Show NA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Rn Reviewed by CARTER FIELD resident President Roosevelt makes clear the real battle facing the New Nett Deal i it is the fight fig for the control of the 1940 1910 convention contention Inquiry into into into in in- in- in to whole silver policy is de lc- demanded maUl marled Roosevelt jolts peace at any price lobby WASHINGTON The The real battle confronting the New Deal as President Prest dent Roosevelt made crystal clear in his Jackson Day speech lies Inthe in inthe inthe the fight for control of the 1940 Democratic Democratic Dem convention It seems a long longtime longtime longtime time off oft to those not accustomed to get Interested in politics until the closing days of a campaign nut But the convention is just one year from June the selection of delegates begins be gins one year hence and the scheming scheming schem scheme ing to pick and control those delegates delegates delegates dele dele- gates is already under way Most of ot the fire in Roosevelt's Jackson Day speech It will be noted noted not not- ed was against the outside elements that have infiltrated the Democratic party and are now seeking to control control control con con- It He Ile wants all the does dees to go join loin their Republican brethren the and let the New Dealers run the Democratic Democrat Democrat- ic is party nut But there were a great many men and women in the audience at the Mayflower hotel some of them show in the photographs taken of the President they President they were so to him who him who are arc not going to tu cooperate cooperate co co- operate on the side of the New Dealers Dealers Deal Deal- ers era in that battle Leaving entirely aside those whose opinions are clearly known i on this matter one might speculate as asto asto to which side of the theba ba battle will Include t James A A. Farley 4 who Is shortly to retire retire re reo tire as 81 postmaster I general but who Isto isto is isto to continue probably probably i ably right up to the convening of that j convention as chairman chair man of the Democratic Demo Demo- James A A. erotic cratic National committee com I Farley and as 88 chair chair- man of the New York State Democratic Democratic Demo Demo- cratic committee Farley Influence Blocks Blocks' Candidacy cy of Jackson It must be recalled to grasp the importance of this that it was largely large ly Farleys Farley's Influence that prevented what would have been the most spectacular step toward picking a aNew aNew aNew New Deal successor if or Roosevelt It was Farley against Roosevelt's strong desire who stopped the nomInation nomination nom nom- I for governor of New York of Robert H. H H Jackson It so happens hap hap- pens pen that this step now turns out not to have been very important as 88 far as Democratic presidential candidacies are concerned For ItIs itIs It Itis I is the consensus of political Judgment judgment judgment judg judg- ment that if Jackson had been nominated Thomas E. E Dewey would now be governor of New York It would have been only by getting letting elected governor of New York and making a B fair record at Albany that Jackson could have obtained the start toward toward the White House desired f for r him by so many New Dealers including the President himself So the chief significance of the blocking of ot Jacksons Jackson's nomination nomination- assuming that Dewey would have beaten nearly any anyone one except Herbert Her lien t bert II H. Lehman Lehman Lehman-Is is that Farley was i willing to oppose the Presidents President's plan for building up a per cent New Dealer for the presidency and that he could find sufficient strength even against the desires of at the PresIdent President Pres Pres- ident Ideal to make that objection stand It would seem reasonable to suppose suppose sup sup- pose therefore that Farley with much the same backing he had last summer will wiil be able to prevent the selection of delegates from New NewYork NewYork NewYork York who could be swung solidly to any other out and out and New Dealer For instance Harry L. L Hopkins Subsidy Price for Silver Causes Many Red led Faces There are a good many red faces as the result of the continuance of the present subsidy price for silver allver mined in the United States Secretary Secre tary of the Treasury Henry Morgen Morgen- t thau than Jr is among those who thought the price should be reduced and expected ex petted it would be Senator John Townsend of Delaware Dela ware has introduced a resolution providing for an inquiry into the whole hole silver sliver policy The natural inference in I ference fe ence would be that this would be shelved but there are several senators senators sen aton even on the silver pro-silver side Ilde who would like nothing better than to h have ve a a thorough public airing and ando o discussion of the governments government's silver sliver policy Actually of course coune the treasury with the approval of the President h hat has flair y ty ignored the law It Itis Y is a crazy law and this writer this writer believes believes be be- that the President and and- Mr should hould be commended for not obeying it But nut it should be beit it fix repealed if U It U is not Dot to be obeyed As a matter of fact it would have to be repealed very shortly if ii the treasury should make a really conscientious con con- effort to obey it However now low tt 1 ever the proceeding would cost the taxpayers of this country a good S many billion dollars before belore the re rev repeal repeal peal would ensue The point Is that the law directs the treasury to keep on buying silver ill sil ver yen until the amount of silver held is I. one-fourth one of the value of all the gold and silver sliver held b by the government govern ment or ment or until the price of silver shall reach one dollar doUar and twentynine twenty twenty- nine cents an ounce The law was passed back In 1933 1033 Ver Very shortly the treasury started buying silver on the world market markett When it began the world price of silver sliver was forty five cents an ounce Dy By prodigious buying and with many speculators all aU over the world convinced that the U. U S. S treasury would be able to do just that to the world price the asking price gradually grad advanced It went above eighty cents Only Persons to fo Profit Have l Been Foreigners Then the treasury abruptly stopped the tremendous speculation The only persons to pro profit t to any extent had been foreigners In the first place aU all sliver silver then above aboveground aboveground aboveground ground in the United States had been nationalized and was bought by bythe bythe bythe the government at fifty cents an ounce In the second If it an American Amer ican lean bought silver allver in some foreign market market and and some did the did the speculator specula specula- tor was taxed 50 SO per cent of his profit This was a special tax on the transaction and of course was In addition to any income tax Incidentally Incidentally In Inv In- In an investigation was started to discover who was speculating speculating speculating lating In silver Names of wives of senators and all aU sorts of bigwigs were discovered The Investigation was dropped Without treasury bidding up the price of silver sliver promptly dropped back to where it ft had been before the buying campaign started In Jn fact It went below that and Is now hovering around forty three forty three cents So th that t the treasury not only has a tremendous loss on all the silver It bought abroad during the buying spree spree but has haa a loss of seven cents an ounce on all aU the silver sliver it took over from American citizens This huge loss augmented by the subsidy price paid for silver mined Inside the United States which has just been continued until next not June when the law expires docs does not show on the treasury books Tire The treasury treasury treas treas- ury does docs not admit the loss Peace fence at Any Price Irice Lobby Is I. Jolted by President President Roosevelt jolted the old I peace at any price lobby considerably considerably consid consid- with the first part of his mes mes- sage It so happens that the extreme extreme ex p pacifist cl st movement in this country has always been rather closely associated with religion religion religion-or or rather with church organizations One line in the Bible Dible which this group never liked to hear quoted quoted- though it has been thrown at them many times by irate members of the senate and house naval and mil mil- milItary military committees not to mention sundry generals and admirals Is Is Christs Christ's statement that He came not notto notto to bring peace but a sword Roosevelt some researchers assert Is the first important public official in 1900 years who made a public statement supporting that particular lar statement of the Savior But nut the President makes a strong and rather convincing case for the argument that religious freedom in fact religion itself is dependent upon democracy and goes right on from there to prove that democracy is dependent upon defensive arma arma- ment It Is a queer and to the peace at any price crowd a very annoying argument They prefer texts like turning the other cheek and the meek shall shaU Inherit the earth and others othen glorifying the virtues and efficiency efficiency ef of non resistance They prefer the attitude of the early Christian martyrs who died in physical agony but spiritual exaltation exaltation exalta tion to the thought of a bright and shining sword to defend their religious religious re reo re- re freedom On Capitol Hill however there Is no doubt about the outcome Lots Lotsof Lotsof of senators and representatives rep rep- rr w who h o A are politically or Fes personally or economically eco eco- l against R the President are I taking off oft their hats to him on the deeply religious note dote of ot his message Not Nat sox so x much because the President brought forth a sympathetic TI The 1 resident President 11 response from rom their religious souls as because he provided provided pro pro- vided them with what hat they regard as a perfect alibi for the next cam corn Perfect Alibi to 10 land Hand to fo Pacifists Back Bark Home When they are reproached by the pacifists back home home and and most moat of them have peace at any Imy price elements elements elements ele ele- ments in their districts and states states- they can point out that not to vote for big army and navy appropriations is to endanger religious freedom freedom free free- dom in this country Most of them Intended to do just that anyhow but now they can do doIt doit doit it with considerably less leu worry In fact they ther think the Presidents President's address ad dress may stifle in advance a lot Jot of the opposition they might otherwise have had from the good folks who believe in the virtue of resist non ance And how it does help them with future speeches The President has already harrowed harrow d the ground for them He has haa provided a theme for letters to constituents which will wil willor or or so the boys boy now think think remove remove a lot of rocks from the path to their own and re IS m Dell DeU Syndicate Service |