Show Bruckart's Washington Digest Repeal Bill Would Extend Cre Credit t To Belligerents Buying i u. u s. s r 1 I Danger of Getting Into Same Mess l Over War ar Debts That Followed World War Var Added Authority Given President in Bill Carries Potential Danger 1 c By WILLIAM BRUCKART i Service National Press Bid Washington D. D C. C j As WASHINGTON As As the full dr dress ss d debate b te of the so-called so neutrality r bIll bm continues in the senate numerous numer- numer ous phases and angles and incidents at- at have cropped up p and demanded I It is easy for tor one side to say that the thing must be accepted J by the senD senate te and the house and md the country without so much as a dotted i and it itis crossed t or a n is equally easy for the oppositionists J to say that we should have none of f it at all The truth is neither side is js completely correct and Mr John i Q Public must remember that that in informing forming his own conclusions The bill that was reported by the senate committee on foreign relations rela reIn lions I believe must be accepted as a sincere effort Sixteen of the twenty-three twenty members of the committee believed it or believed it should have a chance to be dIscussed discussed discussed dis dIs- dis- dis cussed fully and freely There was no division along llong the lines of De Democrats Demo o- o or Republicans seven senators sena sena- tars tors voted against sending the bill to the senate because they are op op- op- op posed to repeal of the embargo against shipments of arms to any belligerent powers while President Roosevelt and the majority members members members mem mem- bers of the senate committee want to get et rid o of the embargo Publication of the text of the bill however shows some provisions that have gone far to load the guns of those who want to tD keep an arms I embargo in force torce Some of the members of the group opposing repeal repeal repeal re re- re- re peal were sufficiently wrought up to accuse the administration Mr Roosevelt Secretary of State Hull Hulland Hulland and others others others-of of having misled the country in telling what they think ought to be done by way of legislation legislation legislation legis legis- lation to keep the country out of war war It is a condition of bad temper tern tem per and it is likely to cause damage dam darn 1 age all around Nevertheless until the senate committee finished writing writing writ writ- ing jag the bill all of th the discussion was whether to repeal the arms embargo embargo embargo em em- bargo since publication of bf the bill it is shown that not only is repeal repeal re re- re- re peal peril of the embargo sought but permission permission permission per per- mission would be given for extension extension extent exten exten- sion of credit to those belligerent t V nations that want to buy here Many Object to Giving iving President nt Extreme Power 1 Another section of the bill that was not well advertised in advance I is a section giving President Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose velt additional authority during threats of war It allows the President President resi- resi resident dent to define combat areas and to forbid orbid American ships and American Amer Arner- ican jean citizens from rom going into those zones That provision is highly pro pro- vocative For there are many who believe no Chief Executive ought tobe to tobe be clothed with ith such extreme power I doubt that it ever will be misused or abused yet it has that possible danger within it Having such potential potential potential po po- po- po danger the section is being I vigorously opposed by men just as anxious to to keep the nation out of war as those who say that only repeal repeal repeal re re- re- re peal of the arms embargo will keep us from being embroiled in Europe's mess Debate has made it appear thus far at nt least that the original cash cashI and carry sections constitute a I strong bulwark against our t glement But there surely is ground for objection to that part which was added that added that part which will give buying nations 90 days in ich to pay A buying nation can come to our shores load down many ships and go away with the cargoes within with with- in 90 days days and and say at the end We Ve have not the money to pay Of course it will not be as raw raw as that The purchasers did that dur dur- ing the World war also and we are still waiting for those nations to pay more than on those debts I am the only correspondent correspondent corre corre- to report every everyone one of the conferences with foreign nations when the United States tried to get some tangible basis of payment worked out and since that time I have had little faith in any of their promises The cash and carry section of the current bill with its day 90 provision th therefore strikes me rae as nothing more nor less than a breaking down of the law that Senator Senator Sena Sena- tor Johnson of California forced through the congress some years ago The Californian fought until he got a statute that barred any nation nation nation na na- na- na tion from getting new credit here if it still owed owed on its World war debt So-Called So Neutrality Bill Shows Mistakes Can Be Made It probably is an impossibility to legislate a nation into b being ing neu neu- It is like legislating people into being good If 11 they want to tobe tobe tobe be good or if they want to be bad they probably will wm be just that way regardless of what kind of a law the brain in a legislative 2 body put together And in the instance instance instance in in- stance stance a at t hand the hand the called so-called neutrality neu neu- bill there bill there is ample evidence of mistakes that can be and are arc being made Friends o 0 of the program of emI em em- I bargo repeal mistakenly assume that substitution of the cash and I carry provisions will let us rest in peace It is perfect they say Opposition Opposition Op Op- Op- Op po position sentiment can see sec only hosts of marching men and ships carrying warriors over seas if there is repeal Therefore neither side is giving re really serious attention to perfecting the cash and carry provision provision provision pro pro- vision in event it shall be accepted eventually and the bill bilI become law That is a grave mistake That lack of consideration of details details de- de tails of this phase is a n great mistake can be proved by the shudders of business interests when sharp eyes and analytical minds discovered what the section as written by the committee would do to commerce in this part of the world Prot Protests filed by shipping and lair nir transport companies serve as an example Actually as ns originally nally presented the cash and carry sections would have kept many businesses from dealing further with British and French possessions in the Caribbean I sea They would have halted buying buying buying buy buy- ing and selling in some quarters of South America like the air lines from the United States could not have stopped there regular regular regu regu- lar North and South American ship schedules would have been disrupt disrupt- ed Well the committee made hasty changes but it remains to be Ibe seen whether even these will work in practice The trouble is that no one man or group of men can visualize ize all of the possible contingencies and consequences con consequences con can sequences of a piece of reaching far-reaching and rigid legislation None ought to claim that it has been done but claims to that effect are being advanced and ballyhooed Monroe Doctrine Must Be Given Consideration Now it might be said that these phases of the problem are ma matters that concern only business interests interests interests inter inter- ests and big business interests at that Such unfortunately is not the case Since every everyone one of those points of difficulty lie in the western western west west- em ern hemisphere consideration must be given to the application of the Monroe Doctrine Our trade with nations and possessions in in the he western western west west- em ern hemisphere therefore is Considerably considerably con- con different than with Great Britain and France themselves s. s Yet with all of the close commercial commercial commer commer- cial ties with those possessions with due recollection of the principles of the Monroe Doctrine there r remains mains the fact that congress under the urge of the administration is seeking seeking seeking seek seek- seek seek- ing to legislate neutrality a neutrality neutral neutral- ity that works works' one way with the parent nation and another way with the colonies the colonies the children children of of the belligerent nl nation on It is quite evident indeed that whatever law lav is finally enacted will contain many imperfections some loopholes and some dangerous dan principles It should be said to pres President Roosevelt's loosevelt's credit that thus far he helas has las not openly put the pressure on his congressional leaders for p passage of the bill without ch changes Membership of the two parties in congress is widely split Perhaps that is why White While House force cannot cannot cannot can can- not be used effectively True some som of the anti administration Democrats Democrats Demo Demo- have predicted that the President President dent will get both feet feel into the situation situation situa- situa tion ion before action is had but that has happened yet Pan American Conference Does a Worth-While Worth Job While all of these things have been going on in Washington the sessions of the conference at Pan ama City ought not pe te e overlooked The representatives of our own and our neighbor republics did a good job iob in arranging for operative co-operative action to keep the war away from our shores and in in Europe where it started It always is possible for best aest intentions to go haywire but surely there is credit due to Mr Roosevelt and the department of state for the leadership exerted in getting all of the SOUth and Central American folks around a single table If It nothing more happened than a free discussion of the poten Hal dangers that exist the meeting would have been worth while More did happen however and the understandings understandings un un- that were reached stripped of words mean that active governments in inthe inthe inthe the western hemisphere are going to work and act together Further the conferences can be said to have produced a feeling that none of the smaller republics and so-called so republics republics re reo publics need fear any of the others In the meantime however it is distressing to witness newspapers everywhere cre relegating important domestic news facts about our home folks and home problems ms to inside pages One of the thc Washing ton p papers pers the other day had seven columns of war news on its front pages That seems to me to be bringing the war here when we weI I dont don't want it |