President Eisenhower and Mr. Dulles talked long and hard about countering the Russian economic offensive. But they reversed thmselves in the Administration's recent bill for aid to underdeveloped countries. The ill-considered proposal which Congress is now debating increases military aid to $3 billion, but allots only $1 billion to economic assistance.

This program has met with protests from Senate liberals and the visiting President of Indonesia. Far from remedying the defects of the proposal, however, Congress seems bent on destroying the few aspects of the plan which show any semblance of constructive action. The legislators have added so many restrictions to the President's discretionary powers that flexibility in the administration of foreign aid seems doomed. This flexibility was the one saving grace of the proposal, for it at least permitted the United States to act with speed and decisiveness. In limiting the President's authority in the field of foreign aid, the House Foreign Affairs Committee has voided his power to make long-term commitments, stop-gap emergency gifts, and loans to countries which hesitate to accept private investments from American companies. In order to receive aid, a country like Iran would have to allow the return of those American oil companies which it previously expelled. The committee halved the $40 million the President desired as his discretionary fund for expenditure on a single country. It also cut the allotment for aid to the Middle East and Asia by $100 million.

Almost every action the group has taken has been designed to increase legislative control over U.S. foreign aid. The Congress must realize that projects such as dams and roads need a steady flow of funds rather than an unsure, year-to-year allotment. Although the House committee's apparent distrust of the Administration's foreign savoir faire may be well-founded, it is nonetheless harmful to the conduct of international relations and to U.S. prestige.

Fortunately, the actions of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are not final. With active direction from the White House and leading Congressional liberals, increased flexibility and a stronger emphasis on economic assistance can be attained in order to cope with the Soviet threat and to regain the friendship of vital neutral nations.