The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-08-15
Behind
The Ticker

NEW YORK - II becomes more
and more evident that regardless
of the result Of the election the
agricultural problem will be still
with US. Certainly that is true Of
cotton. Even the end Of the war
would not do more than simplify
il.
The solution depends on regain
ing the world market which was
first beginning to be lost when the
of our price by arti-
fetal means encouraged the COM
petition of foreign growths. The
war. or rather the blockade, has
now closed nearly all that was left
of IL and present estimates are
that exports for the 1940-1e41 sea-
son will be the smallest for the
larger part Of century. c. T.
Revere figures the total will run
to about 1900 900 bales Secretary
Wallace says 1000 900 to 5000. 900
bales) compared with 6.1l4 900
bales in 1s3e-1s40 and $3.50 900
bales in 1889. the lowest In re-
cent seasons.
The best showing in the last 20
years was that OF 1882, when
a total of s.754 900 bales was sold
abroad. Significantly enough
Japan was our best customer in
that year. taking 2.3l2.0O0 bales.
Germany being second and the
United Kingdom third There will
be no exports TO the reich this
year as far as anyone can see
now, and because Of exchange and
other difficulties Japan Is likely
to take only about soc. 900 bales.
possibly less. II she can buy cheap
er from Brazil as she has been
doing Of late. The British took
/ ,s2o 900 bales last year but they
say they do not expect 10 import
more than 100000 bales this sea-
son.
Active effort viii be made TO
increase domestic consumption and
some measure OF success is prob
able, but II can't prevent a sizeable
addition TO the government-owned
or controlled stocks held over from
former years and taken in accord
anee with the terms of the vari-
Gus loans. In other words the
treasury will continue 10 carry the
load and no practical alternative
has been offered by anyone.
To withdraw all government aid
and let the market find its own
level would break the price ruin
ously. No such proposition is ad-
vanced by a competent authority
AS far as this writer is aware. The
suggestion that the cotton grow
ing south turn its agriculture over
to other crops Is more easily made
than accepted. Even II accepted
the question of what the other
crops are TO be would still be un-
answered. There is no shortage of
farm products in other regions to
be MADE up and the other sections
are hardly likely 10 welcome in
creased competition. Besides. the
south is better fitted to produce
cotton than most other crops.
lndustrialization is advocated.
That however. is q slow process.
IL may be the eventual answer.
but II cannot be relied upon now
or for years TO come. Again we
are forced back to reliance on the
treasury. Under the circumstances
Mr.. Nillkie was wise TO announce
that il elected he would continue
the present program unless and
until a better one could be de-
vised.
Peace would bring q temporary
sweeping European demand for
American farm products. but how
effective the demand would be is
question. The probabilities are
that this country would have TO
finance II in part at least. Mean
while there is little hope that the
British government will agree to
Herbert Hoover's plan to avert
famine in the German-oecupied
regions Of western Europe BY ship
ping our foodstuffs under a Hitler
guarantee they would be used ex-
elusively by the inhabitants Of the
invaded and conquered countries.
AS for the price situation there
seems no immediate reason 10 ex-
pect any breaking away on the up