The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-04-30
y Industrial Internationalism.

modities are things produced for
sale. When sold they must yield
certain surplus to their owners. A
manufacturer sells his commodities
on the market where he can get
the highest profit. To him it makes
no difference whether that be his
native land or a foreign country
Actually there is no country that
produces everything it needs and
that does not produce more of some
commodities than it can consume. In
the modern age of international eco
nomy, we can hardly talk of self
sustaining country. Each and all de-
pends upon one another, whether for
commodities or for markets of its
own commodities.
There is a natural and artificial
division among the various lands.
One country possesses natural re-
sources in great abundance over its
own needs. The capitalistic corpora
tion which secures the title over
these resources, will exploit them
and sell where ever possible, only to
gain greater profits. Since the be-
ginning of the modern capitalistic
era, it was not the price received
for a certain piece of a commodity,
that brought the greatest profit, but
the amount of commodities produced
and sold. Under the old handicraft
system, it was almost immateriM how
many pieces of given commodity
were produced, it did not consider
ably change it's price. Take as an
example, the making of furniture; a
certain kind of table will not be
much cheaper, whether one or ter
pieces are made, the same process
must be gone over. The case is posi-
lively different under the modern
machine production. When a design
is perfected, a die made and the
machine set for a certain kind Of
product, the machine will turn out,
at almost the same cost one hun
dred or one thousand pieces. The
modern manufacturer, for these reas-
ons strives to produce on large
scale and inevitably must seek large
markets, in order to dispose of the
commodities thus produced.
p Means of Communication.
The development of the means of
communication, enable the consumers
to obtain a variety of commodities,
from various parts Of the world.
Many articles for our daily use, are
composed Of the raw materials got
ten from many countries. All of
these parts do not como as raw
materials, some are partly modified
before shipping to another country.
For instance, England, serves in the
capacity Of a workshop and as
sembly room, obtaining raw ma
terials from the whole word. This
leads us to the question, how are
the raw materials, semi-manufactur-
ed products and completed COM
modities exchanged on the Interna-
tional markets.
81 International Exchange of CON-
modities.
Commodities, are sold on the in
ternational market for cash or its
equivalent: banknotes, checks, etc.
All money is based on the gold sup
ply of the government issuing it. A
banknote yor a check has no value
in itself. Banknotes are issued by
banks under State regulations, which
provides there must be gold in the
bank for which to exchange the
paper if the bearer so demands.
Thru this regulating process the
State assumes the responsibility for
all such paper money as soon as it
leaves its boundaries. On the In
ternational Stock Exchange are
quoted not only the banknotes Of
certain banks but mainly the currency
of country. When the country's
gold supply runs low and it fails to
keep its promises and obligations, it
Is bound to lose the confidence Of
investors and other governments
generally. As soon as this occurs, its
money depreciates in value. The
value Of money, within country,
may be maintained by legal regula-
tion, but such a measure by no
means applies to the great, outside
world.
Exchange Of commodities between
two countries, having dissimilar pro-
ducts, seems to be an easy and
simple matter, as for instance
Russia and England. Russia having
a variety Of raw materials and agri-
cultural produce but little machinery
while England, having machinery
and manufactured articles, needs
these products. Trade relations would
seem to be very simple and even
direct barter possible. Barter has
no place in the capitalist world, al.
though trade relations are favorable
between two countries Of the above
mentioned character. Trade is car.