| Show SEEN in and HEARD around 7 h the t e eN N NATIONAL TION L CAPITAL f Carter Field A Washington A A careful listener could have heard Ion long sl sighs hs of ot re- re re relief lief Het over oyer the collapse of ot the sena seon- senatorial tonal effort to write n more dras drastic tic neutrality law The relief was most pronounced at the White WhiteHouse Whitehouse WhiteHouse House and State department but It was evident In many other quarters quarters quarters notably among senators rep rep- representing representing resenting states whose ports and ond the railroads leading to them thrive i on foreign trade And among South South- Southern Southern Southern ern congressmen who feared that In some way or other they would find cotton embargoed embargoed- If It the law were made too drastic All of ot which makes all nil the activIties activities of ot Senator Gerald I P Nye Nyc so far this session just about a n per per- perfect perfect perfect batting hatting average In futility Ile Hc tried to smear J P Morgan and the elderly financier emerged with withe e even cn Nye unable to hate him lIe trIed to make Woodrow Wilson both putty In time the bankers hands and n a aliar aliar liar and got thoroughly spanked Ile He tried to force torce a drastic neu neu- neutrality neutrality laws law and the committee on foreign relations after Jon long consid consid- consideration oration decided merely to extend the present law Then he attempt attempt- attempted ed an nn Insurgent meeting even threatenIng to block extension ot of the present law In order to force torce one more drastic and that Is peter peter- petering petering ing out There Is a great deal of ot hypocrisy hypocrisy being displayed on thIs tills whole neutrality business Lots of ot sena sena- senators sena- sena senators senators tors would wold like to see the present law v die dle and nothing whatever put In Its place They know lenow perfectly well for tor example that the present embargo on arms ammunition and Implements of ot war Is just divert divert- diverting diverting ing business which would give em em- employment employment employment In New En England land and ond other arms and ammunition plants to sImIlar plants In England Japan Belgium and Czechoslovakia WhIch Is annoying because the shipments of ot these countries to liaise Halle Selassie's army are being pall paId for tor In gold and silver er So there Is IsDO no DO danger daner of ot eIther cither loss or of ot be- be becoming be becoming coming Involved ol through extensIon ot of credit A Avoid void Quotation But very few tew people Indeed ed In po- po po political life lire or out of ot It are willing willingto to talk that way for tor quotation They know they would be denounced by bythe bythe bythe the N Nye e crowd as being willing to take blood money at the best or ors oras as s being In the pay itay of ot the Du fonts Ponts nt at the worst Meanwhile of ot course the very ery nation that the chaIrman ot of the foreign relations commIttee Senator Key Pittman says Is like like- likely likely ly to make war on the United States that that Is Japan Japan- Japan Is building up her munitions Industry as a n result of Americas America's neutrality law But Dut that Is something else agaIn The relief over o time the collapse of Nyes Nye's attempt to make male the prest pres present eat ent embargo more drastic both for tor forthe forthe the present war in Africa and for tor any future war else ex else ex except of ot course In Latin America America- America Is due more to other Interests than to arms and ammunition It ex- ex extends extends ex extends tends to the oil Industry and to cop cop- copper copper copper per to steel and to mules In fact conditIons might arise which would make almost any given product Im- Im Important important Im Important In to the conduct of ot a war Whereupon to be neutral in the Nye sense of ot the term It would be necessary for tor time the United States to bar shIpments of ot that com commodIty mod sty Ity In the time opinion of ot some others ot of course su such b an nn embargo would be anything but a n neutral act de act de depending pending upon whose ox Is gored The greatest relief of ot all per per- haps perhaps was In the office of ot James A Farley Not because of ot his job as postmaster general but In his rune rune- function I lion tion as chairman of ot the Democratic National committee conducting the campaign for tor time the re election of PresIdent Roosevelt noose For there Is just no way of ot meas meas- measuring meas- meas measuring measuring the amount of ot grief that n a really tough neutrality bill of ot time the Nye Nyc pattern could cause In certaIn states whose electoral votes are very Important Still Puzzling and the FlorIda ship canal conal are still puzzling e every c cry cry- everybody cry body but President Roosevelt and Budget Director Bell Best nest reports are that Mr Bell Dell Is the only New Dealer now satisfied with the President's dents dent's action In deciding to give con con- congress congress gress gross a chance to vote on whether more money should be spent on these two projects or not Certainly Mr Roosevelt elt has had plenty ot of grief since he sent them UI up to the Capitol The first big surprise came ot of course appropriations when the house bouse committee decided to side sIde- sIdetrack sidetrack sidetrack track the two big projects The rhe PresIdent had thought of ot course to get time the projects Into the regular con congressional pork barrel Then lie he would retain all the credit for tor hay hav hayIng having ing started them and congress would be put Into the position ot of approving them as sound There Is more to thIs tills than Just the Idea of g general congressional ap approval For In to every pork barrel type ype of or bill members have to t vote do donot d things they for Cor naturally many not approve Florida Ship Canal Representative n Green Creen of FlorIda Is leading the fight to re restore tore the Florida ship canal He lIe has hns alreadY put the blame for tor Its defeat deCent In the committee on the ship companies which he sa says s 's do not want to bavo bave their mall carrying fees reduced by ln lIa having the thc mileage on trips to gulf ports gulf ports reduced The Idea of ot trans transporting porting mall mail from New l York to New ew Orl Orleans ng by a n boat that tal takes s 's five fl when In r trains make the jOl Journey In two nights seems a hit bit odd but attacks on all corporations seem In fashion Rut nut the point arises suppose congress sticks by hy the action of the house appropriations committee Suppose the end of ot the session finds no appropriation for carrying on Quoddy and the Florida canal The President then faces disagree disagreeable ahle able alternatives He lie can accept the repudiation for his two projects admitting right In the midst of or his campaign for tor re-election re that both sImply squandered the taxpayers money on projects which are not going to he be nod finished finished and which his own party pirty In congre congress s did not think worth finishing Or he lie can still dI- dI dIvert divert di divert vert WI A or PW A funds for tor carry carry- carrying carrying ing on the work In that case however he would lay himself open ollen to violent criticisms criticism from another standpoint It would lend force toree to the argument that con congress ress had actually turned over overall nil Its powers to n a that dictator dictator Hoo Roosevelt's evelt's action In permitting con congress ress to pass on Quoddy and the Florida canal was much like that of or a n cat which lets a n captured mouse run for a couple of feet teet be- be before be before fore tore pouncing on It again New Farm Bill The statement of ot Senator Da David DavidI ld I Walsh of ot Massachusetts that the only benefits claimed from the new farm Carm bill are that It would continue the rain of ot checks to the farmers and t tend nd toward cutting the thc value ot of the dollar or dollar or has inflation Inflation started comparisons between the present administrations administration's farm plan nod and oddly enough the Hoover for tor- foreign for foreign eign polle policy Both It Is contended were share the wealth plans as surely fiS as though the Inte late Louisiana Kingfish had designed them It Is the dif dit- differences that are Interesting Despite nil all the clamor about the foreign loans which later later went sour all that the time United States as a whole lost was just goods goods Just farm tarm products and manufactured articles The trouble Is that they were never paId for In so many Instances nut But here herc Is the comparison being made Who paid or pays the bill In Inthe Inthe Inthe the AAA farm Carm plan everybody who eats and wears clothes thus thug being obliged to pay processing taxes Thus money was taken from all nil the citizens and given to one class the farmers on the accepted argument nt that the farmers were not getting theIr share thare In the ordinary proc proc- processes processes esses of wealth distribution In the new farm plan taxes will be more wIdely distributed but bat will continue to hit the same people the burden continuing to fall more heavily on the poor Who paid the bill In the bad for for- foreign foreign eign loan case The Time people who had money enough to buy the bonds plus some who were hit because their banks and Insurance companies com com- companies com companies invested Im-ested In them But nut by far the greater amount came from people with sizable fortunes Who got the time money In the farm tarm bills the farmers In the had bad foreign loan case more than 90 DO per percent percent percent cent of ot It went to the farmers and the workers of at this country The wicked bankers one hears henrs so much about skimmed a It nice fat profit tat fat because of ot the amount but actually very ery small In percentage And ot of course a sizable fraction of ot that went to the treasury eventually In Income taxes And some of ot the profits went to bond salesmen an occupation by the way that once used a lot of or white collar workers Where It Went But the great bulk bulle of ot It went to the men who grew the crops the themen themen men who fabricated the goods for tor wages time the railroad workers who hauled time the goods and crops to sea sea- seaboard sea board sen-board board the miners who du dug the thc coal conI conIto to provide tile to power etc It was a very real distribution ot of wealth which was what the lie AAA AA was and the time new so-called so con con- conservation conservation plan Is s intended to be bc There are two Important differ differ- II differences differences I In the farm plans the Indus Industrial trial workers of ot the country benefit only ns as Indirectly ns n a result of the Increased buying power of ot the farmers farm farm- farmers ers Whereas In the foreign loan plan both workers and farmers tanners ben ben- ben benefited directly One class of ut work work- workers workers workers ers those In transportation benefit benefit- benefited benefited ed Id enormously by the foreign loan plan but have ha been actually hurt n a little h by the time farm plan due lIue to sharp curtailment of ot production hence production less freight movement Incidentally the stock yards workers SulT red even more from flom the he farm tarm plan though It Is promised that ther there viii be he nothing so drastic as that again oguin The other big difference Is In who pa pays s 's the bills bl A much larger pro portion proportion of ot th time cost of ot the farm plan tails falls on very small Income laconic people pi or Of course no one ever er called the sour foreign loan s system a plan aplan It W was S just n II phase of ot time the often decried In brain trust circles profit motive mothe Copyright Service |
