The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-01-10
SEEN HEARD
around the
National Capital
by CARTER rIEI4Di

/ " N1iihH uOAiNlC0iy
one of the most serious problems In
the whole New Deal set-up. High
officials will admit 1t confdentially.
though their public utterances are very
different indeed.
The whole question, of course. Is
whether the United States can go on
exporting enough cotton to keep the
cotton acreage now being farmed busy.
and yet maintain the world price of
American cotton ut high enough levels
to make raising the cotton profitable.
Enthusiasts about the AAA program
talk vociferously about the natural adj
vantages of America with regard to
cotton. They refuse TO see any cloud
on the horizon. They insist that there
Is no other locality insth world where
cotton as good as that raised In Amer
lea can be produced except at costs ex-
ceeding American costs.
AS general proposition, this Is cor
rect. Most countries that can produce
cotton at lower costs than the United
States have product which compares
most unfavorably with that grown In
America. The few places that can
produce equally good cotton have very
high costs.
But-the whole world is looking for
cheaper substitute for high grade
cotton, and generally. where such
guest persists long enough. the goal Is
found. The Germans have been ex-
perlmentng with wood pulp. They do
not claim to have gotten very far. At
present they are in about the stage
/ OF American production OF rubber from
goldenrod. 1t can be done successful
~. but there Is no particular point In
doing 1t. The costs actually exceed
the cost Of good imported rubber.
The search for a substitute Is by no
means over. Incidentally. the Ger
mans have had fair success In the last
feE months, producing substitute for
rubber from rye -four. They buy the
rye flour from Poland.
As long as America produced cot
ton without restrictions, there was not
! much point to looking for substitute.
because any given year there might
be big cotton crop. the price would
| fall or. and anyone financially inter
ested In the substitute would take a
terrible beating that year.
Keep Price Up
Now. however, the definite aim Of
AAA is to keep the price of cotton up
all the time, regardless of weather
and other crop conditions, by the sim
| pie expedIent OF restricting acreage
and governing the carry over eacll
| year. Which sets up a real prize for
| the discoverer OF good substitute.
So actually the cotton program Is
| ir the same position as company
/ making patented article which 1t is
selling at nice profit. Always there
is the fear that some inventor will
come along with something either Just
as good or better. which will destroy
the market for the patented article.
4 n SG1oifL dlA EHllAcif ulIPiGul nIOlt
lem CONCERNS the people who earned
! their lllTng by working In cotton fields
| up to the time OF AAA restrictions.
but now have no work. At the moment
the federal government Is taking care
of them on relief. They are part If
the 20,00O,00O now estimated to be sup.
| ported thus They are also, of course.
| part OF the explanation of the fact that
the number Of people on relief Ia not
/ diminishing, despite the fact that busI.
ness Is getting better
While the same problem applies to
! other crops than cotton, the situation
| with respect to the others Is not near.
/ ly so serious. Cotton Is the big export
/ crop, and always has been. Moreover,
| there has not been much change In
that nltuation as the country grew big.
ger IA population. Exports OF wheat
and other farm products have slowly
declined as the population of the cities
| In America consumed larger and larger
percentages OF the total crop. But cot
ton maintained about the same ratio as
between domestic consumption aud TX
port right up to the rime when AAA
restrictions began to operate. About
60 per cent OF the total crop wasy~px-
ported. Which explains some of the
gray hairs Ia the Department OF Agri-
culture.
Tax Increases Seen
Not only are there to be no tax re-
auctions by congress. even on levies
which there Is very good reason for re-
moving or lowering, but tax Increases
are almost certain before adjournment.
This Will not appear early ln the SEES
sion, as the administration Is counting
on q lot Of maneuvering about taxes
In Its fight tn hold down the soldier
bonus disbursements. But before the
final taps OF the gavels of the Vice
President In the senate and the speak
er In the house new taxes will have
been levied. or old ones boosted Re
cause the treasury needs the money,
and needs 1t badly.
There has been vigorous checking
over OF told Income tax returns. as
many citizens have discovered. some