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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS GOP Leaders Rap Demo Depression And Plan Bill to Meet Situation; Brannan Plan Held Farm Vote 'Bait' (F.DITOR'R NOTE: When opinions re tsprtnatd In lhe column, they re thos at Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Bares Mission pop "WT h , , 4f a .,''1 RED CHINA: Quiescent Communism, like the worm In thy bud, was creeping swiftly through China as the presence of the Red conquerors began to make Itself felt. At one village meeting in northern north-ern China, a man, bewildered and dismayed by the use of the Russian hammer-and-sickle flag In Chinese Communist meetings and parades, ventured to rise and ask a question: ques-tion: "WHY IS THIS DONE?" he said. "Russia is a foreign country and w are Chinese." And the presiding political commissar com-missar snapped, "This subject is not on the agenda." About the only thing that did show up on the agenda throughout the country was the puzzled but raady acquiescence of the Chinese to Communist rule. As a result, the nation appeared to be well on its way to assuming a regular orbit as a willing satellite of Russia. FOR THE MOST PART there have been no signs of coercion or compulsion In the relationship. There is every evidence that the Chinese Communists are in fact ager to follow the dictates of Moscow. And that revelation should be enough to destroy any illusion that the Chinese Communists are Just simple agrarian reformers. They are whole-hearted, completely com-pletely dogmatic Communists, fol- , lowing the doctrines laid down by Karl Marx and adapted for 20th century application by his disciples, Lenin and Stalin and by Mao Tze-tung, Tze-tung, leader of China's Communists. Commu-nists. THERE IS as yet no conclusive evidence that the Kremlin is giving direct, active aid to the Chinese Communists. But the affinity and spirit of cooperation that exists between be-tween Moscow and Peiping, capital of Communist China, is tangible enough. The application of China's Internal In-ternal situation to the rest of the world is disturbingly clear: Through the rule of Mao Tze-tung and his party, China inevitably is becoming a massive extension of the SovitV, power-bloc. PRICE SUPPORT: Smoke, Smoke, Smoke Arrangements for new price support sup-port programs for tobacco were announced by the federal department depart-ment of agriculture. FARM VOTE: Bait Is Set There was more to the Brannan federal farm program than had met the eye. According to seasoned Washington observers, the plan would serve as a bait for the farm vote in the congressional races next year. For instance, if administration leaders could extend wartime price supports fur another year, it would givo voters a chance to pass on the controversial Brannan plan. Thus the plan could be dangled as a major issue when Democrats and Republicans began struggling for the important farm vote. AT a midwestern Democratic conference, both Brannan, secretary secre-tary of agriculture, and J. Howard McGrath, chairman of the national Democratic committee, made a plea for extension of the price sup-rxut sup-rxut program as they began to plan for next year's tug-of-war with the GOP. McGrath, making It plain that the Brannan plan has Mr. Truman's endorsement, said continuation of the present relatively high-price support program was to be preferred pre-ferred to the Aiken long-range farm law passed by the 80th Republican congress. Unless congress acts, McGrath Mc-Grath pointed out, the Aiken law will go into effect next year. The Brannan plan Is designed to support farm Income at a "prosperity" "pros-perity" level, but at the same time to provide consumers with lower prices for perishable foods especially espe-cially meat, dairy and poultry productswhen prod-uctswhen there are surpluses. It would use government payments to assure desired farm cash returns. re-turns. PRESENT laws direct the government gov-ernment to support prices of major products at not less than 90 per cent of parity. CONJURER: Name, Smile Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., who inherited a name and a smile to conjure with and wasted little time in conjuring with them, has been duly sworn in as a member of the bouse of representatives. The 34-year-old congressman from New York's 20th district, filling the seat left vacant by the death of Sol Bloom, ran as a candidate of the Four Freedoms and Liberal parties, although he will operate as a working work-ing Democrat in the legislative arena. ROOSEVELT failed to get the regular Democratic nomination during the campaign so he ran on the Four Freedoms ticket. In so doing he scored a popular upset over the regular (Tammany) Democrat, Demo-crat, a Republican and an American Labor candidate. The third son of the late President Presi-dent took the oath from Acting Speaker John W. McCormack (D., Mass.), while his mother beamed happily from the gallery. During his first day on the Job Ex-Communlst Editor Louis nudeni is shown as he told a senate committee that (ler-hardt (ler-hardt Flsler, who fled the U.S. as a stowaway, was ordered to Europe by Moscow to train "new espionage agents" for use In the United States. Budcnt testified in connection with the committee's probe of subversive subver-sive activities by aliens. DEPRESSING: 'Right Now' "I regret," the senator from Maine said, "that we are now in a state of depression. It is not a thing of the future. It is right now." After thus evoking the spirit of the 1930's, Sen. Owen Brewster announced an-nounced blandly that senate Republicans Re-publicans shortly would sponsor a 50-million-dollar public-works and relief-planning program "to meet the growing Democratic depression." depres-sion." THE BILL to be projected along these lines would not in itself provide pro-vide funds for public works, but merely would finance the planning of a "shelf" of such works to be started when deemed advisable. Sen. Robert Taft (R., Ohio), who also is in on the deal, said that what he had in mind was a bill that would establish the framework for federal grants to states if their relief cases should reach a certain percentage of their total population. Said Taft: "What we Republicans want to avoid is the creation of another WPA like Harry Hopkins ran." Without trying to guess how much relief spending might be necessary under such a plan, Senator Brewster Brew-ster opined that would "depend upon up-on just how bad this Democratic depression gets." Whether this "relief bill" proposal pro-posal is sincere or whether it is a cynical attempt to discredit the administration ad-ministration in the face of the coming com-ing 1950 elections, only time would tell. THE government will make loans on flue-cured tobacco at 90 per cent of the parity price as it was June 15. Loans on burley and other types of tobacco would be at the September Septem-ber i5 parity price, except fire-cured fire-cured tobacco, which would be 75 per cent of the burley rate, and dark air-cured tobacco 68 per cent of the burley rate. (Parity is a price based on the relationship between prices of the things the farmers have to buy and prices of the products they sell. The government uses a basing period during which this relationship of prices gave the farmer what it considers con-siders a "fair profit"). THE RATES a pound at which the support prices will be paid was to be announced in July for flue-cured flue-cured tobacco and for other types in October. The full loans will be made only to tobacco growers who do not grow more tobacco than they are permitted under marketing quotas. These quotas have been set up for flue-cured, burley, fire-cured and dark, air-cured tobaccos. There are no quotas on other types. Didn't Like It 4- fit M TRUMAN: Drops Curb Bill There was one thing about President Presi-dent Truman he was beginning to develop the ability to recognize a hint when he saw it. There have been times when the President seemed to suffer from an ability to do that, but now it's different. The President, obviously with an understanding ear to the ground, has decided he won't press congress con-gress to give him standby war powers. THAT'S not only wise of the President, it's good strategy, particularly par-ticularly since it would have been impossible for the administration to convince the 81st congress that any such powers are needed. However, there was an official reason advanced for the change in objectives. One authority described the revision of plan as a "quiet demilitarization" of the national security resources board on White House orders. In other words, the emphasis would be away from keeping keep-ing the people agitated and alerted for possible future war. THE war powers bill would have provided a detailed mobilization act covering priority and seizure powers, controls over prices, manpower; man-power; production and transportation. transporta-tion. It would, if enacted, go into effect automatically on the declaration declara-tion of war emergency by congress. Mr. Truman was said to have decided it would be inappropriate to try to get such a law passed in peacetime. Roosevelt: CHATTED briefly with President Truman; denied a rumor that he might run for mayor of New York; allowed that he hoped congress would repeal the Taft-Hartley labor law, enact Mr. Truman's civil rights program and put through a national na-tional housing act. It all looked like a reasonable beginning be-ginning for another Roosevelt political politi-cal career. HOUSING: Action Seen Indications were that despite opposition op-position from many quarters, the administration's big new housing bill would get out of committee and go to the house floor for action. THE RULES committee, which twice last year killed similar legislation, legis-lation, had refused to clear the current cur-rent bill. But Rep. A. J. Sabath (D., 111.) was predicting the committee com-mittee would act to clear the measure. meas-ure. Sabath was on fairly safe ground, for under the new house "anti-bottleneck" "anti-bottleneck" procedure adopted in January, the multibillion - dollar housing bill could be put to a house vote over the rules committee's objections. THE housing program, one of President Truman's major campaign cam-paign promises, was approved by the senate April 21 on a 57 to 13 vote. It then bogged down in the house. The bill calls for a vast program of slum clearance, low-rent housing hous-ing and farm housing aids. Lewis L. Strauss (left) member mem-ber of the atomic energy commission, com-mission, confers with Chairman David E. Lilienthal after Strauss had told a congressional congres-sional committee he had not approved ap-proved shipment of isotopes to "friendly" nations abroad. He was called to the chair over protests of Lilienthal who said, "It is unusual to start with dissenting dis-senting views." SCHOOL AID BILL OPPOSED Eisenhower Warns of too Much Government BUDGET TRIM: Asked of Truman Congress apparently wasn't fooling fool-ing about its demands for more economy in government. Nineteen senators, representing both major parties joined in sponsoring a resolution reso-lution directing President Truman to cut federal spending by amounts from two million to four million dollars. The reductions would be made in funds provided for the new fiscal year, which begins officially offi-cially on July first of each year. Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaking not as a military leader but as a college president, again saw fit to warn the nation against letting the federal government get too strong. It was the second time the supreme commander of Allied forces for-ces in World War II had issued that warning. Declaring that he is opposed to legislation which would make fed eral money available to help public pub-lic schools in all states, he said such a practice would stimulate a competition among states and localities for greater shares of government gov-ernment money. He conceded some areas have such meager tax resources that they need air, and that he would favor aid to such areas; but without with-out abuse or direct interference. |
