The Washington herald., 1917-09-25

II he was correctly understood
when addressing the Business Mems
Convention at Atlantic City, a few
days age, Lord Northclire is buying,
for England. American commodities
for which he is paying or is about to
pay not less than 100000 and it
may be S6O.O0OOOO a week. This is the
first authoritative statement yet made
which tells not only what Lord North
cIfTe's official relation to the war is
but also how much money he is, in
the name Of Great Britain, spending
in the United States. II he continues
to buy as he now says he is buying,
he will within a years time make
a record of having been the worlds
greatest Individual purchaser of COM
modities. For he will have bought and
paid for considerable over $1,000, OO0, 900
worth OF American commodities.
Until Lord Northcliffe thus spoke.
the estimate of the aggregate money
value of England's purchases in the
United States each week was some
times as low as S1s,OO0.OOO and the
highest estimate fixed the amount Of
$50, 600, 600.
These purchases reach much the
greater part of the United States for
they include almost all of the COM
modities manufactured by our in
dustries or harvested by the farmers.
There is. therefore, presumably an eX-
cellent distribution of these English
orders and Lord Northcliffe is, him
self, so highly qualified an expert in
making fair bargains that he knows
that sometimes it is advisable to pay
little more for a commodity pur-
chased in one place than would be
charged for it il it were bought in an
other place.
This question of distribution of or
ders was emphatically dwelt upon IN
the address delivered by George NJ.
REYNOLDS, of Chicago. His intimatiOn
was that it is of vital Importance that
in the governments purchases of
American commodities there be a ma
tion-wide distribution of orders. and
the assertion was at once compared
with the statement made by Lord
Northcliffe, in which he mentioned in
figures the weekly amount of his pur-
chases in the United States. These
two addresses have made men in this
city talk encouragingly because there
has been some fear that should there
be an undue concentration of pur-
chases in some sections of the country
that might be of disadvantage to
other sections and to the government
itself.
Mr.. Reynolds. who. as one of the
pre-eminent banking forces of the
West, never speaks without the GER
tainty that his words will fall upon
needing ears, venturcd to give some
words of monition or at least of ad-
vice. He said that IL the government
is to depend largely upon the sale of
bonds for a part of its much-needed
revenue, then, unless measures are
taken to maintain an equilibrium, It is
inevitable that money flows in enor-
nous amounts from the West to the
East. In that case there would follow,
if not a dangerous. at least a trouble
some, congestion of money in the East,
while on the other hand scarcity OF
money would prevail throughout the
West
This Is a matter which has been
much discussed by bankers in this
city. There are excellent reasons
for inferring that in Washington,
also, where some very great but
as yet unrevealed financial policies
are under discussion the Federal
Reserve Board and those who are
advising 1t are anxious to prevent
undue congestion of money in the
East The suspicion is strong that
Mr.. Reynolds knows in some de-
tail what the discussion now in
progress centers upon.
Mr.. Reynolds believes that wise
distribution of orders especially by
the government and presumably by
the allies will serve to maintain a
reasonable equilibrium between the
West and the East so far as money
conditions are concerned. There
fore he Is convinced that il will be
the wiser part for the government
so to distribute its orders as fairly
well to cover the entire country
even though in doing that 1t may
be necessary to Day higher prices