THE CABINET: Panay Pandemonium

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Hoosier who, when he was elected in 1929, became the first member of the House Press Gallery to descend from it to the floor. The Ludlow Anti-War Resolution, introduced three years ago, has been held up ever since by the House Judiciary Committee which had by last week almost forgotten its existence. Of the 218 signatures he needed to get the measure to the floor, Representative Ludlow has had 200 or so for several months. Mr. Ludlow found, in the congressional reaction to the Panay sinking, a chance to get the dozen or sa additional signatures he needed and the bill was scheduled for six hours of debate on January 10.

If there was one thing calculated to console Japan and add confusion to the pandemonium about the Panay in the U. S. State Department last week, serious consideration of the Ludlow Resolution, which would tie the Government's hands in just such a crisis, was that thing. Secretary Hull promptly announced, with as much politeness as he could muster, that he was unable to perceive either "the wisdom or the practicality" of the measure. Rules Committee Chairman John J. O'Connor denounced it as "monstrous." The President—in response to whose wishes the House Military Affairs Committee reported favorably on a bill forbidding unauthorized sketches or photographs of U. S. fortifications and equipment—obviously opposed it. Since the resolution is framed aj a Constitutional Amendment, it would need a two-thirds majority in both houses. Chance that the Ludlow Resolution would ever get much closer to a vote than it was last week was minimized when Majority Leader Sam Rayburn announced that he would exert all his influence to prevent its consideration.