VARIOUS OPINIONS OF BILL

Southland Times, Issue 24332, 13 January 1941, Page 5

VARIOUS OPINIONS OF BILL

The Bill was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committees of the House and of the Senate. The Bill has been given the historic number, 1776 —the date of the Declaration of Independence. The Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House, Senator Barkley and Mr McCormack respectively have jointly made a statement that the repair provision in the Bill will permit the use of any military, naval or air base in the United States for repairing the weapons of countries whose defence is vital to the United States.

The isolationists are already criticizing the Bill. Thus Senator Bennet Clark said, “it is simply a Bill to authorize the President to declare war.’’ Senator La Follette commented: “It is a Bill for Congress to abdicate.” Senator Nye said: “The Bill amounts to a request to grant The President power equal to a declaration of war.” Senator Hamilton Fish considered “it looks as though we are bringing a Nazi or Fascist dictatorship to America and setting up our own Fuhrer.” Other Senators and Congressmen expressed unqualified approval of the Bill; also the belief that the measure would meet with the country’s support.

The Press gives prominence to the Bill and the character of the legislation proposed has made a most happy impression on its writers, as indicating that the qualities of drive and determination generally associated with American action will be fully present in what is now being done to forge weapons for the use of Britain and other Powers who are holding the forces of aggression at bay.

Mr Roosevelt at a Press Conference intimated that individual contracts would be negotiated and that each might provide some specific means of repayment. The terms of the Bill appear to make this authority discretion-

ary. Some official observers said that I the President could even make gifts of I material, if he desired. The President will ask for funds to finance the Bill, variously estimated at between 2,000,000,000 and 10,000.000,000 dollars after it is enacted. It would prohibit foreign Governments transferring the title to, or possession of, materials obtained to another Government without the President’s consent. Mr Roosevelt recognizes that sweeping authority will be vested m him. He told the Press that he did not want it for himself. He said that someone must have such power to make Democracy function in an emergency such as today’s. He side-stepped an inquiry as to whether additional destroyers were involved, saying this had not been requested by Britain. Mr Roosevelt issued a warning that every week the proposal was debated meant delay in delivering vital materials to Britain. Mr Thomas Dewey claims that the Bill gives the President the absolute right to seize alien ships in the United States and transfer them to Britain, to use the United States navy to convoy supplies, to give parts of the fleet to Britain, to give planes, to cancel the neutrality o' the Johnson Acts, and to engage the country in war.