ARMS BAN REPEAL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20086, 4 November 1939, Page 5

ARMS BAN REPEAL

VITAL VOTE IN HOUSE KEEPING U.S. OUT OF WAR ADMINISTRATION'S AIM (Reed. Nov. 4, 9 a.m.) WASHINGTON, Nov. 2. The three hours of debate by the House of Representatives preceding the voting on the question of repealing the embargo on the sale of arms to belligerents epitomised every argument offered in tire two months of national discussion. The Administration brought influenetial speakers, including Sanator Bankhead, Mr. J. W. Wadsworth and Mr. Rayburn, who said: “The United States is not verging on war. It is nowhere near war.”

Mr. Wadsworth said: “The people of the United States will not enter the war unless they are subjected to a studied and persistent series of overt acts of violence, which is not expected.”

The tenor of all the speeches was the necessity of keeping the United States out of the war. Supporters of the repeal of tire arms embargo argued that new legislation decreased the danger and the “non-repealists” stressed the urgent danger by lifting the arms embargo would be increased.

Mr. Hamilton T. Fish argued that the repeal of the embargo would tell the world that tire United States was taking sides and actually participating in the war.

Repeal of the embargo was supported by 220 Democrats and 21 Republicans, one Farm Labour member and one American Labour member, while 30 Democrats, two Progressives and 143 Republicans opposed it.