February 10, 1965

More U.S. Help To Communists On Way

"Ain't nobody in here but us chickens!" is the punch line to a venerable old joke about a chicken thief caught red handed and challenged by an irate farmer.

The Continental Grain Co. of New York City is knee deep in bagged fowl and assures a startled public that there is nobody around but true blue American business men.

Inspiration for this little parable is a recent announcement that Continental obtained an export license permitting the sale of $11 million worth of soy beans to Russia. The action sent soybean futures prices racing to seasonal highs, and the quiet little deal between Continental, the Communists and the U.S. Commerce Department finally was revealed.

Millions of Americans are under the impression that there is a ban on the sale of food stuffs and strategic materials to Russia and her satellites EXCEPT SURPLUS WHEAT. It is generally believed that wheat was exempted by a bill pushed by the late President Kennedy as a means of improving our gold reserves while reducing our troublesome farm surplus.

All well and good if the Administration had told the country the truth about the bill. As Congressman Frank Bow and others frantically tried to tell the public then, the so-called Wheat Bill opened the door for the sale of ANY PRODUCT to Russia. Not once in the bill is the word "wheat" mentioned. The word "product" is used throughout the law.

Now we see that other items besides wheat (much of which is transshipped to Cuba) is going to our Cold War enemies. Even the cynics were surprised at the current sale inasmuch as soy beans are not even surplus.

Soy beans are versatile, being used for margarine, bread, drugs, fertilizers, insect sprays and plastic. Just what the Russians intend to do with their 4 million bushels is unknown.

Grain merchants predict more deals in the offing. If so, there is no reason to believe that the Commerce Department won't give an export license. Since the soy bean price is well above the subsidy price, the government cannot stipulate shipping arrangements, as it tried to do for wheat.

You will remember that in October 1963, federal officials required that the wheat for Russia be sent in U.S. vessels. American Longshoremen refused for a while to load the ships.

In the end, however, an increase in loading fees brought the Longshoremen around, and pressure from our allies and Russia led us to relax our requirements to the extent that only half its shipments had to go in higher priced U.S. ships.

It was a flimsy dodge — once our pesky scruples were laid aside — for Canadian ships to load "Russian" wheat at U.S. ports, and before getting out of sight of land receive "changed orders" sending the ship directly to Cuba. American ships cannot visit Cuba because of an official "blockade" ignored by nearly every other country.

Continental was the principal in those first wheat deals to the tune of nearly $80 million. Russia bought the wheat at less than American bakeries pay for the commodity --the American tax payers making up the difference through subsidies.

The sale of "surplus" farm products is raising ruckus in other parts of the world, also, these days.

Gamal Nasser, president of the United Arab Republic, last month told the United States to "go drink the ocean," an oriental insult equivalent to "go to hell." The Egyptians underscored their spite by burning down the U.S. Information Library, not once but twice.

Reason for the outburst was a mild remonstrance from our government that Nasser shouldn't transship our wheat and other foodstuffs to Congolese rebels.

At stake is $17 million worth of commodities. Nasser can afford to be belligerent only because this is the last shipment of $420 million of wheat sold to him over the last two and a half years.

Uncle Sam smiles tolerantly and says he is going ahead with the last shipment any way.

This spineless response to a flat-out spit in the face riled Rep. Robert H. Michel (R. Ill.) and Congressman Bow, ranking minority member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. They engineered an amendment to a bill providing $1.6 billion to the Commodity Credit Corporation, which handles sales of "surplus" farm products, prohibiting further deals with Nasser.

President Johnson persuaded the Senate to put aid to Egypt back into the bill, thus requiring the house to reconsider. I certainly hope we don't kow-tow to Nasser or any other international hoodlums, but Johnson gets what Johnson wants.

There seems to be some quaint notion that Congress has no business in foreign policy, and we should let the President do as he wishes in this area.

The Founding Fathers must be spinning in their graves. As the Federalist Papers make clear, and as American history has demonstrated, the responsibility for foreign affairs rests with the representatives of the people — not with a single chief executive.

It is a great mystery to me what we hope to accomplish by toadying to Nasser. I read a large number of newspapers and magazines on current events. No where have I discovered any reason advanced for deference to the UAR dictator. If any reader has some obscure reference shedding light on this situation I would greatly appreciate having it.

It is a sad fact that the $3.3 billion foreign aid we are handing out is important to our economy. When you consider that 75 percent of all foreign aid goes for the purchase of farm and industrial products in the U.S., you can see why. On top of this we feel obligated to rid ourselves of mounting farm surpluses by selling them at discount prices to our avowed enemies.

Surely, it must be possible to channel help to our friends and deny it to those who openly work against us without wrecking the U.S. economy.

Author: Lindsey Williams