The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1941-05-29
THROUGH
E L
& Y S
e
BY
Hazel Brannon

Last week in this column we gave
some figures on the foreign trade en-.
joyed by the American people in the
years l931-I935. We showed where
it amounted to only two billion anc
one hundred million dollars per yea,
and that our total foreign trace in
those five years only amounted tc
ten and one-half billion, which j:
less tnan we propose TO spend foi
ornaments this year.
Since that time we have obtained
figures on our foreign trade by con.
tients for 1910. An examination OF
this table shows that our total trad
for 1910 only amounted to -four
billion, % million dollars. This is
only = drop in the bucket Of the
national income. The eventual cost
of this war to the American peo-
pie is estimated at 90 billion dol.
lars.
Then they say we can't exist in
America without foreign trade!
1t is true that our foreign trade
has always been the balance that
meant good times or bad for the
farmer. But surely a government
that has undertaken economic plan
ming on the scale that u govern
ment has could work out a system
whereby our farm SURPRISES could be
sold here at home where one-third
Of III people are underprivileged.
All we need in America is jobs
for the unemployed and less govern
ment dictatorship.
We have plenty Of market for
goods right here in the south if our
people only have the jobs and money
to buy what they need.
Certainly it is more intelligent 70
attend to our own affairs, look out
for our inerests and make our
form Of government work here in
our own country than to try to guar
antee security and freedom from
want for peoples Of all nations We
don't even have that ourselves.
1t will be interesting and infor-
NATIVE 70 see how the President can
enforce the freedom Of the seas with
out violating or repeating the neu-
trality act.
In his address Tuesday he told the
nation that America would not stand
TO be driven off the seas by the
Nazis, that we would fight for our
traditional freedom of the seas,
Then the next day he held a
special press conference in which he
said that she was not considering
now asking Congress for a revision
of the neutrality statute and dis
missed as too general in character
questions as to his future course re-
gardiug the law.
In orr opinion, and We do not
near 20 be severely critical, the rea-
son the American people are not
united in this crisis is fear and dis
trust of what is going to happen
next, Every poll of any sort has
shown that the vast majority of peo-
pie of the u. S. are ~unalterably OPP
posed 10 sending an expeditionary
force to Europe. The vast majority
of our people also favor as much aid
to Britain as it is possible for us 20
give without impairing our own de-
Tense. But the majority of these
people, we believe, distrust what the
President says today because they
think tomorrow he may change his
attitude and call for more advanced
stages of help.
Mr.. Roosevelt during his campaign
said he would never send American
men . fight in any European con-
flict unless we were attacked. But
each succeeding act he has taken
since being elected has made neces-
sary. 70 carry out his policies, a nor
drastic step later.
He cid not say he would pursue
such course that inevitably we would
be attacked.
First there was his radio address
to congress which was broadcast over
the nation about America being in
immediate danger of invasion. With
that address he paved the way for
the lend-lease bill.
The enactment of the iend-lease
bill causes us now 30 face the fact
that our help is ineffective unless
we convoy or deliver the goods
Conveying. in our opinion, means
shooting and shooting will eventual
Iy mean war. War means an ex-
peditionary force.
The thing we distrust, even more
than we fear Mr.. Roosevelt chang
ing his mind, is England. Every
thing we do for England means
more help later. If we could believe
that America would not actively
participate in this European war
we would be in favor of stripping
our defenses (Which is what we are
doing) and give her every bit Of
possible aid.