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Show i Reciprocal Trade Plans Have Role inf Next Peace' Hull May Have Answer to Totalitarianism; British Farming Program Greatly Changed by War Demands. ;u1 By BAUKHAGE National Farm and Home Hour Commentator. there is seed-time and harvest, where fields are tilled and cattle are fed. For the farmer in those beleaguered be-leaguered islands, is as important as the soldier. However, while I was informed by a man who has been in England since the war started that air-raids had not affected agriculture at all, there are some exceptions to be noted. not-ed. And the war has to some degree de-gree changed the farmer's program. In normal times the crowded islands is-lands depend largely on other lands for their food. Now the rich meat and dairy products of Scandinavia are cut off, there are not enough ships to spare from the war supply trade to permit much shipment of foodstuffs. But since wheat is vital, vi-tal, animals must give place to grain. As a result, millions of acres of grassland in Britain are being turned into wheatfields. In normal times, live stock was the chief agricultural ag-ricultural product, but, according to recent reports to the department of agriculture, Britain is fast becoming a wheat-growing nation. As the "Wiltshire farmer," whom I quoted recently in these columns, said, "farming goes on much as usual except ex-cept that the harvests are heavier and the city youths are called in to help in the fields, replacing the men of military age who have been called to the colors. And meat is scarce." Of course, air raids have affected the farmer little because the attacks at-tacks are concentrated on cities and factories. Live-stock losses, according accord-ing to a recent report to the foreign for-eign relations division of the department depart-ment of agriculture, have been less than were expected. Sheep and cattle, cat-tle, because they have a tendency to herd, have been killed in greatest numbers. Horses and hogs, being greater individualists, have suffered least. Cattle in barns are safest. When an animal is killed by bombs, the farmer is compensated by the food ministry only in proportion propor-tion as the carcass is valuable as food. There is no compensation for unedible casualties. Canada's Wheat Problem. Meanwhile Inability to ship her wheat to the mother country is providing pro-viding a serious problem for the Canadian Ca-nadian farmer. By the time this reaches print, the Ottawa government govern-ment may have provided an arrangement ar-rangement for paying farmers for storing surplus wheat such as we have in this country. Temporary storehouses are being used and church basements in some cases have been used. Government fees for storage may soon take the place of church suppers for raising funds, and already basements and church parlors are being converted into temporary granaries. The Canadian government is contemplating the erection of four 50,000,000-busheI terminals. ter-minals. , Under normal conditions, if the British used their grazing lands for wheat raising, it is said the islands could probably become self-sufficient as far as breadstuff's are concerned, con-cerned, and there is some talk of pursuing such a policy in Britain after the war. But no one can tell what policies any country will follow fol-low when the world has finally struggled back to peace. But for the British and Scotch farmer, the transition tran-sition is not difficult for he has been accustomed to alternating plowed land and meadow in the past. WNTJ Service, 1395 National Press Bldg.. Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. There is a peace-machine peace-machine in Washington, all oiled and ready to start the moment the last gun is silenced in Europe. From it may come a plan which the democracies de-mocracies can offer the world as an alternative to the totalitarian way of life. This peace-machine is not new, but it has never been given a fair trial. Cordell Hull has the patent. It may never be allowed to function, func-tion, but it is a cheering thing, to know that it is there. It is simply reciprocal trade agreement machinery which Secretary Secre-tary Hull is insisting shall be kept-as nearly intact as possible, ready to be put into operation the moment the tanks are moved out of the way. For Mr. Hull believes firmly that out of all the uncertainties which surround this uncertain world, when the war is over one thing is going to happen: Either the system of free intercourse among nations is going to exist in the world, or the totalitarian system will dominate. Changing Viewpoint. More and more, people are coming com-ing to feel that there cannot be a world economically half-slave and half-free. Unless all nations can be united under a system of mutually profitable trade, totalitarian methods meth-ods will be forced upon all nations and it is axiomatic that when a government gov-ernment begins to create artificial restraints in the field of business, gradually you will be forced to curtail cur-tail political and social freedom, too. The Nazis know their system is not the best system, though they don't admit it to the people. Germany's Ger-many's great economist, Hjalmar Schacht, admitted as much before the war. The system of free enterprise, enter-prise, he said, was the best system, but Germany, because of her "emergency" "emer-gency" had to adopt its own system. He did not say that this emergency was created because Hitler, in order or-der to carry out his- theory of domination, domi-nation, had to spend the nation's wealth, its goods and its labor, on a huge unproductive armament industry. indus-try. Of course, lack of free trade intercourse before Hitler's advent had helped to impoverish Germany. Hull's Theory. Secretary Hull believes that the roots of war grow in the soil of evil economic conditions, that war cannot can-not be prevented unless nations indulge in-dulge in mutually profitable trade. He says that today, as he has always al-ways said it, although his reciprocal trade agreement program has been burned to ashes in the flames of war. But he is keeping his machinery machin-ery oiled and is ready to start it again If he gets the chance. It may well be the foundation-stone of the peace to come, if his policies are permitted to dominate that peace. The story of Mr. Hull's battle for his beliefs is a fascinating one. It was the result of a lifetime of study. Because of his knowledge of economics, eco-nomics, which has astounded foreign statesmen with whom he has come in contact, he was chosen for the post he holds. His first effort and his first failure took place when the London economic conference, called shortly after he came into office, broke down. He took that defeat in his stride, eliminated from the government gov-ernment Raymond Moley who opposed op-posed him at the conference and packed his bag for South America. The result was the first reciprocal trade treaties with our southern sister sis-ter nations. Slowly he built on until finally came the agreement with Great Britain, taking in a huge area of the English-speaking world. Then, just as he was winning supporters to his cause, war came and the structure was smashed. But it did not smash the faith of Cordell Hull, and it is on this faith that he is building the hope for a better world to come, a faith and a hope that is refreshing amidst the gloom of the pessimists who refuse to see any light beyond the battle clouds that today cloak all the far horizons. British Farm Program Undergoes Changes "Farming as usual" in Great Britain. . We think of the British isles these days as one great fortress, a tangle of barbed wire, of trenches, tank-traps tank-traps and pill-boxes. As a matter of fact, it is still a place where |