Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1941-04-10

no longer delay do Ss
ing IN e h n G (II
about it. 1t is pref
ty generally agreed "a '''''S''~
he has full power to act and that
further legislation is not necessary.
Even Democratic members of Con-
gress are beginning to criticize the
President for his inactivity. Repre-
sentative E. E. Cox of Georgia, is
one of the most influential Demo-
Gratis in the House and. whenever
he has anything to say he is always
listened to with the closest attention.
On Wednesday of last week Mr..
Cox took the floor to make some
observations on the labor situation.
He said in part, "We have given and
the country has given the President
everything he has requested with re-
spect to national defense. We have
supported and the country is sup
porting him in his defense program,
but as regards the gangsterism and
racketeering in labor at this time,
we have come to the point where the
President himself should stand up
and take a bold, firm position. ZAP
plause). The time for soft-pedaling
and temporizing has passed. ZAP
plause). Law and order is being
destroyed in this country. The de-
tense program is being sabotaged,
and somebody must be bold enough
to stand up and speak for the coun-
try.
THE suggestion has been pending
here for some time that Congress
should at least in a measure meet
its responsibilities to follow through
on all these tremendous appropria-
tons that have been made and see
to it that the money is properly ex-
pended, and that the program which
it is intended to effectuate is eff
ficiently and economically carried
out" Mr. Cox made his significant
remarks during the discussion on the
proposal to empower the Military
and Naval committees of the House
to act as supervisory body in the
preparedness program. Congress is
very much wrought up over the
strikes and ineXcusable extravaganza
and waste that permeates the entire
program The legislation referred to
passed the House by a vote of 326
to one which shows that Congress
does not view the defense program
in partisan manner.
CoffeepOt of Democracy.
A short time ago the President
termed America the arsenal of de-
mocracy' 1t now appears that we
are destined to also become the ''cof-
feepot of democracy. This is the
how of it: At the Havana conference
of American Republics the State De-
partment entered into tentative
agreement with coffee producing
Latin America that we would assist
in stabilizing increasingly the price
of coffee by placing coffee imports
to the United States on a quota basis.
A formal treaty was later entered
into and ratified by the Senate, which
carried the agreement into effect.
State Department officials, in ap-
pearing before the Ways and Means
committee in support of the legis-
lation necessary to make the agree
ment effective, said that the scheme
would increase the price Of coffee
to the American consumer by per-
haps three cents per pound, which
would be equivalent to an ad valorem
tax of Is and two-thirds per cent on
18c coffee. The American people
annually consume two billion pounds
of coffee, which means that the cof-
fee that goes on the American table
will hereafter cost us 60 million dol
lars more each year. It surely re-
quires money to play the role of
Santa Claus. 1t is not white chip
game.
A Disgraceful Situation.
The Military Affairs committee of
the House is holding hearings on army
contracts. Here is an example of
what they are uncovering: Sometime
back a man from Missouri breeZed
into the War department and said
that he wanted a TINT plant estab-
lished out in his section and assured
the War department that he could
secure the land needed, amounting to
something like $4,000 acres. A con-
tract was entered into between the
War department and this individual
whereby he was commissioned to buy
the land, his compensation to be
five percent of the purchase price,
plus 112 per cent to the individual
that he might select to help him.
Instead of going around and dicker-
ing with each owner he sent out 400
letters which were so phrased as to
encourage the land owners to run
the price up, and that they proceeded
to do. Fifty and sixty dollar
land jumped to as high as SIPS. Of
course, the higher the price the bigger
his commission, which finally reached
the respectable sum of 95 thousand
dollars.
Incidents like this, without num-
Der, can be found all over the coun-
try 1t is now learned that the
| general staff of the army did very