| Show NATIONAL NA AFFAIRS Reviewed by I CARTER FIELD I President urged to ado adopt fit strong course o of oj f action that thatis its is proponents proponent believe would bring collapse of oj o f Fascist and ancl Nazi j regimes Preparedness comes conies first in inthis inthis inthis this plan to be followed by bya a trade nor on the Ire totalitarian states Would tin nn- these states stales in South American market et A WASHINGTON W A very strong t course of ot action Is being b urged on President Roosevelt with u view to resisting the of ot Ger Get Germany many and Italy particularly in Latin America though the course recommended would eventually its backers believe bring about a col col- collapse collapse collapse lapse of the Fascist and Nazi re re- regimes regimes regimes and remove their perpetual war scare In Europe The first essential step of the pro pro- proposed proposed proposed posed program Is for tor the United States Slates to be ready to fight If It necessary sary To this part of the program the President has yielded consider considerably ably as shown in his preparedness message to congress The next step not to be taken un Un- until Until til tit after the United States Stales is so strong that this next move would not a war would be to start what would amount to a trade war on the totalitarian states This would mean the selling of at American goods at a II loss when our own wage and labor conditions are considered and it would Involve permitting pay payment ment for lor these goods by taking the exports of ot the nations to the south of t us One of ot the advocates of ot this plan illustrated the idea with Mexican oil cil I think he said that the Mexican Mex- Mex ican government has the right to take over owned foreign-owned oil all wells s j i That is within their power Of Ot course ourse they should pay us for tor the property so taken But lets let's consid consid- consider er what is probably going to happen Y i unless we do a little strong-arm strong work so to speak Mexico will have to sell that oil all to Germany Italy and Japan It the will take in pay pay- payment payment J ment mand for tor that oil the goods made by what according to our labor condi condl conditions conditions Is ts virtually slave labor Must Sell Cheaper per Than Totalitarian States simply cannot afford to tot T t It will mean a strengthening of Japan Italy and andI I 1 Germany which wo we cannot contemplate contemplate contemplate plate with equanimity If it we ore lire hopeful for tor world peace As a mat mat- mats matter s f ter of fact the progress of this sort of thing will eventually prevent us from either maintaining our stand stand- standards standards standards ards of ot living or maintaining peace no matter how much we may be willing to endure in n order to pre pre- preserve preserve serve peace There will come a time when it will be impossible So we must buy that Mexican oil cU and we must pay for it with goods sold as cheaply or more cheaply than Japan Italy and Ger Get Germany Germany many can deliver them j I We must do that every time any- any anything hing thing t of the sort happens Does any anyone one cne believe that other big Invest invest- Investments investments ments in o Latin America will con can continue continue to be b safe when every ery politician clan cian Ian south of Mexico sees that coun- coun ry getting away a with it ItT But the Important thing for us isto Is Isto Isto to prevent that sort of thing threat- threat threatening threatening threatening ening our future by preventing the totalitarian states from taking ad ad- advantage advantage vantage of tf it IL We should have bave a thorough un un- understanding understanding understanding with France and Great Britain and theother the other democracies and we should go after world trade with a big stick To do that we must be armed sufficiently to pre prevent I vent the possibility of trouble We WeI I must subsidize exports to a slightly I I greater extent ext nt than Germany or It It- Italy ItI I aly or Japan And we must buy j 1 the products of these countries j It will cost us a lot of at money but it will be cheap in n the long run And the cost will be offset to a sur sur- surprising surprising surprising extent by the stepping up of ot oti i production in this country which will relieve unemployment Army and Navy Officer Lang Urged Preparedness Prepa In demanding more appropriations for preparedness both army t and navy officers are merely vole vole- voicing voicing ing publicly what they have known and been saying privately for six years ears Starvation of the army and navy so far tar as new material is concerned began in the Hoover administration when poor business cut cul tax returns and pinched the federal exchequer l This has gone on until with little orno or orno orno no purchasing of new arms new guns new ammunition and even new explosives there developed a t situation which high officials admit d might easily have been tragic had hadn n some emergency ncy arisen under which the army army and navy would have had to fight tight I The simplest illustration is that explosives deteriorate This is truet true t despite tb the occasional tragic acci accident iJ t dent when some old shell explodes r as when it is plowed inU In on oni at a i battlefield But long range firing bring by t 1 big guns is a matter of infinite in cal cal- When naval or coast de de- 1 t t J. J r tense gunners are lire trying to hit a hostile ship 10 or more miles away the he quality of the explosive that pro pro- propels propels pets the shell they fire tire is of at tre tre- tremendous tremendous tremendous importance Incidentally it Is usually the ex ex- explosive explosive plosive in a dud shell that tha t hurts someone in an accident This is it not the explosive that propelled that shell It Is the charge that should have detonated when the tile shell hit I its mark This Is also an nn Important 1 charge of course but when it comes comes comes' to hitting the enemy in battle It is the propelling charge that tha t is vital l i A slight deterioration could make a difference o ofa a halt half a n mile more or orless orless I Iless less in where the shell landed I Supply of 0 Explosives il Is j Allowed to Grow Groll Stale I I It would easily make the differ differ- difference 1 ence once between bel winning whining pr losing an important naval na battle Present Present day day naval strategy gives the victory to the first fleet to land a salvo saho on the target That is the tile reason the su su- superior perlor optical instruments of ot the Germans in the World war made their otherwise Inferior fleet such suh a n I menace which menace which made the losses of the British so heavy at Jutland Not only has the explosives sup sup- supply ply of the United States army and navy been allowed to grow stale and risk its being Incalculable for accurate firing tiring in battle but actual actually ly to this day there Is not an ade ade- adequate adeQuate odee quate factory source tor for its supply Machinery Is now In preparation for tor such a supply and the fact that that it Is makes an extraordinary rev rev- revelation revelation revelation elation of the desperate nature of the picture About Aboul a year ago this machinery was ordered without the sanction of congress and without publicity at a cost of The orders were made possible by bya a private individual who guaranteed guaran guaran- guaranteed guaranteed teed the orders In short he would have been obliged either cither to take takeover takeover takeover over the machinery himself or to lose his money If congress should not later legalize the operation But the amazing part of ot the whole story Is that these needs were realIzed real real- realized in 1933 and that certain army officers obtained enactment by con con- congress congress congress gress in the first re re- relief relict relief lief bill b which included for tor forthe forthe the mechanization and motorization of ot the army But this effort was wasted Not a cent of ot the huge relief re re- relief lief Het fund was so so spent I There are those who think there would have been no Munich if it had been Modification of 0 Cuban Sugar Treaty Raises Stir Str Maine M potatoes seem a far tar cry from Cuban sugar but no more re re- remote remote re- re mote than an some of ot the ramifications which are combining to make trou trou- trouble trouble trouble ble for tor the reciprocal trade agreement agree agree- agreement agreement ment policy of Secretary of State Cordell Hull Hun Half a dozen senators sena sena- senators senators tors are already clamoring for a atun full tun investigation of the proposed modification of the Cuban treaty which would reduce the rate rale of duty on Cuban sugar sugar but not change the quota Cuba is now permitted to ship into the United States Sta es One of the most outspoken critics of the agreement is Rep Ralph 0 O. Brewster of ot Maine Brewster says that of every that Cuba gets or might get from the United States goes to Wall WallStreet Street This attack by the sugar producing producIng producing ing state congressmen and others Interested in knocking out various items In the trade agree agree- agreements agreements agreements ments illustrates also the difficulty involved in any sane consideration of ot loans to Latin America or for that matter any foreign loans The trouble is when the time lime comes to pay either principal or interest A foreign country can pay paya a debt or interest on the debt only in two ways It can ship gold or it can ship s1 p goods We dont don't want the gold We have a great deal more than we want now We dont don't want the goods or rather there are various elements in the country want each par par- type of goods for tor the simple reason that this element wants to produce that type of goods itself and enjoy the full advantage of ot the domestic market in the United States Stat s without foreign competition Buy South American Goods But Dont Don't Lend Them Money Economists agree that the sane thing for tor the United States to do in inthe Inthe inthe the present anxiety to do something for South America economically is not to lend them any more money but to take more marc of their goods If we would agree to take enough products from the South American countries they would eagerly buy the goods we are so anxious to ex ex- export port More important taking their goods would be a much firmer and surer step toward continued friend friend- friendship friendship ship and mutual esteem than lend lend- lending lendIng lending ing them money money which will Just spell more grief when the time for tor payment comes But Its It's the old tariff tarm problem allover all allover allover over again Louisiana and Florida which produce cane sugar and the nearly 20 states which grow sugar beets do not want any conces conces- concessions concessions concessions on Cuban sugar although Cuba owes the United States tre tre- tremendous tremendous tremendous sums and can pay of course only in goods What the domestic sugar producers ers en are most worried about now is not the amount of sugar that may come in In because that is at present restricted by a quota They are worried lest the new duty still remain on the books at some future time when the quota system may lapse O C Deli BeU Syndicate syndicate Service |
