Evening star., 1940-02-20
Trade Pacts 10 Take
Important Postwar
Role, BoIand Says
Record Of Achievement
Calls for Extension,
Forum Speaker Asserts

Coils for Extension,
Forum Speaker Asserts
Representative Patrick j. Boland
OF Pennsylvania, majority whip
of the House, spoke last night on
reciprocal trade agreements in the
National Radio Forum, arranged by
The Star and broadcast over a
Nationwide network Of the National
Broadcasting Co.
The text of his address follows:
AS a member Of the House Of
Representatives. a member Of the
Committee on Ways and Means, and
its majority whip, want to talk
about piece of current legislation.
The House began today the debates
for the continuance of the Trade
Agreements Act for another three
years. In my estimation there is no
question as to the final outcome
when the vote shall have been taken,
although the opposition is waging a
major and determined offensive
against this important part of our
foreign policy. Campaign speeches
for 1910 are now being made with
respect to this program.
incidentally this offensive is being
waged against the advice of some Of
the elder statesmen OF the Republican
party, such as Col. Frank Knox, for
mer Secretary of State Stimson,
William Allen White and others. A
number of prominent businessmen
who are members of the Republican
party appeared before our committee
advocating that the trade agree
ments law be further extended.
I think I can assure these Republi-
can gentlemen that their wishes will
be granted. The weight Of the evi-
dence before our committee was for
the extension of this act and base
my prediction on the passage Of this
resolution through the House largely
on this evidence. I am afraid, how
ever, that the majority of my Re-
publican colleagues in the House will
not follow the advice Of these elder
statesmen and business leaders OF
their party.
1 note that Roger w. Babson, a
statistician who used to stand high
in Republican ranks, after criticiZing
some Of the things done by the New
Deal, said in his syndicated article
q week ago: 'It seems like mighty
poor strategy for the Republican
shock troops to assault the one posi-
ton on which the New Deal is eco
nomically impregnable-its foreign
trade policy! AS statistician, be-
lieve that the Hull trade pacts should
be backed to the limit by every
straight thinking, unselflsh and
honest Americana
No Place for Politics.
There should be no place for poll
tics in this legislation. say this first
as an American citizen and secondly
as a Democrat.
The atmosphere is so full of uproar
and confusion about trade agree
ments that I hope it will not be
amiss for me to take few minutes
to clarity some of the issues involved.
The trade-agreements program was
formulated in order that our in
dustrial resources and labor might be
directed, by businessmen, in the most
profitable channels conducive to
American standards of living and
efficient production. This program
was brought forward for the purpose
Of fostering an enlightened applica-
ton of the protective principle,
whereby maximum opportunity Of
employment, purchasing power and
production would be possible.
Furthermore, it was promulgated for
the mitigation of unfair discrimina-
tory and war-breeding trade restric-
tions which had such an enormous
growth throughout the world during
the Hawley-Smoot era. These OBJ
jectives ought to be enduring princi-
pies; we should not lose sight of them
just because the purveyors of fear
are exceptionally busy at the present
time.
The experience of the last five and
one-half years contributes to the
conclusion that the administrative
process of framing trade agreements
is sound. Again referring to the
hearings before our committee, was
surprised to find so few even making
claims of injury because Of reduced
tariff rates. The majority of those
appearing in opposition to the exten-
sion OF the act admitted that they
had not been hurt. and only ex-
pressed vague fear of some future
injury. Furthermore, the witnesses
appearing and favoring extension
represented diverse cross section Of
the American public, including repre-
sentatives Of civic and peace groups,
of labor unions, manufacturers,
farmers, shippers, traders, boards of
trade, housewives and others from all
sections Of the country. If legislators
are to be guided by such hearings,
the preponderance of evidence sug-
gests strong support for the extern
sion Of the act for another three
years.
want to call attention to another
significant reason for my prediction
as to the passage of the Trade Agree
ments Act. This is the preponder-
ance Of support of the press, ire
spective of party af1lliations. During
the recent hearings one of my COL
leagues had more than fifty favor
able editorials from various sections
of the country made a part of the
Record, many of them from out
standing Republican papers. In a
recent newspaper poll support of the
reciprocal trade agreements was
tabulated at 81 per cent of all the
papers analyzed.
A recent Gallup poll showed that a
great majority of informed public
opinion supports Secretary Hulls
trade-agreements program. This poll,
which appeared in the press on
February 4. commented as follows:
sss Among those who have