Evening star., 1937-06-19

production is small and the only known
deposit is owned by an American
corporation. But the unconditional
most-favored- nation" policy caused the
same reduction to be applied to ores
from India, Africa and Russia.
Affects American Defense.
We cannot, as yet. compete with
Eastern ores. But in failing to develop
our domestic sources, We will be left
defenseless in the event of war.
In one case. alone, the State De-
partment met its match. In that
case, it attempted to kill of an in
dustry yet in embryo.
The United States has been import
ing annually about $25O,000, 900 worth
OF wood pulp, neWSprint, kraft and
other papers from Canada. We are
subjected to periodical and arbitrary
price increases. The chemical foun-
dation determined to investigate
possible domestic source of supply
After five years Of research and the
expenditure of more than 100000.
its paper chemists were able to make
cheap and excellent papers OF all
kinds from the fast-growing. self
SEEDING pines that grow on 100000 900
acres Of Southern waste land
I wrote to the President. asking for.
w. P. A. help in building the first
demonstration mill. The President
referred my letter to Secretary Wal
lace. and he referred it to Mordecai
Ezekiel, economic adviser to the De-
partment Of Agriculture. Mr. Ezekiel
virtually forebade us to 60 on with the
project. He wrote:
The products which we import
into this country produce dollars to
pay for the products we export. AS
you know, We face an acute problem
in farm readjustment because Of re-
duction in export demand for wheat
and hogs If we take still further
steps to reduce our imports, the ability
OF foreign countries to buy our cotton
and fruits for export will be cor
respondingly reduced and in the end
We will merely intensity our farm
readjustment problem"
Canada Has Own Food.
Thus, it seemed, We must continue
to pay quarter billion dollars year
to Canada. For what? So that they
could buy our foodstuffs? But it
happens that Canada herself has an
abundance OF agricultural. forest,
fishery and mineral products to ex-
port All Canada wants of US Is
productive machinery to increase her
own industrial self-suniciency.
The chemical foundation defied
MIR. Ezekiel. 1t realized, if he did not,
that $3.50, ,000, 900 sent every year to
Canada was forever lost to our domes-
tic economy. But, kept at home, 1t
could circulate at least 10 times, es-
tablishing credits for $4,000, ,00O, 900
Of trade.
Already some IL paper mills, cost
ing $4,000, 900, are either finished or
building in the Southland. The people
OF Texas are raising the money to
build the first newsprint mill. 1t Is
contemplated that, within or 10
years, $500,0O0, 900 worth of mills will
be built in the South-that we will
be entirely independent of any for
eign source, and that, in addition,
hundreds of thousands OF acres and
at least $50, 900 OF our people will be
working for honest. good wages.
Strange As it may seem, this is not
an argument for high protective tariffs
in perpetuity. The chemical industry
needs less and less protection each
succeeding day Of research. We can
meet the competition OF the world.
The Southern pulp and paper industry
will get no tariff, for its products
are frozen" on the free list; has never
asked for tariff and needs no tariff.
II the Presidents Yankee trading"
has failed miserably. Yankee ingenu-
ity, aided by scientific research, has
been triumphantly successful. What
has been done in the chemical and
paper industries can be done IN other
industries.
(CopyriEht. 1887, by the North American
Newspaper Alliance Incl