The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-10

comes formally adopted or approved by the British government, lead to silence in the London stock exchange and closed doors in our own. There is world of reaning behind this decision. Apparently one of the reasons which justify it is the belief, both in this country and England, that if these two Stock exchanges be opened for business right away there will immediately follow such a sale of Amer ican securities now held in England and perhaps elsewhere across the as , " ould swamp the United States This view does not differ from the one which justified the governors of the stock ex- change of New York In closing the doors Of the exchange early fin August. Sincs that time the floor of the exchange has been silent and the various monuments or posts around which there commonly gathered many brokers engaged in buy ing selling securities have seemed to those who have been able to look into the exchange like dreary monuments of past glory.
 At the times since the exchange was closed, some have ventured to say that they were persuaded that with the open ing of the exchanges no great mass or American securities would be dumped up on the market at least in amount large
  States. But the prevailing view at the various conferences in which Sir George Paish took part as representative of the British treasury undoubtedly was that the chances strongly favored enormous offer ing of American securities at whatever price could be obtained for them by those in England who have been holding these securities as investments.
 Then, again, hints have been heard in the financial district intimating that one of the arguments brought forward to justify the agreement was this-that while the war lasts and for some years after peace the demands for international loans will probably be greater than any other of like character ever made. The United States Is relied upon, perhaps more than our own people think to be the case, for vital assistance of this kind. In Sir George Paish's recent public communica- ton to the Canadian people. he said that the United States ought to be and could become for some years the greatest in- ternational money lender But in case the exchanges were open and great body of American securities thrown upon the mar ket our own resources would be seriously impaired and our ability to aid in finan- cling international loans would be crippled and possibly destroyed. Furthermore, the dumping of case of American securities would surely depreciate their market value, whereas everything that is possi- ble should be done to prevent heavy de preciation in our security values.
 To keep the exchanges closed until they can with confidence be opened would be to establish the principle of the moratorium. With such care have the details of the conferences between the British govern ment representative ana our own author ities been kept in confidence that 1t Is rot possible to report authortatively what the reasons for this tentative agree really were, yet there is no doubt in the minds of the leaders of the financial dis trict that the reasons which prevailed when this understanding was informally reached are those which are reported in this article
 Things Are Working We'll
 It is presumed here, also, that the mar vicious revival of our export trade and the certainty that it is to be long continued and may speedily include cotton exports in great amount are serving to ease the existing money relation between the United States and Great Britain. We arc apparently about to pay in considerable measure for purchases which were made before the war and for which payment was due when the war began hy our ex- ports of commodities. It does not take long to liquidate a debt of $200, ,000, 900 and at the same time to create favorable trade balance for us if the exports for a $60, ,0OO000 in excess of the money value the case in October and is likely to con &- AA t1< ~~1 l-. L..