Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-02
How the War Affects Us,
X.-EIectricaI Exports.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

America Possesses 1.-The Wizard"
when 1t comes to things electrical
There are. also. host of lesser wizards
here who have followed in the footsteps
Of Thomas A. Edison. and have wrought
to bring our electrical industry to a
state Of perfection unsurpassed. and
probably superior. to that Of any other
country. So far as electrical machinery
and supplies are concerned American
manufacturers are in position to supply
all those needs Of neutral nations which
were formerly met by German and Brit
ish manufacture.
| The United States has had an i'm
portant export in this industry all along
The United Kingdom, Germany and the
United States have been the three world
sources Of electrical installations, ma
chinery, devices and supplies. From
July l. 1912, to June 80. 1913. the cleo
trical export trade Of the United States
amounted to little over s26.000.0 900.
During the same period Great Britain
exported electrical goods to a value of
more than s34.000,000. or trade 80 per
cent greater than that which came from
our factories
American experts in this industry feel
every confidence that Europes all-em-
broiling war must result in ire
mendous upward swing in our cleo
trical export. The world has hitherto
depended for these products upon the
factories of Great Britain, Germany, the
United States and France. The United
States is now practically the only source
remaining. AS We are in position to sup
ply almost any possible demand in this
branch. men in touch with the export
trade look for an increase MANIFOLD in
our foreign sales of these products.
be able to hold all market that We may
win by reason of the superiority of our
wares.
There are. however. a number of adj
alton In the
Electrical Exports first place. that
Will Suffer Greatly. eie trica, ex-
port which has found its way to Ger
many. Great Britain, France, Austro-
Hungary, the Balkans. Russia, and even
to Japan. must be looked upon as either
entirely lost or as greatly weakened. AS
far rs Germany and Austro-Hungary are
concerned, our export trade has been
practically wiped out, while the other
| warning nations and those nations Dor
dering upon the war zone will probably
| have but little enterprise and capital for
the heavy purchase Of foreign products
Furthermore, the world seemed just
recovering from a general financial and
| business depression before the war broke
out. The return of prosperity will be re-
tarded, if not made impossible, in all nom
producing neutral nations by the war.
Thus, the economic depression which. in
| common with other parts of the world,
has been felt severely in South America
through the past year. has become worse
as an immediate effect of Europe's
troubles
1t is. however, to South America that
our electrical export must look for its
first expansion, and this expansion will
depend upon conditions there permitting
South Americans to proceed with the
! normal development Of their countries.
| Two of our most important electrical
markets will be Brazil and Argentina,
both of which countries have been large
ly dependent upon European funds for
| the financing of their public and private
engineering enterprises. The money
must be forthcoming to pay for the un-