OCR Text |
Show CONTROL URGED FOR NEUTRALITY Colby Asks Congress to Assert Powers WASHINGTON, May 4 Iff) Bainbridg Colby urged congress today to assert Its control over "the question of war or peace" and end the "excesaivo and dangerous" discretion dis-cretion vested In the president by the present neutrality act Colby, testifying before the senate sen-ate foreign relation committee, declared: de-clared: "Tha unchecked discretion of a ingle man ia not a sufficient guarantee guar-antee of th nation's peace amid a field atrewn with the pitfalls of discretionary dis-cretionary tariffs, embargoes, restrictions, re-strictions, option and permissions such as' contained in aome of the neutrality measures proposed." Tha witness, who was secretary of state under. President Wilson, added: "It la my humble opinion that the discretion already vested in the president under the neutrality act Is excessive and dangerous, and with thi opinion i could naraiy regard with approval any enlargement of discretion such aa is sought in some of th pending measure. ' "1 aay this with no Implication that this discretion would be sbused by tbe president, but It is too great a burden to put upon him and too great a trust to be reposed in any individual." Urging a policy of Isolation from Europe controversies, th gray haired former official told the committee com-mittee he feared that any "cash and carry" plan of dealing with belligerents would prov impractical. imprac-tical. Although he opposed the "cash and carry" principle. Colby sided with Chairman Pittman ID.. Nev.) in holding that it was illogical to embargo arms without embargoing raw materials. Pittman has proposed pro-posed the sale of all materials, including in-cluding arms, to belligerent on a cash and carry basis. |