Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-15
FALL OF EXPORTS
HITS BRITAIN HARD
Nation Now Paying Out
$243,0OO,OO More Than
Income From Abroad.
BY Gable to The Star.
BY NEGLEY FARSON,

LONDON, England, September 15.-
The issue Of the trade balance, or,
more properly, the balance Of payments,
is, indeed, the greatest preoccupation of
the present moment. According to the
most reliable forecasts, there is now an
outpayment of f50,o0o,000 ($243, oo0,-
o0o) annually by Britons to foreigners
in excess of impayments by foreigners
to Britons"
Great Britain's historic trade balance
is therefore wiped out.
The above quotation is given literally
from the financial editor Of the Man
chester Guardian, writing today, be-
cause 1t is necessary to have the most
conservative and best informed refer
ence when discussing such vital sub
ject.
The recent Franco American bank
ers' credit of $400,000.000 may give
Great Britain breathing spell to try
to put its house in order. But the real
question agitating British financial and
manufacturing circles Of the day is
how can Great Britain make more
money to remain on the gold standard?
Yesterday Prime Minister Ramsay
Macdonald appointed a cabinet COM
mittee to investigate Great Britain's
adverse trade balance.
Exports Fall Is Crisis.
Great Britain's real crisis is the
chronic fall of exports. Compared with
1918 prices, these have never yet
reached the pre-war levels.
Exports for 1929 were 81 per cent
they were IS per cent in 1890, and for
the first half of this year only A per
cent.
An idea Of what this means to each
Englishman, compared with what a
drop in exports means in other coun-
tries, can be grasped when it Is said
that in 1929 British exports of goods
worked out at about $50 per head OF
the population. roughly, s35 per head
in Germany, $50 for France and con-
siderably less per head for Japan and
the United States. Three-f1fths OF
Great Britain's alarming 100000 I'M
employed were in trades directly con-
nected with export-and in nearly all
of these industries real wages were
either below or merely fraction above
the pre-war index level. 49,,
Even so, in 1929 Great Britain still
remained the worlds largest exporter OF
manufactured goods, followed closely by
the United States and Germany. The
real reason for England's dilemma today
is the alarming fall during the world
slump of her returns from shipping,
commerce, finance and foreign invest
ments-her invisible" exports, with
which she has been more and more bal
ancing an adverse balance Of imports of
tangible goods over manufactured ex-
ports.
This is striking figure in England's
position in world trade, as seen from
the following example:
In 1880 Great Britain had an adverse
trade balance in real goods-an excess
of imports over exports-of roughly
81 goo, 0O0, 900. But against this she had
returns from invisible exports OF $780,
100000 from overseas government re-
ceipts, a $525, 100000 net national ship
ping income, $350,00o,000 net receipts
from short interest and commissions
and other sourceS-and 81 ,175, 900, 600
net income from overseas investments.
In the final balancing, it. therefore,
is seen that against the visible adverse
trade balance-excess Of imports over
exports to $1,000, 000, 900,
Great Britain had $2,155,000,00 in re-
turns from invisible exports-therefore,
a favorable international trade balance
of $255, 100000.
In such fashion Great Britain had a
favorable trade balance for 1928 of
$685. 600, 900 and of $500, 0o0,0 in 1929.
The drop to $195 10000 in 1913 was chiefly
due to the fall of $125,000,000 in ship
ping receipts and decreased return in
overseas investments by $175,000000.
1t is the alarming decrease Of these
invisible exports-noticeably shipping
and overseas investments showed under
by the world economic blizZard-that
is forcing Great Britain to take drastic
measures to preserve the gold standard
now.
Shipping Earnings Down.
During the first eight months Of this
year Great Britain's imported goods
were $2,700,000, 000-her exports were
only $1,500,000, 000-giving an adverse
trade balance of $1,000 100000.
Not only is this slightly worse than
the corresponding figures for 1880, but
the trade slump has hit invisible eX-
ports so terrifically that shipping earn
ings. estimated by the Board Of Trade
at $500,000,000 for 1880, have dropped
Hoover debt suspension involves a loss
Of some $55,ooO,oo0 In receipts from her
own empire war debtors. And the re-
turns from overseas investments have
so shrunk that the most conservative
British economists place this years ad-
verse trade balance at least $3.50, 000, 900.
Under such auspices all three British
political parties are formulating their
opinions on the tariff policy. And as
the first step it is predicted that the
balance of payments will be rectified
outright by the restriction of imported