New-York tribune., 1922-10-17

os about sa.1eo.ooa 900. IN addition,
he world shipped lis over $ab0, DOT. .9o0
ln gold and silver. During the year
wo exported sS.SD0, 900 .ooD in goods
Thus, during that fiscal gear the world
had paying power to us in rgcess uf
goods bought from ms Of about $780,
ooo COO. This excess was probably used
to rcadjust previous private debia.
The assumptiea that payments froni
debtor countries would need 10 be tnacc
~ geld os ias goods direct 10 the United
States. or that goods will hood our
1aarlsnts. should Of course he modified
90 rho extent of tho use OF invisible
exchange. bat beyond even that ii does
not necessarily foilow that there Is any
food Of competitive goods The world 4
trade lis TO q large extent a sort Of
roel. as the rcsult Of triangular opcr-
atioF's; that is, il our investors loan
money TO the Argentine, then the Ar
gefitine may cxpend this money in the
purchase Of goods from the Continent
OF Europe. The Coatinent of Europe
thus possessed of this money may use
y in payment on account of debts due
as ia the purchase ef our goods. An
other case of triangular world COM
fnerce ef profound and craving inpor-
tancc is the relation of our imports
az goods from the tropics.
The shipment Of European manu-
factured goods Of the sort that might
compete in ouY home market. to the
tropics. and in turn the shipment TO
as Of tropical gaods that will not inter
feic With our domestic manufacture or
employment, is not only possible. but
is going on all the time The products
OF The tropics rubber coffee, sugar,
woods etc sre type Of goods which
we can not sufficiently produce. They,
therefore, do not affect employment in
the United States and they are goods
which are constantiy increasing in
ratio to our total imports In so short
a time as seven years, the proportion
Of products from the tropics which we
imported have increased from SO to
50 per cent of our total imports. To
considerable degree tropical coun-
trles arc under control of our
European debtors, As our standards
OF living and of population continue
to grew, our imports of tropical
produce will further expand.
Thus, it does not follow that the
whole OF these debts are either to be
paid in goods or that competitive goods
necessarily come into our markets at all
from this cause. Beyond this, If
America continues strong and pros
porous, our ability to consume Euro
pean goods of the types we do not our
selves produce will be greatly in
creased and Europes ability to pay us
would be still further increased The
assuming that the present surplus of
exports over imports represents the
available balance with which ccun-
try can meet a longtime debt ignores
y .of tI,r Ia =
OF goods alone does not form the whole
basis Of payment, but il ignores the
time element. Due to increasing
population, development Of science
and natural resources, the worlds in
ternational commerce doubles nearly
every fifteen or twenty years, and this
debt burden being fixed burden will
thus be decreasing burden Large
international debt is not new
phenomenon. It is precisely the same
thing in its effect upon exchange and
trade, whether the debt is intergov-
ernmental or private debt.
Before the wgr the rest of the
world owed to Europe generally prob
ably $50 0,000,000,000 and this burden
was carried without ripple ON the
surface OF the worlds commerce. 1t is
true mat this creditor situation has
partially shifted from the eastern to
the western hemisphere, but it has
only partially shifted. Europe still en-
Joys the return from very large debt
or the rest OF the world and, indeed,
has many investments in this country.
This total sum-three times our debt
was mostly accumulated over period
OF fortg years. 1t represented that
portion OF Europe's surplus pro-
fI.1a ;fr- fs1. ~l, = -.
Europe was able to do this despite sew
eral fair-sized wars. 1t is at least an
indication of productive and paying
powers in peace.
mo one can assess the relative
weight of all of these momentous eco
nomic forces, but it is a certainty that
we should have more experience with
them before we jump to- sthe conclu-
sion that any necessity exists or that
any constructive results will be OBJ
tanned by placing irretrievable burdens
upon the American taxpayer. 1t would
be misfortune to the world if by
such action we made the continuation
of armament and political disturbance
in the world just that much easier.
"No one can be impressed more thar,
myself with the dangers and losses to
American trade and commerce from the
present instability in Europe, the low
cred standards of living in many areas,
the reduction Of The great middle class
from whom the intelligence and leader
ship must come, the diminished purchas-
ing power Tor our products, the very prac-
tical questions of huctuating exchange
in its creation of a speculative element
in all international business-all Of
them affect our own welfare directly.
Beyond all this, we are affected morally
and intellectually with any of the
failures of civilization. Yet, as / have
SAID, the retrospect of the last three
years is not enc of discouragement
over Europe's progress, and any knowl-
edge of her productive powers bellies
all encouragement except war. Amer
lea earnestly wishes to be helpful to
Europe, but economic matters require
degree of realism, that will do justice
to the American people as well as be
heipful to peoples abroad"
MRS. Slade Gives Her
u n - .