Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-04-06
BUSINESSAND
FINANCEM u. s.

-. eraLOnS. one, preSIQeQ over Oy the
= Secretary VI Agriculture, dlscusSed
domestic prooiem-tne serious
-. plight OIL our tarmers-and concluded,
among OLner QeIInICe recommends
tons, that as the price OF agrlcultu-
raj proQuets are regulated Dy world
widemarket 0emands, the United
States should consult ana cooperate
with other nations IN neIpIng 10 STAB
lllze economic cOndIulons. Inc oLner
conference, presloeu over BY the Sec
rotary OF state, discussed lnterna-
tlOnaI prODlemS-tne limitation OF
armament anu the lar Eastern ques-
tlon-and arPiaved at decisions Wnlcn
must have Iar-reacnlng effects upon
our domestic, as wei as our foreign
affairs.
The Washington Conference on the
Limitation OF Armament may not nave
accomplished ali that IS BENG claimed
Tor 1t IN some quarters; buC 1t mas
set IN motion international FORCES,
which should be Oh great benefit 70
our country and TO pracCcaly every
other country oil the world
Primary Object Attained
The primary object OF stopping the
competitive building OF capital SHIPS
which was III progress ana winch was
so like the competition preceding the
great war, seems 10 nave been atCaIu-
ed. To stop competition OF this KIND
fundamentally, however, 1t IS neceS-
Sary to aiiay IearS from which 1t re-
suits, ana substitute Tor suspicion ana
apprehension a belief in me PACING
intentions OF other powers. TINS OBJ
jectlve also mas been attained, since,
by the Horsepower treaty, the Anglo
Jauanese alliance has been terminal
ed, and conference maugurated IN
place OF wars Tor the reaction from
any controversies winch might arise
in the region OF the Pacihc.
Furthermore, understanding has
been reached as TO the relations OF
the powers TO China IN additional
treaties and formal declarations which
not only establish practical rules OF
conduct Tor foreign enterprise IN that
country, but also apply them so lar
as the present conditions OF government
and social order permit
To quote the report of our dele
gates: The sum total of the action
taken i'm the conference regarding
China, together with the return of
Shantung by direct agreement be-
tween China and Japan, the with
drawal of the most unsatisfactory Of
the SO-called 'twenty-one demands
and the explicit declaration of Japan
regarding the closely connected ter
ritory OF Eastern Siberia, Justify the
relation of confidence and goodwill
expressed in the Horsepower treaty
and upon v hich the reduction of arma-
ment provided in the naval treaty
may be contemplated with a sense of
security"
1t is generally believed that the
work of this gathering be ratified by
Congress, for such cooperation with
~ other nations is generally acknOwl-
edged as prime requisite in better
ing tire present condition of the world
- ard our own economic status.
Relation of Tariff to Foreign Debts
- the" uncertainty in Congress about
, the form which the permanent tariff
is to take is due to more deep-Seated
: causes than lack of leadership, as
-. some have charged. 1t is only the I
reflection of the varied opinions held .
by different interests throughout the /.
country. Fundamentally this uncer-
tainty of public opinion is the result
of a confusion of ideas naturally in
cident to the transition period through
which our foreign commerce is pas
sing. This confusion of ideas and of .
counsels is not due to any unwilling .
ness on the part of the public to in I
form itself; but rather to the inevita-
bic slowneSs of the process of public .
education regarding a subject about .
which, for more than a generation,
there have been fixed opinions based .
upon economic factors that remained .
essentially the same during many
years
So long as the rapidity OF the de
VelOpmcut of our natural resources .
required more capital than we our
selves could supply and we borrowed .
abroad to build our canals, roads and
railways we had to make payments of
inteheSt TO foreign countries These .
payments were usually made out of the
money received for our exports. To-
day other countries own Us annual in
tereSt payments OF far larger amounts
than We formerly made abroad, but
the payments cannot be met by our
debtors out of their balance Of trade
our imports of merchandise over our
eNportS-as we formerly met ours,
because the trade balance remains un-
favorable 90 our debtors
Our exports of merchandise in the
calendar year 1921 amounted to 81,
4S5, 900. against imports To- the
value of S2,509,000, goo, leaving an ex-
cess of exports, or "a balance of trade
in favor Of the United States, of ST.
976,000,000, which compares with cX-
port balances in tine year 1920 and
1919 of 5000, 100000 and $4,0l6,Q00,
coo, respectively.
Usual Means of Payment Not
Available
Debtor nations usually have paid
the interest o0 their foreign debts
out of the excess of their exports of .
merchandise over their imports, and
the ability % make such payments
by continuing excess Of exports has