Imperial Valley press., 1943-09-12

dll BllIlT6 crop DdSlo. btleIlot OuI-
plies Corporation swung the deal
for the 1912 and 1943 crops. Com
modify Credit Corporation is hand
ling them for 1914, but the routine
and protocol are much the same.
And thre is protocol.
The Cuban sugar planters and
the Cuban government send up
delegation to do the dickering. They
put up in the de luxe suites of the
more expensive hotels. They are
made much of at the Cuban en-
bassy and the Cuban ambassador,
DR.. Aurelio F.. Concheso. takes
them around to The State Depart
ment to meet Secretary Hull. The
Cubans love it, and no wonder.
Washington, hot as it is, has some
thing in its favor over Havana in
July and August.
When the boys get around to
making their deal, there is none of
this I'VE gotta have $275, all We
can pay is $3.50 let's split it at
$265, okay it's deal" stuff. The
negotiations drag on for weeks,
with daily huddles After all, it's a
$3.50 million to 5000 million deal for
three or four million tons, which
amt hay, but is lot of sugar.
When the deal Is closed, some
times the contract is signed in
Washington, sometimes in Havana,
but the custom has been establish
ed to have the contract signing an
nounced in Havana with great big
flourish and one great big party,
which is entirely justified. Sugar
is Cubas life blood of prosperity.
If Cuba can't sell sugar, Cuba goes
broke.
The pressure is, therefore, put on
the Cuban delegation to make the
best possible deal for their country,
to make better deal than they
made the year before, and to make
it look good in any event. Cuban
national pride is involved, and
gradually us gringoS are learning
how to play the game. Business
men types in the CCC and the DISC
who would like to close this deal ir
hurry and get it over with, so as
TO get on with something else, arc
now properly restrained by State
Department influence of protoco
and punctillio. So the Cubans an
nounce the deal in Havana and its
their show, which is as it shoulc
be. The Importance Of the negotia-
tions for the 1914 crop, which
opened in Washington i'm mid-July
can't be exaggerated. On the out.
come of this contract will depenc
wether or not you get all those
greatly increased allowances OF
sugar" which the President passec
out with such assurance and gener.
osity i'm his last fireside chat.
Some sugar brokers' and ever
some government officials say tina
the President may have been talk
ing about too much too soon
After ALL the contract for mex
years Cuban crop hadn't been sign
ed at that time and men in tht
sugar, business, who seem to conduc
theiTbusiness in couple of hours
each day and then spend the res
of the time chasing down rumor'
and sharpening their pencils L
figure them out, haven't been ablt
to sc where all this sugar wa
coming from, curtailed world sup
ply and increased world demant
considered.
Guaranteeing the Cubans that thu
u. S. will buy a bigger sugar cror
say a 25 per cent greater crop
at last years prices is good dea
for both sides. And, after all, what
is successful trade, whether fol
hosses in the hills or an interna'
tional commercial agreement fol
5000 million worth of sugar, but the
making of good deals for both sides
/ And If the Cubans want to go bach
home and say, Look what we got
from Uncle Shylock," okay, let 'em