EM EM : monthly magazine - 01.07.1941, Blaðsíða 4

4
Em Em
Stcwart Says—
Federal Union, Inc.,'
Highly Impractical,
But It Makes Noise
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Bv CHARLES P. STEWART
q Central Press Columnist
FEDERATION of all the world’s
English-speaking countries is be-
ginning to be seriously talked
about. An organization called Fed-
eral Union ac-
tually has in-
corporated it-
self to boost the
idea from head-
quarters in
Washington I
think that Dor-
othy Thompson.
t h e columnist.
had more than
any other single
individual to do
with givíng the
notion tangibil-
ity Now that
t h e scheme’s
taken concrete
form. however. quite a sizable
group of intellectuals are associat-
ing themselves with it.
The proposition was pretty hazy
at flrst. but since then it’s been de-
veloped into an extremely deflnite
ptan.
To be included in the suggested
hook-up are the United States. the
people of John Bull’s own island,
the Irish. the Canadians, the Aus-
tralians, the New Zealanders and
the South African Union. They’re
to be tied together just as our 48
states. our couple of territories and
miscellaneous insular possessions
are The aggregation’s constitu-
tion’s to be a copy of ours
The scheduled program’s well
meant. of course. but most of the
practical statesmen I’ve discussed
it with in Washington’s legislative
and executive circles refer to it as
cuckoo.
It’s agreed that the nations and
dominions mentioned might com-
bine on a treaty basis, but that
isn’t what Federal Union, Incorpo-
rated. wants. It wants to merge the
whole collection into an all and ex-
clusively English-speaking United
States.
Now, who’d be the executive
head of the concem? And who and
what and where would its congress
or parliament or what-you-may-
call-it he?_
rre*ddent or King f
Would the amalgamation jointly
elec’t’ a president-over-all or pick
out a hereditary king? Would it
choose its supreme legislative body
in the same fashion ?
unaer tne contempiatea merger
it appears that the president of the
U S. A. would have the federated
status of a mere state governor
and congress that of a state legís-
lature only. And the king of Eng-
land would lapse into the rating,
of just a sub-king, with a collectíve
president or some other boss exec-
utive ranking him Parliament
would become nothing but a local
legislature. too. The British do-
minions’ respective governments
likewise would be deCated mate-
rially
A federation, as distinguished
from just a treaty arrangement,
certainly would have to have a cen-
tral authority overhead. We surely
never would consent to recognition
of the English king and parlia-
ment as that kind of an authority
over us. And, just as surely, the
English wouldn’t subordinate their
king and parliament to our presi-
dent and congress. I doubt that the
British dominions would submit to
a like subordínation, either, but it’s
a cinch that neither we nor the
English would, anyway.
Well, then, our federation would
have to have a collectively-selected
chief executive and legislature and
maybe courts also,
And when we (the entire British-
American alignment of us) came
to making these selections, the
British would be as much entitled to
votes as ourselves. And perhaps a
British executive chief and legisla-
tive rriajority would win. Is it like-
ly that we’d stand for that ? Or
that the British would stand for it
if w e won ?
Free Trade?
Moreover. if our English-speak-
ing union’s constitution’s to be a
copy of our Vankee one, we’Il have
to have free trade among us and no
ímmigration restrictions.
And what about our Pan-Amer-
ican policy?
Federal Union, Incorporated,
doesn’t flgure on taking the new
world Latin countries into the fam-
ily, for English isn’t their language
and this thing, if put across, is to
he an English-speaking federation.
Besides. it’s to be a federation of
democracies, and several of the
Latin Arnericas are democratic
nominally alone.
In short, the whole idea’s cock-
eyed, our executive and legislative
critics of it say.
Nevertheless, it makes consider-
able noise.
Charles P.
Stewart
Áwaiting the Stork?
According to reports from Holly-
wood, there will soon be a little vis-
itor at the nearby ranch of Clark
Gable and Carole Lombard. Both
previously married, neither has
ever had any children before.
"Australia Reaciy”
Australia will take no initiative in
shattering Pacifie peace, says Aet-
ing Foreign Minister A. W. Fadden,
but adds that the government is
prepared for any emergency. Land-
ing of Australian reinforcements
at Britain’s vital Chinese base at
Singapore brought Japanese de-
4»4mciation as “a belligerent actioa.”