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By DREW PEARSON WASHINGTON — The Presi dent’s difficulty in conducting foreign affairs while Congress looks over his shoulder, was never better illustrated than in the debate over purchasing 16 wooden minesweepers from Bri tain in return for Britain’s pur chasing $2.5 billion worth of air planes from us, Woodrow Wilson had the prob lem after World War I, and the League of Nations was defeat ed as a result. The defeat pav ed the way for World War II. Truman had the problem after World War II, but, thanks to such enlightened GOP leaders as the late Sen. Arthur Vanden berg of Michigan, he was able to win out over Republican iso lationists. Eisenhower did not have the problem, chiefly because Lyn don Johnson, then Senate Ma jority Leader, cooperated with the White House right down the line on foreign policy. Even when Ike came back from the abortive 1960 Summit Confer ence in Paris after the U-2 inci dent upset his move to end the cold war, LBJ backed him up. Johnson has continued Ike’s policy of improving relations with the communist bloc, but now faces bitter Congressional opposition over, relaxing trade barriers. The current battle is over whether the Export-Import Bank can loan money to facil itate trade with countries which have aided North Vietnam. Ac tually the Ex-Im Bank loans money to U.S. companies to pro mote U.S. exports, and the loan proposed by Congressional iso lationists would chiefly hurt A merican trade. Johnson has to worry not on ly about the Senate, which un der the Constitution has a right to “advise and consent” on for eign policy, but about the House of Representatives, which has no such right. It was the House of Represen tatives, not the Senate, which slapped down the British over the relatively small but very sig Tee 16 wooden minesweeper car. When Rep. John W. Byrnes, R-Wis., once involved with Bob by Baker in a flagrant conflict of interest, introduced the “kick the British’? amendment, Rep. Carl Albert, D-Okla., the Major ity Leader, and Rep. George Mahon, D-Tex., Appropriations ‘Committee chairman, argued that this was a slap at our best friend. They were howled down by Byrnes, Gerry Ford, R-Mich, and a combination of hawks and isolationists. Rep. Robert Sikes, D-Fla., countered that the minesweeper contract was part of $325 mil lion in arms purchases the U. S. planned to make from Bri tain partly to offset the $2.5 bil lion the British will spend here for the F111. Sikes argued that the United States should stand by its commitment. But GOP Leader Ford raised the phony idea that the House must be consulted on foreign policy. “It is our responsibility in the Congress as a co- equal branch of the government to be fully advised before there is any a greement one way or another. In this case we were not con sulted and therefore are not bound,” Proclaimed Byrnes: ‘Involv ed is the question of whether Congress will turn over to Sec retary McNamara the respon sibility given to us by the Con stitution to provide and main tain the Navy. I ask that Con gress assume its constitutional responsibility. . .I ask that we save Secretary McNamara from another needless risk involving the security of this country.” Sikes, hotly disputing this, ex plained that security wasn’t in volved, that the Constitution gave no foreign affairs power to the House. “If we renege on this,’ he said, “the British will refuse to abide by their end of the bar gain. And U.S. labor will lose eight times as much as it gains. “We cannot live in a world all our own,’’ said Sikes. ‘We must get along with other peo ple. We have to trade with them. Trade can never be alto gether one way. We have the better of the deal, but I regard less let us not repudiate our na tion’s word, “Let us not forget that we are dealing with one of the very few major countries which will stand ‘with us in most of the questions which confront us in today’s troubled world.” However, Sikes, Mahon and Albert pleaded in vain. The iso lationists won. Later, because Seni. Mike Mansfield, D-Mont., the Majority Leader, was in Japan, the Senate, under Dem ocratic Whip Russell Long, D La., gave in without a fight. Now that President de Gaulle has become the No. 1, cross which the United States has to bear in Europe, it’s interesting to recall the famous Churchil lian wisecrack about De Gaulle during the days when Prime Minister C’ rehi* and President Roosevelt first dealt with him. Kay Halle, a close friend of Churchill, gives this version of the wisecrack in her recent book “Irrepressible Churchill.” _ At the Casablanca Conference in 1943, FDR remarked to Chur chill, “I do not know what to do with De Gaulle.” “I am no more enamoured of ‘him than you are,” replied Churchill, “but I would rather have him on the committee than strutting about is a combination . Kant, of Arc and Clemen ser are? Churchill said to his aide, Brendan Bracken: ‘You may have your single cross to bear, but I — I have the double cross of Lorraine.” “But remember, Winston,” said Bracken, “he thinks of him self as the reincarnation of St. oan,” . “Yes, but my pistes won't burn him,” said Churchill
Newspaper Details
Biddeford Journal
Biddeford, Maine, US
Wed, Sep 20, 1967
Page 2
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