The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-21
Taking Steps to Protect Trade After War
AIMED AT TEUTONs
United States Will Be Hit Just as Badly-Network of Commercial Treaties to Be Discussed at
 Meeting in Paris

Paris, October 25.--The formation of a commercial entente between the allies is being actively planned. and there will be held in this city the latter part of this month a meeting Of delegates from Eng land, France, Russia, Italy and Belgium to consider the matter. The significance of the movement, which has already gained great headway, is great; it's inn portance to the United States and to American industry can scarcely be mini-
 mixed. In it's inception the commercial entente is directed against Germany and l Austria, but in practice the existence of such close commercial relations between | the great countries of the entente is call culated to have a most important bear | ing on American trade. The broad idea l is web of treaties, economical and in dustrial. spreading over the allied coun- tries and binding them together. Prefer ential tariffs will be made between parties l to this economic entente. The American commercial body in Paris foresees the 1 establishment of trade conventions be- tween the allies. with America left out, and already steps are being taken to in- ! duce the government in Washington to | l1ihS every pISNdutlOi IO SC0 to Il lllell II | preferential tariffs are to be made the | United States will benefit by them. Steps to Protect Themselves l It is realized here. and everywhere else ! in Europe, that at the end of the war | America will be about the only solvent
 great power left. New York is likely to
 become the financial center of the uni
 verse, which is not to the liking of Euro
 pean financiers and governments Ameri-
 ca may not be wholly dominant, but she will be more dominant than ever before
 and 1t is thus natural thing that the
 allies should take steps to protect them
 selves, not so much against American jdominaticn, perhaps, as against too much dependence upon America. The problem, even in the midst of the great war. is ] being studied by the greatest economists and trade experts of the allied nations. America, in this matter, is something of
 a side issue to the allies, Germany and Austria naturally being the main object I Of commercial attack. But while the
 blow may not be aimed directly at Amer
 ica, if America is hit it will be quite as 1 offensive to her, no matter what may be
 the primary motive of those making the 1 assault.
 l The idea of a commercial entente, or at
 least tho initiative for one. comes from
 Italy, where Luigi Luzzatti, Italy's great
 est economist and formerly her minister
 of finance, instituted negotiations which iresulted in Franco-Italian commercial
 conference at Lake Como last month
 This conference was made particularly 1 significant by the warm exchanges of messages which it brought between the | Italian and French premiers.
 At this meeting Luzzatti made the fol lowing statement:
 After the war Germany and Austria
 will start new kind of warfare In the
 field of economies. The quadruple en-
 tente must wths equal ability make prep larations to cement tllssnswly formed tie:
 of an economic and industrial character
 so as to meet Austro-German competition in railway tariffs, ocean freights, inland waterway freights. etc, which will com l plctely shut out our enemies. The Aus | tro-German programme will be great blockade which from Hamburg to Trieste will imprison the traffic of the world
 It is vital to meet and break this block
 ade, and I may announce that the Como
 manufacturers are disposed to accept the
 Trench financial tariff on silk textiles
 taking in exchange the abolition of the
 French tariff on silk yarn"
 Significant Message
 l The messages of the French and Italian premiers were more significant as rec | ognition of the importance of the meet 1 ing than in anything that was actually said.
 The important thing that was done was
 arranging for a further meeting in Paris in october, and the adoption of the fol lowing programme of subjects to be con- I sdered:
 Public credit and the negotiation of in ternational securities
 | Reciprocal relations between the banks | of emission and discount of the various lcountries. New monetary conventions and
 the creation of an allied money market
 with new arrangements for international exchange.
 1 Discussion of communications railroads
 post. inland waterways, ports, telegraphs and telephones.
 | Commercial legislation concerning pat
 ents. international proprietary letters etc 1 Treaties of commerce and navigation l Treaties of emigration and labor. | Organization of an international com
 mittee for the investigation and prepara- ton of an economic entente among the allied nations and their<friends. 1 The proposals have met with most fa-
 vorablc comment in the French. British
 and Russian press. The Novoe vremya l in Petrograd has taken an enthusiastic
 lead in the matter, and it at least has gone so far as to suggest that here was
 Q way of dealing with America In Lon don the Morning Post. newspaper which in financial and commercial mat ters has shown itself ta be particularly close to the British government. is is hearty accord with the suggestion.
 An economic and commercial entente is | important to the allies, whether they wir | the war or not. It is realized that the 1 German claim that once the war is over 1 Germany will be better off financially than any of her enemies. because she vii not owe Q cent abroad, has something il it. If Germany wins by the sword he, domination will have to be resisted by peaceful means if she loses the allie. will have to have new economic weapons
 to resist Germany's commercial expan sion, for. it is not likely that Germany will be so crushed that she will not be relatively at least the same formidable