Evening star., 1936-01-13
THE POLITICAL
MILL
By G. Could Lincoln.


open up in big way on the Roosevelt
New Deal, is charged by John ]. Raskob.
former chairman Of the Democratic Ma
tional Committee. Mr.. Raskob sees in
the charges made against Pierre 8. du
Pont and himself by the Government be-
fore the Board of Tax Appeals last Fri
day an effort to throw mud at the Lib
erty League. The charges were to the
effect that Du Pont and Raskob had
created fictitious losses In order to re-
duce Mr.. du Points income taxes in 1929.
Whether any such plot as Mr.. Raskob
sees has been Matched by the admins
tration or not, it seems that the charges
now brought against q couple OF the
chief contributors to the American Lib
erty League have been well timed. The
American Liberty League dinner takes
place January Is, q week from next
Saturday. As Mr.. Raskob points out in
his statement issued to the press 1t will
be many months before the courts will
have an opportunity to pass finally upon
the charges now brought. Furthermore,
the present administration has been in
ONCE for nearly three years. Perhaps
Mr.. Raskob believes that the Govern
ment might have moved In the charges
it now brings at an earlier date, par
ticularly as the charges relate to income
taxes Of 1929.
Mr.. RaSkob must know that the
Roosevelt administration has no love for
the American Liberty League, and prob
ably not for Mr.. du Pont. The Liberty
League proposes to put forward the lead
ing opponent of President Roosevelt for
the Democratic presidential nomination
in 1882 as a spokesman against the New
Deal-and perhaps against the President
personally. It was not long ago that
AL Smith was the idol Of millions Of
Democrats in this country. Further
as a champion of the people, as a really
great executive. having served four or
five terms as Governor OF New York.
How much influence Mr. Smith has over
Democratic voters of the country it is
impossible to say. There are those who
say his influence Is thing Of the past
But Mr.. Smiths ability to "look at the
record" and take it apart is probably not
impaired. His address at the dinner OF
the American Liberty League Is likely
to have the widest kind OF publicity.
Probably the Roosevelt administration
does not look forward to it with any
degree Of pleasure.
The presidential boom Of Senator
Borah of Idaho is opposed by DR..
Nicholas Murray Butler, president of
Columbia University. DR.. Butler has
been mixed up in Republican politics
for long time. He has even been men,
toned in the past as a possible presi-
dental candidate. 1t seems doubtful,
however, that DR.. Butler by himself
could prevent the nomination of Senator
Borah. He admits that the Idaho Sen
ator is the most able of the prospective
candidates for the Republican nomina-
tion. But Dr. Butler does not like the
record which Senator Borah has made;
declares him unavailable because OF that
record. It Is noticeable that DR.. Butler
has himself been on the opposite side
to Senator Borah in these various con-
troversial questions. For example, DR..
Butler does not think that Borah will
do because he opposed the entry of the
United States into the World Court, for
which Butler is supporter. He did
not like the attitude Of Borah on the
prohibition question, for Borah took the
dry side. Butler was an opponent Of
prohibition.
More particularly. however. does DR..
Butler stress the 'unavailability' of
Senator Borah because he does not sub
scribe to international arrangements for
peace. DR.. Butler says:
Senator Borah opposes, perSistently
and emphatically, despite the repeated
declarations of the party to which he
processes to belong. the support by our
Government of the one and only prac-
ticable plan to substitute for war the
judicial process in the settlement of
international differences and disputes.
This course of action has been upheld
by every President since Mckinley and
by every Secretary Of State since John
Hay. Senator Borahs influence is thereby
cast on the side of war, since the only
alternative to the rule of law is appeal
to armed force.
But it is quite futile to denounce war
and to engage in emotional demonstra-
tions against war unless one is prepared
to help to build those institutions which
will take the place Of war. Senator
Borah does not appear to see that we
are living in a new kind of world, q world
of closely interdependent nations, in
which isolation Is absolutely impossible. !"
X 4
Senator Tom Connally of Texas, Demo-
crat, is a believer in the export de-
benture farm relief plan. He has bill
for it and will introduce it. There have
been reports that the administration does
not care for the export debenture, and
Is turning to the So-called domestic
allotment plan with variations. Senator
Connally is said to be willing to have his
export debenture plan made part OF q
general farm plan, linked with other
measures of relief for the agriculturaliSts.
The export debenture plan, according to
Senator Connally, is based upon the
same principle as the protective tariff,
except that it is made applicable to
exports rather than imports. Since the
farmer must pay q tariff on manufac-
tured goods and must sell his exportable
surplus in q world free market, it is the
Senator's theory that on the exportable
surplus of farm products the farmer
should receive compensating benefits in
order to lift the price of farm COM
modities to q fair level with manufac-
tured and industrial goods.
The bill provides that the Treasury
ton, wheat and other farm products
which may be exported. Such certificates
are redeemable by the Treasury and are
negotiable and may be used for the pay
ment Of duties on imports. The amount