The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-21

American Goods and Foreign Markets

American Goods and Foreign Markets
The Guaranty Trust Company of New York
in it's semi-monthly review of foreign trade takes
an optimistic view Of the general industrial and
financial situation. It's findings are presented
not as a final and an authoritative judgment but
as an expression of opinion which each reader
may accept or reject at will.
1t will be noted that the review believes that
the war era Of wasteful consumption has ceased
and that the forty million men who were directly
or indirectly involved in destructive efforts are
assets for constructive effort" This opin-
ion is not entirely shared by many thinkers. They
still believe that there is wide gap between the
amount of foodstuffs and commodities produced
and their consumption by the world in one way
another. Not only the absence of men en-
gagged in war work from their normal productive
capacities, but many other factors have entered
into the problem Of production, so that the re-
turn of the soldiers does not of itself mean that
full time production has been ushered in.
The review, however, agrees with almost
every thinker who has wrestled with the prob
lem in insisting that our only salvation is to be
found in increased production. "Production is
the fundamental of the problem" says the re-
view, land unless production is maintained and
increased here and abroad, reforms will be use
less, and all the attention devoted to panaceas
will be SO much energy diverted from the real
crux of the situation, and so much sin against
civilizaton.'
The survey is herewith appended:
Accumulated evidence gathered by competent
observers leaves now little room for doubt that
the lowest point in the economic state of the
world was passed some time back and that what
ever may be the temper of the present moment,
from this time forth progress must be ever more
rapid toward stability and prosperity.
To support this view there is, in the first
place, this obvious fact: that while production
may not have increased at rate sufficient to
make the entire satisfaction of the worlds needs
a matter of less than years, yet the great waste
of staple commodities, which the continued pro-
secuton of the war involved, has been almost en-
tirely stopped. The destruction of lfe too, has
ended and the men engaged directly or indirectly
in such destruction are now each of them, an
asset for constructive effort. During the years
that the war lasted, the world was able to feed it.
self and clothe itself, despite the great proportion
of it's resources that were being consumed in the
struggle. That toll is no longer being exacted,
and has not been exacted since November 18th.
The world is, therefore, richer by the amount it
mas saved by merely CedSlNg 10 1lguI.
The transition from peace to war was slow
and wasteful operation even in the countries best
prepared for the struggle. The transition from
war to peace, with all the REIMBURSEMENT of in
dustry that it implies, is but little less difficult.
1t has, however, this advantage. That whatever
progress is made is much positive progress,
each painful step being actual gain each fac
tory restored to production taking the world that
much further from the edge of the precipice to
which it had so nearly approached, each individ-
ual who undertakes again the task which his
during pre-war days assisting, by the extent OF
his effort, in the general revival.
That such progress is being made cannot be
doubted To the most pessimistic observer the
strides that Belgium has made must be apparent
France has passed the crisis, and is once again
attacking her tremendous burdens with her old
spirit. Italy, faced for time with grave dis
orders, is now presenting a much more hopeful
face to the world.
The civilization which the world had built up
before the solvent civilization. With
all its shortcomings it had nevertheless suffi-