The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-12-29


Dumping Policy Causes
Irritation in Foreign Lands
Critics of the present department
of agriculture insisted there would
be loud protests this year if the
two-price system we're put into ef-
feet. They were right. Along comes
Britain highly indignant about one
shipload of wheat. What did we
mean. Just after she had gone the
limit in straning her empire trade
concession plan in order TO agree
10 reciprocal trade treaty with
the United States. by dumping
wheat at a subsidized price, thus
irritating Canada and Australia?
French Guiana made a surprise
threatened TO bar any grain
imports from the United States if
this dumping policy were to be
continued.
So there won't be any more.
Again Secretary of State Cordell
Hull and Secretary of Agriculture
/ Henry A. Wallace have clashed, and
again Hull has won. In fact, Hull
has not lost a battle since March A.
! 1888. when Roosevelt became Presi-
dent
OF course, anything calculated TO
help American export of our farm
SURPRISES must be fitted in with the
Hull doctrine of trade agreements,
or else the trade agreement policy
will be wrecked.
The difficulty would be great
enough if it were just question OF
tariffs. But that is only part of 1t.
There are quotas to be considered
also. Obviously no foreign govern
ment is going to permit this country
to dump a surplus of wheat at a
subsidized price. AFTER 1t has
reached an agreement with this
: country as to just what would and
what would not be done III accept
I ing American exports-driven
!. bargain, so to speak, that they would
take so much of our products II
5 we would take so much Of theirs.
: Morgan Sorrous Thai Better
! Job Is Not Done at TIA
It's pity that the government IS
| not doing a better job at IVA, for
; mer chairman Arthur E. Morgan
remarked to a group right after his
$ last appearance before the congress
9 sional committee which is supposed
J to be investigating the Tennessee
Valley Authority.
G 1.-THE point is, he said, the trend
j all over the world, in virtually ev-
cry country. is toward government
Q operation Of the electric industry.
b That being obviously SO, it makes
6 no difference whether one likes the
idea of government ownership or
not It makes no difference Wheth-
er private ownership is actually bet
ter for the interests of all the people
i or not. Regardless of the answers
: to any of these questions, this gov
Y eminent should prepare for the pos
j. sbility that it will have to operate
] the electric business Of the entire
G country.
i ut is like fire insurance. A man
!, who insures his house against fire
u does not. necessarily hope that il
/ will burn. In fact, most of the
:. time he may still be anxious that
it should not burn. But he sees the
: obvious danger, and takes precau-
J, tons accordingly.
j Thus | think that even people
d who think that government owner
ship Of the electric industry is III
i. trinsically bad should be anxious
Q that the government make this IVA
/ experiment, against the possibility
! that, having some day to run, all
i the electric business of the country
t. the government will have learned
G how to do it, and thus not make a
:. fasco if it should have to take over
y the big job.
7 No manufactures of motor cars,
!. for instance, would start turning out
a car of new design by the thou
sand until there had first been ex.
perimentation, to get out the bugs,
Q to make sure that it would work
smoothly. Similarly, if the govern
ment will only do the sort of job
for which I had hoped at IVA, il
will not be SO likely to have a ghast-
r ly economic tragedy If some day in
r The near future it finds itself operat-
: ing the entire electric industry Of
6 the country. =
\ Fears Sacrifice of Flood
d Control TO Pouer Creation
y Dr.. Morgan is obviously proud d
. the engineering of IVA. But hes Is
J very much afraid that tragic conse
! quences may follow yielding to the
y temptation to sacrifice flood contro
g safety TO the production of power
= He still believes that he did abso
lutely the right thing in the MAN
conservancy district in Ohio wher
he put engraved plaques on certain
! dams stating that the reservoirs
= they were holding back must never
Y be used for the generation of cleo
= trio current. To do so, he caused IL
:, be engraved on the plaques. might
! endanger the people the dams were
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