The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-12-29

| limit themselves on the sources of
supply.
The natural assumption to be drawn
| from the various aspects of the new
trend, it seems to me, is that an at
tempt is being made to get away from
the high tariff policy which has been
an issue between the Democratic and
Republican political parties so many
years. My own conviction is that 1t
cannot be accomplished; that world
conditions are such as to make it Inn
possible for the United States to let
down any barriers now stopping the
potential flood of foreign products,
and that adoption of such course will
eliminate some of our own institutions
and make further inroads into what is
left of agriculture.
If one is willing to concede that our
nation, or the majority of its people,
favor the protection policy, then
gather that the job to which most at
tention ought to be paid is that of find
ing markets in this country for foreign
products that do not compete, or do
, not seriously damage our own econom-
ic structure. If attention is given to
that end, economists who are not po-
litically minded tell me that outlets
will be opened abroad for American
made goods. We will have our coffee,
our rubber, our bananas, our cork, and
a score of other things, and we will
pay for them So it is with some 9TH
er peoples. They will have our cotton,
our tobacco, our canned fruit, and so
on, and they are willing to pay for
them. 1t surely is made to appear,
therefore, that the government is not
attempting to increase trade in one
way that it could be done, namely,
help the foreigners increase their mar
kets here for the things we do not pro-
duce. If that is done, economists who
have studied the problems from all an
giles insist there will be a parallel
growth in our exports. And it takes
no stretch of imagination for anyone
to realize that an increase in our ex-
ports means immediate sale and better
prices for the products Of the farm
and the factory, and from these, Of
course, accrue employment and profits.
There has been considerable adverse
comment aroused in Washington to the
action of the admin
Centralized istration In organic
J,eor,ot;,, ing what it calls q
national executive
council"
The President, in announcing forma-
ton of the council, explained that
there were so many governmental
agencies of nationwide scope that 1t
seemed advisable to formulate a pro-
gram by which individuals everywhere
could go to a single center in their
county and obtain information. He
pointed out how wheat farmers or cot
ton farmers required advice on acre
age reduction problems, how the ma
tional recovery administration reached
into hundreds of cities and towns, how
farm owners wanted to know how to
proceed with their applications to bor-
row under the farm credit act, how
home owners in small and large towns
would always have problems to dis
cuss in connection with home loans,
and various other phases Of normal
and emergency governmental activity.
The President thought it was a fine
move to concentrate in one place all
information respecting these matters.
But here in Washington, observa-
lions on the plan direct attention to
the fact that there are in excess Of
three thousand counties in the United
States. Each county will have one Of
the central information agencies, and
there will have to be two or more per-
sons assigned there. In other words,
a minimum of two jobs to dispense.
Another suggestion heard frequently
is that if there are criticisms of the
administration, they can be discovered
quickly and means adopted to offset
them.
l think there can be no doubt that
the information service can be of great
help to persons residing far away from
the headquarters of things govern
mental Any government activity is
tangled up in red tape and dealings
with the government have to be just
so, or there is interminable delay. But
at the same time, it is made to appear
that If the President or the Demo-
cratic party want to use the service
for political purposes, it can be done
with the utmost ease.
The row In the agricultural adjust
ment administration that preceded the
transfer of G. N. Peek, administrator,
to new duties in charge of export trade
promotion apparently left an unpleas-
ant taste in the mouth of some farm
leaders. Reactions have come from
various sections of the country. Rep
resentatlves and senators, returning
from their homes for the new session,
brought back many blistering remarks
about the fuss between Mr.. Peek and
Secretary Wallace and Assistant Sec
rotary Tugwell. of the Department of
Agriculture. Mr.. Peek always has been
interested in agriculture because 1t
was his business to be while he was
head of the great Moline Plow COM
pany and other farm implement er.er-
prises But he apparently was unable
to convince Messrs. Wallace and Tug
well that he was on the right track in
the way he administered the adjust
ment act.
While the whole truth about such
controversies never gets TO the public,
the understanding has been spread
around here that Mr.. Wallace and Mr.
Tugwell were not the persons who had
precipitated the trouble. There are a
score of professors and some half
baked theorists in the Department of
Agriculture who wanted to put their