Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-12-16
SETTLING THE BALANCE {
TRADE

Those confiding citizens who began
by gloating over the Favorable" bal.
ance of trade, and then became en-
barrassed when questioned as to how
it was settled, will find some food for
thought in a recent speech by the
British Chancellor Of the Exchequer,
David Lloyd George. The protection
list assumed that it was more advan.
tageous to sell than to buy; hence,
when the exports from this country
exceeded the imports, he thought the
country was on the road to prosperity,
the assumption being that the differ
ence was paid in gold. Just why a
dollars worth Of gold was worth any
more than dollars worth of pig iron
he never deigned 10 explain. But
when he was confronted with the
treasury statistics, showing that we
also exported more gold and silver
than we imported, he fell back upon
the vague and uncertain explanation
that we were holding obligations from
Europe that by and by would be paid,
and that meantime gave us an income.
How this Indebtedness was expressed,
and which of our citizens held it, has
never been made known. But the Brit
ish Chancellor in his recent speech
throws some light upon the subject.
In enumerating the resources Of Great
Britain for the purpose of showing the
empires ability to stand the drain Of
war, Mr.. Lloyd George placed among
them the statement that America ow-
ed England $5,o00,0o0,000. And Mr.
Lloyd George is careful man when
it comes to statistics. It may be
doubted, indeed, if there is another
man in the world so we'll qualified to
pass upon this question. AS his state
ment conforms in general terms with
those of other experts it may be &C
cepted as approximately correct.
The question arises. How is it pos
sible that America has sent to Eng
land as we'll as to the world at large
more merchandise, more gold and sill
yer, and now owes England $5,000,-
100000? A glance at our history and
a little reflection will make it plain.
For many years America has been a
fruitful land for foreign investments,
md the largest investor has been Eng
land. Whenever an Englishman was
able to save dollar for investment,
he was very apt to send that dollar to
this country, which was young and in
~ 1@I1 A~x,>
would buy an acre of land. A few
dollars would buy a tract of mineral
land. A few more dollars would buy
railroad. This was because the popula-
ton was sparse, and the country un-
developed; but as population increas-
ed and the country grew in wealth the
land that had cost the Englishman a
dollar or two became worth ten, twen-
~, fifty or a hundred dollars. A city
lot bought for twenty-five dollars be-
came worth twenty-five thousand doll
ars.
Note, however, the result in the sta
tistics of exports and imports. The
imports showed one dollar coming in
to the country. Next year the exports
showed six or ten cents-interest on
that dollar-going out of the country.
And as the value of the property pur-
chased with that dollar grew, the in
come to the foreign holder soon
amounted to more annually than the
original investment. That investment
Of one dollar may now stand as a hun
dred dollars, and the annual interest,
which is not based upon the original
dollar, but upon the present hundred
dollars, is represented in the item of
exports. One dollar of imports, hun
dreds of dollars of exports. Hence,
the balance Of trade" Our balance
sheet of International trade shows a
great excess of exports over imports
England's balance sheet shows an ex-
cess Of imports over exports. Which
country is really growing in wealth at
the expense of the other?-The Pub