The Washington herald., 1921-07-13
Recovery from Trade Depression Rests
With Betterment in World Markets

Extreme ReactionF Dying.
THE economic changes in the
other combatant states in Europe
obviously affects us also. The eco
nomic wounds given to them all by
the war and peace will be long in
healing The sacrifice of skilled Ia
Dor. of brains. and of property will
require generation to cure. The
hates of many newly liberated
states must cool slowly, and their
many new, borders check the free
flow OF commerce. Many of these
states possess masses OF people
who have suffered from exploitation
and tyranny for generations.
'TheiR extreme reactions of Boil
sheVism and Socialism and nation
alization are slowly dying out.
Many governments have been un-
able to raise sufficient taxes to
meet expenditures. and the cease
less printing OF currency carries de-
structive initiation. All of them ex-
cept the enemy states bear the bur-
den of greater military establish
ments than even before the great
war. All this must accumulate to
decrease their productive power and
to lower their standards of living.
Must Work Harder.
TN balance against this loss of
productive power their people over
great sections are now coming to a
full realization that they must work
| harder than ever before and that
they must export commodities for
all that is in them, in order that
they may make exchanges for \the
bare margin of life. They will some
of them receive payments from Ger
many in relief of their tax burdens.
They are mobilizing the Skill and
the intelligence of their people to
their economic salvation with the
same diligence that they were
mobilized in war
The great manufacturing states
are straining every device of science
and thought to the Improvement of
their industrial processes, to the
simplification of products, to the
elimination of waste-that they
shall make every reduction in pro-
duction costs. In reinforcement of
their marketing machinery, many
of the governments are stimulating
the consolidation OF banks and of
manufacturing concerns Govern
mental and government encouraged
combinations are being created to
control exports and imports to ex-
plot foreign markets. They are
seeking special concessions for de-
velopment and trade throughout the
world. Altogether these policies
comprise a militancy in commercial
expansion that compared with
Elizabethan England.
Will Help U. $. Markets.
ANY Improvement in European
production of manufactured goods
will favorably affect our market for
those raw materials such as cotton
and copper, where We possess the
final supplies. In considering the
demands for such raw materials we
must remember that the manufac-
turing countries of western Europe
have lost for a long time to come
any great markets in Russia and
Turkey: the population of Europe
as a whole has not the consuming
capacity for manufactured goods
that it had before the war and.
therefore, we must expect a less
than prewar consumption in the
confines of Europe for their remanu-
facture, of our raw materials.
But on the other hand, they will
md after this depression is passed
that the markets of the rest of the
world are larger than before the
war / am confident they will grad
ually return to prewar demand for
our cotton, copper, etc. Fortunately
our producers have realized this
temporary situation and have Wig
orousiy reduced their production so
that they should eventually realize
better
U. $. to Hold Its Own.
1T seems to me that it was in
evitable that the balance of the
forces at work in Europe would inn
prove their ability in competitive
manufactured goods. Their produc-
| tion costs were bound to be low
both by better organized industry
and by lowered standards of living.
Some of them are today through
government subsidies, artifically
low and will undoubtedly increase.
II we analyze the effect of these
forces on the market for our manu-
factured goods. either in Europe or
in our much larger market outside
of Europe. We quickly find two di-
rections in which we occupy a posi-
tion of some security.
The first is in those exports of
| lower production costs which are
the result of great repetitive pro-
duction, which has it's firm root in
our enormous consumption. The
second is in that large number of
special manufactures in which the
inventive genius and skill of our
people have been developed beyond
| any country in the world. Your
own industry of shoes and shoe find
ings is typical of these two charac-
teristics. / believe we will recover
and can hold our share of the mar
ket for these products after the
present world depression.
Must Cut Down Costs.
'As to our manufactures contain
ing a large element of labor cost, in
which we do not enjoy special ad-
vantages, we must look out and
take measures of our own. We can
no doubt devise tariff measures that
will protect our domestic market.
But If We are to hold to our foreign
markets in this vast group of our
| manufactures, and thus to keep our
people employed, We have several
things to attend to-. Fundamentally
we must get our production costs
down. That lies only along the
| road of increased efficiency in our
| whole industrial machine. 1t means
a Willingness of our working people
| to put forth every effort that is in
them consistent with health proner