Charles Skelton: “Mr. Chairman, if the walls could talk, at least twice in this century these walls have heard those familiar strains of…”

“Mr. Chairman, if the walls could talk, at least twice in this century these walls have heard those familiar strains of isolationism, of America should not get involved with serious problems elsewhere that do not have a direct interest on our country; and they do in this instance. The stability of Europe, the stability of the Balkans, economically, culturally, morally, is important to the United States of America. Oh, if these walls could talk, they would say, we have heard this before. It is also kind of like the song we used to sing at Boy Scout camp lo those many years ago, and let the rest of the world go by. We cannot, Mr. Chairman, let the rest of the world go by. This is a very, very important piece of legislation. The purpose of this legislation is to take care of the troops. This is the year of the troops. We must in this Congress reflect what is good and best about us in looking after those young men and young women in uniform. That is what this bill is all about.”