The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1940-08-15
CAPITOL
BY Harold Knutson
Malaria Comes To Minnesota
BY Harold Knutson

Malaria Comes To Minnesota
1 know it will come as a distan
shock to the people of Minnesota
Iowa and Wisconsin to learn tina
their states have been invaded b.
the malaria mosquito and that 6
number of cases of malaria fever
have developed along the upper
Mississippi as a result. 1t all came
about through the creation of g
series. of dams which raised the
water to a point where adjacent
lowlands became flooded and form
ed stagnant pools where the malar-
ia mosquito thrives and multiplies
Indeed, the situation in the upper
Mississippi basin has grown to a
point where it has becomee neces-
sary for the United States Public
Health Service to put on a estate
malaria control project, which in
cludes Illinois and Missouri.
According to the information that
! get the situation holds some SER
ious personalities as there aree Is
man-made lakes between the Twin
Cities and st. Louis, all of which
provide breeding places for mos
quitoes that carry the disease from
one individual to another. In the
early days malaria went by the
name of fever and ague" and was
largely confined to southern states.
The disease is both dangerous and
painful. I cannot recall that we
ever had a case of malaria in
Minnesota before the nine-foot
channel project was completed.
Mans attempts to improve upon
the handiwork of the Creator often
are followed by serious conse-
quences. The blowing under of buff
falo grass in the arid states gave
us the dust bowl, which has des-
troyed thousands of homes and cost
the American people hundreds of
millions of dollars. Let us hope that
the malaria situation in the North
west will not assume equally SER
ious proportions.
Nay Hold Foreign Credits
During the past two or three
years large quantities of gold were
sent to this country for safe keep
ing. The total amount runs into the
billions. Secretary of the Treasury
Morgenthau has announced that no
action will be taken toward the re-
lease Of these gold holdings until
the war debt question is settled.
Most of the gold belongs to Eng
land, France, Holland, Belgium and
the Scandinavian Countries. With
the exception of England, Sweden
and Finland, the other countries
are now occupied by the Germans
who doubtless would seize the gold
were it released.
It would seem no more than
right for us to take what we have
coming to us for money and credits
advanced to them as long as twenty
five years ago, before we release
the balance. All must concede that
we have been very patient with
these accounts. In the final ANALYSIS
it is our own money that we are
holding. I would suggest this gold
be used to buy food and clothing
for the needy people in devastated
Europe.
R.F.C. To Finance Aircraft Plants
Aircraft production will become
one of our leading industries if
Federal Loan Administrator Jones
has his say. He told a House COM
1oc
struction Finance Corporation has
agreed to finance a half dozen air
craft factories, to cost between
$50 and 200 million dollars, which
will bring the amount advanced by
that organization under the defense
program to about 700 million dol
lars.
Mr.. Jones also urged that the
capital of the Export-Import Bank
be expanded by 500 million dollars,
to be loaned to Latin American
countries. To me this looks like
pouring money into a rat hole. We
have advanced several billion dol
lars to Lation America in the past
quarter of a century, only a small
part of which has been repaid.
Much Of it has been repudiated. AS
a matter of record, Latin American
governments and corporations
have defaulted on more than IS
per cent of their obligations held by
investors in the United States. Why
loan money to deadbeat nations?
We cannot hope to buy good will,
neither can we hope to do business
with them unless we are willing to
buy from them as much as we sell.
Unfortunately, all of their products
save coffee, rubber and tin are
competitive and their importation
would further depress American
farm prices.
Senate Passes Guard Bill
The Senate on last Thursday, by
a vote Of II to Z, authorized the
President to order out the National
Guard and Army Reserves for one
year Of military training. The sole
restriction on calling out the
Guards and Reservists was the
amendment which permits men
with dependents to resign within
twenty days after the enactment Of
the legislation. A proposal to limit
the use Of Guardsmen to continent
tai United States, its territories and
possessions was defeated 80 to 38
after a bitter fight. The bill now
goes to the House where it will
come up in few days. 1t Is generally
believed that this measure was
brought up before CONSUMPTION in
order to pave the way for that
proposal.