Evening star., 1917-01-07


The present system of collecting this
waste was inaugurated July l. 1913, IN
compliance with recommendations 81
fciency and instructions from the
white House. These Instructions have
never been construed as giving. the
public printer authority to make a
would seem the cost is properly
chargeable The sale Of waste paper
during the year netted ss4,1ss.s4
There are two distinct and clear-cut
fewpoints being taken in this country
today relative to
American Trade the prospects for
Anne ca n trade
After the War. after the restora-
tion Of peace in Europe. according to
experts Of the bureau Of foreign and
domestic commerce. Department OF
Commerce. who have made a special
study of the situation.
These two viewpoints are. first. the
pessirnistic, and. second. the optimistic.
It is argued from the pessfmfstfc stand
point that the European countries will
W
war expenditures; that they Will be
forced to make strenuous efforts to pay
Off these tremendous obligations, ana
that they will have to strive vigorously
to regain the trade of the world that
has been taken away from them BY
neutral countries during the war. La
Dor, according to the pessimistic view
point. will be reduced In price. the
great armies of Europe dtsbandfng and
going back to their usual occupations.
- Av.k pIvr~N 90 favAN
wage IN order to get work. These facts,
1t Is urged, will mean that the cost OF
production will be reduced. that prices
will have to be lowered by the Euro
pean nations in order to get back the
business they have lost, and that such
prices will. therefore. reach lower
level than at any time in the past.
On the other hand, the optimistic
viewpoint starts at the same place. 1t
begins with the assumption that Eu-
rope will be loaded with tremendous
war debts, but that these war debts
will mean increased taxes. which will
bear heavily on business and industry.
II iS pointed out that practically all of
the elements entering into cost OF pro-
ductfon will be raised. The offcfals say
again that the good Will, which means
only the advantage Of going concern,
is already practically lost to many OF
the European belligerent nafions;~ that
the labor and supervising force In Eu-
rope will be considerably reduced and
its efficiency materially impaired. The
men who are fighting in the armies of
Europe. it is argued. are not the un-
employed or the unemployable. but are
the very flower of the Industrial and
commercial enterprises. Many of these
men Will not return to their places in
the factories or at the bench. Many Of
those who do return Will be manned
and diseased, while others will have
lost the work spirit" that is so charac-
teristic of. and is such a large asset Of,
the European worker.
1t is also pointed out that capital has
been withdrawn from productive uses,
that all capital expenditures and cap
ital investment have been reduced In
efficiency. that they need renewals and
repairs which have not been made, and
that therefore the demand for capital
will be large at the end Of the war,
while the stock of it on hand will be
small and expensive. Interest rates will
therefore be high. The elements en-
tering into the cost of production will
therefore all be raised. and 1t is pointed
out that prices cannot, even for a short
period. be substantially lower than the
cost OF production. On these principles
TT is argued that prices will be high,
higher even than before the war. and
that they will approximate the level OF
prices In the United States more than
ever before. that the European nations
will not be able to export to neutral
markets and to their own markets at
prices as much lower than ours as they
were able to do before the war, and
that we will be able, therefore, to re-
tain very large proportion Of our
trade, holding a great part of the new
trade that we have obtained during
the progress of the war. This. II seems
to the experts Of the bureau. is the cor
business situation Immediately after
the conclusion of the war
4 Il
The health of the United States Army
during the year just closed. according
to those who look after
Health of that end of Uncle SANS
=, fighting men. was ex-
the Army. cellent. There were nc
epidemics or unusual occurrences OF
Infectious diseases.
The statistics which are kept by the
army doctors show that there we're but
eight cases OF typhoid fever in the entire
army during the year, none OF which re-
suited in death. This record is all the
more remarkable when it Is considered
that during the fourteen months from May
I. 1898, to June 80. 1899, covering the
period of the Spanish american war
there were 2,774 deaths from this dis
ease, and that this alone was responsi-
BILE for more than one-half the disease
mortality in the army.
Again ralarial fever, formerly one
IF the largest contributors to the non-
effective rate in the service. showed in
the year under examination the lowest
rate in the history of the army The
health statistics of the army are es-
pecially interesting. in view of the fact
that they cover about 100000 men hav-
| ing a far extended field of action, dis
tributed literally over two hemispheres
and therefore subject to epidemic con-
tact and to the presence of contagior
| in foreign service. from which the
civilian or non military population OF