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Show KA A 4ft PRE W PEARS ON Washington, D. C. EMPORTING COTTON? For years the United States has had a huge srfrplus of cotton. The idea of importing cotton seemed fantastic. fan-tastic. Yet that is exactly what is about to be done, as the latest de-veloprl.ent de-veloprl.ent in the Good Neighbor policy. pol-icy. Oscar Johnson, leading Mississippi cotton planter and former official of the AAA, will go to South America to buy surplus cotton from Peru .and Brazil. He carries a checkbook of the Commodity Credit corporation, whose funds for domestic and foreign for-eign crop purchases amount to 54,000,000,000. Both Peru and Brazil are suffering suffer-ing severely from loss of foreign markets. Brazil's cotton was sold in Europe. Peru's to Japan. Both Latin Lat-in American countries wholeheartedly wholeheart-edly backed the United States at the Rio conference and now Uncle Sam is returning the favor. For some time, department of agriculture ag-riculture officials, fearful of outcries out-cries from the cotton belt, were timid tim-id about buying foreign cotton. They thought they might get away with purchases for storage in South America but not for imports into the U. S. But two agriculture officials John B. Hudson, president of Commodity Credit, and Sam Bledsoe, aide to Secretary Claude Wickard conceived con-ceived the smart idea of putting the plan squarely up to southern congressmen, con-gressmen, with Oscar Johnson as the choice for buyer. This worked like a charm. Cotton congressmen have full confidence in Johnson anH thev even aDDroved importing some cotton, especially the long staple variety from Peru, which does not directly compete with U. S. cotton. Meantime, plans are being made to purchase other Latin American agricultural surpluses, including beef and vegetable oils. But Argentina, which is suffering more than any other country, will get no U. S. help while President Castillo remains re-mains on the neutrality fence. MERRY-GO-ROUND President Roosevelt has indicated to Democratic- chiefs who urged him to tour the country, that he may take a transcontinental trip this summer if the war permits. Democratic Demo-cratic candidates facing tough election elec-tion battles are eager to have him visit their states. Also the President Presi-dent long has wanted to inspect several army camps and war production pro-duction centers. HOPKINS LOOKS AT WAR Following his trip to England, Harry Hopkins is giving close friends a very optimistic picture about the war situation. He is convinced that Hitler is really alarmed at the tough resistance resist-ance of the Russians, the growing war strength of the United States, and the fear of an invasion on the European continent. One of Hitler's greatest weaknesses, weak-nesses, Hopkins believes, is manpower. man-power. German industry has done a great job hitherto. But now with an increasing drain on both industry indus-try and the German army, the tremendous tre-mendous losses at the Russian front are having a definite effect. To his close friends, Harry Hopkins is known as one of the most optimistic men in the administration. ad-ministration. But even discounting discount-ing this natural optimism, other war chiefs in a position to know seem to have a fairly bright look in their eyes recently. It will be a long time before we can begin to do any real crowing, for the situation in the Near East is almost as sour as the very, very sour situation in India. It does look, however, as if the spring had definitely def-initely brightened the war picture. MUSSOLINI'S DOTAGE Inside word brought back from Italy by those in the know gives a desolate picture of Benito Mussolini. He has been pretty well isolated from the war command and from direction of the government, both of which are dictated, directly or indirectly, by Nazis. , Mussolini has gone in for reminiscing reminis-cing on his younger days when he was a militant young socialist, part of the time exiled in Switzerland. He has even sent for his old so cialist friends, including some previously pre-viously exiled to France. And they have sat around talking about the good old days when they were young. Maybe this is insanity. Maybe it is just getting back to sanity after 20 long years of delusions of grandeur. POWER PROBE A powerful lobby is again back on the Washington scene. Driven out of the capital a few years ago by the blasting investigation investiga-tion of Justice Hugo Black, then U. S. senator from Alabama, the utility util-ity fori.es have quietly resumed their undercover pressure opera-lions. opera-lions. j Inquiries at this office elicited the explanation that the purpose of the power interests was to "facilitate co-operation with the government in j 'he war effort." |