New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-20
NATION-W DEAL
FOR ALLIES LOAN
Continued from page I

make the total cost Of the credit TO
/ the British and French governments
! IA per cent
Bankers made a point yesterday Of
| the fact that the understanding
reached so far is only tentative and
that the time had not yet passed when
b it might be necessary to discard all
! that had been done and begin afresh.
/ The many technical difficulties that
surround the contamination of such a
! huge credit arrangement, where an eye
| has to be had to the far future, as well
/ as to that Of the next few months, are
constantly threatening to require new
/ adjustments.
Aims TO Stabilize Exchange.
The primary object of the mission is
/ TO stabilize exchange. What has de-
moralized the exchange market Is the
great excess of exports to the coun-
/ tries Of the Allies over the imports OF
/ those countries. This excess is mount
ing up now at the rate of more than
| S100,000,000 a month and bids fair to
increase with great rapidly from now
on. 1t was only in midsummer that de-
| liveries of size under the contracts
with the Allies for munitions here be-
gan to 20 forward The advance pay
ments on these, in most cases, had
called for not more than % per cent of
| the price As deliveries were made
/ however, the rest of the price had TO
/ be paid over to the American manu-
7 facturer.
This was only In the case of con-
/ tracts placed here last year, or, in a
/ few exceptional cases, in the early
months Of the current year. The ex-
traordinRrily large war orders, of which
| Wall Street has heard so much since
the first Of the year, were not distrib-
uted until well along in the spring, the
biggest one that received general ad-
northumberland for shrapnel with
the American Locomotive Company and
associated msnufacturers-not until
April 10.
Many OF the manufacturers who have
taken orders for shrapnel, rifles, eXplo-
sive shells, etc, had no special facilities
for executing them and had TO convert
their plants into new kinds of factories
or had to erect entirely new plants and
train workmen. Even II they had been
prepared TO execute at once the orders
given TO them there would have been AT
interval of weeks before deliveries
could have begun in force. As IL was, in
most cases the first deliveries could
not be promised until the fall Of this
year. and the bulk OF them before De-
eember or January.
More Difficulties Found.
Further difficulties were found as the
work progressed in the inability Of the
steel mills Of the country 70 roll
shrapnel bars and blanks" Of various
kinds fast enough to supply all the
needs of the munitions manufacturers
Because Of these delays in forward
ing munitions and because grain and
cotton shipments are yet far from
their maximum, though they are in
creasing with great rapidly, there ID
every expectation among bankers and
exchange dealers Of congestion OF
bills in the market in the near future
with no prospect Of relief except from
the negotiations for the great credit
That would not take of the marke,
any Of the supply of bills that have
come on II, but IL would prevent its
being deluged with other bills drawn
against exports. Imports from the
Allies countries would then have a
chance 20 raise exchange prices by Gre
sting credits for those countries agains,
/ the United States. The credits created
l from the sale of the bond issue 10
American bankers and investors would
| Offset the debts OF the Allies original
ing out Of the export OF commodities
from this country to Great Britain and
Franco.