The Washington times., 1915-05-27

war mas played some curious tricks
on commerce and industry. 1t will play
more of them before 1t ends, and thea
after peace returns there will be
another period of surprises incident to
the effort to restore normal conditions.
consider the business of making mo-
ton picture films. In 1919 that business
was Just getting to be important. In
nine months Of that fiscal year 81, O0o
feet OF American-made films were ex-
ported, worth $2,5O0, 600. That years
record really placed this new business
on the map of American commerce. 1t
grew phenomenally, so that In the same
period or the next fiscal year exports
S., 900, 900.
Then came the war. In those same
months of the 1915 fiscal year-that is.
the year beginning July l last-the ex-
feet. The drop Is the more impressive,
because II there had been no war there
ought to havo been q huge increase.
The whole world was reaching fer
American-made films. II is probably
taking just about one-tenth as many
had been no war.
It's easy enough to understand why.
People In some countries were at war
ana had neither money nor time. In
other countries they had plenty of time
but the war had cut off their money
supplies.
Sale of Explosives.
If they couldn't buy movie" films
the over-water people could take eX-
plosives. Last fiscal year in nine
months they bought $47O0 900 worth OF
these; the current year, same period
they took $4,000, 900 worth. and the sales
for the last three months of the year
VIII be at a constantly increasing rate
For tho full year, while the motion pic.
ture sales abroad will be perhaps one.
tenth OF normal, the explosives sales
VIII probably be ten times normal.
Here Is one of the oddities that can
not te so easily explained. When the
"ar started one of the instant outcries
was that the country would be unable
TO get chemicals, drugs, and medicines
IT was popularity supposed that most
or thes" things came from abroad: We,
the figures show that We were before
the war, exporting two-thirds as much
or thesc things as we were importing
Today we are actually exporting them
Tor the frst time, in much greater value
than we are importing them. The ex.
ports In this line are at the rate of 50
10000 a month; they may reach $40,
Wo,Co for the full year. against abou,
va, 600 600 In the year before the war
When 1t Is realized that the enterprise
OF the people in this line has not only
filled the vacuum caused by cutting or
the imported supplies, but secured such
big increase in the worlds trade. A
Will be appreciated that this industr,
has made very effective fight against
conditions that at the beginning were
expected thoroughly to demoralize it,
The Horse Market.
1t isn't necessary to explain why the
warning world has wanted our horses
In nine months OF the last normal veal
we sold s2.oo0,ooO worth OF them and
10000 worth of mules. In the same
nine months of the war year no les,
than S45,0o0,0o0 worth OF horses anc
mules went out OF this country. Or
the other hand the increases in exports
OF cattle and hogs have been insignit
| can't. Not the least curious detail II
this connection is that despite the un
preC eCedented foreign sales of horses ant
mules abroad. prices for these animals
| have been low, going lower, and tn,
| market has been decidedly depressed
There are people who believe, will
| strong show of evidence. that the wa
saved the horse market from terrifi
slump. They say that the low-price,
| automobile was Just on the point O
putting Sir Equine hopelessly to the com
mercial junk heap when the war pro
vided him one last run for his money
| But they decline to descry any hope 10
him in the future: the motor car ha
him going.
Button. button. who's got the button
How does an average reader guess o
buttons? Did the war divide our export
| of buttons by two, or multiply II b
two? The logic Of the situation woul
suggest that they must have been Gu
in half, for the world has wanted les
OF our cotton, on which 1t sews its but
tons. Yet the reverse Is the fact: eN
ports of buttons have almost doubled
The authorities don't try to explain tn
fact; they simply know 1t is the fact.
Passenger and freight cars for raj
roads: that's an easy one. Evcrybod
knows that the pressure on the foreig
cause they have had to handle armic
as well as commerce: they have bee
stealing each others cars whenevt
possible, and burning or wrecking thei
for each other. Msnifestly they woul
have to buy more cars. But they didn'
Using Old Cars.
| Instead, exports of cars for railway
dropped from nearly slo.OoO,OoO to les
than $S,00O,o0o. In this case an explains
tion is available. Europe is gettln
along thus far with it's old cars. and W
never sold many cars to Europe; 9th.
countries, the ones that were habtted
buying our cars. haven't had the none
to buy cars since the war ruined the
buying capacity.
| Turn to another transportation aspec
and we find that in automobiles we haN
been exporting about 100000 worth {
them per month since the war beGal
against s., ,J000O0 month in the CORE
spending period before the war. B'
now look at the change in the charactt
Of the business. Before the war W
sold eighteen times as many passenge
cars as we did trucks; In the war perio
the passenger business has been cut
half, while sales of commercial vehicle
have been twenty times larger than b.
fore the war.
Applying the same logic to motor
cycles. 1t is apparent that war ought
make business good. because America
motorcycles were notoriously the be'
In the world. and war makes motol
cycles peculiarly important for dispatcl
bearing. So we ought to have increase
sales OF them. But we didn't. lnstea'
the sales have dropped off about II pc
cent. Here again the explanation
Interestingly modern. They say tht
motorcycles have been unimportant p'
cause telephones, telegraphs, and wire
less have provided better ways to con
municate.
Copper Exports Drop.
So much has been heard about II