Evening star., 1943-10-22
Long Step Forward

LdS1 january, IN his annual mes
sage delivered before a Joint session
OF the Senate and the House, Presi-
cent Roosevelt suggested that the
war might be over by 1945 and that
the Senators and Representatives
now In office would conceivably face
the task of shaping the peace. Il
Tell you,' he said, 1T is within the
realm OF possibility that this Sev-
enty-elghth Congress may have the
historic privilege of helping greatly
to save the world from future fear"
Since that time, although it has
moved slowly, cautiously and much
too ambiguously, according to some
critics, the Congress has been pre-
pairing Itself for the eventuality en-
VlSioned by the PreSident-so much
so, in fact, that just one more step
is needed to put both houses on
record as faVorably committed to the
principle of American participation
IN an international arrangement for
the establishment and preservation
of world peace. All that remains to
be done in this respect is for sub
stantlally more than two thirds of
the Senators-as one-sided a margin
as posslble-to vote affirmatively on
the Connally resolution.
Approved yesterday by the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. with
but two diSsenters, the measure does
not differ materially from the Full
bright resolution which last month
won the overwhelming support of
the House of Representatives. It
calls for the cooperation of the
United States in the establishment
and maintenance of international
authority with power to prevent ag-
gression and to preserve the peace
OF the world and although certain
groups have deplored it as being a
statement full of meaningless words,
1t most certainly means at least this
much: II it is upheld by many more
ihan tWo-thirdS of the Senators, it
Will leave isolationism dead and
buried, as far as the 18th Congress is
concerned, and House and Senate
together, rejecting the will of our
whole people, will be elf-committed
to the idea of having this country
play an active and direct role in
some form of collective security.
This is long step forward. If the
Senate takes it, with as near una
nlmity as the House displayed last
month, it will be equipping itself we'll
for the historic privilege" which
President Roosevelt has said NAV
devolve upon it-at least in part
before the Seventy eighth Congress
comes to an end. In an immediate
sense, such action would unquestion-
ably have salutary influence on
the current and prospective three
way meetings between Britain, Rus
Sia and the United States. And in
the longer view, it would help put to
rest many doubts in the world about
American willingness to play a gen.
timely cooperative part among the
nations, and to that extent it would
go far in creating good and conf
dent atmosphere for the making of
the next peace.
In the circumstances. therefore. if
the Senators support the Connally
measure with as big and resounding
a vote as possible, they will be full
filling the devout wish not only of
most Of our own citizens but of peo-
pies everywhere who see in America,
and in Americas attitude, the great
est single factor in the problem of
building stable and peaceful inter-
national order, in which men and
nations can be reasonably secure
and happy once more.