The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-07-09
WAR AFTER THE WAR
IN TRADE OF NATIONS
TO AFFECT NEUTRALS

ored nation clause in existing treaties.
For the small neutral nations OF Eu-
rope tho difficulty of remaining out
side one or the other Of the great
groups would be created. The Scan
denayan countries. Holland, Spain and
Switzerland, would be under the pres
sure OF varying geographical forces,
and perhaps Of such trading regula-
tons as are being exercised by the
bclligerent powers to prevent the
smalg,r nations from helping enc
mics.
Craftsmanship and diplomacy could
hardly be confronted with more COM
pllcatIons than these proposed trade
unions present. From the standpoint
OF geography the middle Europe COM
bination appears more logical and
workable than one consisting Of Great
Britain, France, Russia, Japan and
the British colonies and the depend
encies of Australia, Canada and India.
Besides the geographical handicaps,
which for the Entente nations would
mean divorclng much Of their COM
merce from the neutral channels, there
is the problem of reCOnciling their
divergent fiscal systems Great Britain
is a free trade country; most Of its
allies are strongly protectionist, while
the British self-goyerning dominions
of Canada and Australia exercise the
right OF maintaining protective tar
ifs against the mother country. Free
trade among all its members seems
a necessary condition of a commercial
partnership in which the principal
partner enters the firm on the basis
of the open door. On the other hand
the open door Of free trade necessar-
lily must be closed against the mem
bers OF the opposition house.
Possible Embarrassment.
The status Of monetary exchange
after the war presents another posi-
Bile embarrassment. The well-knOwn
writer, DR.. Dillon, offers an interest
ing prediction. The financial plight
Of Germany and Austria" he says,
will be such that the international
exchange in Berlin or Vienna will
approach more nearly to that Of Pet
rograd than to that Of London. One
OF the direct consequences Of this
inequality between ourselves and our
allies will be that Russia's CONNER
cial custom will be irresistlbly drawn
to Germany and Austria, and away
from Great Britain. For Russias in
dustrial and commercial requirements
could then be much more CheapIy
supplied by the first two named coun-
tries. because the purchasing power
Of the Russian rouble will be greater
in the Central empires than in Brit
ain and France. Machinery, for in
stance, which would cost 10000
pounds in Manchester, would be OBJ
tainable in Stuttgart or Chemnitz for
about $500 pounds worth Of rou-
bles."
American merchants having ambi-
tons for Russian business after the
war may find DR.. Dillon's prophecy
useful
Chief Contention.
The chief point OF contention that
has arisen in the discussion OF the
middle Europe bund has been the SEN
sitiveness Of Austria Hungary and
particularly Of its sister empire. The
Yice-president Of the Austrian Reich
strath Herr Sylvester has presented
the other side Of the picture. He
said:
Experience has brought home to
US the fact that military and economic
problems are so intimately related to
each other that they can be solved
only together. And, as on the mill
tary front, there can be but one guild
ing idea for defense and attack, il
success Is to he achieved, and as tao
tics, organization and munitions for
the campaign have to be prepared in
peace times, 1t behooves the two en-
pires to be similarly organizing in
the economic domain during the prog
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