New York Tribune, June 19, 1940
Senate Debates
War Zone Path
For Relief Craft
Chance of Serious Incident
Charged in Plan lo Ease
Rule for Red Cross Ships
From the Herati Tribune Bureau
WASHINGTON, June 18.—A pro-
posal that the neutrality act be
amended to that Red Cross ships!
could carry medical supplies and
food Into prohibited European war
zones without safe conducts guar-
anteed by belligerent governments
stirred a stiff debate today on the
floor of the Senate.
The plan, which was occasioned
by the situation in which the Red
Cross ship McKeesport found Itself
two days out at sea without safe
conduct granted by Germany and
Italy for it to land at Bordeaux.
France, as originally intended, and
carrying contraband supplies for the
Allies, including food. The Senate
Foreign Affairs Committee held an
emergency session this morning and
hastily reported out a joint resolu-
tion to permit what the neutrality
law specifically forbade.
Several Senators charged that to
permit this to be done at this par-
ticular time would be to invite an
incident which would Inflame the
country to a pitch of wanting to
declare war on Germany.
Holt Crlticzes Roosevelt
One Senator, Rush DsHolt. Demo-!
crat. of West Virginia, went so far
as to assert that newspaper and
radio commentators were saying'
that President Roosevelt was dis-
cussing with people at the White
House "the question of whether or
not he can have a declaration of
war." He added that he would not\
vote to "put Into his hands without
question the .possibility of an Inci-
dent" which would drive the coun-
try to war.
Senator Bennett Champ Clark.
Democrat, of Missouri, declared that
he had serious misgivings about the
advisability of amending the neu-
trality law in this respect, but ad-
mitted that this was a hard case and
it would be unfortunate If the vessel
had to return to an American port.
He had gained, however, two points
in voting for the resolution in com-
mittee and supporting It on the
floor. The flrst was that the State
Department and the Red Cross had
given categorical promises that any
loophole afforded by a change In the
law would not be used In the future
to run blockades. The second wai
that he tacked on an amendment to
the resolution which barred the
arming of Red Cross ships or send-
ing them under convoy of Allied
vessels or United Stales warships.
Senator Clark referred to a syn-
dicated column written by Ernest K
Lindley in which Mr. Llndley. whe
has close Administration connec-
tions, said that the use of American
ships, convoyed if necessary, was en-
visioned If Germany tried to bring
England to Its knees through block-
ade. He quoted a second alternative
suggested by Mr. Lindley:
Second Alternative
"A second alternative might be to
send food, clothing and other non-
mllltary necessities In unconvoyed
ships bearing the Inslgnl ..: the
Red Cross with a warning hat the
torpedoing or bombing 01 any of
them bould bring us into the war
as an acknowledged bclllge* nt."
Food, which Is an artU .e of un-
conditional contraband. Is aboard
the McKeesport largely In the form,
of condensed milk. The other articles
of contraband, mentioned in Senate
debate, were automobiles and soap.
Senator Clark called upon Senator
Key Plttman. Democ/at, of Nevada,
chairman of the Se. te Foreign Re-
lations Committee, to verify the
fact that CoL Bieckinridge Long..
Third Assistant Secretary of State,
and Norman H. Di.vis, President of j
the American Red Cross, had given!
undertakings that there would be
no effort henceforth to run block-
ades with food or other contraband.
Senator Plttman did so. Senator
Clark later described the assurances
"as a weak instrument upon which
to depend in the face of a grant of
power by law."
The resolution was called up out
of order, since It ordinarily would
have to lie on the table for a day
after being reported. Its passage
today, however, was blocked by~ah
objection to unanimous consent to
take it up. by Senator Holt. It w'll
undoubtedly be the subject of
further debate tomorrow. It was
also Introduced in the House bv
the Foreign Affairs Committee in
the same form as In the Senate.
MeCarran Sees Emergency
Senator Pat MeCarran, Democrat,
of Nevada, charged that the country-
was facing a serious emergency,
caused largely by "statements of the
President of the United States."
War-like statements emanating
from the White House, he said, had
caused dismay "the length and
breadth of the land.*" He sympa-
thized with people abroad, he said,
adding:
"But I know that the greatest
avalanche to bring us Into this war
is to sink a Red Cross ship with an
American flag flying at Its masthead.
Just let one ship be sunk with an
American flag at Us masthead and
the Red Cross on its side and every
red-blooded American will rush into
this holocaust of hell. And we have
no place there. That was done in
1917. Let It not be done today under
the guise of an emergency."
Senator Guy M. Gillette, Demo-
crat, of Iowa, acknowledged that
he was the only member of the com-
mittee to oppose the resolution and
added that he would continue to
oppose It. since "nothing would *b
inflame the minds of the American
people as the halting and searching
of a Red Cross ship on the high
Senator Arthur H. Vandenburg.
Republican, of Michigan, stated that
this was not a time to "multiply
hazards—I think we have all the
hazards that we can assimilate."