The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-26
BANKER URGES
 INTERNATIONAL
 CLEARING HOUSE

New York, Mar. 18.-Organization | of an international trade clearing | house, affording scientific system of barter was urged last night by Irv- l ing s. MetZler, vice president of the | East River National Bank, in an ad- | dress delivered before the American Cloak & Suit Manufacturers Associ- ation in session at the Aldene Club. As conceived by him, this clearing house would not concern itself with the transfer of credit, but simply with
 the transportation of merchandise, it's function being to keep each na- tion's exports and imports in balance.
 It would concern itself only with the
 future trade of the world, he said,
 permitting the present exchange sit-
 uaion to right itself gradually
 through the transfer of credits and securities.
 Further expoundtng his idea, MT. MetzIer said, in part:
 F9The central bank of each nation today holds a certain amount of gold as a reserve against it's issues of cur rency. Each nation therefore could give @ trust receipt to the clearing | house for a portion of it's gold in or l der to guarantee any temporary huc- i tuations of trade. With these trust 1 receipts for gold in it's hands, the l clearing house would be on a gold 1 basis. All trade therefore conducted would be on the normal value of ex- | change. When the English spinner | imports cotton he would not have to | gamble on the price of exchane and
 our importer in purchasing furs | abroad can pay in exchange that is l the equivalent of gold, and strange as it may seem, he will be able to buy cheaper on a gold basis than on
 a depreciated exchange basis. Today exporters do not know the price they 1 will get, and importers do not know
 the price they will pay. An additional 1 amount must be added to insure
 against possible fluctuations in ex-
 change, and as a result much foreign
 business is lost.
 trade clearing house would be to &C.,
 cept bills, payable through it, in or
 der to keep each nations trade in 1 balance, and to supplement and not 1 supplant the pr sent methods of con-
 ducting foreign trade.
 'tInasmuch as nations, however.
 move slowly, and as this is a matter
 vital to the interests of all the trad ' ing nations of the world, an aSsocia- } ton could first be formed with head quarters, say, in London, starting | DOarOS l trade, chambers of commerce and 1 merchants associations of the United States, England, France and Italy , with provisions that all other nations } be permitted to participate on ar equal represent ntation. This associa- l ton could then form an internationa t trade clearing house, organized, moi l for profit, but to keep the future trade 2 of the world in balance. And when. l ever the League of Nations is readJ
 to conduct the clearing house, tht g machinery could be turned over tt Q it in running order. A group of busi T l ness organizations formed into sucI l an association, seeking no specia e privileges, but only the promotion O | international trade, could accomplisl : in a short time results that woul, i astound us all, for it would be ire
 and unhampered by governmental re- n tape, conducted by business men an t bent on one sole purpose, the devel n opment of the business of the world e On the Imperator, leaving toda Is for Southampton via Cherbourg e there were 58O saloon passengers a spending a total of about S175,OO = for their fares alone. This is an in n dication, according to the steamshi n men, of the volume of travel to b
 iexpected later in the season.