Show reciprocal trade Is vital to well being of the world by analyst and commentator washington despite the spirited battle over extension of the reciprocal trade agreement authority nothing which even its best friends could hope to do about it would be definitive for everyone knew from the start that final action must mast be postponed until next year reciprocal tr trade ide agreements have hav abeen been a definite part of our foreign trade trad a policy for 14 years it if they were of 0 any value in the past they are ara of even more value now but with an election a little more than four months oil off and congress trying to break a log jam ot of legislation lengthy debate on the subject was impossible putting it backwards the reciprocal trade agreement policy Is this it a country is prevented by a high tariff wall from selling to us it cant get the dollars to buy 1 ir from c in us 0 or r if 1 41 1 th the e country has borrowed money from us it cant get the dollars to pay us back what happen bened ed after world war I 1 and the breakdown in foreign trade was one of the great factors la in bringing on depression but that the only thing that tariff walls do they tend to force is isolationism extreme nationalism on a country and behind the tariff walls as ex secretary of state cordell hull full used to say to so often grow the roots of 0 war secretary of state marshall stated that the gearhart Gc arhart bill would destroy the substance of 0 the reciprocal trade theory ft a theory which Is not only the cornerstone ner stone of our general foreign foreleg n trade policy but the principle which we have insisted must be fori followed owed ty by nations participating in the european recovery pr program G the secretary said that only the shadow of the original act would be pres preserved arved in the substitute bill proposed by representative gearhart Gear hatt while its substance would be destroyed tt st and lie he added 1 I think our national interests would be bet ter preserved to per permit mit the trade agreements act to expire than to permit HR to be enacted ile he pointed out that any airl serious u weakening of the trade agreements agreement act at this critical period in world affairs would almost certainly be regarded by other countries not only as a surrender of our leadership in the international economic field but as a repudiation of much that has been accomplished under our leadership in that field presumably he meant this when we agreed to the european recovery plan ECA one of the things we emphasized demanded la in fact was that the countries receiving our aid would have to break down tariff barriers against each other and tile the rest of the world we knew there be economic recovery if there was not A free flow of world trade even before the ECA was ever thought of since 1834 1934 as i a matter of fact by vigorously pursuing the reciprocal idea by concluding reciprocal cipro cal trade treaties with to so many countries we have them with all 11 but six or seven even of the marshall plan participants we have encouraged the world to reduce tariff walls thus it would hardly seem consistent suddenly to reverse ourselves and go back to the old days of high tariff economic isolationism tion ism the measure as the house presented it had another drawback in the eyes of secretary marshall and supporters of his point af view the bill would force the president either to accept the recommendations of the federal tariff commission on adjustments just ments above or below a certain bracket or submit them to a congressional gres dional veto that rea sona bleIn theory but what it does is to smash absolutely the whole basis for reciprocal trade trad negotiation A nasty little joker in the tha measure stating that tariff commission recommendations must be made on the principle ot of protecting the special interests concerned revealed the intent of its trainers framers that provision would destroy the purpose of negotiation by removing trade agreements from the held field of the general good and narrowing them down to a question ot of whether the particular industry Is 13 to be protected from competition thus not only would international relations and conditions have to be b ignored entirely but broad national interests as a well secretary marshall used strong words la in criticizing this clause when he said baldi the bill la in effect makes pure protection the sole golo criterion for tariff action very few groups outside of the big industries which want to keep down foreign competition oppose the reciprocal trade program the great majority of the chambers ot of commerce are tor for it earl shrove shreve national president ol of the chamber grit 1 e commerce has bai said aid that any restrictions on or crippling of 0 the trade agreements program would have very undesirable alons discontinuance or impairment w would destroy consistency consist epcy in united states policy and aou would d undermine world confidence former republican presidential candidate alfred E landon came out in favor of the three year extension of the trade agreements act el as urged by the administration ile he said that failure to extend the act would be contrary to the republican can policy plank of 1344 1944 frequent public opinion polls have shown that the majority of the people favor trade treaties in fact persons who know what trade treaties are vote better thin eight to one to retain them im no economic expert but all I 1 have ever read or heard about the old high protective tariff debates the experience under the tha smoot hawley bill the post world war I 1 debt repudiation and depression would seem to indicate that the high tariff idea should and would be dead as a dodo if not it means we spin the wheel backward to the grand old days ot of high tariffs which killed foreign trade made it impossible for foreign countries to sell us ui goods and spend their money here or to pay back the money they owed us to protect certain eriv private ate interests this convention Is different As the republicans swing into action with the greatest hope th they ey have had tor for electing a president s since inco the fifth birthday of this years first voters there are a number of striking contrasts to be noted between this convention in palla 1 delphia and former GOP conclaves one big contrast Is in the size 0 of f tile the audience which actually will behold the speakers as they step forward onto the rostrum in 1940 some people not actually L li n the hall witnessed the convention two television cameras mirrored the scenes to a fairly select audience some of it composed of persons fortunate enough to share the hospitality of the railroad club in the same fame building as the ball there one could escape the sound bound and fury the glare flare of the lights the heat beat and aridity a and nd could snack and sip la in a comfortable chair this year tn in philadelphia the estimated television audience will be counted in the millions for networks will carry the scene to viewers from massachusetts to california for rila instead of two lonely cameras there will be the pooled equipment and programming of the various nets but there Is a greater creator contrast la in the republican political situa alon than la in the delegates physical surroundings between today and 1940 no one who witnessed the willkie stampede can forget it was waa just about as unorthodox a procedure as history records ls for the candidate was chosen not in the tha hall nor in a a smoke tilled filled room either cither but out in the sticks it if this is 1 to be a wireless convention the 1910 affair was a convention by wire A group of high pressure amateurs who were no amateurs when it came to organized action wi was putting pressure on the big men in every community and the big men were getting to bosses or to the delegates direct by telegram and telephone the willkie amateurs stole the show from the professionals fessio nals and the professionals swore it never would happen again it happening happen mg this year another highly interesting contrast between conventions this time between 1948 1048 and 1944 Is the hectic atmosphere of today as opposed to the comparative calm then there was a dewey has lt it in the bag feeling back in chicago tour four years ago which took the zip out of the chicago air also the war overshadowed the conclave then the national republican the party newspaper started off its lead article on june 26 1941 with the invasion news commanding the attention of the entire convention 11 another contrast bet between 14 44 and 48 Is la in the attitude toward foreign policy then it was the most delicate question which faced the platform committee today senator Vanden lerg has foreign policy wrapped tip op in a neat inest package elg ned with his name and sealed with his bis signet cagnet ring thit that issue Is no worry at t nil all |