| Show I 11 I N S 5 I 1 ID n D E F S 5 T TI U I F F The Thee B By News e PAUL Behind h MALLON The t News News' 1 I WASHINGTON Sept Those 25 25 Those commissioners sent sont by President Roosevelt to Europe to study coops were seen here hore lately going home through the back alleys If neighbors had not told no one would know they returned to this country about ten days ago with the tho plan which Agriculture Secretary Secretary Sec Sec- Wallace has expected will sweep the tho country Into a cooperative cooperative cooperative cooper cooper- state within the next 50 years or or so They escaped ship news reporters and even society and when cornered by their own friends emitted only guttural sounds of reluctant reluctant- recognition This unseemly conduct Is causIng causIng causing caus caus- ing comment within the new deal inner circle especially because the tho commissioners were sent upon their mission three threD months ago with the fanfare of a White House announcement What happened will not be known officially for some time but you can safely bet your last million dollars that some very deep fundamental friction tion developed de developed do- do among tho the commissioners regarding the cooperative theory a In fact you may expect two re reports ro- ro ports to be submitted to the president one a minority report signed by one or two commis cominis- si Words The main trouble is cooperative cooperative cooperative tive is too big a word Like inflation and progressive it sprawls over such a wide scale scalo of meaning that it has lost any specific significance For example to most people it means producers' producers coops such as have been developed among farmers farm farm- ers era in this country Everyone is for them Mr Hoover as well as Mr Roosevelt Mr lr Lemko and probably also J. J P. P Morgan The kinds of coops studied by bythe bythe bytho the tho commissioners In mostly consumers' consumers coops Industrial industrial indus indus- trial triai coops etc This is an entirely entire entire- ly different subject covered by the same name It involves wholly different economic theories the possibility of federal endowments sponsoring consumer stores which would compete with local merchants mer mor- chants elimination m a of middlemen then consumer factories and In iii Inthe Inthe the last stage a federal consumer control of basic industries in a aC acom C com complete 0 m p pIe 1 e t to a cooperative state which would permit capitalism to exist on tho the side if It could stand such competition This is where the commission split plit The three original brain appointed on the commissIon commission com corn mission are supposed to have be believed be- be the U. U S. S could profitably start out in the tho general direction pointed by European consumer coop experience The two farm commissioners are said to bo be in the throes of grave gravo doubts Vl Wisdom dom The coop study was originally intended for use uso in the he presidential campaign Tho The one or more reports will be on Mr Roosevelt's desk within a 8 few tew days However However However How How- ever there is more than an even chance chanc that he will vill drop them into a lined keg-lined can and let them age Also a suggestion has been made that he may put them in the bath bathtub bathtub bathtub tub and turn on the water Most ost explosive consider them politically dangerous For one thing tho the president Is Isnow Isnow isnow now applying the new Patman- Patman Robinson Jaw law to protect individual merchants For another some farm thinkers are aro beginning to suspect the double meaning of the cooperative theory as related to prices they may get through con con- y sumer Bumer cooperatives From Front an economic standpoint a question m mar mark a r k Is likewise developing around the point whether consumer consumer consumer con con- sumer coops arc feasible in times producer and consumer is not when the price margin between very wide Alertness Agriculture Secretary Wallace Vallace Is answering Governor Landon's farm program Friday night with far more authority than he professes pro pro- to have Mr Wallace was unexpectedly called to Hyde Park early in tho the week on what was advertised asa as aa aaa asa a mysterious mission Word was given out that he was talking over some phases of crop insurance insurance ance anco with the tho president The fact Is Mr r. r Roosevelt called him in to frame the reply to Mr Landon Mr Wallace has five ghost ghostwriters ghostwriters ghostwriters writers which Is four foul more moro than most other officials have except the president Ho He has often otten done ghost work for the chief executive but this is tho the first time Mr lr r. r Roosevelt ghosted for him H If you will tie this fact up with the tho smart Democratic move in reserving competitive radio time for the president against Al Smith and the other anticipatory moves made here lately such as announcement announcement announcement an an- o of the crop insurance insurance insurance ance investigation on the eve of at Landon's farm speech you will have some somo idea of the inner alertness alertness alert alert- ness of the Democratic campaign It has amazed most Washington political observers who fancy that they know something about politics And the campaign campain does not start until Mr Roosevelt opens it at Syracuse next Tuesday Copyright ht 1936 for The Telegram |
