Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-26
BUSINESS PROGRAM
URGED FOR BRITAIN
Sir Oswald MosIey Suggests
Cancellation of War Debts
as First Proposal.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

Special DlSpatch 10 Inc otHr.
NEW YORK, February 26.-Sir Os-
valid Mosley, the intellectual and veal
thy left-w!ng leader of the British La
Dor party, has announced his program
for dealing with the business and po-
Htical life of Great Britain. 1t has
caused new sensation in the SNUG
little islands
Sir Oswald lays down four PROPOSE
tions. which deal with the future of the
British empire. Here they are
l. Great Britain to cancel all her
war debts, providing the United States
does the same.
. Establish a "directorial' cabinet
of five or six men, and scrap the pres
ent cumbersome cabinet" ParDamentS
are old and useless
3. Protect the home market and ar
range for an economic partnership, with
each of her dominions and colonies.
4. Force industrial mobilization OF
all national capital and technical re-
sources, create new employment, and
abolish the dole.
Upon this platform, Sir Oswald, his
wife Lady Cynthia MoSley. and three
other members of the Parliament, in
GLIDING Oliver Baldwin, the Socialist
son of the former Conservative prime
minister. have already voted to with
draw from the Labor party and estab-
lish themselves as separate political
entity.
whether he succeeds or not in this
sensational departure from constitu-
tional government, Sir OSwold Mosley
has started something that is likely
to be controversial fer months.
China's Cigarette Consumption.
China is big cigarette
country. 1t consumes about 60,O00,-
100000 cigarettes a year.
During the last few years China i'm
ported about 5000 000. 900 cigarettes,
the bulk of which came from the
United States. 1t also imported most
of the leaf tobacco with which it man.
ufactures its own cigarettes from the
United States.
In 1928 leaf tobacco imports totaled
IA 600, 900 pounds, of which SO per
cent was from the United States. In
1929 the volume dropped to about
123.000,000 pounds.
Shanghai is the chief production
center, manufacturing about 60 per
cent of the total produced in China.
There are three large foreign-owned
factories, and fully three-score medium
and small Chinese factories, according
to information supplied by the United
States Department of Commerce.
Foreigners produce about 10 per cent
Of the cigarettes.
r. Schaddelee of Chicago. United
Light & Power executive, when asked
by the Sherman Corporation what he
thinks is real cure for depression.
said:
IF real and permanent cure for
business depression is TO be found, the
leaders. managers and operators of our
industrial and business affairs will have
to change their direction and tactics
and devote 80 per cent of their time,
efforts and intelligence toward increas-
ing the purchasing power of the peo-
ple-first to catch up with the present
productive capacity, and, second, to
keep it in line for the future"
This Chicago executive thinks it is
chasing rainbows to spend in any one
year the income received from two to
three years. Such action is delusion
and a snare.
ITO buy in two years what it will
take one four years to pay for means
that in the last two years one will buy
very little"
Bank Loans.
l. j. Fairchild of Washington, chief
of the division of trade standards of
tie National Bureau of Standards, gives
another angle to the business situation.
He points out that many bankers,
through fear have lost their better
Judgment in the handling of loans
Undue conservatism on the part of
banks in making loans in times of de-
preston has a profound and cumulative
deterrent effect on business men, who
naturally are guided to a large extent
in financial matters by the actions Of
their bankers and who retrench, even
when they might buy stocks Of goods
were it not for the reactionary views
of the bankers
One physician in a Middle Western
city told the writer of his experience in
recent months. He has a large practice,
and is known in his profession as one
of its leaders.
Collections being slow, two weeks ago,
he attempted to borrow a few thousand
dollars at the bank where he has done
business for many years. Not having
liquid assets of the kind the bank
wished for collateral, the loan was re-
fused Yet he had borrowed many
times on the same collateral in past
years.
Apparently security. not character,
is the basis of loan-making with that
particular bank. which happens TO be
a very powerful bank in its community.
Antitrust Law Revision.
B. A. Rowe. president of the w. T..
Grant Co., sees in the revision OF the
needs of today. But he questions
whether it would not be better TO I'M
dertake such revision under more
normal business conditions.
While Mr.. Rowe inclines TO the belief
that wage rates will continue to be ad-
justed slightly downward to correspond
TO the decreased cost of living, it should
be the last resort" because every re-
duction decreases purchasing power.
There seems to be a general opinion
that some retailers have endeavored to
improve the quality Of their merchan-
disc. hoping thereby TO maintain both
the 1929 price levels and business vol
ume'
This is a mistake. he thinks. The
vast majority Of retailers applying such
principles ARE making losing fight !"
(copyrisht, 1881. by North American News