The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-03-18

Representative Joseph w. Martin minority leader in the house, re- signed from the national and exc cutive committees of the Republi- can organization the other day. Va rious Republican newspapers inter- preted the incident as presaging the entry of MT. Martin into the al- ready rather crowded field of Re- publican aspirants for their presi- dential nomination.
 Naturally, know nothing about the validity of that explanation, but it sounds probable. He was already a dark-horse candidate, and expert. ence has taught that such an entry must not remain too dark too long Incidentally, he does not suffer II comparison with some others of thu not-overly distinguished group that are after that nomination. He has had long experience as national legislator, and is a veteran wheel horse politician.
 Unfortunately he brings nothing new in the way of ideas to the sit uation. His speeches echo the thought of most of those who have been exclaiming that the New Deal is terrible thing, fraught with in- competency, extravaganza, bureau cracy, etc.
 Not long ago he delivered an ad- dress in Kansas-he was Governor Landon's eastern campaign man. ager when Kansas voted for Frank lin D. Roosevelt.
 Markets and Martyrdom
 Naturally, for the benefit of a Topeka audience, MT. Martin dwelt on the woes of the farmer and his martyrdom under the New Deal
 Here Is typical quotation:
 "The most urgent task is to pro- tect the rich American market for our own farm products. You have been told that agricultural imports constitute a very small percent age of our domestic consumption. The fact remains-and the Amer ican farmer knows it-that these imported products tend to beat down the domestic price struc- ture. The record discloses, of course, that the promises of the New Dealers that their reciprocal trade program would increase agricultural exports has failed to materialize."
 Congressman Martin is from Massachusetts, so 1t is not perhaps surprising that he failed to know as much about wheat as did his audience. Kansas is our banner wheat state, and is second in the -four business.
 In the first year of the Smoot- IaWley tariff that Kansas farmers were getting 39 cents a bushel for wheat, though the tariff on wheat in that measure was 42 cents. That rate is still on; it has not been re- 1uced in any trade agreement. What has happened is that foreign mar ketS for wheat have been improved by such concessions as Great Bri- tain's abolishing its preferential tariff on United States wheat, ant Canada reducing its duty on oul grain 18 cents bushel and on houl 85 cents a barrel. As a result, the British last year brought nearly double the amount of wheat from us that they did in the Smoot-H Flaw ley's first year, and paid 16 cent! a bushel more for it.
 Statistics Tell the Story
 I.}Kauyicn fhn TT,aitnI Cfakae aS, ported 107 million bushels of whea last year and imported but thou sandth part of that amount. II percentage figures, the import amounted to two one-hundredths O one per cent of our total production and a lot of that was wheat no fit for human consumption, out wa livestock feed, which the farmer bought because they could not af ford to give the animals their owI more valuable product.
 Some five milton bushels e wheat came over the borders, bu never touched the American marke as 1t was brought here under bond milled by American workmen, ant the four shipped abroad
 The only time wheat has comI to us in any quantity was durin; the drouth years when we did no raise enough to supply the domesti' demand.
 But Kansas produces more thai wheat--she has 6 big Ineat-pack ing business. and the packers anG corn.hog raIsers all testify to tht