The sun., 1919-08-10
EUROPE FACES
FIGHT FOR FOOD
ANDFOR TRADE
Britain in Quandary as to
Which to Throw Its En-
ergies Into First.
,rATEsMEN vIsIONLEss
Americas Preparations Alarm
Big Business Men-Food
Prices Stir Masses.
nv SHAW DESMOND.

nv SHAW DESMOND.
Week BY week in post bellum Europe
-. see the event significant. 1t Is
,Ss writinR on the wall for the states
ION with vision to read-h he will.
Rut Europe is tired, and Europe's
.,o,osmen. Tired men are visionless.
Two recent events were striking.
mo was the sensation caused by the
sonearance in the Fourth Of July
american number Of the Tines. tread
,sr on the heels Of the recent motion
~ adjournment of the House of Com
ans 70 consider American competi-
,Ion. of a full page message from
c,r,s n. K. Curtis, owner OF the
saturday Evening Post, kindly show
inc England how to meet that compeu-
inn. The other, the news or 1000
,,ots from France and Italy coupled
18th an cutlery in the London press
,gainst the profiteer. Nothing to 90
With each other. you say? But the
var has made Europe sensitizee
nerve ganglion. Touch any point and
you shock the whole system.
The first event above showed the
,rowing import to the national mino
=, the coming trade struggle. the
thor the fear OF Great Britain that
~ she does not take the prohteer by
the throat, and quickly, the Latin
troubles may become Anglo saxon
saving her handicapped in the war
,fter the war. Britain, like Europe. Is
m two minds-between the hght TOT
iooS and the fight for power.
os,cinIs Need Awakening.
The chiefs Of British big business
,,a,ize the urgency of preparations Tor
the coming triple elemental trade d1h'
on land, on sea and in the air. tTns
American aerial preparations have be
nun to seep through to the national
,onsciousness.) Some of the onhcials
Al not. One Of those who sit in the
seats of the official mighty said to me
some DAYS aso: ut Is hard to knock
.xpepce out Of the Treasury for trade
expansion" And now Sir Arthur steel
Maitland. head Of the overseas trace
separtment, has resigned because "
Al not know II the Government Is
really In earnes, as regards reestab-
fishing our International trade, winch
| consider vital. /. =.
, Cornmerciaidom Is thinking posi-
Naturalization ante bellum. All
Europe is in a sort OF pre-war arterio-
slerosis. Her veins are hardening.
For weeks past I have discussed
what is really the fight for the earth
with men Of all types. Summed up
they believe Uncle Sans ring tactics
are going to be the following:
C) Quick change machine and man
demobllization; (2) spider webbing the
world with systematic transport plans
land, sea and air; go scienunc
charting Of world markets with a view
to absorption Of Americas increased
war production (dumping); (D the
exhaustion of Europe's after the wal
virgin fields delivering goods against
hard CASH, as in the days OF the prai-
ries, without systematic business cul-
tivation; (5) vast Eastern ESPECIALLY
chinese) and South American schemes
threatening among other things Ian
cashire's cotton supremacy.
But they all say: "If we've got
nght for food at home, how are we
going to fight for the earth abroad?'
Only the professional economists arr
muddled. AS muddled as they wers
during the war. They don't quite
know whether there is nght on Of
not
For instance, Henry p. Davison1
proposal to organize q special bank
ing pool" for the purpose of helping
Europe leaves them aRape. Dawson
says: Let us get the European manu-
facturers in need Of credit to mort
gage their private property to the
American syndicate--only we won
take paper" But this means Ameri
cans coming to own all the European
Producing industries. The pool" would
then begin shipping American raw
materials, &c.. to Europe. Since thu
whole thing turns on selling the goods
made in Europe at a profit outside, the
Americans would In fact be European
manufacturers In search OF foreign
markets. And as tine United States
according to that Times message
above, is the best foreign market n
the world-wbat does 1t mean2
IL means "the removal OF all eco
nomic barriers between nations" a.
nj. Wilson once put 1t and then forgo
IT, II means, in other words. the wipinl
out or the American tariffs by Ameri
cans who are really European manu-
ioeturersl And another little difficulty
Europe Is Americas biggest debtor
VIII It pay to compete the debtor ou
VI existence? Sounds like an economi
nightmare. But it is really the night
mare logical.
rre-war Economics Wiped Out.
The fact is the war has destroye,
al Inc pr9-war economics. Unfortu
ns'ely IT has not destroyed some o
.he economists! Nobody knows wherv
'ney stand, In the words of the i'm
mortal Albert Chevalier, the coste
oomedian, Europe is beginning L
OF the economist. "'E dunno w'er
= arc But the devil won't admi
y. being human, though al
The honest to God fact is that Will
european statesmen are fiddling pre-
va, tunes Europe is burning
.u al both ends, With $4,000, 00O. 90
uepoEt in British banks the riches
Duntry in the world is faced with foo
se'oiution. j believe that unless IN
n10 bffll A. h,,,...... L.. -. - "a