The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-18
McKenna Calls Attention to
 Immense Resources of the Empire
LITTLE CONCEPTION
 OF MAGNITUDE HERE
English Government Can Meet Any Expenditures War Entails No
 Matter How Long Con- flict May Continue
By HOLLAND

New York, December 17.-(Special)
 Probably the statement which was made
 by Reginald McKenna chancellor of the
 exchequer of Great Britain, to the House
 Of Commons early this week which is es-
 pecially gratifying to some of those who ? have taken leading parts in our interna-
 tional financing was this
 The most inveterate pessmist would
 not dispute our capacity to meet the obli-
 gations Co the United States) provided
 our assets were made liquid and we were
 given time We have immense re.
 sources"
 The reason why this statement is es-
 pecially gratifying in internationa circles
 lies in the fact that it is the first public
 and authorized statement in Great Brit
 ain confrmatory of statements which
 since mid-May of this year have been
 made privately by these American finan-
 ciers
 It was in mid May that one of those
 who had and still have. important rela-
 tions to the very large financing between IGreat Britain, and in one case with France S a co-partner, and the United Estates, said to those who made inquiry: |"'We in the United States have no con Iception of the magnitude of the resources |of Great Britain They are sufficient to lena ble Great Britain to meet any expendi- lures which the war entails, no matter . how long the war lasts. The difficulty, However, is that many of these resources, Hin fact almost all of them cannot 1n- |stantIy be utilized They are not liquid. Nevertheless Great Britain must depend | upon them if she is to maintain her trade relations with the United States. and II Ithe quotation for exchange does not be- 1 |come hopelessly demoralzed Already the Suggestion has been made to the British |authorities that they work out some plan I by means of which much, if not all, of the |American securities held for investment l Fir Great Britain can so be utilized as to Iemaintain foreign exchange and provide | the means for payment of commodities |purchased in the United States Now the announcement comes from |London that the British government looks |swith great favor upon American securi- Eties as a means for maintaining reason able trade rela ations-so far as payment is Ieoncerned-and of protecting. foreign ex- 
 k These are liquid securities, in the sense 6that they are available for large interna- Ftional financing in which the United Estates is one of the parties. HOW MANY BILLIONS? F3 How far up in the billions the Amer Ecan securities available for Great Brit |an's purposes stand is confessedly mat |eer of surmise. The best authorities differ about the aggregate American securities kheld abroad. Some of them have put the |amount as high as s5, coo, 900. Others are that between 8, 00,0O0,0O0 and |fs4, ,00O, GOO 900 constitute the total of Amer |&can securities held abroad.
 |F There seems to be no doubt that much Eshe greater part of the American securi- |F ies which before the war were held in |sGermany have been sold through the .oanlls of Holland and have been absorbed Eoy the United States. Of railroad securi- #ies the best estimate is that the amount hs between s2,5O0.000000 and sS,0OO, ,O0O00O. |URairoad securities constitute the greater Hpart of the American securities held |tabroad.
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