| Show GENERAL I 1 r HUGH SI S. S S I r JOHNSON r ClI c Fewer y 6 The Republicans' Republicans lot is not a hope- hope F ss one They could win in the coming election but they cant can't do doit doit doit it with nothing and as has so 50 often been said they cant can't beat somebody with nobody Their job is to recapture recapture recapture recap recap- ture some of the great groups the New Deal took away from them The biggest of these is the farm population of the midwestern states especially Ohio Indiana Illinois Illinois Illi Jill 4 nois Iowa and possibly N Ne Ne- e- e braska That is not as hard as asit asit asit it seems both y yO 9 O Ohio io and and Illinois Illi Illi- L nois are distinctly dis dIS- 1 doubtful lP now But to tomake 1 make a Republican Republican t l sf i l lican Hcan victory Chas Chas' McNary i certain in those states they must have two things things things-a a definite farm program and a candidate candidate candidate can can- who can convince the farmers farmers farmers farm farm- ers that they really mean it A winning farm program is relatively relatively relatively rela rela- easy easy easy-a a direct and simple subsidy on domestic consumption financed by a processing tax and coupled with a minimum of regi regi- Yes a processing tax is a sales tax So in greater or less degree is every other tax The bulk of federal I revenue is from sales taxes taxes apparent ent or hidden Yes consumers will kick but what difference does it make to them whether they pay a higher price for farm products engineered ed by Mr Wallaces Wallace's destructive and artificially created shortages of production production production pro pro- gigantic stored surplus and lost export markets or pay the same price part in cost or part in tax I have written this argument several times and shall write it several several several sev sev- eral times more because it is both right and important and it hasn't yet been accepted After trying and failing with every other farm scheme known toman toman to toman man the fourth New Deal thinkers are probably aware that this is the only practical approach of the farm problem but wont won't advocate it openly openly openly open open- ly not only because they did not devise it but have opposed it in favor of others which promised greater political regimentation and control It therefore remains available as asa asa asa a winning Republican weapon in the corn corn wheat and Bible belts but those great open spaces have been fooled so often by Republican promises promises promises prom prom- of equality for agriculture that the G. G O. O P P. P would need an automatic convincer to be sure of selling them Although it isn't my business to tobe tobe tobe be nominating Republican presidential candidates I have hive offered the crown to several including Bruce Barton Fiorello LaGuardia and Wendell Vendell Willkie who Willkie-who who used to be a Democrat so so maybe I can risk anointing another For this particular strategy the Republicans have a ready-made ready candidate in Sen Charlie McNary For 12 years he led the farm fight for the McNary-Haugen McNary bill which would have worked for wheat at least at the time he proposed it it- it even though it wouldn't work now It didn't win but that fight made the election of Mr Roosevelt possible possible possible pos pos- sible made the country conscious of the farm problem and the farmers conscious of Senator McNary He wouldn't need any selling to agriculture They would know that whatever he proposed he would fight for with bulldog tenacity Otherwise Otherwise Otherwise Oth Oth- he is a veteran public servant servant servant ser ser- vant a charming personality and a good speaker He is as presentable a candidate with other groups as any of the rest of the boys who think they hear the call Senator Taft stuck his neck out on this problem and so far revealed his lack of familiarity with it that even evenso evenso evenso so halting a talker as Henry Wallace could and did make him look like liken an an n amateur Mr Dewey would have as much trouble convincing midwestern farmers that he knows what makes them tick as Al Smith iid From this particular angle r Vat at least Senator McNary is a nat nat- ural I WHISKY TRADE CZAR If this writer doesn't know something something something some some- thing about fair trade practice codes in all their forms and varIeties varieties varieties vari varI- it isn't from lack of ni ty The simplest cleanest fairest and best implemented effort of this sort that has come to my attention is the proposed code for the distilled spirits industry by the executive director of the distilled spirits institute in in- which which is the trade association association tion of the hard liquor boys So Dr Sturges gets his beautiful magna carta all aU on paper and a committee of the institute seems to have approved it But Seagram and Schenley objected object object- ed or stalled They were afraid that thata a code reciting or condemning abuses of the 10 per cent chiseling fringe would make the public think that they were prevalent in the in in- If that is good argument we know from the Ten Commandments Commandments Commandments Command Command- ments that everybody everybody steals murders murr mur mur- r ders ers and commits adultery We should repeal our our penal code for fear fearsome some will thin think we are all crool crooks s. s H t |
