Evening star., 1934-03-18


Wallace, entitled America
Must choose" Mr.. Wallace's state
nent seems to me to be, under the
circumstances, one of the most i'm
portant documents in the contempor-
ary world. Certainly to Americans it
is literally the most important
The pamphlet is a discussion of
what the Roosevelt administration is
doing, especially about agriculture,
together with some concrete forecast
of future steps the administration is
likely to take. The statement comes
from inside the administration, 1t Is
written by a member of Mr.. Roose-
velt's cabinet. Yet it is much more
dire prediction about the future than
any critic outside the administration
has made. Coming from Mr. Wallace,
coming from within the adminlstra-
ton, it must be believed. Coming
from almost any other source it would
be incredible.
1t is incredible. yet there it is.
These things that Mr.. Wallace says
will strike the average American as
terrible unthinkable Yet these things
will be done unless there is some
demonstration of public opinion. or
unless Congress reasSerts its preroga-
tive. or unless Mr.. Roosevelt, for some
reason, chooses to change his course.
'Horrified" at Portrayal.
It is with Mr.. Wallaces statement
that the present article by myself
deals. Mr.. Wallace's pamphlet is
about $4,000 words long. My article
is limited to less than 1000 words.
Therefore. shall be obliged to con-
dense and summarize what Mr.. Wall
lace says, in addition to such quota
ions as l make. / shall try to do this
with care to preserve the meaning.
But I find myself thrown into a
strongly controversial mood by what
Mr.. wallace SAYS. Indeed, I am little
short of Mortified at Mr. Wallaces cold
portrayal of what is ahead for Amer
lea If we follow the planned economy
which Mr.. Wallace and the admins
tration have started. Because I feel
this way. l shall attempt especial care
to be accurate and fair.
But there is always risk OF incor-
rect Interpretation. For that reason,
and also on the broadest grounds,
urge every reader of this article to get
and read Mr.. Wallaces America
Must Choose" urge this particu-
larly upon newspaper editors; l can
not think that any editor or editorial
writer can be fair to his task without
having read this document. 1t should
be read also by men in every COM
munity who take an interest In their
country's future, men who are local
centers of public opinion, men who
{,1 lohata anH discussion.
Particularly it should be read by
farmers, who will be enabled to see
uhat Secretary Wallace has in store
for them. 1 should like to see II
read by literally every American.
The pamphlet can be procured ny
sending 25 cents to the Foreign Pol
icy Association. 18 East Forty-Irst
street, New York.
"America Must Choose"
To those who read Mr.. Wallace's
pemphlet I should like to give one
warning. Mr.. Wallace starts with an
assumption, premise. The premise
is that America must have a planned
economy, that all our agriculture and
Industry must be directed from
washington If you choose your own
premises, you can arrive at any con-
clusion YOU wish. SO Mr.. wallace
arrives at the conclusion that Amer
ica must choose between two forms
of planned economy, both terrifying.
I disagree with this premise OF Mr..
Wallace. I hope most who read the
pamphlet will disagree with it. l say
that Americas choice is between
planned economy and no planned
economy, between planned economy
and liberty. I say that planned" is
the same as controlled" and that
controlled" is the same as dictated.
And I think America can avoid die
tatorship.
But I hope each reader Of this ar
ticle will get Mr.. Wallace's pamphlet
and read it.
Aim to Raise Prices.
Almost exactly year ago, Secretary
of Agriculture Wallace and Assistant
Secretary Tugwell with, of course,
President Roosevelt, adopted poncy
and practice about farming, whlch
policy and practice is now familiar 10
every farmer and nearly every one else
as A. A. A. Messrs. Wallace and Tug
well, with, I think some of the young
TaQlCdlS, WTOU& llle lSSlo1dolO11'
The purpose of the measure, as
stated in the preamble, was to raise
prices of farm crops to "a level that
will give (farmers) purchasing
power equal to what they had in the
pre-war period 1909-1914. This pur-
pose has not been attained. Moreover,
this policy and the whole A. A. A. pro-
gram is encountering serious dlffl-
culties. Crop restriction by voluntary
action, paid for by the Government. is
breaking down and compulsion is be-
ing introduced.
Under this condition Mr.. Wallace
writes his pamphlet. For the extraor-
dinary thing that the pamphlet is,
I surmise an explanation. But my
surmise may be due to critical spirit
the reader should get and read the
pamphlet himself.
NV surmise is this: At the end OF
wear Mr.. Wallace finds his farm plan
not a success, finds it breaking down
di5astrously He wishes to try new
policv. Intent upon making his new
policy seem good he goes, without
quite realizing it, to extraordinary
lengths in condemning the policy he
has been following for year. Only
on this surnise can he explain the
spectacle of member of the admin
1stration saying that Mr.. Wallace says
about steps which the administration,
including himself, has taken. and
about the future consequences OF
those steps.
intermediate Course.
The farm policy so far has looked
toward "nationalism"-th is, toward
restricting farm crops in the United
States to just enough to supply our
own domestic demands (plus of course
some export of cotton, wheat, tobacco
and a few other crops) The farm
policy which Mr.. Wallace now pro-
poses looks to raising certain amount
of additional surplus for export
nhxand Akr Mlallane Describes the new