Imperial Valley press., 1939-04-02
How Much Hitler
Can Chew
Rv CHARLES p STEWART

VO1u V1uCW
By CHARLES p. STEWART
The Washington administration
opinion is that Herr Hitler has bit
ten off more than he can chew, as :,
the saying is. He's an ambitious
bitter, but the White House suspects
that this time he'll choke on his
own mouthful unless he's left to
masticate it very gradually. And
the notion is to joggle and annoy.
him until he strangles. Dropping
the metaphor, can't he be bothered,
just as he's trying to swallow, to
such an extent that his home
folks will put an extinguisher on
his greed, regardless of any effort
by outsiders? That's the thought
back of Treasury Secretary Nor
genthau's order slapping a rs per
cent punitive tariff upon lot Of
German imports into this country.
The intention is to make the Ber-
lin dictator gag and regurgiate over
his Czechoslovakia gobble. While
he's doing SO he isn't likely to
have breath to do any additional
gobbling In fact, he may have to
let go of what he's got already. "a.
Adolf himself is authority for tn
statement that Germany must "ex-V
port or die Our punitive tariff
policy's purpose is to throw crimp
into the Fatherland's exports, let
ting the Teutons die, as per the
Hitlerian prediction. why" as
Chairman Pittman of the senate
foreign relations committee has
asked, take the trouble to shoot
a man when you can more easily
starve him to death?" Not that
there is an inclination to starve
Germany to death. The plan is to
starve it into iettisoning Herr Hit
Ter.
Program Legal One
It's a legal program. Our tariff
law permits us to impose penalties
against countries that are subsidiz-
ing exports into the United States,
which Germany is trying to do, into
the U. S. and elsewhere under its
barter dickers.
While our anti-German punitive
tariff order actually was issued by
Secretary Morgenthau, it goes al
most without saying that it was in
line with President Roosevelt's ut
terance to the effect that there are
many methods short Of war" to
bring to the attention of "aggres-
Sive governments the sentiments OF
our people"
The decree has Secretary OF State
Hull'S and Attorney General Muir
phys D. k. think il has the bulk
of Congress likewise.
True, it's bit safer for us to
take a sassy attitude toward Ger
many than it is for Britain or
France, which have capitals sub
ject to air raids from Berlin. Still
at the end of their patience. So
does Moscow. So. too, do several
little peoples. like the Dutch, Swiss
and Rumanians. I don't think the
Yugoslavians, the Poles or the
HungarianS feel any too secure IN
Germany's neighborhood either,
AS for South America, we already
have Brazil lined up on our side,
and some others of those repub-
lies our way. In short, Germany
economically can be isolated. And
it can't stand it.
No Raw Materials
In raw materials Germany Is
poor.
It has workers and machinery
It has the equipment to turn out
finished products, but nothing to
produce them from. 1t has the Ia
Dor and plants for stuff to employ
them on. It's left marking time
otherwise. 1t has plenty of ex-
ports of manufactured goods to ex-
port-if it has anything to manu-
facture them from.
It's acquired some raw material
areas in Czechoslovakia, but the
populations of these areas are
largely anti-German-meaning do
mestic difficulties.
Hence: Isn't Hitler due for in
ternal friction pretty speedily?
There's no especial reason why
the Japanese should be classed as
anti-German-except that the Japs
took advantage of the World war
TO take KiauChau, on the Chinese
east coast, away from the Kaiser
that might have left a sore spot.
But perhaps Hitler can forget
it.
AS to relations between Hitler
and Mussolini?
Nobody who's followed the news
can but guess that Adolf has 100
per cent euchred Benito.
The question is:
Hasn't Adolf, perhaps, overdone
himself? Not necessarily interna-
tionally?-but possibly intra ma
tionally? Is Germany itself solidly
back of him? One can't tell-with
suppressed press and public
speech muzzled. Those folks have
MT the faintest idea of what the
rest OF the world thinks of them.
Thav NAV find ~ otIf ,,It;,,. taI.,