The Washington times., 1935-11-27

PLANS ATTACK
ON SCARCITY
ECONOMICS
AAA, Taxes Targets
Of ldahoan; Reply
To Hoover Due
BY GEORGE r. HOLMES
International News Service


Senator william E. Borah, who
has all but thrown his Idaho SON.
brero into the ring by saying it
may be assumed that he is
candidate for the Republican
Presidential nomination, plans to
open his campaign early next
month.
His opening thrust will be a
speech broadcast over a national
radio hook-up, and his subject will
be that much-debated economic
question. purchasing power" It
offers the Idahoan almost limit
less scope to discuss the principles
involved in the AAA, the NRA,
tariffs, taxes, or whatnot.
To Attack Scarcity"
Senator Borah is going to at
tack the theory of scarcity"
which he detects as underlying
the AAA program of crop restric-
ton and animal destruction.
It is all right, he contends, to
increase the purchasing power of
the farmer by artificial means, but
unless there is corresponding
increase in the purchasing power
Of the city dweller. the laborer,
the consumer of agricultural prod
uctS, then the scheme must fall
Of its own weight.
Abundant production and more
efficient diStribution-no planned
Scarcity'-iS the Borah idea of
how to improve economic condi-
tionS.
Hoover to Be Answered
The radio speech in the first
week in December is to be fol-
lowed up by other speeches from
time to time, via the radio and
personal appearances. Mr.. Borah
has a stack of invitations for
speeches on his desk a foot high.
And the stack is steadily growing.
Every incoming mail adds to it.
In the course of this series, Sen
ator Borah plans to reply directly
to Herbert Hoover, whose recent
speeches have concinved political
observers that the ex-President is
an all but avowed candidate for
the nomination.
And Senator Borah is deter
mined, at all costs, to prevent Mr..
Hoover's denomination, just as
Mr.. Hoover is credited with a de-
termination to prevent. at all
costs, the nomination of Senator
Borah.
Duel of Republicans
Thus, the country, and particu-
larly the Republican party, will be
treated to the spectacle of two of
the outstanding Republicans of
the time engaged in a bitter duel
to prevent each others nomina-
tion. and to make himself the
dominant factor in the convention
that is now only seven months
away.
Senator Borah has not definitely
decided whether he will enter any
Presidential primaries, which be-
gin in April with Illinois, Nebraska
and Pennsylvania leading off.
Neither Illinois nor Pennsylvania
is especially attractive to the
1dahoan.
The assumption in political
quarters, rightly or wrongly, is
that Col. Frank Knox, Chicago
publisher, will have the Illinois
delegation.
AS for Pennsylvania, the Borah
brand of economics and political
philosophy is not calculated to
appeal to the conservative ele-
ments that long have dominated
Republican affairs in the COM
monwealth.
Hoover Demands Demand"
For the present, Senator Borah's
position is that he will cross the
primary bridge when he gets to it.
AS for Mr.. Hoover, it is not ex-
pected he will enter any pri-
maries. Rather wistfully, but also
very earnestly, Mr.. Hoover has in
formed his closest intimates that
he can be considered a candidate
only in the event there is a sub
stantial demand" for his nomi-
nation. and only if it can be OBJ
tained without a bitter fight.
In view of Mr.. Borah's attitude,
that seems hardly possible. And
meanwhile, the Republican side
lines are filled with aspirants
whose tactics and strategy must
be, for the time being, to wait
quietly for the lightning to strike.