NEAR PEACE

True to their pledge to put the country on a peace time basis the Republican majority took the first step by repealing almost all of the strictly war-time legislation. The resolution, which was adopted by a unanimous vote in the House, declares that acts which owe their existence to a state of war shall be "administered as if the present war terminated on the date when this resolution becomes effective." Trading with the enemy, Liberty Loan enactments and those connected with the War Finance Corporation are the chief exceptions to the laws that will go, and should have gone long ago if this country had been able to find peace in the arrangements made by the President.

The measure as adopted is almost identical with that passed by Congress at the last session and vetoed by the President, who seems happiest in the midst of legislation passed during the war for his benefit. Without hostilities emergency measures lose attractiveness for the rest of the country, and not even a technical state of war can make them acceptable. As a sign of the peace administration which will begin on March 4, this abolition of war-time laws is a welcome end to the abnormal conditions created by war. The House has taken a flying start, by its unanimous vote, in setting the nation on the road to a change for the better.