Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-19

duced Germany 10 make the greatest
possible efforts in this direction. Since
1924 Germany has about doubled her
exports. Today Germany'S share in
world trade is almost the same in per-
centage as it was before the war.
Nevertheless, Germany so far has not
been able to show on the average even
the smallest export surplus in her bal
ance Of trade. OF course, the export
figures at times have surpassed the i'm
port figures as, for instance, they do
right now, when the extremely sharp
depression in trade has forced Germany
| to reduce imports, thereby reducing her
stocks, and at the same time to force
her exports even at loss. But on the
average, from 1924, when the mark was
| stabilized, 10 the present. Germany has
shown an import surplus Of 1000, 000,-
coo gold marks year.
| If Germany is really to pay repara-
tons then she must increase her foreign
trade by at least 40 per cent, which, of
| course can only be done at the eX-
pense of Great Britain, the United
States and other countries. It remains
! to be seen whether or not 1t will pay
America and Great Britain or the other
countries to insist on the payment Of
reparations, whether it will be possible
| to develop world trade to such an ex-
tent as to give Germany a share which
will enable her to pay reparations with
out doing harm to the development Of
the trade Of America and other coun-
tries.
Feeling Of Distrust Created.
All these tendencies to interfere arti-
| ficially with the natural development OF
world economics which have arisen as q
result of the war, the peace treaties
and the subsequent political rearrange-
ments, were bound to create q feeling
Of general distrust all over the world
and this is one Of the main psychology
ical reasons why everybody hesitates to
| enter international commitments for q
long term or to risk his money in new
enterprise and why everybody is salts
fed to preserve whatever he has left.
The uneasiness which is created by
such unnatural and forced movements
of goods as the PREPARATION deliveries is
increased through the big interna-
tional movements on the money
markets connected Herewith. The pay
ment of billions of PREPARATIONS, the
issuance, movement and displacement
of billions of foreign loans of political
nature, the heretofore unheard of huge
amounts of short-term credit passing
from one country to another, especially
into Central and Eastern Europe, have
reached proportions which are detri-
mental to a balanced functioning Of
the international money market.
True, all civilized countries have re-
turned to stabilized currencies, but
nevertheless the development of foreign
exchange rates is characterized by large
fluctuations and such wide and frequent
oscillations that gold shipments from
one country to another have assumed
proportions such as we never witnessed
in pre-war times. We who remember
with what meticulouS care large foreign
loans were prepared in pre-war times
and studied for long periods before
hand, so as to avoid unbalancing
foreign exchange rates, must gasp at
the frivolity with which billions are
now virtually tossed from one country
to another every moment.
Isolation Is Questioned as Possibility.
For a country of the size and popula-
ton of the United States the question
may arise as to whether or not it Ia
possible for it to isolate itself from the
whole international trade movements
by concentrating on a policy of self
support and going its own way without
regard for world trade. To me such q
solution does not seem possible. Amer
lea, If not as purchaser, then certainly
as seller, is so intimately connected with
the rest Of the world that separating
. America from world trade would mean
, 1Qontinliad On Fourth RaGaA