Imperial Valley press., 1940-07-28
HITLER POINTS TO
the REAL POINT

Adolf Hitler, IN sending the terSe warm
ing to this country to cooperate" in the
new economic order, puts his finger o
the big issue of the day, around which vir-
tually all world problems center. 1t is
this issue of which most of us have a
vague idea, but which we find some diff
ficulty in defining. Roughly that issue
is this:
There are only four major industrial
and manufacturing sections in the world:
the United States, Europe (including
England) Rus a, and Asia principally
Japan. There are other industrial areas
of minor extent, such as South America,
but these are of comparatively small
consequence.
Heretofore, in a free world, industry
competed in a regular manner, as it were.
Today, with the growth of totalitarian
governments, in which industry oper-
ates directly under governmental orders
and on governmental economy plans, we
find that only the United States and
England are operating on the old basis
of private initiative and enterprise. All
the balance of Europe, the industrial
areas of Asia and the industries of Rus
sia have become regimented.
In those places workers must accept
what pay they can get and work what
ever hours they are commanded to. If
necessary, in competition with the United
States, the dictators can subsidze in
dustries and thus operate below cost in
order to take away our markets.
If Germany wins over Great Britain,
the United States will be the last lone
nation of industrial importance whose
industries will not be government-con-
trolled. Such a condition would put the
United States in serious spot. Our high
wage scales, our high standards of liv-
ing, our Independent or unionized labor,
the inability of private enterprise to
long operate at a loss would continue
to put us in position of disadvantage.
This is only one-half the problem.
The other half is composed of the fact
that the United States has most of the
worlds gold. Mr. Hitler is saying, "since
the world has no gold, we will have to
trade our products. one with the other
and forget all about the United States"
South America would trade, for ex-
ample, meat, hides, wheat, and other
products for German-made motor cars,
planes, tools, and the like, or for Ger
man-dominated English fabrics, shoes,
and the like, or for rubber and tin from
the Dutch East Indies, British Malaga
and French Indo-China, which presum-
ably, would have come into the hands of
Japan or the Axis partners. America
would sit on the sidelnes.
This, then, is the problem which ac-
counts for many Americans favoring our
actively helping England; the threat
against which the United States is en-
deavorirg to unite the Western Hemi-
sphere nations.
How would this affect Imperial Val
ley? In this way: We could not sell our
products TO heavily populated portion
of the country which has no purchasing
power. 1t would have no purchasing
power because it would not be at work
1t would not be working because the die
tator nations would have usurped our
foreign markets and taken over the areas
upon which we depend for many much
needed materials. They won't sell these
materials we need because we won't buy
their manufactured products; and we
won't buy these because that would COM
pletely close down our American indus
tries manufacturing the same thing.
Mr.. Hitler's threat is a very real,
very serious threat If he vanquishes
England, this nation alone must fight
the major battle, irrespective Of whether
that be a battle of economic brains or
military might, or both.