Show 0 national topics interpreted by willeata Will iata bruckart Hati press pre nul building idina washington P D C washington word comes from rio de janeiro that the government ot of brazil has de brazil quits aided at long last crop control to place its coffee business again on a competitive basis that is to say brazilian coffee once more will be sold in world market conditions it was 14 years ago that crop control was started and now it has hopped flopped finally after costing the growers losses accountable in millions and after virtually wrecking some portions of brazils foreign trade I 1 think it might be said also that the fallacy of the coffee control pol icy was among the real causes which eventuated in the dictatorship that established itself in brazil recently president getulio vargas succeeded in placing himself at the head of the nation indefinitely and he did so he said because of unrest among the peoples of the provinces the first dictatorship in the western hemisphere therefore is a fact but to get to the coffee question it was the determination of the brazilian leaders that a policy of scarcity would force coffee prices higher in the world market the state of sao paulo initiated the scheme it failed to work and its sponsors said the reason was its scope was limited thus it was expanded until the whole nation was embraced still coff coffee ee prices did not go high enough and it was then that actual destruction of coffee began millions of tons were dumped into the atlantic ocean and other millions were burned even as we in this country burned surplus wheat and corn and killed pigs As the destruction continued and the growers found themselves tied tighter with regulations and decrees there were some increases in prices but the promised great profits proved to be as illusory as a mirage on the desert the whole thing was a boomerang not only were the producers in brazil disillusioned by failure to gain the record returns they had been led to expect but they found another sad and wholly disadvantageous result staring them in the face there was some increase in the price just enough indeed to reduce consumption to some extent for the growers but with brazil reducing available supplies others got into the producing business among these new coffee growing areas colombia sprang into prominence maybe colombia coffee was not as good as brazils in quality maybe it was not quite as acceptable otherwise but it was cheaper and it was profitable for colombia planters to produce they found a ready sale that however was not the worst when other coffee using nations bought coffee from colombia and other growing areas colombia was able to buy other commodities from the nations buying her coffee new trade agreements suddenly showed up new relationships were established and some soine of brazils former business connections throughout the world are gone with the wind they may never be reestablished established re we in the united states stales ought nt to give quite a bit of thought to brazils coffee experiment for we have had and are threatening to have more experiments of a kindred nature lessons in crop control are right expensive and more important is the fact that sooner or later all through history they have had to be abandoned and when I 1 refer to crop control I 1 include all kinds of production control whether agricultural or industrial somebody always has to pay dearly for it and usually the cost has been extended it is reflected in other commodities modi ties and in taxes until the actual loss from the experiment is multiplied many times over a speaking of congress the way A t has started off makes me think that the extra session political was purely a po move lotical move I 1 am quite su re it is going to accomplish some great good like amending the neutrality act of course I 1 suppose I 1 should not be b selfish I 1 ought to consider that the representatives and senators must have time to make speeches for this or that or the other so that their constituencies back home will be duly impressed with their importance maybe sot sol but I 1 repeat t that hat the prospect of anything worth while in either the special session or in the regular session to follow in january is decidedly dull politically there are several things to watch for in the time that congress will be heave ho ing one of these definitely now visible is the maneuvering among the democrats to find out whether president roosevelt really wants to be a candidate for a third term I 1 think I 1 am violating no confidence when I 1 say that a good many of the presidents real friends at the capitol would like tornow to know and know now whether he is going after a third term he told them in a way that is convincing ile he made a speech at the victory dinner last march 4 in which he said he had an ambition to leave the th presidents chair and desk with the nation intact a nation at peace a nation prosperous etc he said he planned to do that in january 1941 that would seem to be clear enough yet it is amazing how many members of the presidents party at the capitol contend that those remarks did not constitute a final withdrawal they point as well to the fact that other presidents after being reelected elected re for a second term have come out flat tooted footed with their announcements and have told their party in effect go out and get yourselves a new candidate a a 0 so I 1 am making a small prediction there will be plenty of odd maneuvers how about al situations that third term will appear to just j u s t happen that way their purpose will be to bring about a circumstance wherein president roosevelt can appropriately tell au all of those who have so faithfully stood by him that he is or is not a candidate for a third term the other phase of congressional activity that will prove interesting links in somewhat with the third term question it involves the personal political fortunes of the representatives senta tives and senators who win will seek reelection election re in 1938 it is easy to see how many democrats if they know definitely that president roosevelt will seek a third term will want to ride again on the new deal wagon it is equally easy to understand how some of them desirous of observing the tradition that no man shall serve more than two terms as president may want to take a stand opposing the course if president roosevelt decides that way this condition leads far afield I 1 am informed for instance that some senators and representatives who have been back home in conservative serva tive sections of the country want to dodge further support of the new deal this class obviously is biding its time for something to happen to justify a jump announcement by mr roosevelt of intention to be a candidate for the third time would provide the reason the converse is true as well for there are those in the house and senate who have found the presidents personal popularity at home as great as ever and they are looking for an excuse to sound off that they believe in the roosevelt policies per cent and want him to have a third term the election results in various parts of the country will have some influence on the attitude of representatives senta tives and senators as the session continues take the vote in arkansas for example representative miller won the in succession to the late senator joe robinson his victory was over governor bailey who announced that the new deal was for him and that his defeat would be a slap at president roosevelt it is a fact that new dealers were pulling for far him but representative miller was elected that is just a sample the senators and representatives are going to interpret such elections in the light of sentiment in their own baili wicks undoubtedly some are going to show more spunk in behalf of the new deal while others have come back determined to foster their ideas of democratic principles rather than those of new deal this date being what it is I 1 want to record a tribute in these columns a tribute to a tribute tri bute grand public servo to 0 halsey ant who never has sought publicity for himself nor claimed the credit that is due him for it was 40 years ago this week that col edwin A halsey of tye river I 1 va entered the employ of the senate now he occupies the post of secretary of the senate the highest available outside of senate membership the senate never convenes but that I 1 am again impressed with the smoothness of the senate organization under eddie halseys Hal direction I 1 truly believe him to be the best informed man at the capitol on legislative procedure As his colored messenger once said to me 1 Yes sahl de bunnel he do know his stuff and that goes for colonel hal political acumen too he has performed the chores of the democratic side of the senate to every blodys satisfaction I 1 suppose some of the senators who like to be regarded as big shots wont care for this exposure but I 1 have seen them saved from unnumbered mistakes that would have made them the laughing stock of their constituencies day after day in season and out eddie halsey has done more for the democratic senators than they can ever repay he ought to be called the sage of tye river as his counsel warrants that description the state of virginia could do itself a good turn if it kept eddie halsey in mind for something higher a 0 western newspaper union |