Show NATIONAL NA AFFAIRS Reviewed by Ly CARTER FIELD President Roosevelt's pro Finnish h attitude upsets Ve New Deal critics Copper t still holds the reciprocal f trade agreement with Chile W Wise old a e Republican t e politicians arc are undecided on Deweys Dewey's candidacy for lor the presidential nomination WASHINGTON President Roosevelt's Roosevelt's Roose Roose- velt's veils slap clap at Soviet Russia for tor or invading in Finland plus pius his proposal to help the Finns with their own debt payments to Uncle Sam Is flabbergasting flabbergast ing the bitterest of ot New Deal critics j Actually Roosevelt now has the ball f i running towards the thea J. J a 8 n t 11 I Communist goal line while the conservatives and end patriots who have been winning sentiment senti ment against the New Deal because The Theof President of ot its pinkish tinge and its Implied hookup with Moscow objectives deserting de their posts a grim opposing tackles are converted Into a cheering cheer ing squad urging the President to even greater efforts against the So So- viets It 1 Is if one of ot the most extraordinary nary reverse plays in the history of ot politics especially as it comes on In Inthe the eve of ot a presidential campaign in ln which the main issue will wili be whether the New Deal shall be continued con by Roosevelt himself or someone someone someone some some- one satisfactory to him Various side plays add to this strange situ atlon For example Sen Arthur 11 IL of ot Michigan who opposed opposed op op- posed repeal of the arms embargo to keep the United States out of ot foreign for eign entanglements Is now demanding demand ing that Roosevelt break relations with Stalin recall the United States ambassador to Moscow and by inference in terence ference at least east take a step towards to wards war Roosevelt's delighted comment at ata a press conference that conference that the critics of the United States foreign policies are Soviet and Nazi leaders plus a small number of statesmen in the United States shows show the New Deals Deal's satisfaction over developments develop develop- m ments which virtually have both teams playing on Quarterback Roosevelt's side 1 Reversal of oJ Form lbs Has I Benefited Roosevelt Roosevell The nearest comparison in political cal history was Woodrow Wilson on foreign policy Elected on a kept us out of ot war Issue In November 1916 1918 he asked congress to declare war the following April But that case Is really not comparable for forthe forthe forthe the simple reason that the election eJection Intervened between the two hap hap- This reversal of ot form which has benefited Roosevelt so ao amazingly has occurred before the selection of a single delegate to the national conventions which hope to name his successor The men who criticized the President dent so 10 bitterly just a few months ago for wanting to take a step step- embargo repeal repeal which which they Insisted Insist Insist- ed would endanger the neutrality of ot the United States are now urging Roosevelt to go 10 further with his hI un un- neutrality as 81 between Russia and Finland They want him to slap Russia down The whole thing puts quite a few of ot the ranking high Republican Republican Re Re- publican leaders leaden in a very silly position position po pa- Indeed To appreciate the full tun significance of ot the development however It must be remembered that there had been two tremendous ups build Inthis in inthis inthis this country affecting details of ot the whole development Most Important was the growing conservative resentment re xe about the alleged Reds and Communists Communist In the Roosevelt administration It was these left left- wingers who were blamed for tor the purge against lena senators tors who opposed opposed op op- posed the President on the Supreme court Issue Copper Holds Reciprocal Trade Agreement With WillI Chile Only the well-known well and highly successful stubbornness of Secretary Secretary Secre Secre- tary Cordell Cordeil Hull lies Ilea in the way of ot quietly dropping overboard the proposed pro pro- posed pOled copper Item In the pending reciprocal trade agreement with Chile Actually there would be a larger bloc of senators enraged by a reduction reduction re re- In the duty on copper than almost almost any other one product Most of the copper producing states are small In population but each of them has hll two lena senators tors and arid they Include most of the states from Michigan where it Is very important tant west to the Pacific To complicate the situation further fur ther thee there is already a good deal of Indignation in the mountain states of the West Vest against the administration tion because of ot the use of ot Argentine Argen Arlen tine canned beef for the navy In fact so impolitic Is the suggestion aug sug I on on the eve of ot a presidential I campaign to to reduce the duty on copper by 50 per cent that there are those who say the whole thing thine was wasa a smoke screen The logic of ot these observers Is that If It there were a lot lotof lotof f of ot talk about copper and then theo the red metal were left out there might be less opposition to the remainder of ot the agreement than if it so 10 much effort had not been used in fighting the copper cut Feeling on copper on Capitol lull Hill Hillis lullis is I. the stronger because it was the plain understanding of congress when the law authorizing the reciprocal reciprocal recIpe trade agreements was passed that the so called excise duties should not be affected This is made clear dear in the committee reports at atthe atthe atthe the time Ume but congressmen are now very sorry they did not take the precaution to write the prohibition directly into the law So-Called So Excise Tax on Oil tics Has Been Deen Cut in Half IId Already one of ot the called so-called excise ex cise cile taxes that taxes that on oil oil has has been cut in halt half in a reciprocal treaty though there is a little humor there in that Venezuela which was supposed to be the big beneficiary promptly Increased Its It export tax by Just that much The net result re reo re- re suit sult of this so far as 81 Imports by the United States of ot Venezuelan oil are concerned Is that the treasury at Caracas now gets the money which hitherto went Into the treasury at Washington while the delivered price of Venezuelan oil at United States ports after payment of duty du duo ty remains remain the same But copper is a horse of another color entirely It so happens that about 40 per cent of the known copper reserves of the world are In Chile and that the biggest mine there also happens to be bethe the worlds world's No 1 low cost mine Whereas many of the copper mines mine Inside the American tariff wall wail happen to be high-cost high producers Thus the copper cop per mine owners and workers as aswell aswell aswell well arc considerably excited about what may happen It was the tremendous political strength of this copper bloc In congress congress con con- gress which really put over the logrolling log rolling roiling excise taxes on the top of the tariff bill Technically Cordell Hull Is well within his hi rights In regarding these excise taxes as it tariff duties They p- p are nothing else elte despite de spite the Incorrect labeling of the im pot post And fl as 81 a star tariff tar iff duty it is I. a trade barrier within the meaning I of Cordell Hulls Hull's policy polley of ot removing obstructions to International In in- LA terna trade I Cordell Cordeli Hull a and n d w 90 I t h I n nth t the h e meaning of ot the law which authorized the reciprocal trade agreements Republican lican Politicians Are Pretty Desperate Isit possible for Thomas E E. Dewey Dew Dew- ey to lo win enough support from elements ele ments now opposing him to land the Republican nomination for tor president dent The answer to that Is a very positive Yes but For no one ca casay can cansay cansay say at this moment that he will not and no one can say laY that he will It you listen to conversation among the group most determinedly determined determined- ly against him the him the big bla campaign contributors you contrIbutors you might be sure that he could not possibly bring them Into camp It If you believe that the whole story is told It will not be possible for Dewey to win enough politicians to his banner enough banner enough of ot the men who will actually control delegates delegates del del- after the first few ballots at atthe atthe atthe the Republican convention unless convention unless he be first wins over at least some of the big campaign contributors who now are strongly against him But conversations conversation 1 with a few of the wise old politicians who have visited Washington since Dewey made his Minneapolis speech convince con convince vince this writer that the door is not closed To get get the picture clearly you must mut realize that the Republican politicians pol are pretty desperate If It they should think six months from now that Dewey was the man most likely to win of all the candidates before the Republican convention the objections objection they are voicing now would melt away like a morning mist before a strong sun Long Since G. G O. O P. P Leaders Had President That Thai Suited SI It has been a long time since the Republican politicians had in the White House a President who really suited them Herbert Hoover didn't even please them on patronage much less as a leader Calvin Coolidge Coo Coo- lidge was highly satisfactory but It must be remembered that the Republican Republican Re Re- publican leaders didn't really pick Coolidge lie He was forced on them by a rank and file ground swell at atthe atthe atthe the Chicago convention after Harding liar Har ding had been nominated for President dent and the leaders In that fa famous fa smoke filled room had chosen Irvine I L. L Lenroot for vice president William Howard Taft was highly unsatisfactory lie He paved the way for the Bull Dull Moose split and eight years away from the pie counter Theodore Roosevelt provoked new headaches for the Republican leaders lead ers era every few tw days during his entire administration So 50 William McKinley was the last President actually chosen by the Republican Republican Re Re- publican leadership who pleased them after he reached the White WhiteHouse House So It if Dewey should run like abear abear a abear bear cat in a few presidential primaries maries manes knocking of off some of theother theother the theother other leading contenders by handsome hand some majorities and thus proving that he be was the most likely man manto manto manto to win the election the politicians politician would be willing to forget all aU about his youth and various other Syndicate WU Service |