The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-02-03

Monsignor John A. Ryan. social
action director OF our National
Catholic Welfare Conference. a
visionary. He's spiritual in the re-
ligious sense, but. as an economist.
I'd class him among the most
practical authorities available, and
on an international scale. too.
Wen. Dr. Ryan's prescription for
permanent peace includes free
trade as one OF its most essential
ingredients.
Illustratively. he makes no eX-
cuses for Japan's performances;
he describes EN- as crimes. Yet
he adds that the Japs mightnt-
have perpetrated EN- IF they
could have obtained adequate mar
kets for the goods that their econ
omy is fitted to produce"
The protectionists concede that
the world would be safer If its SUBJ
standard countries could get them
selves out of the "mire of chron-
ically meager living conditions.
Prophets Interested
Former Research Director Ar
q tonin Basch Of the Czecho- Slovak
National bank goes into this SUBJ
Ject eahaustively in recently pub
lished book, The New Economic
Warfare" which is attracting lots
Of attention among American
prophets concerning times to come.
The protectionists don't question
the desirability Of helping the sub
standard folk onto a better basis.
They do make the point. though,
that. after all. they're "sub-stand-
ard" and doubtless will be more so
than ever after this war If trade
barriers are knocked down. reason
the high tariff advocates, while the
sub-standard bunch perhaps will
benefit, they'll do so by sub-stand-
srdizing Us, by competing VIII
US, on their sub-standard terms.
In short, it's the traditional ar
gument for the continued mainte-
nance Of lofty, impregnable YAM
kee tariff wall, clear around, with
our industry. agriculture and
everything barricaded. unassail-
ably. inside.
What these logicians forget" as
ex-Congressman George Huddles-
ton Of Alabama. one Of our best
free traders. once remarked to me.
lis that an outfit that builds a
wall to keep all others out, like
wise walls itself in"
I, myself. had thought of that
before. was brought up in Iowa.
The state was settled largely by
discharged Union soldiers. who
consequently were dyed-in-the-wool
Republicans. hence rampant pro-
tectionists They plunged mainly
into agriculture. and. producing
bigger crops than we could con-
sumo at home. desperately needed
foreign outlets for their stuff. Yet.
for two or three generations. until
quite lately, they teiled overtime
10 create an export market for il
by means Of an import tax OF
course. the import levy walled EN-
In
or course. If some other coun-
try's mean to US on the tariff
proposition. il may be that II be-
hooves US to be similarly mean 10
the other folk. reciprocally
Cancellation
But. II they incline to be con-
ciliatory us-ward. doesn't it nav
Us to be commercially sociable
with THEM?
That's where State Secretary
Cordell Hulls reciprocity policy
fts in.
think personally that Cordell,
in the last analysis. is an unouaM-
fed free trader-that he considers
a tariff barrier injurious to the
country that erects It. whatever
the other fellows system may be-
However. that isn't reciprocity
Reciprocity means that wen be
nice to such Of the neighbors as
are prepared to be nice to us.
It's easy enough to arrange in
some cases.
For instance. we make ma
chinery that Brazil isn't equipped
to produce. and Brazil has coffee.
which we can't grow here. Trad
Ing machinery for coffee's to our
mutual interest.
A