Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-04
The Memoirs Of Corden Hull
Nye Committee Investigation Stirred Trouble
And Started Movement for Neutrality Act

mittee, plunging into the back.
ground Of the First World War,
began to subpoena records Of New
York banks which had dealth with
the Allies. The British and French
Ambassadors protested repeatedly.
had already tried to enlist the
support of the President in my effort
to bring the Nye Committee within
reasonable limits. I handed him
memorandum on March Is urging
that he summon the Nye Committee
to a White House conference to
advise the committee Ito refrain
from any unnecessary agitation IN
public hearings OF questions which
would handicap this Government IN
its relations with other govern
ments." The President did see the
Nye Committee four days late, but
for some reason did not mention my
request.
What wanted the Nye Commit
tee members to understand was that
Hitler had just thrown out the mill
tary clauses of the Versailles Treaty
and Mussolini was completing his
plans for the invasion Of Ethiopia,
and the spectacle of the bitter quar-
reling between Britain and France
on the one side and the United
States on the other over documents
two decades old was certainly not
one to deter Hitler and Mussolini
from their designs.
Peace Efforts Not Aided.
At that particular time Britain
and France were trying to bring
Germany into an ornaments limi-
tation agreement and dissuade Mus
solini from his African aggression,
and their efforts we're certainly not
being furthered by the wave Of anti
British and anti-French feeling en-
gendered by the Nye Committee.
The worst example of carelessness
by the Nye Committee was still to
occur. On January Is, 1896, refer
ence was made during the commit
tees public hearings to the contents
Of a confidential memorandum given
by Arthur j. Balfour. British For
eign Secretary, to Secretary of State
Lansing on May 10, 1917. which re-
ferred to Britain's secret agreements
with other Allied governments.
Nye asserted that both President
Wilson and Secretary Lansing had
falsified when they said they had
no knowledge of British secret COM
mitments prior to the Paris Peace
Conference. This was q particularly
aggravated breach because we had
asked the British government II
they would permit publication of
the memorandum. They had re-
fused, and we had so informed Nye
on December %, 1895. I vigorously
protested to the Nye Committee,
which agreed to return all copies
of the Balfour memorandum to the
State Department.
On January 20 I issued a press
statement setting forth the State
attitude toward the
publication OF confidential docu-
ments from its files. I said it was
impossible for our Gov
eminent to undertake to make
public confidential communications
without the permission Of the gov
ernment which reposed confidence
in this Government"
Springboard for Neutrality.
At a press conference I said: 81
served here in an official capacity
during Wilson's administration and.
needless to say, in common with the
American public, I have the highest
4 had and have always main
tained-the highest regard for his
patriotism and scrupulous honesty"
The Nye committee hearings fur
nished the isolationist Springboard
for the first Neutrality Act Of our
present epoch, and for this reason I
have gone into them at length.
The fact was, did not want neu-
trality legislation. And certainly I
did not want the kind advocated by
isolationists like Nye, which would
bind the Executive hand and foot
and inform any prospective agrees
sors like Germany, Italy and Japan
that they could declare war on their
intended victim and we would then
see to 1t that our citizens did not
furnish arms to that victim.
did not want to see legislation
which, by telling the world in ad-
vance what we would not do in case
of war; would prevent our exercising
our influence to prevent war. Nor
legislation which, If war came,
would preclude our rendering the
least assistance to the world organ
ization, the League of Nations. in Its
efforts to bring the war to an END.
(Copyrsght. 194s, by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. IncD