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Show gvmcj wist) rr v D IX? . ! War-Making Powers Issue In Peace Organization , v ; ;i Big Question Is Whether Congress Can 4 ; U Delegate Function to U. S. Repre- t 'f I sentative on World Council. is By BAUKIIAGE Ni'iux Analyst and Commentator. I VVNIJ Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, I). C. When the last election bet is collected; col-lected; when the echoes of the windiest windi-est argument have died on the November No-vember breeze, a lot of people will believe that . when they cast their ballots on November 7 they were deciding the question of whether America was to join an edective world organization to preserve peace. Not at all. It was plain long before the. election that the question of whether wheth-er the United States was willing to oin an international organization with teeth in it did not depend on the candidate selected. The day in October that Senator Ball, Republican of Minnesota, announced an-nounced that he would vote for Franklin Roosevelt and not for Dewey Dew-ey for President, we had a press and radio conference in his office in the Senate Office building. As we crowded five deep around Ball's desk, somebody remarked: "He ought to have used the caucus room." Except tbat Ball is inclined to keep his head down like a bull, Irfstead of his chin out like a bulldog, bull-dog, the young, former newspaper : r''' .If ' - ' ' 4 I r ' ; V : Sen. Joseph Ball man who has served four years in the senate (two years by appointment) appoint-ment) reminds me a little of Wendell Wen-dell Willkie. There were a number of hard-boiled, hard-boiled, anti-internationalists among the reporters in the room and some were a little cynical in their attitude. atti-tude. But they agreed that Ball was sincere, that he was taking the step he took not beoause of, but in spite Bf, politics. Of course, he comes from a state where they aren't quite so adamant about party lines and he won't be up for election himseLf for four years anyway. When he was asked if he hoped to run again n the Republican ticket he said he did but that depended on what attitude atti-tude the party in Minnesota took. All during that conference there wasn't a word asked about the issue behind the issue the step which this country has to take, the decision it has to make regarding our own policy pol-icy toward extending the powers over the use of our armed forces to another organ beside congress. And I think it might be well to take up point by point the Ball-Roosevelt-Dewey controversy and see just what issues are involved. Says FDR Met Issaes Squarely In the first place, it will be recalled re-called that Ball was one of the "B2-H2" "B2-H2" combination which carried on the bipartisan drive to force the senate foreign relations committee to act on a resolution favoring the creation of an international organization organi-zation to preserve the peace. "B2-H2." "B2-H2." if you have forgotten, stood for Senators Burton, Republican, Ohio; Ball, Republican. Minnesota; Hatch, Democrat, New Mexico; and Hill, Democrat of Alabama. Then the BH quartet, again generously gen-erously assisted, set forth to keep the fore'cri relations issue out of the campaign. This was done with a fair degree of success but not entirely en-tirely to suit Senator Ball. He arose and declared that he wouldn't de cide whether he would support Dewey Dew-ey until he had heard both presidential presiden-tial candidates speak on the subject. He listened to two one-half-hour speeches by Dewey and then, after the one by Roosevelt before the Foreign For-eign Policy association, said he would support Roosevelt because Roosevelt met "squarely and unequivocally un-equivocally the two vital and controversial con-troversial issues on which the isolationists isola-tionists kept us out of the League of Nations and will fight our entry into the United Nations security organization. or-ganization. He insisted that the United Nations organization be formed without delay, before hostilities hostili-ties cease, and that it be granted power to use military force against future aggressors without requiring individual approval of each member mem-ber nation." Senator Ball went on to say that Governor Dewey "has opposed delay de-lay but has not met squarely the second vital issue. He has spoken for a strong international security organization, but in each speech has so worded his commitment that both internationalists and isolationists isolation-ists could find comfort and support in what he said." I quote that paragraph at length since it is quite possible that you have not seen it in print I copied it from Ball's own statement and because I think a great many people, peo-ple, some of whom supported Mr. Roosevelt, forgot that he was for going the "whole hog" and tbal "whole hog" in Mr. Ball's language and the language of those who are going to fight for this organization in the congress, may mean more than some people realize. It shouldn't to anyone who heard or read Mr. Roosevelt's speech and took it seriously seri-ously but we don't always take political po-litical speeches seriously. The President Pres-ident said the American member of the Security Council of the United Unit-ed Nations, which would be made up of eleven member nations, should "be empowered in advance by the people themselves, by constitutional means through their representatives in congress, with authority to act." Constitutional Procedure Involved This is generally interpreted as meaning: (1) Congress would pass a law-stating law-stating that if the American representative repre-sentative on the Security Council felt that American military forces (with those of other members of the organization) or-ganization) should be used against an aggressor he had the power to commit this government to order such support. In other words to enter en-ter into what might amount to war, later on. (2) Congress would likewise pass a law permitting the majority vote of the Security Council to supersede the vote of the American representative, represent-ative, to use American (and other) military forces against an aggressor. aggres-sor. As to point two, if the Russians had their choice as expressed in the conferences at Dumbarton Oaks this clause would not be effective they argue that no step should be taken by the council without the unanimous unani-mous agreement of the great powers. pow-ers. In other words, the single vote of the representative of Britain, Russia, China and the United States, at least, could veto any step proposed. pro-posed. But the representatives of Great Britain and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks said that they were both willing to make majority rule the basis of action. It is conceivable con-ceivable that if Russia were convinced con-vinced that the United States was wholeheartedly in the organization, she would come around to that view. So far the question of the constitutionality constitu-tionality of a law which would arm the American delegate to the Security Se-curity Council with the necessary powers, has not been debated. The New York Times points out that the Constitution designates to congress the unique power to declare war, except when American territory is i invaded; but does not state that the use of force cannot be delegated. In any case the chief question is whether the people will have the courage to venture into this new j realm wherein the United States ! government would accept the ma- i jority wishes of a group of world j states, just as we accept the wishes j of the majority of congress. j |