The Washington herald., 1920-03-30

cheap. For instance, some Amer
ican articles are cheaper just now
In Santiago than In New York. be-
cause they were stocked six months
ago when 81 pesos would buy one
OF our dollars. and noy 5.4 pesos are
needed.
Wsrkias Glasses skeptieaL
1t is firmly believed by the Chill
can working classes that the land
,wning and moneyed interests Of
the country have blocked CONVEX
sion by political means to retain
these advantages. There Is prob
ably basis for that belief, al
though students of the subject say
that there are other causes. For
years the government has had the
actual gold laid by iy. a fund To eff
feet conversion. but a law has been
lacking. and every time the ques-
tion hasN been brought I'D in con-
gress, seemingly. something has
happened. In one case il was fear
of war with Argentina, in another
the Valparaiso earthquake, and in
still others the rapid changes in
governments or cabinets. One Of
the most promising plans was
stopped by the war, which found
most OF Chile's conversion fund de-
posted In German banks. There
was Tear for its safety, but il was
rescued through transfers abroad of
German assets. Then the Chilenos
sat down to wait until the end of
tne war to do the conversion job
right.
Since the armistlce, howeve-.
president Sanfuentes has teen try
ing TO form cabinet which will
command support from Cony.es
This Is difficult, be- 'ause Chile las
many political Ia ties. each eo.e-
sented in Congre 's. AMI to form a
cabinet upon which sufficient Of the
parties will unite is a battling task
ministries rave been ar a1eei
again and again the last year. Cnly
to change on account of the d lit cs
or even the utterances of one man.
Finally. in November everyo1,y
agreed to let the pre.i'e~t appon
a cabinet Of men inactive in p, liti s
to serve until some definite political.
trend develops. and a currency bill
is now before Congress. Briefly. 1t
provides n central bank, which will
take up the paper fiat money ind
replace IL with rold-secured Gu
1ency. maintain a flexible cure -cy
90 meet emergencies. and do s-me
commercial tanki~g to support T.
self. The paper peso will pro b b y
be taken up with a fixed ancun.
Of gold equivalent to sbout twenty
four cents in our currency.
Direct Selling Handicapped.
For many years most Of Chill =
import and export trade has ieen
handled by a few large hou: :e who
and balanced their domes ic d
foreign operations so that n Ict a.
tons OF exchange were not a seriou
problem. When Germany be an to
compete for Chilean trads she often
sold direct to the customers Of these
and later the United states
began selling direct. This direct
selling and the establishment Of
branch houses. encourages a larger
volume of trade for the seller and
a wider assortment of goods for
the buyer. 1t is greatly handi-
capped by fluctuations in exchange,
and stability in the Chill
can currency therefore means wider
selling opportunities In that coun-
try.
1t will also lead to heavy invest
ments of American and other out
side capital in Chile. Investigators
predict. especially in the develop
ment of the resources of the rich,
provinces. and the estab-
lishment of manufacturing indus
tries with the country's coal. iron.
wool and other materials. Such in
dustries will. in turn, give employ
ment to the people. and raise wages
and the standard of life.
Copyright, 1870, Public Ledger Col