The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-09-25
SPENDING BILLIONS
By HOLLAND

New York, September 25.-(special)-If
 he was correctly understood when ad-
 dressing the Business Mems convention
 at Atlantic City few days ago. Lord
 Northcliffe is buying for England Amer
 can commodities for which he is paying
 or is about to pay not less than S5o,00O . coo, and it may be S50,000000 a week. This is the first authoritative state
 ment yet made which tells not only what Lord Northcliffe'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. If he continues to buy as he now says he is buying he will within years time make record of having been the worlds greatest in- dividual purchaser of commodities. For he will have bought and paid for con siderably over s1.oOo,ooo,oco 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 sometimes as low as 1s.OOO,0Oo and the highest estimate fixed the amount at sS0,000,000.
 These purchases reach much the great CT part of the United States, for they include almost all of the commodities manufactured by our industries or har- fvested by the farmers. There is, there fore, presumably an excellent distribu- ton of these English orders and Lord Northcliffe is himself, so highly quail fled an expert in making fair bargains that he knows that sometimes it is ad- visable to pay little more for a com modity purchased in one place than would be charged for it if 1t were
 bought in another place.
 This question of distribution of orders was emphatically dwelt upon in the ad- dress delivered by George M Reynolds of Chicago His intimation was that it is of vital importance that in the gov modites there be a nationwide distribu- tion 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 purchases in the United States: These two addresses have made men in this city talk encouragingly because 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. MT. Reynolds, who. as one of the pre- eminent banking forces of the west, never speaks without the certainty that his words will fall upon needing ears, ton or at least of advice. He said that if the government is to depend largely upon the sale of bonds for a part of It's much-needed revenue, then
 unless measures are taken to maintain an equilibrium, it Is inevitable that money flows in enormous amounts from the west to the east. Tn that case there would follow if not dangerous at least troublesome 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 fed eral reserve board and these who are advising 1t are anxious to prevent un- due congestion of money in the east 1 The suspicion Is strong that Mir. Key holds knows in some detail what the
 discussion now in progress centers upon l MT. Reynolds believes that wise dis. l tribution of orders, especially by the 1 government and presumably by the al
 lies, will serve to maintain reason. able equilibrium between the west and
 are concerned. Therefore. he Is con. vinced that 1t will be the wiser part i for the government so to distribute its
 orders as fairly well to cover the entire I country, even though in doing that i, may be necessary to pay higher prices in some sections for certain commodi- ties than the government will be asked to pay in other sections
 The west must rely for funds. or al
 least for new funds. Mr. Reynolds says
 upon the sale of it's live stock and har.
 vests. Much the greater part of the pur.
 chases for munitions of war are made
 in the east, since the larger industries
 are. for the most part located east oi
 sh> Allnx Fanies, although there art N se aae iuapp tant industries in Ohio ant 'i Mic Therefore, if the government 4 alstf sp 9ses its orders, which in the az
 ' Efagnte sxs to be considerably in ex
 Cess q ihe money value of the pur
 ehasas made by Lord Northcliffe. th'
 funds fext anded by the government 1T
 Hesa pnreHases will replenish the none,
 ss9 et she west so that in that wa,