usual they are of far more than
ordinary importance.
First of all is the question of
the administrators foreign policy,
and the Presidents proposal for
helping England-when her cash
is gone-by lending war supplies
paid for from the United States
treasury, the supplies to be re-
paid later in kind.
A preview of what might be ex-
pected in the new session when
this issue is raised developed to-
day in the dying hours of the old.
Rep. Cox (D.-Ga.) told the house
that Mr.. Roosevelt's speech of
Sunday night was ''ia effect a de-
l%claration of war; and that further
assistance to Britain meant "ac-
tive participation in war;" Rep.
Fish (R.-NY.) disagreed with that
Interpretation and approved the
Presidents speech.
in the senate, meanwhile, Sem
ator Lee ID. .Ckia> said Adolf Hit
Ter was making war on us eco
~nomically" and POLITICALLY"
England, he asserted, was "the
only barrier against the raging
flood of war; and the United States
should utilize every means to
keep England afloat." Questioned
by Senator Taft (R.-Ohio), Lee said
that he was not thinking in terms
of the United States going to war.
Must Provide Billions
In addition to the war issues,
more billions must be provided
for national defense. The army,
for example, is ready to ask for
81, 900, 900, 900 for the production of
5000 bombing planes, S 1900, 900,
600 for guns, tanks, planes and
other material, and $40, 900, 900 for
the construction of additional mu
nitions plants.
The perennial problem of appro-
priations is intensified for the
coming session by the big defense
OUTLAWS. President Roosevelt and
congressional leaders have been
urging that non-defense items be
whitfield to a minimum. Meanwhile
a new tax bill is in prospect, in
tended To produce enough revenue
to cover non-defense OUTLAWS, at
least.
The federal reserve board only
yesterday threw a new-and yet
old-issue into the bubbling con-
gressional %cauldron. 1t asked for
action to avoid initiation and sky
rocketing price levels as a result
of t h e defense expenditures.
Among it's recommendations were
several that republican leaders
have urged for years, including
principally the removal Of the adj
ministration's power to re-value
the dollar and issue greenbacks.
The 367-day session just closing
was the longest in history, ex-
ceding by a few days n of the
protracted sessions of the world
war. 1t was long because house
republicans, backed by enough
democrats to give them a ma
jority, insisted that in the present
troubled state of the world, con-
gress should stay in session to
dea1 with anv arising emergency,