Evening star., 1948-01-31
The Memoirs Of cordeN Hull
Roosevelt Signature Of Trade Agreements Act
In 1884 eliminated Hull Fight Of Many Years

Other persons have agreed that
extending tariff reductions to other
countries in addition to the one
with which we sign a trade agree
ment would bring in a flood OF i'm.
ports. They say, reducing the duty
on shoes imported from Country A
may be all right. But If B to z
sends shoes In to us under the same
duty wen be swamped."
The answer is that Countries B
to z do not all manufacture shoes
for export. Perhaps only one or two
do, and the probability is that they
are smaller exporters than Coun.
try A.
Since 1916 I had been arguing
that economic warfare fertilized the
growth Of political war and that
nondiscrimination in trade lessened
the likelihood of war. The Trad
Agreement Act was passed in 1894,
however, and war came in Africa
the next year, in Asia three years
later and in Europe five years later.
Some one might therefore say. "You
see, trade agreements could not
prevent war"
I, of course, never claimed that
trade agreement would be an abso.
lutte panacea against war. More.
over, by the time the Trade Agree
ments Act was passed, Hitler had
been In power a year and half
and was furiously arming, Musso-
lini had been in power nearly IL
years and was planning the Ethio-
plan War, and Japan had been in
Manchuria nearly three years and
was getting ready to withdraw from
the naval limitations treaty.
These nations had no use for the
liberal commerce of trade agree
ments, for they were already trans
forming their commerce to the need
Of war. II, as urged in my speeches
during the First World War, some-
thing like the Trade Agreements
Act could have been passed instead
Of the Fordney- -McC Cumber Act Of
1922 and other nations had seen
At to follow suit at once. the story
might have been different.
Cites Neighbors' Feud.
When was a boy on the farm in
Tennessee, we had two neighbors-
I'll call them Jenkins and Jones
who were enemies of each other.
For many years there had been bad
feeling between them-I don't know
why-and when they met on the
road or in town or at church, they
stared at each other coldly and
didn't speak.
Then one of Jenkins mules went
lame in the spring just when Jen.
kins needed him most for plowing.
At the same time Jones ran short
of corn for his hogs. Now it so
happened that Jones was through
with his own plowing and had q
mule to spare, and jenkins had q
bin filled with corn. A friendly
third party brought the two men
together, and Jones let Jenkins use
his mule in exchange for corn for
the hogs.
As a result, It wasn't long before
the two old enemies were the best of
friends. A common sense trade e1d
ordinary neighborliness had made
them aware of their economic Iced
of each other and brought them
peace.
Yes, war did come, despite the
trade agreements. But 1t Is a fact
that war did not break out between
the United States and any country
with which we had been able to re-
gotiate trade agreement. 1t is
also a fact that, with very few ex-
ceptions, the countries with which
we signed trade agreements Joined
together in resisting the Axis. The
political lineup followed the eco
nomic lineup.
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