Evening star., 1932-09-11
LAY GROUNDWORK
!. FOR TRADE PARLEY
U. S. Experts Begin Work
| Washington Won't Be Con-
ference Scene.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

various Government departments con-
cerned have begun to lay the ground
work for American representation at
the forthcoming world monetary and
economic conference.
Time and place of the conference
remain to be fixed. Reports that
Washington will be its scene lack foun-
dation. Decision on place and date
Is expected when the Organizing Com
mittee assemblies at the end Of Sep
tember under the Craftsmanship Of Sir
John Simon, British foreign secretary.
The United States has delegated
Norman H. Davis of New York and
Frederic M. Sackett, Ambassador to
Germany. as our members Of the Or
ganizing Committee They will serve
with two representatives each from
Belgium, France, Germany Great Brit
ain, Italy and Japan, six additional
members to serve as spokesnlen for
the smaller states and to be selected
by the League of Nations, and two
appointed by the Bank for Interna-
tional Settlements at Basel.
WIN VI lhulatC hSChuos
The main task of these % men will
be to formulate the agenda, or pro-
gram of discussion, for the conference.
The different governments will then
name their delegates and experts.
The conference Is the outcome of the
Lausanne Preparations Conference last
July. Although the United States was
not a participant at Lausanne, the
raparations powers invited this coun-
try to participate in al monetary and
economic meeting on the same basis
as themselves. The invitation was ac-
cepted on important conditions. The
United States required three things
to be understood definitely in advance:
() That war debts should be Tex
cluded from the scope of the confer
ence; (2) that specific tariff rates, as
distinguished from tariff policy, should
also be barred and CD that among
the monetary questions to be taken up
would be silver. -
The stabilization Of silver In the
Orient is the monetary issue In which
America is particularly interested Our
Western States, like Montana, Idaho,
Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona,
are anxious to see the white metal re-
stored to its old place In the currency
system Of the Far East, because the
world market for American silver would
be correspondingly widened
State Department officials warn
against too high expectations from the
monetary and economic conference.
Yet in their broad aspects, It's results
will materially affect the United States
whole financial, commercial, agricultural
ar5 industrial structure.
Our pre-depression annual export
trade Of $4,000, 100000 year has fallen
to about $500, 100000 a year. The
conference is going to tackle a variety
of problems that have contributed to-
ward bringing down our foreign sales
to a bare one-third of what they used
to be. So-called trade controls" like
the French system Of import quotas
limiting the amount Of foreign goods
that may be marketed in France, are
to be taken up. Quotas are playing
havoc with American trade in various
markets to which it formerly had free
access. Improved conditions of pro-
duction, trade interchanges, producers
) agreements and all questions affecting
the flow Of international commerce, are
TO be thrashed out.
VIII Weight Tariff Policies.
Tariff policies" rather than tariff
o tional tariff ring which has gradually
been encircling the United States, as
far as imports from this country are
concerned, has just been pulled tighter
i by Germany. She has boosted her tariff
rates enormously and at the same time
announced further restrictions designed
ito protect her own industry from foreign
competition. France Is also at unof-
fetal tariff war with the United States.
Her commercial organizations declare
America must reduce her own tariff
in order to admit more French goods If
American goods expect to get into
France in larger quantities
1t Is, OF course, understood by all
the conference powers that the matter
of tariff rates is something exclusively
/ within the province Of each govern
ment. But the conference proposes to
go intricately into the subject Of tariff
policy" and to explore the possibility
r Of reaching some broad agreement
whereby the unwisdom of trade-ham-
pering tariff systems viii be universally
accepted. The United States assents
to such a discussion of tariff policy"
1t only demands "hands of" or. tariff
rates.
; Though Uncle Sam bans war debts as
theme for the conference agenda, the
OlllICQ LoJdLcO Ildo d SJdk6 OV6IStdS
entirely unrelated to war debts. 1t con-
sists. of the Investment Of American
dollars abroad, estimated in 1929 to
aggregate S16,000,000, 900. About half
of this sum is in the form. of stocks,
bonds and other securities of govern
ments, municipalities and Industrial
! undertakings, held for the most part
by individual investors. The cher
S8000,0 100000 Is represented by plants
and properties In foreign countries
owned by Americans. This vast stake
will be affected by any decisions come
to about things like monetary and
credit policy, gold exchange difflculties,
the level Of prices and the movement
of capital. The delegates Of the United
States will be in position to bring before
the conference such developments as
the recent foreign drive on the Amer
.can dollar and the withdrawal of gold,
with consequent peril to the gold stand
ard. This country Is bent upon see
ing that there is no repetition Of the
battle Of Chateau Thiery"
Hoover's warlike description Of the re-
pulsed assault on our gold dollar. Ques-
tions directly concerned with such at
, tacks are bound to bulk conspicuously
at the conference.
Many authorities in this country be-
uGV6 lIldIt HAVING DdAACN naA NCDLo
and tariffs from its program, the con-
ference is doomed by the United States
to have only barren results. The Hoover
administration does not share this view.
1t thinks the international monetary
and economic situation is full Of i'm
portant issues, wholly removed from
tariffs and debts. 1t is confident that
out of such a meeting of world minds
clearer understanding on host OF basic
problems is bound to ensue, with oen-
mite benefit to the whole disoroered
economic universe.
Copyright, 1922
OApN0NEN Ac CI AVER