Evening star., 1941-05-19
Thinks America
Is 'Self-Sufficient'
Writer Believes Effects
Of Axis Victory
Anticipated


! To the Editor of The Star:
I am simply itching to enthuse over
| all-out aid to Britain, even to conveys,
| but find an enormous fly in my oint-
/ ment. 1t lies in the vociferous propa-
/ ganda that we will be worse off if the
! Axis wins than We will be if Britain wins
/ AS your review in The Sunday Star, May
! IL, Of an article on this subject by Louis
| DomeratSky of the Department of Com
| merCe SuCClnCtlV states the arguments
| pro, l should like to ask a few questions
! through the medium of your newspaper,
if you will kindly permit me-
/ Mr. Domeratsky states. IF Germany
/ should be in position to carry out an
/ essential part of these policies, and
secure the economic cooperation of the
/ dominant power in the Far East, we may
expect not only a substantial narrowing
of the field for free enterprise, but also
fundamental change in the conditions
| under which we shall have to carry on
| foreign trade, with probably serious
| repercussiOns on our domestic economic
/ situation
I am curious to know whether for the
! past 80 years we have not been experience
| ing q substantial narrowing of the field
| for free enterprise and whether this mar
/ rowing has not been due in fact to the
increasing self-sufficiency of the United
/ States itself. to say nothing of the self
/ sufficiency of various regions within the
United States? Try to deliver goods
| through half dozen States via automo-
/ bile truck with a single set of license
plates, or try to deliver milk into WASH
ington from without the prescribed ter
ritory, for example.
I would like to ask whether it is not
this Sef-Sufflciency Of the United States,
rather than any attitude of the AXIS or
| Britain, which has reduced our ability to
( export our surpluses? If We viii not buy
/ abroad, how can we sell abroad?
! Mr.. DOmeratsky states that Axis sue
/ cess might mean liquidation of Ameri-
can branch factories in Europe. We're
/ not these factories established princi-
/ pally to get III under tariff barriers and
/ produce American conceived goods with
/ foreign rather than American labor? Are
! l44VN Ilbl lOitI IdNtb dlJ4 OdNl DtCduSt vi lilB
! knowledge they convey of American pro-
/ duction methods and because foreign
/ labor rather than American labor re-
/ CelveS the wages? Is not the end result
! Of these American branches an increas-
/ ing Self-sufficiency of the foreign lands
| in which they are located, as against
the United States?
Nv T1Cp4ara ely,- Ct iau H.,
compact political-econOmic cOmbina-
ton on the Continent of Europe under
/ the domination of the National Socialist
/ state, the individual American entire
/ preneur would hardly be strong enough
/ to find a market for his product or serv-
+ ice except on the terms laid down by
the dominant country"
/ Is It not true that the individual South
/ American entrepreneur has hardly been
strong enough to find a market for his
/ canned corn beef in the United States?
/ How about Cuba and sugar, the Philip
! pines and vegetable oils?
Mr.. Domeratsky states, "A German
/ success would undoubtedly necesstate
| more fundamental changes in our agri-
cultural production on a more or less
| permanent basis
| Have not these fundamental changes
III our agricultural production already
occurred, on a more or less permanent
basis? Our former good customers in
wheat produce their own. or get it from
their dominions. So it has come to be
with meat products. So it is ceming to
be with cotton. But why stop with
/ agriculture? So it is with copper and
| oil and motion pictures, and almost every
/ other important commodity or product
! you can think of, is it not?
Mr.. Domeratsky states, While it is
impossible to foreSee all the economic
( and social repercuSSions of the German
, plans, 1t is safe to predict that, if con-
summated, they would bring about an
acceleration in the tempo of economic
change in the United States. and might
! force us into a policy of self-sufficiency,
| involving temporarily, at least, lowering
Of our living standards. 1t would lower
| the efficiency of some of our industries
! by curtailing the prospects of exports
and thereby reducing the rate of util-
ization of plant capacity"
Is it not true that we have been suffer-
ing an acceleration in the tempo of an
economic change in the United States,
not one which will force us into policy
| Of self-sufflciency, but which is forced
upon us by our already attained self
suf1ciency? Has this factor not already
lowered the efficiency of some of our
! industries by curtailing the prospects of
exports and thereby reducing the rate
of utilization of plant capacity rather
than leaving us to contemplate such
change for the future? Is our national
self-Sufficiency not, in fact, one cause of
| the present European conflict?
CHARLES A. COLE.
/ IT, Al,