The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1941-05-15
THROUGH
HAZ E [
E YES
e
BY
Hazel Brsnnon
Hazel Brsnnon

OF the population IN the United
States said to be lifted, ill-clothed
and ill-housed were able to have
one-half as much food as we give
the soldiers in our new army that
the farm income in America would
be increased by two billion dollars.
Further it would take thirty 20
t~hirty-five million acres of land ad-
ditional to grow that food.
What a wonderful thing it would
be if our national leaders would
spend their brains working out some
kind Of system whereby these peo-
pie could be given jobs and a means
Of earning money to buy the food
which our farmers could grow and
sell.
But we continue to spend our
soil and our substance growing cot
ton which nobody wants instead Of
food which everybody needs.
America today is like a great
sprawling giant, basking in the sum-,
W of its own power. We
have land and people, machines and
tools. We have wealth untold. We
are more nearly self-sufficient than
any nation in the world. Those
things we do not have we can use
substitutes. Instead of silk from
japan we can use pylon and rayon
and open up vast manufacturing in
terests employing thousands of la
borers in a new industry. At the
which we do grow.
Already we are using synthetic
rubber which has proved itself
stronger and better than the rubber
we go thousands of miles to get
from the East Indies.
Certainly substitutes can be found
for tin. We can use glass and ano-
Their greatly expanded industry for
America using American labor will
result.
Let no man tell you that America
cannot live without foreign trade.
We can if we must. Time will prove
that.
SeIf-sufficiency is the goal of ev-
cry country in the world at this
time. Every nation is striving for
it England, Germany, Italy,
Russia, Japan. All of these nations
are seeking to bring about the day
when they can live at home and be
~ nearly self-sufficient AS possible.
If American industry were ex-
banded today to put out the pro-
ducts we are now importing it is
just possible that our unemploy-
ment problems would be solved.
When that problem is solved the
south can start growing foodstuffs
as well as cotton and sell that food
at good prices because American
workmen will have jobs and money
to buy that food. The farmer in
turn will have greater purchasing
power to buy those products put
out by industry.
Instead of relying on ourselves,
however, We hold to our ideas about
the necessity of foreign trade and
are now spending billions Of dollars
to fight a war that will insure the
continuance of foreign trade.
Wars aren't fought to save de-
mocracy. They are fought to MAIN
tain the status quo, they are fought
to maintain the existing trade bal
ance. The present trade balance
favofs England--not us, particul-
arly.
If the administration and our
congressional leaders are really in
terested in preserving democracy
they will try to preserve it in Amer
lea where it is fast losing ground
every day; they will preserve de-
mocracy by giving US government
that is worth fighting for; govern
ment that will promote business in
stead of stiffle it.
Americans need jobs, honest jobs,
not government jobs. Give Ameri-
car men jobs and democracy will
take care of itself. Give them jobs
and We won't have depression and
government subsidies of cotton, corn
and wheat. We ian stand on our
own feet and not have to exploit
other nations in foreign trade to
get along.
DO not think it is impossible for
America to take care of her own
problems, her own people. She will
be forced to do it eventually.
Surely taking care of our own pro-
blems, attending to our own bust
ness of providing jobs for our peo-
pie is no more an impossible task
than seeking to guarantee to all peo-
Piles of all nations liberty, democracy
and Freedom from want.
Before we impose our system on
the rest of the world we had first
better make it work in our own
country. Then we can tell the rest
of the world by example how to
get along.
When we have solved onr pro