NEWS OF THE WEEK
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT is expected to have delivered his message to Congress regarding the amendment of the Neutrality Act before these lines appear. The situation has been materially changed since he summoned Congress for special session by the new Russian aggression against Poland. The effect of that on the House and Senate is uncertain. The isolationists have at once made capital out of it, as another evidence that Europe is essentially a continent for America to keep clear of. And Senator Borah is certainly making an impression in some circles by his insistence that once America supports one party to the conflict with arms she will have to support it with men. For that reason the result of the discussions in Congress—and they will cer- tainly be prolonged, especially in the Senate—is not to be taken for granted. But amendment in the desired direction is probable. Public opinion in the United States grows more deeply convinced every day that only a world in which the democracies are victorious will be a world fit for Americans to live in, and it will be surprising if that conviction does not in the end determine the decision of Congress. The Conference of American Republics, which will be in pro- gress simultaneously at Panama, may have some influence one way or the other, too.
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