Evening star., 1927-10-30
EUROPEAN TRUSTS PLAN
TRADE WAR AGAINST u. s:
Tariff Row Seen as
First of Many lessons Due in
Reciprocity Drive.

vantages in France and balances them
with reciprocal concessions to France
In Germany.
British Isolation.
Meantime, British heavy industry
refused to join the continental cartel.
The idea of foreign partnership is con.
trary to British genius and the British
iron and steel industry Is not organ
lied on lines to permit such combina-
ton. But the chief reason for British
refusal to join has been the determi-
nation to make Il combination of their
own. Thus while continental coun.
tries are seeking to make tariff ar.
rangements to give them collective
hold of the continental markets
against American challenge, the pres
ent British government has been
feeling it's way toward some intra-
imperial system of tariff preference
giving the mother country the same
situation. Here was the reason for
the recent Canadian visit of the Brit
iSh prime minister.
AT the moment neither the conti-
mental nor the British scheme has pro.
gressed far enough to Justify Ameri-
can apprehension. 1t is significant.
however, that both combinations are
designed to meet and triumph over
american competition. Both rest upon
the idea that since the American
markets are closed to European pro.
auction, 1t is for European countries
to dominate their own markets to the
exclusion of America.
In Europe, there remains an almost
preposterouS conviction that in the
future, America will become SO de.
pendent upon the European markets
Ior her excess production that she
viii be forced to modify her own
tarln policy. And it was because of
this belief that there was general
european rejoicing over the Franco
american tariff incident. To the Euro
pean mind, the American public was
receiving the first of the many lessons
necessary to its education.
Debts Are Issue.
And inevitably, into the question
OF tariffs there is injected the issue
OF the debts. Europe continues to
reason that it is totally beyond her
capacity to do three things at once;
namely, to pay the debts, to repay
the postwar private loans which have
been made by America, and to buy
largely in the United States and thus
10 absorb the surplus American pro-
duction.
In this state of mind, Europe is
convinced that the American Gov
ernment must cancel the war debts
or reduce the American tariff bar
riers.
The simple truth is that only the
passions reused by the war and
stimulated by the treaties of peace
have prevented European combina.
tions on very large scale. The
economic anarchy which followed the
war was even greater than the politi.
cal. But this stage is passing. They
are becoming more and more recon-
clled to doing business together,
where it Is profitable. And, oddly
enough, it is the French and German
peoples who are showing the way.
The French people are bound to
buy their manufactures where they
sell their wines, and since we ex.
clude all wines, the benefit will go
to the Germans, who are prepared to
trade their wares against wines. In
fact, in the new process which is
making itself felt in Europe the
great gamers seem certain to be the
Germans. They have adjusted their
industries upon an American basis,
and are prepared, as we are not. to
use their tariffs as an instrument
for increasing foreign trade.
Thus, in the final analysis, the
tariff episode is no more than an
other illustration of the restoration
of Germany to pre-war strength. II
political supremacy has escaped her,
she has returned to the struggle for
economic primacy with all her old
strength and skill. And If any
European country does take up the
American challenge. it is almost Ger.
tain to be Germany.
Downright. 1927