The Washington times., 1916-04-10
AFTER WAR EXPORTS STOP

| rum OhSiai outhOhiby VIC BSe oh-
nouncement Of the astonishing total
Of "munition exports" in February Of
some $50,000,O00. But 1t is nothing
compared with the whole Of the war
supplies we must have sent out in
February.
Through the loose use Of the word,
we have become accustomed to think
Of munitions" as merely firearps,
gunpowder and other explosives. But
munitions Of war comprehend vir-
tually everything that goes to armies
in the field and in reserve, to fleets
on the high seas and to fleets in
home ports, to army and navy store
houses. And when we take in all
those things our war exports are
now prodigious.
In February the single item Of
high explosives, other than gun
powder, counted for $32 2,235,734. But
think of the motor cars and motor
trucks; the horses and mules, the
saddles and harness and shoes for
them; the barbed wire and the in
trenching tools; the tents, the cloth
ing, the breadstuffs and the meat
products; the steel rails, the loco
motives, the freight cars-all the
thousand and one things going to
England, to France, to Flanders, to
Italy, to Russia, to Greece, to Egypt,
to Asia Minor-all war supplies.
Don't forget that when peace
comes the allies whom we are now
supplying with hundreds of millions
Of dollars of war materials a month
will stop buying wheat for their
armies, just as they stop buying
cartridges; horses and mules, just as
gunpowder; motor trucks, just as
machine guns; barbed wire, just as
shrapnel.
When the last shot is fired this
whole lofty tower of war supplies
must topple.
We shall be able to send peace
supplies in place of some of the war
supplies we are now rushing out in
deeply laden fleets. We shall be able
to deliver goods of that nature to
Germany, to Austria, and to Bel
gium. We shall be able to sell more
of that kind than we are now send
ing to France; perhaps to Italy.
But for what they buy none of
those countries will be able to pay US
after the war in anything but their
own products. Then they will be
adding their shipments to the great
tides of imports which are now
sweeping over our shores. After the
war we must have a very much
larger volume of imports than even
the unexampled volume which we
are now taking.
How many millions, how many
tens of millions, how many hundreds
of millions, even how many billions
lower than they are now shall be our
exports?
That's the question. Nobody can
answer it now. Nobody can do more
than guess at how far the recession
of our exports will go and must GO
below the high mark now fixed by
shipments of war supplies and by
nothing else.
Nobody can do more than estimate
how much further our imports shall
climb. But everybody can realize
that if our exports fade away like
mist under a sun, but our imports
come rolling higher like tidal wave
it will take very short time fol
Europe and the rest of the world to
draw out of this country the gold
which is the lifeblood of a nations
commerce; that it will take even less
time to snatch away from Ameri
can industries and American wage.
earners our own home markets-tc
drive this country, industrially, com
, mercially, and financially, upon the
J rocks.
What are we doing to prepare our
selves against such tragic outcom,
. of the war to the only great power
on the globe which remained a
peace? Nothing.
What are we going to do under tn,
. policy and program of those in con
| troll of the United States Govern
ment? Nothing.
| How do we know that we are go
! ing to do nothing? Because, whethe
, it is getting ready for Germany, O.
; getting ready for Mexico, or gettin,
| ready for anything which the wei
) fare and the safety of the nation de
| mand should be provided against, W
} never do anythingl