Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1936-08-06

pie were used to claims, even more
extravagant made by James A.
Farley, who claimed 48 states this
year Just as he claimed them four
years ago.
But Farley has a better back
ground for his claims. In the first
place, he was wrong on only six
states four years ago. Four OF
these six - Maine, Connecticut,
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts,
elected Democratic states two
years later. So that a 48 state
claim this year, from Farley, had
a better chance of being accepted
by Democratic workers than AZ
state claim by Hamilton had of be-
ing accepted by Republican work
erS.
Hope Aroused
Several Republican leaders, who
motored back to Washington from
Cleveland, made interesting reports
of their wayside encounters-at gas
stations, at small hotels, etc. Ev-
erywhere they found Republicans
who wanted to know, once they
realized their visitors had come
from Cleveland, whether there was
"any chance of beating Roose-
velt.''
"You ought to have seen their
faces brighten up when told them
I thought we had better than an
even chance" delegate reported.
Organization Republicans have
been wishing and praying for the
Literary Digest poll to start. They
have been bothering the life out OF
the representative here of a big
farm weekly, which has been TAX
ing polls for years, and which have
been rather accurate.
Not because they wanted the in
formation the polls would bring.
They have the situation fairly well
sized up without that. What they
want is the confidence and fighting
spirit the publication of the news
will have on the Republican work.
ers all over the country.
There is another interesting an.
gle. In the early days of the New
Deal a great many Republican SEN
ators and members of the house OF
representatives went along with il
to a considerable extent, voting for
New Deal measures, etc. They
were obliged-al the representa-
tives and some Of the senators-to
seek reelection in 1884, and at that
time they defended their own rec
ords, with no thought of any ma.
tional campaign to come. They had
to save their own skins first.
Honesty and Cheating
The idea that "cheating" the gov.
eminent is all right, though one
must be scrupulously honest in
ones personal relationships, is gen
orally attributed in American
schoolbooks to the Chinese. It has
provoked amusement for genera.
tons. We Americans, we thought,
were above all that.
Similarly with fiction stories
about Russian officials, who could
be bribed to do anything for a few
kopecks.
The latter was pretty thoroughly
exploded during prohibition. The
chief difference between American
officials and those of the cars
seemed to be that the Americans
were not pikers. Grating prohibi
ton enforcement officials retired
rich, if they were not bumped off.
Some of them were honest, but
then so were some of the Russian
officials, though one seldom heard
much about the honest ones in Ell
Their country.
And now comes the payof on the
first-that Chinese are honest with
each other, but will cheat the gov
eminent, whereas Americans
Most Of us have known snatches
of it here and there for several
years. The writer knew, for ex-
ample, of a county in South Caro-
lima where the county agent rep
resenting the AAA encouraged a
farmer to plant 300 acres in
cotton though he was being paid for
not cultivating those same acres
by AAA.
One heard of lots of these scat
tered instances, but not until the
White House begins building de-
tense against the charge that New
Deal policies had forced a food
shortage-might result in famine
would certainly result in food i'm
portations, did it come to light how
widespread this "cheating" under
AAA was.
Irritates Roosevelt
President Roosevelt was irritated
by many printed stories of short
crops, the probable need for i'm
ports, etc. So he exploded" them.
He made the flat statement that
the acreage planted in wheat in this
country was ten per cent above
normal.
Whereupon it was discovered on
inquiry at the Department of Ag-
riculture, that the payments to
farmers for not planting wheat
under contracts made before the
AAA was ruled unconstitutional
amounted to $40,0O0,000 on this
crop!