The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-07
LAMONT'S VIEW OF.
 NATIONS PROBLEMS
BY HOLLAND

New York, December 6-Thomas W Lamont spoke to the bankers of Cleve- land, Ohio, recently upon present day problems of trade and finance and the remarks which he made suggested one or two new points of view, differing not in principle, hut in application from other addresses made in the past flaw weeks whose subject was similar to the one he took The Cleveland bankers must have had in mnd the fact well known to the leading bankers of the United States that Mir. Lamont, served as finan- cial advisor to the American representa- tives, at the peace conference at Paris. That service has been spoken of sin terms of high praise It was. of inestimable value to these representatives MT. aL- mont was able to call attention to cer- tain factors in the great problem which might, had it not been for him, have been overlooked He was able to make recommendations which were deemed of great importance and if any of those who represented the United States at this con- ference took occasionally a little recrea- ton or some hours of rest MT. Lamont was absorbed every day almost from the moment of rising to the late hour of re- tirng with the momeritous questions and matters which were submitted to him.
 Mir. A. c. Bedford chairman of the board of the Standard oil Company of New Jersey, who was in Paris for some weeks while the negotiations were in pro- gress, told his friends upon his return to New York that he had been really amazed at the industry the clear sightedness and the mastery of difficult questions of financing which Mir. Lamont revealed, and also amazed at his indefatigable indus try, much of it involving the dearest kind Of drudgery.
 lypovu,, tc the ba Iyere CIeVe- land, therefore, that Mir Lamont was especially qualified by his experience in Europe to speak instructively upon pres ent day problems of trade and finance. He did at the beginning of his remarks assert that in his opinion the most press ing problem of the present time is that of labor He, however, refers this problem to our domestic trade, meaning by that term the production and merchandising of products and goods.
 THE PASSING OF UNREST
 However grave the problem may have seemed to be in> these autumn months, nevertheless BIr. Lamont does not re- gard 1t as incapable of satisfactory sou- tion In fact he asserted emphatically that he is certain that there Is to De gradual solution of our labor problem. but lt will be ore to which both so-caied labor and so-called capital will contribute The feature or the present unrest WiiiSii causes concern is to be found in the fact that as MT Lamont says, labor has 1T, some industries reached a point of ar-o- gance that alieniates sympathy and blocks cancellation. Capital has already learned. Mir Lamont asserts, that arrogance ana intolerance were harmful, doing dam age to the best interests of capital, so that there has been gratifying disposi- ton to abandon these practices. Now 1t IS labor's turn to abandon arrogance and look at conditions with an impartial eye realizing that what is best for capital IS also best for labor.
 In few words, NIr. Lamont dismissed the labor situation. believing that out or it will come conciiation and satisfac- tory establishment of the relations be- tween those who take wages and those who pay wages
 MT. Lamont asserts that notwith- standing the stupendous totals which tell the story of our foreign trade since the first of last January, nevertheless there is no doubt that there is some thing wrong or awary, worthy of cor rection, in the present condition.
 This is shown, he asserts, by the cam cellation of important foreign orders and also by extraordinary quotations of foreign exchange. For instance, whenever now an English merchant wants to buy commodities in the United States he must pay $1.1S for every Sl