Evening star., 1932-01-10
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The biggest puzzle brought to Wash
ington by the reconvened Congress,
fresh from the people, is as follows:
A. Never before has the Congress
displayed SO much sentiment that
could be called, roughly, "anti-foreign. "
B. Never before has the Congress
displayed SO much intense interest in
international affairs.
The period previous to the Christmas
recess was spent by the Congress
largely in the discussion of the one
year debt holiday on public loans ex-
isting between European governments
and the United States Government in
the international field. The period
succeeding the Christmas recess has
been spent largely in the discussion
Of private loans existing in the inter
national field between American in
vestors and foreign borrowers. Addi-
tionally, the period succeeding the re-
cess has been dramatically marked by
the introduction into the House Of
Representatives of an Official Demo-
cratic party measure for carrying the
problem of our domestic tariff laws into
the arena OF an international diplo-
matte conference.
These matters Of international COY
Grafton have actually obScured the dis
cussionS of vital domestic proposals,
such as the Presidents Reconstruction
Finance Corporation" The talk of
Washington is hostile to abroad" and
Is. nevertheless. fixed and centered
upon abroad and deVoteS itself over
whelmtngly to external situations until
recalled by absolute necessity to the
internal ones.
1t can be further appropriately noted
that the Senate Committee on Banking
and Currency reported the bill for the
Presidents Reconstruction Finance
Corporation" with the following gen.
erous international section in it:
The corporation is empowered to
accept bills Of exchange drawn upon
it which grow out of transactions in
volying the expectation of goods to
buyers in foreign countries, provided
that the total of such acceptances out
standing shall not exceed $500, 900 900
at any one time"
Here is proposed governmental
financing Of trade abroad to the extent
OF half billion dollars of public funds.
y X
On the other hand, the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee has in
definitely postponed all consideration
OF American entrance into the Perma-
nent Court of International Justice.
and nine-tenths of Washington looks
upon the State Departments interVen-
ton in the foreign problem of Man
churia with undisguised skepticism and
with fervent wish that we were "well
out of it,"
What is the reason for all this recoil
from abroad" in combination with all
this absorption in abroad? The diff
f1culty of finding an answer is not
diminished by noticing that similar
conflicting tendencies exist also in
foreign lands.
That epitome of our times. the
ingly illustrated the contemporary
worldwide capacity for being anti
foreign and pro-foreign in the same
breath. He has counseled his fellow
countrymen TO buy only British goods
and has simultaneously counseled and
invited all nom British foreigners to
come and spend enjoyable vacations
in Britain.
A possible answer to the puzzle has
found some conditional acceptance In
Washington. 1t is this:
We are perhaps moving into a period
Of extreme economic nationalism In
which nations will trade as nations and
in which thereupon there will neces-
sarily be an economic internationalism
extremely belligerent but extremely
intimate
The first point in this answer Is de-
clared to be spread obviously before
he a
nation Is more and more drawing the
economic lives of its citizens into its
national governmental orbit.
In this country the essential collapse
Of the privately organized national
credit corporation and the substantial
substitution for it Of the proposed pub
licly owned and managed reconstruc-
ton finance corporation, for the pro-
lection and rehabilitation of our f1nan-
cial institutions has been in harmony
with developments elsewhere.
All over the European continent the
advent of governments into the organi-
zation and operation of finance has
been rapid and profound There has
been a large advent by governments at
the same time into an increased re-
sponsibility for the successful and
profitable production OF commodities.
In Britain the new Nationalist" gov
ernment has undertaken to achieve the
revival of British agriculture by legis-
lative and administrative methods. 1t
intends through governmental energy
to enable Britain to increase its domes-
tic food supply. II British agriculture
again raises its head 1t will be upon
governmental prop. Thus far the Brit
ish tendency in this matter is toward
determined economic nationalism.
Then emerges, nevertheless, q conse-
Quent diplomatic negotiatory interna-
tionalism. Not all of Britain's food sup
ply, even after the most courageous
governmental efforts possible, can be
produced from British soil Some i'm
portations remain necessary. The pres
ent British government, thereupon,
being nationalistic in its temperament,
proceeds to try to fix the importations
governmentally. 1t is even now striy-
ing to arrive at quotas" In the i'm
portation Of wheat. The British do
minions shall be permitted to import
into Britain a certain percentage of
Britain's wheat requirements. A GER