| Show weekly news review domestic dumping favored lit in new farm farin relief proposal 1 by jose joseph 1111 W li la kinc agriculture one feature of the 1938 farm bill calls for U S loans on crops affected by falling prices when crops are sold loans must be repaid due november I 1 are repayments on loans covering bushels of corn but by mid october with corn selling on the farm from 33 to 38 cents and at market for 44 cents disgusted farmers saw they would be money ahead to default on loans and give uncle sam their corn thus overnight the U S government became the worlds largest corn broker this is but one phase of a chinese puzzle known as the american farm problem since 1933 it has been the personal headache of iolas henry A wallace secretary of agrical SECRETARY WALLACE poor people are also a problem ture who can remember the halcyon days when all surplus wheat and cotton the two basic crops were bought readily by foreign nations but foreign markets are now glutted american farm surpluses must either be dumped abroad at any price foreign buyers are willing to pay or be left to rot in U S granaries most people have favored the latter policy meanwhile deploring the economic unbalance that allows many U S citizens to go hungry despite bountiful crops the easiest remedy would be to let low prices drive american farmers off the land but this is socially inhumane politically unsound and economically foolhardy when the new deal started in 1933 AAA was formulated to pay farmers for limiting their acreage funds came from processing taxes levied against manufacturers but ultimately paid by consumers when the supreme court ruled processing taxes invalid a soil conservation program was sent up to pay farmers for retiring their land ostensibly to give it a rest but actually to limit production thirty per cent of customs receipts were set aside to pay for it last spring with surpluses still piling up congress passed a new farm law too late to limit production this year which partially accounted for its failure under it the government may 1 control production with consent of a majority of farmers 2 make payments for retiring land 3 make additional parity payments as a protection against less than production cost prices 4 loan money against crops if compulsory control is enforced next year as provided wheat and cotton must be reduced one half agricultural rebellion would result still seeking the answer secretary wallace recently tried export subsidies which the state departments undersecretary francis B sayre condemns as the uneconomic giving away of our substance to foreign nations though U S farmers are being subsidized the difference between export prices and the domestic market price many observers consider it ridiculous to sell surplus foodstuffs abroad at a loss when several million americans are going hungry consequently next winters congress will be asked to adopt still another farm bill the most far reaching attempt yet made to kill two birds with one stone the birds farm problem and poor relief the wallace plan surplus farm products would be distributed to U S low income groups instead of being dumped abroad though the federal surplus co com in modifies corporation alrea already dy distributes potatoes prunes milk and other minor products not affected by AAA the new plan would include beef pork wheat corn and cotton broadly it would follow new york cites method of selling milk to relief families for eight cents a quart the city paying the difference if expanded to a national proposition the U S would pay retailers the difference between standard price and cost price to pay for it secretary wallace asks restoration of processing taxes which theoretically fall on manufacturers but ultimately strike the consumer opponents argue that retail prices would rise that consumption would drop and substitutes would be encouraged thereby hurting the farmer but since the government hopes to stabilize farm prices its counter argument is that producers would have steady income and increased pur purchasing chasin c power thereby boosting U S prosperity these are the arguments next winters congress will hear business even as U S business has been busy reporting declined profits during its third 1938 1933 quarter neighboring columns of the financial pages have chronicled what every manufacturer fac and banker knew was corn com ing A business upturn at detroit general motors led the way by b y placing men back at wor work meanwhile i granting 10 per cent pay boosts to all employees making less than a month chrysler was a close second announcing recall of men since august 1 the reason was a double one october november and december are are normal upturn months especially in in the automobile industry where new models begin coming off assembly lines the other reason one that made business hold its tongue in cheek check is that the full force of U S pump priming is just beginning to take force whether this combined natural artificial stimulant will keep business going uphill after january 1 is guess if it accomplishes nothing else the upturn has brought a measure of industrial peace where a month ago new strike waves were sweeping the nation sudden calm has now descended as indu wheels again start turning religion had octobers national eucharistic congress gone searching for a discussion theme it could have found none better than that which nazi germany tossed into its lap a fortnight earlier in vienna theodore cardinal st stephens cathedral had been mobbed his palace invaded in protest against the cardinals strong antinazi anti nazi stand by the time U S roman catholics assembled in new orleans enough sentiment was crystallized to make the eucharistic congress a stomping ground for democracy and an unpopular place for dictators messaged franklin roosevelt we still remain true to the faith of our fathers who established religious liberty when the nation be 1 POPE PIUS XI lie ile slapped at dictator hitler gan I 1 doubt if there is any problem in the world today that would not find happy solution in the spirit of the sermon on the mount but the keynote came from pope pius XI whose six minute broadcast from the vatican was a direct slap at dictator aiola hitler whose lieutenants had tolerated the vienna outrage said the pontiff we see many men who hold as valueless and reject and spurn those divine precepts of the gospel which alone can bring salvation to the human race scarcely can we refrain from a tear when we behold the eternal majesty of god himself set aside arid and outraged or with unspeakable wickedness held up as an enem enemy Y to reviling and to execration sharpest words of all came from auxiliary bishop bernard J sheil of chicago who charged isms iams fascism communism paganism materialism and naturalism were the sources of world woes boes As delegates headed for home it was clear that U S catholics ww will line up vigorously behind german austrian catholics in the inevitable battle between and the church defense though the munich agreement was aimed to preserve Eu ropes peace its immediate result has been feverish rearmament great britain has made plans for conscription and new airplane factories france has appropriated francs for military spending and more for her navy germany is rushing fortification of her belgian frontier italy speeds barriers in the alps few americans have hoped that the U S can avoid similar preparations a loudest persuasion ofalla of winston all has s co come m e f from m britaina Brit ains winston C churchill h ur chil 1 row whose hose short wave broadcast urged the U S to take a commanding lead against dictators to join britain in stopping isms iams before it is too late added impetus has come from current U S espionage investigations see DOMESTIC BERNARD BARUCH ile he wanted billions for defense growing louder this voice finally reached white house ears coincidentally bringing comment from Cp capitalist S t bernard baruch who chair the war industries board in 1917 emerging from a white house conference mr baruch started observers thinking by warning that U S defenses were inadequate though most americans regard defense as successful repulsion n of a north american invasion a broader conception calls for protection of the entire western hemisphere mr barucho Ba def defense ense program includes 1 immediate construction of a two ocean navy 2 increased air power 3 better equipment for regular soldiers and the national guard 4 subsidies to protect U S trade interests in south america 5 industrial and military mobilization law 6 a special tax to pay for these expenses though it lacks official confair confirmation ma president roosevelt plainly plaine y favors the baruch program the suggested tax boost comes dangerously near election time but administration leaders minimize this political hazard because 1 most americans regard security as more important than financial security or political partisanship 2 a speeded up military and naval program financed by special tax would decrease relief rolls and possibly create what germany has been facing an actual shortage of labor thus and costs could be slashed and the budget balanced Dor domes ic inescapably connected with the governments new emphasis on military defense against nazi fascist world powers is president roose belts interest in espionage for 20 years the U S has disregarded spies though the increasing frequency of arrests has made americans fearful of germany italy japan and russia heightening the tension have been 1 the munich agreement which placed democracies on the defensive 2 arrest in mid october of four germans taking photographs in the canal zone 3 trial in new york of four a alleged nazi agents with coincident efforts to prove indictments against 14 others who escaped the spy net and fled to germany greatest interest in the espionage trial lies in red haired 26 year old johanna hoffman who reportedly transported spy messages from new york to germany while serving as hairdresser on the liner europa second interest lies in guenther gustav former U S army sergeant who deserted and made a blundering attempt to secure 35 passport blanks last june legitimacy of U S fears was verified when crumri ch pleaded guilty and turned state states s witness though new yorks spy trial appears commonplace its significance is tremendous not only does it mark an emboldened U S defense attitude but legal experts also explain it is the first time america has named a supposedly friendly power germany in direct charges since indictments are filed against heads of the german secret service and naval intelligence the trial is a potential international dynamite keg it maybe may be predicted that next win winters congress will ordinate coordinate co and tighten the governments outmoded anti spy regulations including the espionage act of 1917 which a applies only to individuals and carries no teeth against spy inspiring orga organizations niza although the U S has never indulged in peacetime spy activities there is speculation whether congress may adopt this activity which has been an important european governmental function for years |
