DOUBTS IN SENATE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 98, 19 January 1940, Page 9

DOUBTS IN SENATE

Effect On Neutrality Of Credits To Finland WASHINGTON, January 17. Because of fear of involvement in war, informed Senators doubt whether (President Roosevelt’s proposal to aid Finland will come to a vote in the House of Representatives or the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relation Committee today ignored the proposal, but the Banking Committee invited the Secretary of State, Mr. Hull, to explain at a closed session on January 24 how an extension of credits would affect American neutrality.

The Washington correspondent of the “New York Times,’’ Mr. Arthur Krock, says that no one has mentioned on the floor of Congress the opinion that members often express privately, namely, that the Allies, having the most immediate stake in preserving the Baltic countries, should lend financial aid for military purposes instead of expecting the United States to do so. It is said that the Treasury list of British security holdings in the United States shows approximately a billion dollars, most of which can be liquidated in orderly fashion without greatly affecting American economy. Moreover, if Britain established a financial institution in New York with sufficient capital she could apply to the United States Government for a loan against American securities. The impression here is that credits of perhaps half a billion dollars could be allowed, and this, according to views privately heard in Congress, could be used partly to assist Finland and partly for the immediate purchase of military supplies. ,