Show weekly news Anan analyses lysis nazi naan argentine trade plans P threaten american program by joseah W ln IL rine EDITORS NOTE ichim opinions are Cpr expressed essed in these colu columns ns they th y are those hose ol of the news a analyst alast and not necessarily ol of the newspaper trade high pressure international salesmanship runs counter to the reciprocal trade program of U S secretary of state cordell hull devoted to the cause of low tariffs and amr most st favored nation pacts secretary Se creary hulls idealistic and honest efforts must compete with such devices device s as the gerani garm ti barter plan and a series of multicolored multi colored trade ideas which emerge annually from congress halls this month mr hull saw his beloved program threatened on several fronts argentine of all south american governments that at buenos aires is least friendly with the U S at lunas limas pan american conference argentina spoiled president roose belts continental solidarity declaration la by charging that the disgraceful policy of dollar imperialism was still rampant but the real roots of this dislike are commonplace t mon place things like hoof and I 1 mouth disease drouth and depression an agreement was reached in 1935 providing for U S import of cattle from argentine sections not infected with hoof and mouth disease but congress tailed failed to ratify it in 1937 drouth and temporary U S prosperity forced heavy imports import from argentina this business dropped with a thud in recession far faster than argentina curtailed her imports from the U U S result has been a trade unbalance and subsequent strengthening of argentine exchange control against the U S encouraged by germanys germanas Germ anys increasing willingness to swap machinery for argentine foodstuffs this sentiment reached a climax with argentinas Argen tinas declara 17 ll 11 wi ARMOURS PRESIDENT CABELL he mant german harmonicas harmo nicas tion that imports from the U S must be reduced to the level of 0 1935 36 faced with a 40 per cent slash in exports secretary hull may be forced to dangle juicy trade plums before argentinas Argen tinas eyes seriously endangering the rest rest of his reciprocal program germany barter trade like nazi germanys germanas Germ anys is allowed in the U S provided it does not interfere with i the most favored nation plan but i artificial currency devices like geri man payment for U S goods with 4 trade marks good only for purchase of nazi goods are taboo mid february found U S lard prices low and likely to drop still j more when the spring hog run starts meanwhile Alcan while germany hun for fats putting two and two j together german trade experts bei igan gan contacting midwest packers to iswak 1 swap lard for machinery though the reich apparently progressed on two deals most packers turned their backs uninterested recalled was the experience of one firm which arranged a swap deal with germany several years ago only to find itself burdened with several thousand nazi harmonicas harmo nicas typical was the comment of R H cabell president of armour and company who dismissed the bid by 1 simply stating that the big packing houses bouses are not interested in bartering but in the sale of products at market rates next day packers were pleased to note that lard futures were selling up but mr r hull could not fail to note that the 3 nazi program had made a mite of progress in his bailiwick agriculture crux of the cost ot of production farm bill now before congress is that domestically consumed products shall have a minimum price all surpluses would be dumped abroad tor for whatever they would bring whatever the bills merits mr hull presumably regards it as an artificial trade barrier in the field of agricultural trade which would be reflected in other branches of commerce it if i i cost of production fails the state department must situ hurdle a second new form farm mea measure sure which would extend governmental loans on three major major crops cotton wheat corn com equivalent to three fourths the parity price an amount higher than the current market price farmers would then be expected to their crops over to the gov crement for the loan price domestically consumed products would sell at not less than the loan price with surpluses the U S would attempt to recapture its lost foreign markets significance though world economic satisfaction must be a prelude to permanent world pence peace an important principle in the hull program each nation seeks to further its own admittedly selfish interest with self preservation as a justification still to come is the showdown in which nations will decide whether world problems will be settled via economic treaties at the expense of selfish aims or via force at another kind of expense defense last december president roose belts arms expansion program had more foes than friends in the still to convene seventy sixth congress two months later it had bad more friends thanks to clever white house publicity maneuvers and a lot of saber rattling in europe the house passed to 15 an administration bill to spend extra on defense the next two years same day great britain voted about more more for arms chief features are boosting the ardys aviation force to first line planes and making the panama canal impregnable certain of passage was the vinson naval expansion ancion bill to spend pond on naval air and submarine bases but there was little unity in this new strength closely allied to rearmament is the problem of U S military alliances with other democracies moc since the threat that inspired american rearmament is the same threat that makes france and britain jittery after a california air crash revealed TJ U S manufacturers were selling military planes to france after president roosevelt denied telling a senate military affairs committee that U S frontiers are in france the white house congress foreign policy de bate came out in full bloom questions 1 shall the U S keep its foreign policy secret 2 Is president s roosevelt risking involvement in war through secret international deals after a weeks debate there presumably were no longer any secrets about either cither the french deal or the administrations foreign policy actual cause of the rumpus was apparently patently ly removed but not congressional resentment thundered Cali fornias sen hiram johnson no epithets applied to senators or newspapers will relieve the situation of its secrecy there is resentment among the administration that anybody should ask the facts but if there ir Y IL SENATOR JOHNSON he resented house resentment comes a war it will not be fought by the president alone facts themselves are startling faced with U S military orders under the new plane manufacturers already have their hands full with export orders starting with in 1936 plane ex ats ts have roughly doubled an nuy approximating this year in the past eight months france and britain have ord ordered ered 1200 ships chief congressional wonder is which orders will get precedence V U S or foreign meanwhile aircraft firms are reluctant to expand their plants to satisfy production requirements which may be only temporary |