Evening star., 1932-10-05
HOOVER PROPOSAL
INTERESTS WEST
Plan to Push Farm Exports
by Debts Concession
Barred in Speech.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

The assertion that President HOOver's
Des Moines speech will win or lose him
the West Is more dramatic than ac-
curate. Fundamentally what has been
determining the West is the distress of
the last three years. That condition
cannot be made normal overnight by
one man or one speech. It is conceiv-
able the farmer may compare Mr.. Hoo
vers utterances about the farm prob
lem with Gov. Roosevelts and prefer
the greater definiteness Of Mr.. Hoover's
This might inspire enough farm voters
with confidence in the President to
make up margin sufficient to make
the difference between Republican and
Democratic success in several States.
Mr.. Hoover considers the farm situa-
ton in two aspects. The emergency dis
treSs is associated with pressure of
mortgages on approximately SO per cent
OF the Land. As to this. the President re-
cites the large number OF steps already
taken by him and the agencies set up
by him, including cooperation by insur-
ance companies and other private lend
ers on farm mortgages to go to extreme
lengths to enable the debtor farmer to
keep his land. 1t must be known to the
West that Gov Roosevelt made a large
draft on the license OF political oratory
when he said at Sioux City last week
that today for the first time President
hoover has discovered there Is such a
.nlng as farm mortgage" Neverthe-
less the political fact is that distress
from mortgages is still acute, and the
emotion Of the farmer is as likely to re-
spond to Gov Roosevel.'s 1ibe as to
President Hoover's concrete program
accomplished and proposed, for the
future.
Spurs Interest in West.
The second aspect, in which Mr.. Hoo
Yer treats the farm situation. is the
permanent depressed state of the in
dustry. This is the real problem. and
this IS the part Of Mr. Hoover's speech
that the West Is reading most closely.
Gov. Roosevelt on his Western tour
proposed no concrete step, though there
was gossip that he has in mind a de-
wee called the crop allotment plan"
GOV. Roosevelts avoidance of definite
ness was, 1t seems fair to say, deliberate.
PRESIDENT Hoover proposed no detailed
pan either. However, there Is strong
signnhcance In the fact that at Des
MONIES Mr.. Hoover quoted repeated.
emphasized and expanded a proposal
IN MS acceptance speech. This is Dos
sioly the most important passage in the
Des Moines address, It reads:
I am prepared to recommend that
any annual payment in the war debts
owed us by Europe be used for the
specinc purpose of securing an ex-
panslon OF the foreign markets for
american farm products"
1hls Is q pregnant suggestion. Both
former Gov. Smith and Senator Borah
nave advocated something Of the same
kind. 1t is much talked in the West
~ Is growing In favor and more is
likely to be heard of 1t.
somewhat less than half the Presi-
oehes Les MoineS speech was devoted
10 the farm problem specifically. In
the general portion he cited In more
detail than has heretofore been done the
assaults of panic upon America from
abroad and the actions by which he
met them. Much Of Mr.. Hoover's fate
depends on whether the country sees
tnS as q heroic battle intelligentiv and
resourcefully fought by him, In which
case the country might warm to his
performance and have confidence in the
steps toward recovery now actively I'M
ger way. Otherwise the people. un-
lamlilar with intricacies of panic. NAV
merely feel emotionally that there was
depression and that Mr.. Hoover was
resident while 1t ragged 1t IS from
tnls KIND OF emotion caused by mere
association OF the man with the times
.iist Mr. hoover has mainly suffered In
the campaign SO far.
Sees Democratic Turmoil.
In the part Of the Des Moines speech
tnat IS most directly political and deals
WIN the Democratic party much can
be read between the lines. It Is appar-
ent that Mr.. Hoover, like Former Gov.
Al Smith in his Outlook article last
week, sees the Democratic party as in
Smiths words composed of conflicting
elements" For the party as q whole it
is apparent the President has respect,
especially for some of its leaders.
While the President names no in
dividual either in gratitude or reproach,
it Is apparent he wishes to show re-
spect to Democrats Of the type of Sen
ator Glass Of Virginia, to suggest one
example, who in the Presidents words
'patriotically joined in avoiding dan
gerous measures. The dangerous meas
ures are described by the President as
emanating from the Democratic lead
ership in the House.
It is obvious the President regards
the Democratic leadership Of the
House" as unsafe and undesirable. It
is equally obvious that by that phrase
the President means, though he does
not specifically name. Speaker Garner,
| who figures in the Presidents speech
as "the gentleman who has been nomi-
| mated the Democratic candidate for
Vice President"
The difference-the more than dif-
ference. the contrast-between the Con
hicting elements" in the Democratic
party, and the question which element
will control in event Of presidential
victory. is matter which in time will
interest the country acutely II Demo
cratic prospects continue as fair as they
have seemed.
Most Of the airplanes being imported
into Shanghai. China, are from
America.
ADDRESS
Az frforpooI ,ddress Will he niven by