New Britain herald., 1919-03-15

but8
 retr
 sour
 possel
 propois
 mines
 obta led
 factdl-ies. tf
 difficulty in Sl4
 demnity; but tH
 by destroying
 many. The true
 her people to go ba0@
 take such portion of
 taxation as will enforce h.
 without ruin. But 1t will
 years before Germany can ff05
 recover anything approaching it's f8t
 mer commercial position among the
 nations of the world. Ludendorff
 may have been unduly depressed
 when he declared that 1t would take
 a. hundred years to place Germany in
 the position which it held in 1914,
 but he showed a fair appreciation of
 the terrific ruin which she has,
 brought upon herself through. un-s
 scrupulous ambition and aggressionl
 Before the war Germany was the seCf
 ond. and in some respects the first,
 commercial nation in the world with
 prospects of unlimited progress, all of
 which have been wantonly destroyed
 bv the blunders of a. ruthless and
 misguided autocracy. All talk of se-
 were German competition for recovery
 of the worlds markets is moonshine.
 That is q bogy of which we now
 need have little fear, thanks to the
 wise and punitive provisions of the
 coming treaty of peace. 1t IS quite
 evident that the huge penalties which
 she invited will handicap her foreign
 commerce for years to come, giving
 to her chief foes, America, and Britain,
 a lead and prestige which she can never again expect to match. The lesson is one that every nation should
 seriously take to heart; for the fall of Babylonian, Roman, Venetian and German empires were all tragedies of the same class, having their origin in an unbridled lust for commerce and power.
 The early coming of spring is an important aid to business recovery, as planting and all outdoor work will soon be running on full time. Re- ports from the agricultural districts are especially encouraging. Farmers ! are enjoying record prosperity, re- ceiving highly profitable prices and preparing for another season of the ! same character. In all probability 1 the new acreage will surpass all rec ] ords and there will be no BolsheVists 1 in the farming districts. Spring 1 wheat is in good condition and cot 1 ton planting will proceed on an in 1 creasing scale from now on. Europe let ~T I1I~ [ quently likely 10 have short crops and
 must depend very largely upon Amer l ica. for food, which means large eX- 1 ports next autumn and winter. When 1 peace has been attained and the en- 1 bargO upOn the Central Powers lifted 1 8 further demand will be made upon ] our food supplies. Germany will 1 want cotton, copper, oil, rubber and l other raw materials in large Quan- l titles and has doubtless already anti cipated these wants to a limited de- l gree But how she will pay for these 1 articles is still q serious question. for 1 Germany has not the funds nor the 1 goods as yet wherewith to pay, and l apparently there will be no other ! course but depending upon this coun- ] try for credit for q considerable pc ] riod. Since Germany imperativcly l 1 be suppressed so that the country can earn the money or materials 1 wherewith 10 satisfy those needs. At l present the outlook in these respects | is very dark indeed, so dark that it 1 would seem it cannot long continue, 1 for the German people are an intel l Iigent and orderly people and their l madness must soon exhaust itself. l In the money market the govern 1 ment is, of course, the dominant fac 1 tor. Already the banks are carrying 1 about S3,0O0.000,0 900 of treasury 1 notes; a process of anticipating the 1 next loan which will materially lessen 1 the amount of new money that the 1 fifth loan will actually absorb. The i definite mount and the rate Of the 1 next loan have not yet been deter ! mined. though Secretary Glass an ! nounced that it will be a short term ! loan of varying dates and rates. Some ! issues may be free of taxation, others 1 not: the secretary deciding according i to the exigencies of the situation. In 1 this connection one thing should be | distinctly kept in mind by the business community: Our banks are already
 carrying a heavy burden of govern ! ment obligations through purchase of ! treasury notes. They are also carry ] ing an enormous amount ot govern ment issues, estimated at nearly $b,- ] 000.O00000, as collateral against ] loans. The chief function or the l banks should be to finance icGlu- ! mate business but in proportion as ! their resources are absorbed py the
 government their capacity to serve commerce and industry is diminished As a matter of sound business and