Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-31
TARIFF HELD BLOW
AT WORLD TRADE.
Sir Josiah Stamp Believes
Higher Duties viii Re-
duce Buying.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
acial Dispatch tn The Star

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, May 31.-Sir Josiah
Stamp, 49, outstanding British banker
and industrialist, who arrived here
| today for a two-week series of bust
ness and educational meetings, said
world trade conditions would improve
when the factors which make for pros
perity are again placed in effective
balance"
In his hotel suite, banked with flowers
sent by American friends, Sir Josiah,
heavy set, well built, quick thinking,
fluent Englishman, talked frankly and
freely about tariff walls, branch bank
ing and world trade.
Yes, the proposed American tariff
will have tendency to retard world
trade recovery" was his reply to the
first question. But would not over
emphasize the point. Higher tariff
schedules always have tendency to
decrease the total volume of world
trade.
THE suggested American tariff will
make it harder for outside nations to
sell goods within the borders of the
United States. Retaliation from other
nations may be expected. Hence. the
tendency Of the volume of world trade
to decrease"
What is your opinion of branch
banking-would it be wise for the
United States to adopt such a system?"
Il cannot conceive of English in
dustries functioning without our branch
banking system. OF course we have
grown up under the system. We know
exactly how it works." he commented
-Four or five powerful banks, such
as we have In Great Britain, tend to
make competition keen and vigorous.
But the United States is so vast, so
rich, SO tremendous in sweep, I would
not care to venture a guess on what
banking system is best for your own
business and social development. In
England centralized banking RESPONSE
bility has tended somewhat toward red
tape, but, on the whole, it has worked
extremely we'll"
Would branch banking tend to con-
centrate the banking and credit power
more and more into fewer hands?" he
was asked.
"I doubt if the drift toward financial
concentration, so marked everywhere in
the world, would be affected by such
a change. The industrial and banking
concentration movement will continue.
irrespective of the form your banking
system takes IN the future"
What are the most important prob
lens confronting world business and
trade today?" I asked him.
Sir JoSiahs answer came very quickly
Naturalization, currency reform and
tariff reform! The correlating of yari-
Gus industries into more effective units
is going on today everywhere 1t is
called decentralization in England. Cur
rency reform has to do with stabilized
money and the price level. While tariff
reform deals with excessive nationalist
ton in economics"
1t was the student speaking, for Sir
Josiah lectures in economics and finance
at cambridge and Glasgow Universities
and the London School of Economics.
i agree with Ivar Kreuger of Sweden
when he says that the world has
business into the larger and more con-
centrated type. This evolution has been
gong on Tor years, and is worldwide
In its implications" he continued.
linen are there as many opportu-
mites 1Cr the young person today, as
there were IS or SO or 100 years ago
when big business did not exist?" was
the next question.
Yes, more opportunities than everI
out with this difference-the qualities
required now are not the same kind as
they were when business units were
small. Today qualities that make for
cooperation are in demand. The day
OF the individualist in business is over
The young man to succeed now must
be able to think comparatively in q con-
terence. He must be able to effect
compromise, and to correlate and recon-
struct compounded ideaS-the result of
many minds working on one subject.
He must have tact and basic knowledge
OF the play of economic forces. In a
word: He must have more technical
knowledge than his father or grand
father had. For that young man, there
are many more opportunities open than
ever before. You see it's merely a
change in emphasis. Opportunities,
plenty of them remain"
We discussed unemployment, especial
~ that resulting from machine ef-
ficiency.
Told of new machine, Just installed
by the De Forest Radio Co., for the
making of tubes which will turn out
1000 an hour with the help of three
girls, as against $50 tubes before with
the help Of 40 girls, as symptom of
unemployment trouble today, this Brit
ish banker said:
Eyes, chronological unemployment,
caused by the replacing of workers by
time-saving machines, has been a prob
lem for century. Two kinds of wants
need to be supplied-those of %
necessity and (2) luxury. AS less work
ers are needed to supply the necessity
wants luxury wants must be increased
to maintain the business and employ
ment balance. Then the element of
leisure Is being recognized more
and more as balancing factor. It is
becoming of very great import in the
business picture. So the problem Of
employment is bound up in the success
full adjustment of these three want
factors--necessity, luxury and leisure.
And the least of these three may not
be-leisure.'
"Is the worldwide depression which
now exists due to the overproduction
Of goods?"
I'm my opinion there is no such
thing as overproduction of any article
so long as 1t can be exchanged for an
other one. Overproduction of goods is
a myth. What causes at times a sur
plus of goods is that certain factors in
between tend to prevent their free ex-
change. When the business world I'M
| derstands this better, then what is at
| present the problem of maintaining
| prosperity will be much simpler one
| than it appears to be now"
l (CopyriEat, 1880, by North American News
paper Alliance.)