The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1940-07-12
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PAN-AMERICAN BARTER


When Hitler first began his crush
ing march through Europe, an Ar
gentine business man remarked to
Washington officials:
"At first it will be a little diff
cult to readjust our trade with Eng
land. All the docks will be blown
up, and shipping will be scarce. But
after these things have been ironed
out, it will be much easier. We
will simply make deal with one
man. Hitler will buy our rneat-not
only for Germany but for England,
Belgium, France, and all the rest
Of. Europe"
This danger of Hitler capturing
Latin America through monopoliz-
ing trade is what is behind the giant
trade cartel for the Americas, now
being worked out by the Roosevelt
administration.
And in the secret report handed
Roosevelt by his cabinet members
Is a much more far-reaching plan
than anyone dreams. In brief, the
plan proposes that the United States
buy all the surplus crops of Latin
America. In other words, Mr.. HulPs
much cherished reciprocal trade
treaties 60 out the window, and the
United States gets down to hard
boiled, cut-throat bartering in an eff
fort to monopolize Western herni-
sphere trade.
To illustrate, take the case of Bra
I'll and Hitler in 1889. In that year,
Brazil sold most of her coffee to the
United States, but had surplus left
over which she could not sell. So
Germany offered to take the bal
ance of her crop.
Naturally this was an offer Brazil
could not very well resist-except
that there was one catch to it. Hitler
paid in barter. In return he gave
Brazil cameras, motorcycles, radi-
os, optical instruments and various
other German specialties.
Then Hitler, having bought the
coffee for German goods, turned
around and sold it not only to Aus
tria and Czecho Slovakia, which he
had conquered, but also to Jugo-
slavia, Rumania, Hungary and most
Of southern Europe, with which he
had trade agreements. In return
he got cash, thus bolstering Ger
man exchange.
U. S. Buys SURPRISES.
The state and commerce depart
ments now propose somewhat the
same thing, only this time the Unit
ed States will buy up the SURPRISES
and resell them in Europe. In other
words, we will take Brazil's surplus
coffee crop and then resell it just
as Hitler did.
The first part Of the program is
purely emergency. It will aim to
help out the southern neighbors who
once had thriving markets in Hol-
land, Belgium, Norway, Denmark
and France, but whose markets now
have evaporated with Hitler and the
blockade.
Even after the war is over, how
ever, the system may be contin-
ued. The plan is definitely being
set up to this end.
What the state department argues
is that it is cheaper to do some
surplus buying in Latin America
than to fight war there. Buying
up the surplus coffee crop, for in
stance, probably would cost less
than new battleship.
Also, no country will be aided
which does business with Hitler.
Present plan is to be ruthless about
this-though if some Of the career
boys in the state department are re-
lied upon to be ruthless it may
merely boil down to cheek-patting.
Great danger is that the buying
up Of SURPRISES may take the same
road Of Herbert Hoover's Inflated
wheat board. The farmers knew
that the, more wheat they raised,
the more they could sell to the
board, so Hoover found himself left
with a tremendous surplus which
depressed the market.
Similarly, Latin. American nations
may discover that the more coffee
they raise, the more they can sell
to the United States. The cabinet Of
ficers who prepared the plan for
Roosevelt realized this, but figured
that they would try the thing out
during the emergency of the war and
try to perfect it later.
NOTE-Comment of one allied
diplomat on the trade. plan to. keep
Hitler out of South America: "That
sounds like the man who was on q
ladder painting. Someone came
along and took the ladder away, but
he just kept on painting
Merry Col Round.
Jesse Jones, Federal Loan admin
istrator., is playing q much greater
part in the national defense picture
than most people realize. He IN