The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-05-15
By RODNEY BUTCHER NEA SarHlca NNrifar

By RODNEY BUTCHER
 NEA Service Writer
 Washington. Commercial history In the last few years appears to hay. damaged the theory that Europe was on it's last legs.
 It makes lot of difference to this country. No one disputes the growing interdependence of the two continents. Europe provides half our export markets and the percentage of loss in exports to Eu- rope during the period of depres- sion has been less than that in our exports to any other continent.
 The United States is more i'm portant to Europe as a source of Supplies than as an export market, it was pointed out by economists at the International Chamber of Com merce congress here, and Europe is more important to America as an export market than as a source of supplies.
 Shows Progress
 Despite foreign protests at our high tariffs and international debt payments, monographs, reports and speeches at the congress were in essential agreement that Europe had begun period of convalescence from her postwar illness and that European commercial progress would continue despite the world wide depression. When the depres- sion arrived, for exports to America had been increasing and she was again holding her own in the mar kets of the world.
 European delegates brought statis- tics to show that from 1926 to 1929 industrial output increased more rapidly in many European countries than in the United States and from 1929 to 1880, the first full calendar year of depression, it decreased more rapidly in the United States than in the leading countries of Europe.
 Foreign trade values decreased everywhere in 1880. they said, but the shrinkage was less marked in Europe's leading countries than in the United States.
 Although 1929, except for 1920, was Americas record year for for- eign trade. Europe's share of inter- national trade had risen from 49.6 per cent in 1926 to 52.2 per cent in 1929.
 Consumes More Raw Materials
 Between 1926 and 1928 European consumption of such basic raw mate xials as coal, fuel oils, copper, lead. zinc, tin, aluminium, rayon. wool, rubber and cocoa increased while American consumption decreased, ac- cording to figures presented by AL berto Pirelli, the Italian industrial ist, who was chairman of the Eu- rope United States committee which had supervised an immense amount of research and produced many long reports for the congress.
 Also, said Signor Pirelli, although the United States owns 75 per cent of the worlds operating automobiles the number of new registrations of motor cars in 1880 was 453,00 in Europe and only 123,000 in the United States. John H. Fahey, the American publisher, former presi- deat of the international chamber, said the trade of Europe as a whole had expanded at practically the same rate as that of the United States ex- cept for the war period.
 Fahey. also made the interesting that it was an open question, raised by able economists, whether living standards in the United States had risen more rapidly than in Europe. Compari- sons, he said, might be merely mat ters of opinion and the variations simply those represented by diff ferent tastes and attitudes of mind.
 U. S. Trade Values Drop
 Tn a careful examination of 1850 from the American standpoint, he showed that our foreign trade had fallen off considerably more in value than in volume, owing to lower com modity prices. American foreign trade reached a peak of $13,500.00O,- 900 in 1920, fell almost by one-half to $7,OOO,00O, in 1921, reached s9,20O, 900, 900 in 1928 and $9,600.- 900, 900 in 1929, only to fall to $6,- 300, GOO, 900 in 1880. The last total was 2S per cent below 1929 and 20 per cent below the average for the previous five years.
 But although our experts fell 27 per cent from 1929. value to $3,S43,- O00, ,O00 in 1880. the department of commerce. making adjustment for price changes, has estimated that the quantity of our exports dropped only 19 per cent. And imports of s3,0s1, ,000, ,000 for 1880, which was 30 per cent off from 1929, repre- sented a quantity decrease of only about 15 per cent.
 Our four leading exports, Fahey reported. fell off like this. compar- ing 1880 with 1929: Cotton, S6 per cent in value and 12 per cent Tn quantity. Automobiles. 49 per cent in value and 56 per cent in quan- tity. Gasoline increased six per cent in quantity but declined six her cent in value. Leaf tobacco in- creased one per cent In quantity
 
 American Born Richest
 The European experts, analyzing mast American commercial progress and prosperity with the develop ment of mass production. united in stressing the abundance of our natural resources and the lesser density of our population. They also mentioned the great size and uniuue uniformity of our domestic market. Every American. they said, was born thrice as rich as every European. But they also gave us credit for being young and smart and vigorous, a race well ntteo to make the most of our privileges and opportunities.
 They noted the improving condi- ton of Europe and suggested that America was sooner or later bound to slow down her rate of industrial progress while undertaking to demonstrate the old continents eco- homie vitality.
 "Europe is old but not decrepit," said Pirelli. "She Is an invalid put ting on flesh and this is a reassur- ing symptom"
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