Show weekly news analysis AAA supporters ancoin encouraged acred expect little change in tit act by joseph W la ila bine I 1 EDITORS ROTE NOT EWhen sst so opi op anions f I 1 r expressed la these columns A 1 enins they are those ct the news clews analyst and af not ao ac necessarily cestar p ol of the newspaper sews paper agriculture V U S cotton farmers having voted to impose taxes on any producer who markets more than his share in 1939 last springs abric agric agricultural adjustment act seems destined for enforcement next year with little change not only the cotton election but three other signs have given encouragement to AAA supporters 1 at new orleans president edward A oneal of the powe powerful erful american farm bureau federation told his convention that AAA coupled with the soil conservation act the marketing agreements act and allied legislation gives us the best allaround all around farm program we have ever had hitting criticism based on currently low wheat and cotton prices he said everybody knows bakx vm M lk R J FARM BUREAUS ONEAL Coni compare pare then ih en say candidly the law was passed too late for wheat growers to comply and everybody knows that the cotton surplus was produced in 1937 not 1938 compare the farm income this year with the 1932 figure and then say candidly cheth whether er or not our programs have helped the farmer the importance of mr OK eals statement is that farm bureau opinion could be a mighty force against AAA abolition agitation 2 at winnipeg AAA administrator R AT evans spiked rumors of drastic wheat acreage curtailment next year by pointing out that U S farm farmers ers could not be expected to accept such curtailment without similar action by other exeor exporting ting nat nations ions hoping that government subsidized exports need be only a temporary measure mr evans nevertheless ile erth eless defended it as a justified step to give the U S a fair share of the export market 3 at washington F R wilcox of AAA announced sale of additional bushels of wheat to the united Y kingdom adding to ui the e bushels he had already sold having committed itself to sell bushels by next july I 1 the U S was vas already well past the halfway mark and had begun negotiations for additional sales to china and mexico though such subs subsidized exports will help reduce the U S surplus granaries will still be far too full when next years crop comes in housing when first created the federal housing administration was permitted to make loans up to two billion dolla dollars rs partially insuring mortgage holders against loss by december 1 all but million dollars of the original fund was in use with new applications arriving at the rate of million dollars a month administrator stewart mcdonald took an extra step provided by the housing law asked president roosevelt to increase loan umit limit to three billion dollars since losses from loans are negligible since projected housing boom would make big demands on capital mr roosevelt approved the boost immediately almost at the same time r I 1 HA perfected organization of its new branch branc h to insure insure mortgages for building or repairing houses and other farm structures and to refinance existing larm farm housing loans this was autho authorized r iced by congress last february europe the initial thunder of 0 italis demands tor for french colonies ha has died down as has the ger german a inspired agitation tor for autonomy in lishua nias memel district although both france and britain promise one day they will give no more concessions the very next day they make gestures in that direction probably recognizing some justice in italis complaint france has reduced reduce d suez canal rates to make italian east africa more accessible from rome both france and england remember that they promised to split african war spoils with italy back in 1915 when the tr treaty e aty ol of london was s signed since this i is pac pact t was ignored at versailles and since italy can now be a formidable enemy the two democracies are willing to make peace british prime minister neville chamberlain in a speech defending bis policy ot of appeasing dictators rs has baa led italy to believe he will work 1 for territorial concessions on frances part italis demands include savoy nice corsica tunisia and the east african seaport of djibouti thus europe has apparently emerged from another war scare into another per period od of 0 diplomatic conversations to be followed probably next spring by a german drive into the russian kussian uk ukraine raine among the he latest diplomatic moves is is ger ger banys effort to consolidate its export trade position in the face of strenuous international objection to jewish persecution seeking to kill two birds with one stone dr hjalmar Schacht tot of the bank has proposed several plans tor for permit cmil grate with a portion ot of their capital in the form of german manufactured export items dr recent trip to london on foreign trade business emphasizes germanys germanas Germ anys anxiety over the united kingdoms redoubled efforts to combat any nazi commercial threat congress last winter texas rep wright patman offered congress a measure to tax chain stores out ot of existence its gist to levy graded assessments from 50 per store on small chains to 1000 per store on large ch chains ains each store tax to be multiplied by the number ol of states in which the chain operated sample A chain operating in 43 states plus the district of columbia would pay per store annually on each store over though boasting 73 sponsors cosponsors co sir mr Pat mans bill failed also defeated was a new york state chain store tax which signified that chains had more friends than their foes had expected but an apparently dying issue was revived as congress ad mourned tor for mr patman announced his bill would be introduced in january 1939 as house resolution no I 1 battle lines since formed pre presage sage a bitter contest next month as chains and anti chain agitators review their cases anti ant i chain supporting mr patman is a once potent national trend now questionable which caused 21 state legislatures to enact chain store taxes another state colorado last month rejected a referendum to kill a similar levy having won passage of his robinson patman act also an anti chain measure mr patman bases his new attack on familiar charges that chains chabi is 1 force independent merchants out of 0 business 2 cause low farm prices 3 take Iii money alley ou out t of the community pro chain V U S census ceisl is figures show a decreasing number of chain stores and more independents while federal trade commission statistics credit chains with distributing in goods at an average 10 per cent saving to consumers it if the he patman bill passes resultant taxes with the great atlantic pacific tea company they would total more than half gross MOO vie aa 4 r rk jv 7 PP OL 4 wg am P W J PATMAN feuer noses than last year sales would destroy practically all chains would reportedly wipe out 30 per cent ot of the farmers market throw throw nearly chain employees out ol of work and torce force a sharp rise in retail prices chains point proudly to their two year campaign c of helping farmers tarr ners move surplus crops like lamb beef walnuts apples and canned grapefruit juice anti Patman ites include the american federation 0 of labor labar speaking for its members who charge the measure would increase living costs cost s and unemployment and the national association ot of retail boards which termed it vicious counting noses on the eve ev e ot of congress opening mr patman finds his 73 orm original ganil sponsors cosponsors co dwindled to 32 through election defeats while another new yorks caroline oday has withdrawn support it if the patman bill succeeds eeds in reaching the h house ouse floor political observers wonder whether continually mounting sentiment will not bury it ain in a protest vote asia the possibility of a major fat far eastern crisis involving japan china and russia becomes more imminent each week far from denying it japan has taken new hitches in her economic belt and settled down for or a struggle which may begin shortly after january 1 having made supplementary army navy appropriations of japan faces a probable russ chinese alliance forcing her to desperate measures to protect what gains she has already made in manchuria and china having penetrated deep into the vast shansi province jap troops are confronted with guerrilla attacks which in 10 days cost lives generalissimo chiang kaishe kai she shek k who is already getting supplies from russia promises the guerrilla warfare will continue that japanese are at a disadvantage fighting so far from their base of ope operations rations is evidenced by chinese recapture of several key towns near canton two clashes with russia form the basis for a new war scare the first concerns japanese fishing concessions ces in russian waters though russia refuses to renew the coo con cessions sessions ces which lapse january 1 tokyo threatens to continue fishing even though an armed patrol is needed the second dispute centers on sakhalin Sak halin island where the japs charge russia is seeking to expel nipponese oil workers for her part moscow is de demanding mandin g japanese payment tor for the russian interest in the chinese eastern railroad seized when japan took M manchuria an Alean meanwhile while japan has substantiated the belief held by observers for or many months that chinas cainas open door guaranteed by the nine pow er treaty is about to be closed seeking to liberate japan and china s from ron dependency on foreign markets finance and raw materials tokyo has virtually dictated what great britain and the U S can henceforth expect in the way of trading privileges shrugging its shoulders over still an another other treaty broken in 1933 the U S state department part ment has bas called ho home me nelson T johnson ambassador to china to see what can be done about it since ambassador joseph P kennedy has also been called home from london it is thought the U S may solicit british support for a unified protest against japans economic activity in china probable result nothing espionage in new york hairdresser johanna hoffman and other members member S ot of a germany spy ring had just been sentenced in the panama canal zone the government was busy trying four other young germans accused cuse cl 0 ol 01 photographing forti fortifications fl ca commented their attorney 1 I venture to say that there is not a single construction or equipment for defensive purposes in the canal zone details of which are r not lot now in the possession of any foreign government desiring the information and willing to pay hardly had this shock before the west coast hotbed of espionage reported its latest spy scare in lot loi angeles government agents arrested mikhail gorin a soviet tourist agent and hafis salich native russian who became a berkeley police officer and was tent fent to the naval intelligence because he could coul speak japanese the charge that salich supplied gorin with confidential navy department information regarding japanese military affairs how the U S which claims to operate no counterespionage counter espionage iona agency secured its japanese secrets was not told while a new york soviet vice consul rushed to los angeles to help defend the prisoners the government built its case against 21 year old karl drummond los angeles aircraft factory worker accused of peddling military secrets to japan miscellany invalidated by the north dakota supreme court that states 40 minimum M 0 old d ag age e pension plan approved in the november election because 1937 legislative appropriations cannot be used to pay pensions more than 30 monthly also because the measure exceeds reasonable assistance si as outlined in the state stale constitution 6 sold sad by franklin D Roos roosevelt ovelt 1000 christmas trees from the farm on his hyde park estate taken by mrs franklin D roosevelt a nonpaying non paying job as director in son james in insurance aurance business roosevelt sargent 0 of doston boston |