Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-11-15
AMERICA SELF CONTAINED

AMERICA SELF CONIAlNEU
James w. Gerard, former IT,. S. Ambassador to Ger
many, at a luncheon held at India House, New York, for
mally announced the establishment of the Committee for
America Self Contained, with headquarters at 81 Will
liam Street, New York, N. Y. The program of the Com
mittee, said Mr.. Gerard, has for its objective the educat-
ing of the American people to the advantages of economic
sef-containment.
''The Committee he said, twas called into being to
aid the American people in restoring prosperity and
bringing about national recovery. Today, dangerous in
ternational en~tanglements threaten the ~well-being of the
United States. Decisive national action, therefore, must
be taken towards self-containment. To make clear to the
public the necessity for this action, the Committee has
planned a public education campaign to set forth the
many advantages of American self-containment. Its pro-
gram is based on Samuel Crowther's new book, America
Self Contained
''This concentration of our energies upon our own
country does not imply that self-containment presup-
poses complete isolation, y he said. con the contrary, the
Committee does not oppose foreign trade provided it is
in harmony with the broad interests of the American
people. Of recent years, our fourishing export trade has
been largely an illusion. To make possible huge ship
ments of our goods to foreign nations, we have had to
make huge loans to many of these nations-loans which
may never be repaid. This system cannot but bring us
confusion, dangerous entanglements, and possibly war.
The policy advocated by the Committee is simply one of
q 'qud pro quo philosophy; a foreign trade placed on a
sound bookkeeping basis.''
The Organizing Committee includes: W.. L. Baker,
Minnehaha National Bank, Sioux Falls, S. D.; Joseph P.
Day, realtor, New York, N. Y; Brig. Gen. Brice P. Disque,
New York, N. Y; Ballard Dunn, president and editor,
Omaha Journal, Omaha, Neb.; Lionel D. Eide, author and
economist, New York, N. Y; Miller Freeman, publisher,
Seattle, Wash; John Hays Hammond, New York, N. Y;
August Heckscher, capitalist, New York, N. Y; J. r.
Howard, former member of Federal Farm Board, Glenn
ons, Iowa; Edward M. Mills, president, Rainier Pulp and
Paper Company, San Francisco, Calf; Eustis Paine,
president, Eustis Paine Company, New York, N. Y; Wal
do Rosebush, Inland Empire Paper Company, Wildwood,
Wash; Wheeler Sammons, publisher, Chicago, ILL.,; f. w.
Thomas, First National Bank of Omaha, Omaha, Neb;
W. L. Thompson, Columbia River Packers Association,
Astoria, Ore; c. r. Walgreen, president, Walgreen Com
pany Drug Stores, Chicago, ILL.,; John N. WHY'S, former
U. s. Ambassador to Poland, and chairman of the WHY'S
Overland Company, Toledo, Ohio.
The Committee, Mr.. Gerard said, is basing its program
of national policy on the following principles:
|. Americas interests are basically different from
those of other nations.
The world has many problems to solve. We must
start by solving our own.
2. Science has made America self-contained.
With a few exceptions, there are now no essentials
that we cannot grow or make. Consequently we are
not forced into international trade, as are other ma
lions, by economic necessity. We are free to choose
our contracts and to import and export at will.
3. Self-containment spells plenty for Americans.
No other nation anywhere, at any time-not even
Rome at its zenith-could face self-containment
without privation. Once we are free from e~ntangling
Alliances we can distribute our plentiful resources
among our own people.
4. We can abolish our poverty only by freeing our
selves from the worlds poverty.
Now is the time to build for the future of the Ameri-
can standard of living. We cannot do it by mingling
our poverty with the worlds poverty.
5. We must put our foreign trade on a sound book
keeping basis.
Of recent years, benefits to America from our foreign
trade have been largely an illusion. To make pos
slble our huge shipments of goods to foreign coun-
tries, we have had to make huge loans to many of
these countries-loans which may never be repaid.
Such a situation means confusion, dangerous en-
tanglements, and possibly war. A foreign trade con-
Quoted on a sound bookkeeping basis will eliminate
these dangers.