New-York tribune., 1917-12-02
How English Dealers Feel
Hardships Of Price Control
In Communicating Supplies of All Kinds the British Gov
ernment Has 'Scrapped" Trade Machinery
in Wholesale Fashion

practically involves their destruction.
Instead of endeavoring 70 use this
knowledge and ability to the utmost,
the government has concluded agree
ments with the Commission lnterna-
tionale de Rcvitailement for all orders
from France. Italy and Portugal to be
placed direct with the tinplate works,
and the whole of the customers of Brit
ish merchants in these countries are
cut off from their regular suppliers.
Steel and Copper
The steel export trade was dealt with
in an equally arbitrary fashion. When
export was prohibited except under Ii
cense, many merchants who had steel
already manufactured to the special re-
qurements of uses abroad found it
impossible 20 obtain licenses. Efforts
TO sell the material in this country
failed, owing TO the fact that the steel
had been specially manufactured 70
definite requirements, and the result is
that many firms have parcels OF this
character lying at their works. taking
up space urgently wanted, steadily de-
terioratng in quality owing to rust and
causing further loss in interest charges.
In connection with copper. practical
ly no orders az all pass through the
merchants hands, and they have conse-
quently lost touch with the consuming
trade as well as with sellers. Trade
relations existing over many genera
tions have been broken oif. and 1t will
be extremely difficult for both ends OF
the thread to be picked up again. II is
true that in this case the Ministry OF
Munitions has thought better of its
first action and some of the restrictions
on foreign trade have been removed, but
this is only after the merchants have
lost touch with their regular customers.
who have been driven to dealing direct
with producers in the United States and
Japan. instead Of the business coming
through London. Merchants allege that
even the little business left TO them
has been interfered with by arbitrary
officials. who have taken the business
out Of their hands and supplied pos
sible customers direct
Wool is another business in which
the government has taken away all the
trade of the importers and is now deal
ing with the export trade i'm a similar
manner There is no room for the
meTchanting houses ia the government
scheme. The government has become
the merchant, and Is already selling
wool TO France and Italy, while the Ca
madam government has been appointed
to act as distributing pgent for the inn
peral authorities inRAmerica. Hun
dreds OF firms have been put out Of
business, not being able TO cover eX-
penses, and new men-most of them
entirely unacquainted with the techni-
calities of the industry-are handling
the entire business.
In the timber trade the Controller
has been given power 20 commander
all the stocks Of timber in the coun-
try, and an army Of officials has been
appointed to carry out the work Of
distribution, work which il is contended
might well have been done by the
merchants on behalf Of the depart
ment, with the staff and machinery at
their disposal.
Thus, in trade after trade the men
who have hitherto been intrusted with
the marketing and distribution Of
goods have been set aside and their
places taken by government officials.
No reasonable trader objects to gov
ernment interference when it is neees-
sary for war purposes. The complaint
lies against the "scrapping" wholesale
Of trade machinery which has taken
many years TO create and might just
as we'll have been used for present
purposes as that which rev organiza-
tions brought into being. Grave anx-
iety is felt that once the trade has gone
il will be impossible 20 regain it, and
that any attempt in that direction will
be made more difficult by the destrue-
tion Of the normal trading organiza-
tion.
Such objections are worthy OF spe-
cial note by those in America who
have now TO travel along the road OF
control already so we'll beaten by their
allies here.