Evening star., 1924-08-24
DAWES PLAN BENEFITS
German War Debt Settlement Viii Open Up Markets
of Europe U. S.

rs the balance against us at pres.
ent?" =
Last year we had an adverse bal.
ance in the world trade for ths e-5.
time since 1911. 1t is true that the
hgures show small credit balance
of $541, 100000, but this is much more
than offset by the invisible items"
will sterilization of the Euro
pean market solve the problem of the
American farmer?"
Foreign Farm Market Gone.
ut will unquestionably be a great
relief to him, as it will make possible
the sale of very much larger part
of his products abroad than he is
able to dispose of now. At the same
time the farmer would do well to
get the idea out of his head that he
is ever going to get his war market
back. One trouble with our farmers
is that they keep measuring things
by the wartime standard when mil
lions of European farmers were with
drawn from production. Since the
war agriculture has been booming all
over Europe, and crops this year will
be on fairly abundant scale. Re-
Gently / travelled all over Germany
and was very much impressed by the
| fourishing conditions of the farms
everywhere. OF course, Russia is
still out of it. not because she is not
growing food crops, but because she
has not transportation, and the rest
of Europe must still buy a large part
of it's food supply abroad. That
means that the American farmer will
still have his opportunity, but he
should accustom himself to think in
terms of pre-war markets instead of
wartime markets"
rs there any other specific branch
Of American industry which will be
particularly benefited by settlement
of the reparations question:"
Well" replied Mr.. Booth thought
fully, the benefits will be felt in
every part of the country, but there
is one industry which it seems to me
will especially feel the good effects,
and that is our automobile industry,
With stabilized currency in Europe
our export shipments should show a
big jump, and as the barriers against
American cars have been let down in
England / would expect a very de-
cided stimulus to our whole auto
mobile export trade" -
The fear has been several times.
expressed" l remarked, that the
rehabilitation of industry in Ger
many Will mean that that country
will cut largely into the trade of her
neighbors because of low production
costs and high industrial organiza-
tion. Do you think there is any JUS
tification for that fear?" ~
No Fear of German Dumping. -
None whatever" said Mr.. Booth
emphatically. The fact of the mat.
ter is that country will always
do all the business it can on COM
petitive basis when trade conditions
are normal. Besides which there are
| .,.I Il l,+,
many which will have a profound
effect. The one great thing which
the German workman obtained from
the war has been the eight-hour day,
and he will maintain this under all
circumstances. With Germany on
gold basis and her workmen on an
eight-hour day her production costs
will be much the same as in any
other country Apart from this
there will be a charge upon German
industry under the Dawes plan for
payment of reparations, and taxes
will be substantially increased to sup
port the government. These factors
will not permit her to manufacture
commodities for export at a unit cost
much lower than that of any of her
| competitors. When there was a wild
| rush to transfer German wealth into
| foreign balances we had visible evil
dence of the dumping which YOU are
| talking about, but when German cur
rency is stabilized there will be no
| such desire to ship wealth out of the
| country and German manufacturers
| will not be willing to sell goods for
less than a profitable price. The
fear of dumping is largely a delu-
sion. -
The whole situation,' concluded
Mr. Booth, lis one which calls for
optimism The end of long and
very dark road is apparently in
sight. and Americans have not only
every reason to congratulate them
| selves that normal conditions are
| about to be restored but also that it
was American business brains and
American good will which found the
way out of what often seemed a
hopeless mess
| Coryripht by L. p. G. News Service, Incl