Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 11, Number 2, DeMotte, Jasper County, 28 November 1940 — GENERAL HUGH S. JOHNSON Saus: [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GENERAL HUGH S. JOHNSON Saus:

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Washington, D. C. MEXICO RECOGNITION This administration has just recognized the election and government of General Comacho in Mexico. It could not have properly done otherwise. A great many people believe that General Almazan had a. majority in the election, but it isn’t our business to judge the legality of a Mexican election, although for some ■ time it was not our policy to recog- I nize Latin-American elections, or at least changes of government ; “achieved through force.” It worked pretty w’ell to decide the incumbency of Mexican presidents, \ but it did not work to cement good feeling across the border. It didn't | fit with the President’s Good Neigh- j bor policy—which is among his best, j It resulted in a lot of secret diplo- | macy, both here and abroad, the ; reasons and results of which have never yet been made clear. It also resulted in our engaging in two “un- , declared wars” on a neighbor—Funston’s expedition at Vera Cruz and Pershing’s punitive expedition into ■ Chihuahua. Both were fiascos. Boiling it all down to a couple of j ultimate results of which I do feel confident, I believe two things—-that Mr. Roosevelt is right in keeping our nose out of there and that the Mexican 'situation is too different ■ from ours and too complex to be judged by any American rule of thumb. It is probably true, as many say. that no Mexican govern- i ment can live without American support, but it is also true that we cannot condition that support on interference with native institutions. Mexicans are largely Indians. Their traditions go back not to thousands of years of Anglo-Saxon tra- I ditions, but to an Aztec tradition as old and, in many ways, as wellproved and satisfactory to them. As Indians, they believe in common ownership of property. Not in- the ; Russian sense—not personal property—but in the waters, minerals and even the land. ♦ ♦ * What is .at* the bottom of American opposition to the Hull policy today? Because he represents the Indian tradition. American dismay at the election of Comacho is partly because he represents the Indian tradition. Similar motives and misunderstanding were partly responsible for Wilson's two unfortunate forays— and Pershing's. Hull’s position admitted the right of expropriation of the oil properties, but insisted on compensation. Mexico admitted that duty. The great oil companies with Mexican wells spht on thb settlement offered. One great group opposed it. and tried to monopolize the negotiation for compensation. It appointed the negotiator, but , being dissatisfied with the result, and believing that our government could be persuaded to interfere, broke off negotiations. The other group, learning of this, broke the so-called “united-front,” sent its own negotiator and arrived at an amicable settlement -satisfactory to it. The other group’s strategy, which came within a hair of success, introduced a bill in congress, embargoing Mexican oil. It almost passed. It apparently emanated from sources somewhere in the state department, but -it was contrary to Mr. Hull's wishes and might have wrecked Mr. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy. From both the angles of foreign 'and domestic policy this obscure situation needs a thorough airing. ♦ • • POWER OF PRIORITIES In war, and in the highest national interest, we cannot ration scant supply to the longest purse. It must go to the most necessitous use, regardless of the highest bid. We are in a sort of siege. We are a wasteful people—we must ration what we have—and it is plenty—so that nobody hogs anything. That is a very simple process. Our W’orld war system is a model. I am for immediately putting in the hands of the President a power of priorities. That is an easy thing to do. It doesn't deprive anybody of anything. It merely says that whatever needs are greatest—whether in power, labor. materials, or finance—what the nation needs for defense shall come before what any of us needs for our pleasure, and no higher price offer will get anybody anything. On the other angle—fear of the value of money—Mr. Morgenthau is right on one thing. . The debt limit should be taken off the treasury immediately. We haven't even begun to spend. Total defense may cost us as much as 50 billions more—but we’ve got to have it. But I think he is wrong on his other point. We can’t pay that now by taxes. What we most want is enough for everybody to eat, to wear and to enjoy at prices that they can pay. As the President once wisely said, taxes lie as a burden on production. What we need now is production to the uttermost. I don’t care where the taxes are laid. They are going to appear in higher prices in the grocery or clothing bill of every family. The idea that they will check inflation (high prices) is ridiculous. The higher taxes go, the higher prices will go.