The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-12-04
CANADA'S DOLLAR
 THREATENING THE
 us. EXPORT TRADE
Is Now Worth Thirteen Gents Less Than the United States Monetary
 Unit
By RALPH BURTON Special Correspondent of The Age-HeraId Copyright, 192I by The Age-HeraId)


 Copyright, 1921 by The Age-Hera1d)
 New York, December .3.-Canada depreeiated dollar. worth IS cents less than the American dollar, Is threatening seriously the export trade of the United States and the profits of American shippers. pe- culiar situation has arisen, as a re- suit of conditions in foreign ex- change that is working all to Cana da's advantage and to the detriment of the United States.
 The cheap Canadian dollar has be- come an asset to Canadian exporters for the reason that shipping rates to Europe are based on the assumption | that the Canadian and American dos- lar are of equal value. Since the Ca nadian dollar is actually worth Is cents less, the Canadiah,r by paying | freight rates in coin of the dominion on vessels sailing from Canada has an advantage that can readily be ap- preciated he is able to undersell, in Europe, the American exporter, even though both maybe dealing in Amer ican products. For the Canadian ex- poi hti tOiltGlS dS q fuit III NGW 1OEk exchange and this enables him to continue to make American purchases with American money.
 Canadian and American buyers. for example. purchase lard in Chicago. They ship 1t to the seaboard-and even here the Canadian has an ad- vantage, for he pays freight rates In Canada with Canadian dollars. Dis regarding that factor entirely, how ever. and assuming that the cost of the lard at Montreal Is approximately that at New York, Boston or Balti- more, the Canadian gets freight rate to Europe 13 per cent cheaper than the American can. simply be- cause he can pay the freight in cheaper money.
 American exporters, of course. are well aware of this competition and have tried to meet 1t. They have established branches in Montreal, but since they are Americans they are required to pay ocean freight rates on goods originating in America in American dollars. They have even obtained the services of bona fide Canadians as agents, but as soon as the American origin of the goods be- | comes known the shipper must pay freight rates in American money. The Canadian may obtain his goods for export wherever he pleases; as soon as they reach Montreal and come into his possession, they are assumed to be goods of Canadian origin and the Canadian dollar is good in paying the ocean freight.
 There Is apparently no remedy fo- 1 the situation, at least for the present Until short time ago a similar con dition prevailed on the railroad lines from Chicago to Montreal. Through freight rates were paid by the Amer ican shipper in American money, and the American railroads simply pock- eted the difference in the value of the American and Canadian money on the haul from the Canadian bor der. or late, revision of rates. based on exchange values, has rem edied the situation so far as the rail- roads are concerned. and Americas n l shippers are said even to have re covered some of the money repre- sented by the profit on exchange. Another big problem before Amer ican exporters is the question of lia : bility for cargoes. The steamship companies accept very limited liability for goods shipped by their lines; pilferage is very common fn- deed at practically all ports. and it Is not uncommon at all to have con ! siderable quantities of merchandise appropriated in loading by long | shoremen, both in this country and abroad Some steamship lines fix their liability for plferage at only 25 per cent and one instance is re- ported where captain fed his crew from goods shipped in the vessel be- cause the liability charges were so much less than the cost of the food