The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-19

was an adviser to former Secretary of State Cordell Hull Dunn was credited or blamed with being res- ponsiblc for shaping the policy which the United States government has followed in dealing with Span iSh, French and other problems.
 None of these charges was ever satisfactorily cleared up. Most of the Senate Foreign Relations Commit tees testimony was taken in execu- tive session. Dunn made blanket denial of all the charges in the committees one open session. And he was eventually confirmed, which would indicate he was found not guilty.
 FACTS SHOULD BE
 MADE KNOWN
 But because of this mans key po- sition as head of European, African, Near Eastern and Far Eastern divi- SionS of the Deartment of State and because of the important deal ings which the United States must have with countries of the old world in the immediate future, it may be worth while trying to get at the bot tom of his record This is done not in any attempt to whitewash him. On the other hand, If he is pro- Fascist as represented, people should know about it.
 First take this pro-FTanco charge. Jimmy Dunn has been given the blame for shaping the policy of the American arms embargo which made it illegal to send arms to Re- publican Spain, as result of which Franco was able to overthrow the established government, putting Spain in the Axis camp. Out of this has grown the loose charge that the United States has apeaSed Franco, keeping him in power instead of cracking down on him and thereby playing into the hands of Hitler.
 The Spanish revolution broke out on July 10, 1886. In July, 1895, Dunn had been named chief of the Divi- sion of Western European Affairs in the Department of State and as such he would be nominally charge of dealings with the Spanish government. But in June, 1886, just
  Dunn himself broke out with Stom- ach ulcers and went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. When he was discharged from there he went to California to recuperate and did not return to Washington until Sep tember.
 While he was gone, the U. s. President on August 9 announced his own hands of" policy with re- gard to the Spanish revolution. Jim my Dunn apparently had nothing to do with it.
 CONGRESS FORBIDS
 ARMS EXPORTS
 The President was, in a sense bound to set this course by previous congressional action. In August, 1885, Congress had passed the Neu- trality Act, making unlawful the ex- port of arms to any belligerent country. This was strengthened by the Johnson Act, of February, 1936 five months before revolution broke out in Spain, prohibiting the exten- sion of credits to belligerentS. In the fall of 1886 came the Buenos Aires Inter-American peace conference. President Roosevelt re- turned to Washington from Buenos Aires on December 16, and 12 days later there arose a demand for leg islation specifically banning the shipment of munitions to either fac- tion in Spain. It was race against time, to prevent the sailing of two ships bearing arms to the war-torn country.
 On January 6. 1897, the President sent his annual message to Con gress, and two days later. by unan- imous vote in the Senate and by 406 to 1 in the House, Congress passed the joint resolution declaring strict neutrality in the Spanish revolution and embargoing shipments of arms to either faction. That resolution is still on the books and it would gov- ern the situation should revolution again break out in Spain. This is a result of congressional declaration of policy-not presidential nor State Department policy. James c. Dunn had nothing to do with it's writing, and as Assistant Secretary of State he would be one of those directly charged with seeing that this policy would be carried out.