The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-01-25

one where the belligerent powers have
by necessity or choice turned aside
from those things which they have
hitherto deemed most important and
the engaged in life and death strug-
gle to which their supreme attention
Is given.
This is not true to SO great an ex-
tent of Great Britain as 1t is of others.
but even she cannot give from her re.
sources at present those vast sums Of
investment money which she has hith-
erto poured out the world over as the
sound basis for British commerce.
when this condition arose we were
and to some extent still are, a debtor
people. We owed floating debt to
Europe which they were anxious to
nave paid, and paid in gold. We did
indeed arrange, with much sagacity
and patriotism on the part of our
bankers, to provide for the payment
OF a large part of this debt in gold.
and the demands upon us for merchan-
disc arising necessarily out of the con-
d1tions | have described soon became
such that the outward flow of our
goods made unnecessary any similar
movement of gold And long ago
our entire floating debt was paid to
Europe and much more in goods. The
floating debt is on our side now and
we are the creditors of Europe on mer.
chandise transactions.
Trade Balance GROWING.
Our sales to Europe since Sept.
have exceeded our purchases by over
$350,O00,e00 and this balance in our
FAVOR is growing now at the rate of
about $6,OO0,000 day. Europe has
taken our securities, with which we
have built railway, public utilities and
the like, until some say we owe her
money for thus investing here per-
haps s5,OOO.OOO,0 900.
There has been some fear that she
might in her need unload these securi.
Ties on us, as indeed was in a measure
attempted in July. The circumstances
however, are different now and are
such as not to make the sacrifice of
our securities especially desirable to
Europe. Every day which passes ac-
cumulates credits in our favor so rap
idly that the problem is becoming less
and less serious.
1T must be remembered also that
we are not expanding for travellers
use In Europe the large sums that have
hitherto been usual. There Ia going
on a saving In this single respect at
the rate, of perhaps 5000, OOO, 900 per
annum, say 100000 to $4,000. 900 a
week. Meanwhile we ourselves have
been saving money at home. 7 should
nesltate to make any statement of
my own as to how great these annual
savings which we make are, but Sir
george Paish, the brilliant editor Of
the Statist, London, has publicly stat. |
ed within recent months that in his
the annual savings of the
United States may approximate the
vast sum of e1,4OO,OOO,OOO. Making
every allowance that judgment NAV
dictate, it would seem reasonably safe
to say that the United States saves in
one form or another each year a sum
OF perhaps FIVE to six thousand million
doIlars."
London Freight Rates.
From London has come the follow
Ing dispatch concerning freight rates:
Ocean freight rates continue to ad
vance and prompt tonnage is as scarce
as ever, Owing to early commence
ment Of grain, shipments from the
Argentine and the scarcity of steam
ers the demand for tonnage at the
River Plate 10 said to be SO keen that
snip owners are. refusing freights at
market rates In India, .preferring to
send their boats to the Argentine.
20 American rates to- this side also
are strong, not SO much for early load
ing as for later positions, and some
is going on for space for
srafn. shipments against cotton, coal,
and time charters" 49,. .a.t i
Governor Brewer, who was guest
It the City Club Of Memphis. Saturday
night. declared, that If sufficient mum
Der of boats could be obtained, Missis.
sippi would have no financial difficult
lies Cotton is selling in Germany
'or 20 cents" he said. Getting ships
o haul it there is the problem facing
49, Just as soon as we can get the
gessels. we'll be able to ship them
Every pound of cotton they need, and
ven make millions by SO doing
ARKANSAS BOARDS MEET. II