The Congress acted wisely in refusing to enact this loyalty investigation measure into law. This is no time for witch hunts in the Atomic Energy Commission.

RECIPROCAL TRADE AGREEMENTS ACT

The Eightieth Congress dealt a serious blow to our foreign policy, however, by its action on the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. President Truman declared in a special message to Congress March 1.

The Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act is a tested and practical means, which had wide bipartisan support, for achieving the benefits of expanding world commerce for the United States and other countries. It is a continuing evidence of the determination of the United States to contribute its full share to the reconstruction of a sound and growing world economy as the basis for enduring peace. As such, I strongly recommend that the act be extended for

an additional 3 years.

The first Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act was passed by Congress in 1934. The legislation has been extended four times since then and has been the keystone not only of our economic policy but of our foreign policy as well.

In brief, the act authorizes the President to make agreements with other nations for the reciprocal reduction of tariffs and other hindrances to international trade.

For 14 years the act has worked well. The Congress has extended it each time after thorough study of the effect of the legislation both on the United States and foreign countries.

Trade agreements have been concluded between the United States and 29 nations. These agreements stimulated world commerce by reducing international trade barriers.

Domestic producers always have been protected. Extensive public hearings have been held before negotiations have been started.

Before any trade agreement was concluded the Departments of State, Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor, the National Military Establishment and the United States Tariff Commission carefully studied the proposals. Each agreement has provided that the United States could withdraw from it or charge it if unforeseen developments threaten to hurt domestic producers.

Extension of the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act without crippling amendments could help the United States to carry out the charter of the International Trade Organization recently drawn up at Habana. The ITO encourages the conduct of trade between nations on fair and liberal principles. The ITO also provides that all member nations stand ready to negotiate for the reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis.

In order to participate in the ITO effectively the United States should have continued the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act in substantially the same form in which it has worked so successfully in the past 14 years.

The reciprocal-trade program should have been authorized for another 3 years. At the end of that time Congress could review again the entire program.

The Republican Party has recognized the importance of the reciprocal-trade agreements. The 1944 Republican Party platform stated:

The Republican Party pledges that it will join with others in leadership in every cooperative effort to remove unnecessary and destructive barriers to international trade.

Business, led by the United States Chamber of Commerce, has supported the reciprocal trade program. Labor and agriculture also have found the reciprocal-trade program to be sound legislation.

The House Ways and Means Committee considered extension of the reciprocal-trade program at hearings early in May. Many Congressmen and citizens' organizations criticized the committee for hearing testimony in secret executive sessions.

The measure reported by the committee substantially changed the reciprocal-trade program. The bill passed the House May 26 by a vote of 234 to 149. The principal provisions of the House legislation were:

First. The program would be extended only a year instead of 3 years as proposed by President Truman.

Second. The Tariff Commission, at present only a fact-finding body, would recommend trade agreements after holding hearings.

Third. If the President does not follow the findings of the Tariff Commission, Congress can veto any tariff decisions made by the President.

Many Republicans joined Democrats in protesting against these revisions of the reciprocal trade program. Secretary of State Marshall said the measure passed by the House was worse than no recip rocal-trade program at all.

Many critics of the House measure pointed to the successful operation of the reciprocal-trade program for the 14 years as ample proof of the soundness of the previous legislation.

Other critics of the House measure thought that it would hamper American trade with other countries so much as to bring back the days of the Smoot-Hawley high-tariff restrictions. In fact one provision of the House revision provided that, under some circumstances, a tariff 50 percent higher than under the disastrous Smoot-Hawley Act could be levied.

The Senate Finance Committee held a week of hearings on reciprocal trade. The committee is to be commended for keeping its sessions open to the public. Many witnesses were heard.

The measure reported by the Finance Committee was not as restrictive as the bill that passed the House. But the Senate legislation was still far from the sound tariff proposals made by President Truman. The Senate passed the committee's bill June 14 by a vote of 70 to 18. Efforts by the Democratic minority to extend the Trade Agreements Act, without change, for 3 years, 2 years, and 1 year were defeated by narrow margins.

The Senate bill did not give Congress a veto power over reciprocaltrade agreements made by the President.

However, the Senate measure provided that the Tariff Commission must make extended studies of the effect of proposed tariff agreements on American industries.

The President may not make reciprocal-trade agreements until he has received the Tariff Commission's reports.

The legislation also provides that if the President makes agreements beyond the Commission's recommendations, he will have to explain his actions to Congress within 30 days.

The amended Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act was extended only until June 30, 1949, instead of for 3 years as requested by the President. The House agreed to the Senate version of the bill June 16.

The measure that was sent to the White House can easily turn back American tariff policy toward the protectionist, logrolling days of Smoot and Hawley.

THE UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations has been supported strongly by President Truman and the Democratic administration. The President repeatedly has called for strengthening the United Nations. The President pledged and gave the United Nations America's wholehearted support. However, President Truman recognized that the United Nations was not working perfectly.

During the Eightieth Congress many proposals were heard concerning the United Nations. Some persons wanted to scrap the United Nations and to return the United States to isolationism. Others wanted to form a new world organization without Russia. Still others wanted to continue to work for peace through the present United Nations organization.

After careful consideration of the question, President Truman and his advisers decided the true course to peace was through the existing machinery. The Democratic administration decided wisely that the United States should work earnestly to improve and expand the United Nations.

With this end in view, the Democratic administration and the Republican Senate concurred in a resolution urging America to develop a strengthened United Nations.

The Senate passed this resolution June 11. There was little opposition. This was what the Senate asked the United States to do:

First. The United States should work to eliminate the veto power in the Security Council except in a very few instances of matters of high policy.

Second. The United States should encourage regional defense agreements as provided in the United Nations Charter.

Third. The United States should continue to make every effort to preserve the peace through the United Nations.

Congress failed to enact legislation providing a $65,000,000 loan to the United Nations. This money would have been used to help in the construction of United Nations headquarters in New York. The Senate passed the bill authorizing the loan. The House Foreign Affairs Committee reported the measure to the House.

But House Republican leaders were not able to find time to consider the bill in the closing days of the Eightieth Congress.

This legislation should have been passed by the Eightieth ConAs a result of congressional inaction, some member nations of the United Nations are talking of moving its headquarters to Europe.

DISPLACED PERSONS

Since the end of World War II President Truman has called for the admission of displaced persons to the United States.

His most recent plea was in his state of the Union message January 7. The President said:

Many thousands of displaced persons, still living in camps, overseas, should be allowed entry into the United States. I again urge the Congress to pass suitable legislation at once so that this Nation may do its share in caring for homeless and suffering refugees of all faiths. I believe that the admission of these persons will add to the strength and energy of this Nation.

After long months of argument and delay, the Senate passed a bill early in June to admit 200,000 displaced persons.

The Senate bill had many hampering restrictions. The measure provided that half of the DP's must be farmers and that half must come from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. It also said that American citizens or organizations must underwrite the DP's who came here to prevent them from becoming public charges.

A few days after the Senate acted the House also passed displacedpersons legislation. The House measure was a much better bill. It provided that DP's be admitted regardless of occupation, race, or creed. It would have charged the DP's against future immigration quotas.

In the final hours of the Eightieth Congress a compromise displacedpersons bill was approved by the House and the Senate. The measure was a great disappointment to those who wanted adequate legislation to help the unfortunate refugees of war in Europe. Even though inadequate, it was supported by the Democratic minority as being better than nothing.

The displaced-persons bill contained clauses that seriously discriminated against Jews and Catholics in Europe.

Some said that this legislation will do more to prevent displaced persons from entering the United States than to encourage them to come to America.

The Eightieth Congress cannot point with pride to its record on displaced persons.

THE DEFENSE PROGRAM

President Truman urged the second session of the Eightieth Congress to enact an adequate defense program. The President made his recommendations January 7 in his state of the Union message and March 17 in a special message on defense and the European recovery program.

The President's program was in three parts:

First. Adequate funds must be appropriated for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Second. A peacetime selective service law must be enacted.

Third. Universal training legislation should be passed by Congress. The Eightieth Congress followed President Truman's recommendations on funds for defense and on selective service. But the Congress failed to enact a universal training law. Nothing was done on this important phase of our effort to remain strong and so preserve the peace. Both House and Senate Appropriations Committees held long hearings on the President's budget requests for the armed services. The measures reported by the committees followed the President's recommendations.

The appropriations bills for the Army, Navy, and Air Force passed both the House and Senate by almost unanimous votes.

In addition to the regular appropriations for the Department of Defense, Congress also voted money to increase the size of the Air Force from its present 55 groups to 70 groups.

Funds voted for defense program totaled $13,000,000,000. Although this figure is high for peacetime, the Congress agreed with the President that an adequate Army, Navy, and Air Force are needed to insure peace during this unsettled postwar period.

Following a thorough study of the tense international atmosphere, President Truman recommended limited peacetime selective service legislation in his special message to Congress March 17.

The President stated:

I recommend the temporary reenactment of selective service legislation in order to maintain our armed forces at their authorized strength.

Our armed forces lack the necessary men to maintain their authorized strength. They have been unable to maintain their authorized strength through voluntary enlistments, even though such strength has been reduced to the very minimum necessary to meet our obligations abroad and is far below the minimum which should always be available in the continental United States.

The Senate Armed Services Committee began hearings on the draft question on the same day that the President addressed Congress. The House Armed Services Committee opened its hearings soon after.

The peacetime selective-service legislation was debated first in the Senate. Few objections to the draft were raised on the Senate floor. Some minor amendments were adopted, but the bill that was sent to the House was substantially what the President requested.

These were the main provisions of the draft bill passed by the

Senate:

First. Strength of the armed services is increased from the present 1,446,000 men to 1,795,000. The Organized Reserve strength is increased from 1,066,000 to 1,520,000.

Second. Men from 19 to 26 years are subject to 2 years' service in the armed services. This duty will be followed by training of 2 to 5 years in the Organized Reserve.

Third. Exemptions will be granted for most World War II veterans and members of the Organized Reserves. Ministers, ministerial students, and conscientious objectors are exempted.

Fourth. Deferments will be granted to high-school students; college students following courses in medicine and science; and married men and persons in occupations essential to the national health, safety, or interest.

Fifth. Men who are drafted will have reemployment and seniority rights as during World War II.

But the draft bill ran into a GOP bottleneck in the House Rules Committee. House leaders refused to let the measure go quickly to the floor for debate.

When the Senate passed its draft bill, the House Armed Services Committee already had reported a measure similar to the Senate legislation. The differences between the two bills could have been resolved easily by amendment during the floor debate or in a conference between Senators and Representatives.

However, the House leaders, through the Rules Committee, decided to stall.

The Rules Committee is charged with sending legislation to the House floor in an orderly fashion. But in this instance. the Rules

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