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Show Washington Comment The two burning questions in j Washington at this writing, are ! "What to do about the strikes?" and "What to do about convoys?" 1 Perhaps the questions are no more j burning in Washington than in ' the rest of the country, but the nation's capital, like New York City, fancies itself as a pace-set-: ter, an advanced thinker, a policy maker away out in front of American suburbia. Be that as I it. may, you could cut the fog with a knife at this moment. There are those, like Senator Byrd, who are yelling for Madam Perkjr..' scalp, and those, like Senator Wheeler, who get the jitters at I the mere mention of convoying I American war materials to Brit, ain and vice versa in both camps. The administration, at this writing, stems a mite dazed when ' either question pops up. More and more around town, we hear it asked why such a forceful personality as Wendell Willkie is permitted to remain outside Mr. Roosevelt's cabinet at this crucial I period, and why the vitally im-I im-I portant post of labor secretary i should continue to be held by the j estimable but ineffectual,' lady-of-the-tri-corne ? In the matter of convoys, the White House is said to be cau-i cau-i tiously polling senate opinion. Alf ; informal canvas indicates that 45 I senators three less than a majority major-ity of the present membership of 95 are likely to oppose legislation legisla-tion authorizing our navy to convoy con-voy British merchant ships. Of the 28 Republican members in the ! senate, 25 are said to oppose convoying con-voying and they are likely to support sup-port Senator Tobey's resolution to put the senate on record against use of the navy for such purpose. The Tobey resolution was slated for consideration this week by the foreign relations committee, and will likely be smothered there, although al-though some senators wanted it to reach the senate floor and be defeated; this course would be risky, however, due to the senate split on the issue. There's a group of senators who think it would be better for Mr. Roosevelt to order convoys on his own responsibility, rather thani seek congressional action which would bring about bitter and lengthy debate. That he has such power now is the contention con-tention of administration leaders, although his opponents deny it. 'Senator ye and his followers insist that the recent entension of the neutrality patrol is the latest step leading to convoys; they demand de-mand legislation definitely requiring requir-ing congressional approval before convoys are actually ordered. The extended neutrality patrol will be (Continued on next page) Washington Comment (Continued from first page) of inestimable aid to Britain in thus releasing many of her warships war-ships from convoy duty and in warning her of Nazi raiders on the prowl. When the neutrality patrol was set up in lf39, we had about 125 vessels at this task in the Atlantic; now it is estimated that more than 200 ships are in the squadron, most of them operating oper-ating in waters off New England and Canada. The first neutrality patrol are extended from a point south of Halifax out about 125. milts to the fiOth degree of longitude longi-tude and south along that longitude longi-tude to near the northern coast of South America. More than twice that area is said to be now under surveillance. With the coming of spring, it is time to consider what the well, dressed American soldier will wear in this war year of 1941. The army has a new "lid". It is a steel helmet like the Nazi storm trooper wears, coming down far- ther over the head and neck than the present American design hel-' hel-' met. as protection against the ; "greater fragmentation qualities or modern shells and bombs." The ; navy has discarded the traditional tradition-al white duck uniform and has adopted a new khaki fighting ! garb, similar to the shade worn t by soldiers and marines. Reason: I official tests show that white is j more visible from the air than I darker colors; also, khaki work I uniforms, already in use on sub. I marines, sub chasers, and small ! boats, are found to be highly j satisfactory and are "most suit-j suit-j able for landing force operations", j Even the ships themselves are receiving re-ceiving a new spring "war" coat: warships are being painted a dark "battle grey", like the shade used in the British navy, which is said to be less visible from the air. What with a leaf from the German Ger-man warbook here, and a leaf from the British there, it begins to look as if we were running out of our Yankee ingenuity! |