THE CONGRESS: Out on the Limb

Is there a national emergency or is there not? With fear & trembling the House confronted this question—a question in the form of a bill to extend the service of draftees in the Army.

If the U.S. actually were in danger, and the danger could be shown, the bill would pass like a shot; draftees would stay in the Army indefinitely. If no danger could be clearly demonstrated, the bill might fail, the half-baked U.S. Army would lose its half-baked soldiers, would have to start from the beginning again with completely raw recruits.

The Senate had already passed a bill extending...