New Britain herald., 1919-05-17
Henry Clews Weekly Leffer
Especial to Herald.)

hal
 reasonable and not immoderate con-
 sidering the enormity of the crimes
 committed. Europe appears to be
 gradually settling down. Bolshevism
 Is on the Wane, and after the peace
 treaty has been actually signed, re-
 turn to the normal will progress moro rapidly. One of the first steps will be
 removal of the embargo against Ger many, which must be an eager buyer
 of oil, cotton, lard, copper, etc. Our imports from Germany may be small for the simple reason that Germany
 has little to send: other rumors to the
 contrary. our foreign trade as a
 whole will. however, receive fresh impetus through the release of larg- Ger tonnage for mercantile purposes
 even though q big portion will be re-
 Quired for bringing homo our army.
 On the other hand more German shlps will be released, and the world ship
 ping is being augmented by lntehSl- lied building in all parts of the World'
 the total under construction now being about 7T96,O0O gross tons, of WElch
 5.541,000 tons are in the United
 States and 2.254. .OOO tons in the Unit led Kingdom.
 Rapid Expansion of Exports.
 The rate at which our foreign com merce is expanding is indicated by es-
 inmates that we shall have faVof-
 a ble trade balance of $&,000,000,0O0
 for the fiscal year ending June 30. Of
 course, Europe cannot pay for thlS amount in goods or gold. The depL thus incurred must be adjusted partly
 by credits and partly by investments %abroad. etc. How far this debt can
 be financed here is one of the future problems. The number of foreign banks that have opened branches i'll this country and, vice versa, the num- Der of American institutions that have opened offices abroad is much larger than commonly supposed and shows the drift of preparations. Our finan
 Cial resources, however. are sure to be AaXed to the utmost for home de- mands will be even more insistent and sure to command first consideration. The only remedy will be for Europe to stop fighting and get busy produc- ing those articles which can be eX- changed for American food and other produce. Foreign trade is simply barter and payment in desirable goods is far more satisfactory than
 payment in gold securities or various forms of credit.
 Solve the Railroad Question.
 Congress will open Monday and it's most important problem after organ izing will be the railroads. The Sltua- tion of this vast interest requires i'm mediate attention. It represents about S2O,0O0.O000OO of capital and approximately one-tenth of our na- tional wealth. Were it not for the 2act that they are backed by the 1 United States treasury, our railroads l would be in a bad way, which is 1 really not the fault of the railroads 1 themselves or the lack of freight 1 business Before the war the drift was seen and when the stress of mobili- zation was added their breakdown was to be expected. The war has only made their position worse through a heavy increase of expenses, which raised operating costs to the runous ratio of almost 93 per cent. Tn the year before the war. under
 private mana nagement, gross earnings
 were S811.000 900 and net $214, 000,- 900: while this year, under govern ment management, the net was only
 sg36O0,000, though gross mounted to
 $1.109, 000,000. Government regula-
 ton has proved unsuccessful finan-
 cially; while railroad efficiency fell to
 the lowest standards in many years, | notwithstanding largely increased rates. Added to this is the physical deterioration of the roads, aggravat-
 ed by war, which will call for heavy F. outlaws in repairs Congress may take early action in restoring the roads to their owners, which accord ing to promise the government must do in as good condition as when taken over. The railroads will in due season be put on their feet and
 their general status strengthened. The lesson has a close bearing upon the efforts to bring other public util- I1r lighting companies, etc, under pub lie ownership. It has been proved very effectually that private enter prise, with all it's faults, gives better and cheaper service than the govern ment. which almost invariably com pels the taxpayer to pay the losses. Taxation and the Money Market. The problem of taxation will again be forced upon congress. Govern ment expenses and losses from war are proving far more than expected. The treasury is threatened with out lays almost if not quite heavy as for the year just closing. The Victory ! loan is practically spent and as no more loans are 10 be issued. the treas urY can only meet it's forthcoming obligations by persistent short term borrowing and heavy taxation. There is no prospect of alloviation in the latter unless the government en- forces drastic economies, of which 1t shows no evidence. Private ecOn- omy is equally necessary, but of that. too there are few signs. For m onths to come therefore. the government will remain as it has been. the dom inant factor in the money market. It's demands will have to be met, in the future as in the past, by banking in resources