The Washington herald., 1921-10-02
MORE FOOD PACKED BRITAIN'S CRY
Opepopuaon Unemployment and Loss of Markets Create Situation
as Critical as During the Days of German DriOes


Russians. dealings incomprehensible otherwise to
Americans, the is that British statesman
afford to neglect the slightest chance OF
storing the flow OF cheap Russian food the British
Isles. II British policy backs German Industrial re-
eovery is because without order in Central Europe
there will be market for British products. II you
have new wal, fresh invasion Of France by Ger
many Germany by France, the whole jerry-built
edifce of contemporary European trade will 60 down
with crash and the immediate effect in Britain viii
be more Unemployment. ..-
The British problem is simple in statement, there
is starvation at end and return to prewar con-
ditions at the other The only other way out is emf
grafton and emigration by the million. We after
all, back at the time of folk wanderings. The pres
sure due to lack of food is beginning to act upon
many tribes of men, 1t is clear that not more than
half of the existing population of Great Britain can
remain on their present territory unless in some
fashion not yet discovered new markets can be found
or old markets restored for their products and thus
their food supply can be restored. '".H a..
There is another circumstance to be reekoned with
Before the the British laborer was underpaid by
comparison with the American and neglected by the
state contrasted with the German Actually class
war was in progress at the moment and it was only
with difficulty postponed in the critical days Of the
conflict But to postpone il capital was compelled
by the government to make Concessions to labor
Wages undreamed of heights, hours OF labor
reduced. There was no longer question OF
competition with foreign countries the whole OF the
product of British labor was consumed in the war and
the problem Of price did not arise ',"' d '''.
nBT when peace came the old question came again.
u Unless labor willing to forego most if not
all Of its increases of the war it would be to
impossible for British products to compete with those
of other nations in the world market And the British
laborer was not and is not willing. Reductions we
have had the has retired from various key
industries. In the case Of coal ,haye had long
and bitter strike result of the refusal. of the
miners back to remotely, something ap-
preaching the 1914 scale. But although the miners
lost the strike the compromise settlement laid heavy
burden upon the state and by brought wages
down to the old levels restored British advantage
in the world markets .,.-~.' x . a. = -.
And a wholly fortutous circumstance added to the
difficulty One must recall that coal is after all
of the chief items in British foreign trade The exports
of coal go long way to pay the feod bill But the
treaty OF Versailles and the reparaons' settlements
which have followed have compelled the German to .
surrender the Sarre mines to France and to deliver
upwards Of 100000 of tons OF coal to France an
nualy as we'll as large amounts to Belgium and to
Italy. As these three countries were the chief Gus
toners for British Goals there has been almost
plete paralysis of British exports Finally the United
States profting by the great increase in the Of
British as contrasted with American coal Production
has become a competitor in the European market
For time the British endeavored by various de-
vices regulate the cost of German coal the nations
receiving it on the reparations account. But in the
end they failed al this and for them the French and
Belgian market seems lost indefinitely. Moreover
given the German stsation, given the comparative
costs Of raising American and British coal it is plain
to see that only by such reduction in British wages
is out of all calculation Britain again compete
with the same success. On the contrary she is
threatened with steady decline in her sales of coal
abroad ....-
IF conceive that the present economic disorder
i in Europe is to continue over number of years;
if one conceive that Russia is lost to world trade
for decade at the least, then il is plain that the