New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-09

incurred obligations of payment, or in
the purchase of property, or titles to
/ property-lnvestme securities. For a
year or two we shall still be exporting
goods on delivering more COM
modltles than we are forthwith getting
back-accumulating foreign balances or
foreign bonds. But all this Will later
mean merely another balance of trade
IN our favor-better than a money
balance, balance of things-the get
ting paid for what we earlier let go.
IN the degree that we are now ccono-
mlzing, living meagrely, we shall have
more goods then. We are not export
ing money now, though we have it to
spare; we shall not import it later, but
only goods then, in return for goods
advanced now.
1t is, indeed, only in this balance of
goods that we can ever finally be paid.
or ever want to be. Europe will have
no other means of payment nor we
the use for any other payment. 1t is.
III truth, the privilege Of any country
with great foreign balance in its
1avor-as, for example, England in the
past-to be always importing more
goods than it exports. This is the wav
1t collects its interest or dividends
uold shipments are always merely
temporary and shifting margins of
settlement in the balancing of ac-
counts
Doubtless, however, we NAV be q
creator nation permanently. In what
ever degree, therefore, foreign coun-
tries are in debt to US we shall oct
our pay in balances Of imports over
exports. And so, by the way, if Ger
many = to pay or buy goods abroad
1t must be able to sell goods. To deny
1t the opportunity to sell is to DENY
it the power to pay.
But, in the long run. our foreign
trade is going to fall off in volume.
In terms of productive power Europe
IS only seven Fights of the pre-war
Europe. Having less products to sell
less goods to buy with-Europe will
sell less to us and buy less from us.
We shall have a poorer customer
some one will do less business with
us, precisely because there is less
business in him to do-less supplies
to send to us, less goods to take from
us.
But it is still true that, for short
periods of time, monetary policies of
imitation or defation may modify the
large and general movements of inter-
national trade. A country in which
prices have especially risen is going
to have its imports enlarged and its
exports restricted. It's penalty for de-
fating itself away from the general
price level is that it exports gold in
exceptional volume up to the point
that it has no more left to export, or
till its loss of gold, its diminished re-
serves, its restricted loans, its con-
tracing volume of credit currency,
have brought its prices back down to
the international level.
So, again, when a country has blum
dered into allowing its stock Of gold to
get low-still retaining gold redemp-
tion-it must face the necessity Of
adjusting itself to the falling prices
that contracting credit Will impose.
It's gold reserves will be reinforced by
dchation, as they were reduced by in
fation. In these monetary processes
lies the impossibiity for any coun-
try that maintains GOLD redemption
of departing long or widely from the
world level Of prices-the impossiblity
also of selling without buying, precise
ly because the resulting inflow of
gold and the attendant expansion Of
prices will set q limit to further eX-
porting and will place an increasing
premium ON further importing. In
evitably, therefore. restriction on the
side either of imports or of exports
results in restriction on the other side.
Buying goes with selling, or there can
in the long run be no selling.