Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1942-07-02

Consider, for example, the impli-
cations to America in the sonorous
announcement - "There shall be
equal economic opportunity for all
nations"
This means, first, a lowering of
tariff barriers to permit free flow
of trade. We do not need to draw
heavily on our imaginations to real
ize what would happen to American
wages and the American standard
of living, if, for example, we gave
the shoes of Czecho-Slovakia, the
machinery of Russia, the textiles of
Japan and India, or the meat pro-
ducts of Argentina, produced by law
paid workers, competitive equality
in our home markets with our own
goods.
Our planners say: cit will be the
privilege of the highly developed
countries to help backward nations
industraliZe."
Obviously, this privilege" con-
templates something more substantial
than blessings and good wishes. We
should doubtless be expected to pro-
vide the necessary capital probably
by way of loans.
Whether such loans would ever
be repaid, only the future can tell.
But we have not had such past ex-
perience with foreign debtors that
we have particular reason to trust
unreservedly either their honesty or
their good intentions. We would be
wise to look upon it as merely an
other lend-lease gratuity.
Il But even if we were repaid, it
would still be costly. For we should
be losing that particular country as
a customer for the kind of goods
they would then be making them
selves; and anything they made in
excess of their own needs would
compete with us in other markets.
We should, in short, be paying
others to become our competitors.
There is to be an end of the ex-
ploitation of the weak nations by
the strong.
If Churchill subscribed to this,
he must have done it with his tongue
in his cheek. For nobody knows
better than he that the British EN-
pire has been not only built, but
maintained, on precisely such ex-
ploitation.
A further point is that raw ma
terials are to be made available to
all.
This is misleading. Except dur
ing war, no country has been denied
access to raw materials. Quite the
reverse, the producers of raw ma
terials have virtually been begging
the rest of the world to buy.
What has been lacking has been
ability to pay. And that, presum-
ably, is where we come in again
with loans which would or would
not be repaid.
In short, to assure permanent
peace, our leaders would commit
us to a program which would flood
our home markets with low-priced,
foreign-made goods, with conse-
quent lowering of American wages.
We should finance the development
of industries in other countries, which
would thereupon compete with us
here and abroad.
It would require us to pour vast
sums into loans which would prob
ably never be repaid and which
would, hence, ultimately come out
of the pockets of the already over
burdened American taxpayer.
do not see how there can be
equality of economic opportunity and
a leveling of tariff barriers until all
nations enjoy about the same living
standard.
I do not deny that it can be
achieved. But do not see that it
can be in other than one of two
ways-either raise the standard of
all other countries to the level of
our own, or lower ours to theirs.
Our idealists doubtless envision the
former. Common sense tells us, how
ever, that it is more likely to be the
latter, and that it will be a long,
long time, if the others are to keep
pace with us, before we regain the
high standard we abandoned.
When the war has been won,
Americans may feel they have spent
all they can afford, either in blood
or billions. They are generous, but
not to the point of idiocy; they desire
permanent peace, but not at such
cost that war would be lesser evil.
And if our leaders cannot be
swerved from a course which can
only result in Americas utter i'm
poverishment, the people will change
leaders. This is last resort the
voting booth offers.
The u. S. used about 81 pounds OF