Evening star., 1932-10-16

strangulations fears, and panic, the
streams of which precipitated another
long series of worldwide disasters.
The Democratic leaders apparently
never heard that there followed revolu-
tions in Spain and Portugal. Brazil, the
Argentine, Chile, Peru. Ecuador. Siam
with attempts at revolution in a dozen
other countries, resulting in their
partial or practical repudiation of debt
and the constant decrease in buying
power for our goods.
Weakened Systems Collapsed.
They seem not to know that the
further accumulation of all these causes
and dislocatons finally placed strain
upon the weakened economic systems OF
Europe until one by one they collapsed
in failure of their gold standards and
the partial or total reputation of debts.
They would hold the American people
ignorant that every one of these ma
tions in their financial crises imposed
direct or indirect restrictions on the
import Of goods in order to reduce ex-
penditures of their people. They call
these "reprisals" against the SmoOt-
HaWley tariff bill.
They apparently have never heard OF
the succeeding Jeopardy in which oV
Nation was put through these destruc-
tions of world commerce. or the per-
sistent dumping of securities into the
American market from these panic
stricken countries: the gigantic drains
upon our gold and exchange. or the
consequent fear that swept over our
people, causing them to draw from our
bank resources $500, 100000, all of
which contracted credit, resulted in
demand for payment of debts right and
left and thwarted our every effort for
industrial recovery.
Yet in the face of all these tre-
mendous facts our Democratic friends
leave the impression with the American
people that the prime cause Of this dis
aster was the boom in f1otations and
stock prices and a small increase in
American tariffs.
State Governments Responsible.
Such an impression is unquestionably
sought by the Democratic candidate
when he says:
THAT bubble burst first in the land
Of its origin-the United States. The
major collapse abroad followed. 1t was
not simultaneous with ours
do not underrate the distressing
losses to millions Of our people or the
weakening of our strength from the
mania of speculation and flotation of
securities. but 1 may incidentally re-
mark that the State governments have
the primary responsibility to protect
their citizens in these matters and that
the vast majority of such transactions
originated or took place in the State Of
New York
But as to the accuracy of the state
ment have quoted I may call your
attention to a recent bulletin of the
highly respected National Bureau of
Economic Research, in which it is
shown that this depression in the world
began in IL countries, having a popula-
ton Of 600,000,000 people, before it
even appeared in our country. instead
OF the bubble having first burst in the
United States" Their report shows
that the depression in eight other coun-
tries, with population of another 6O0.-
100000 people, started at the same
time with ours. In fact, the shocks
from the continued economic earth
quakes In these other countries car
rled our prices far below the values
they would otherwise have sunk to, with
all its train of greatly increased losses,
perilS and unemployment.
Disaster Spread Like Fire.
Our opponents demand to know why
the governmental leaders or business
pen over the world did not foresee the
approach Of these disintegrating forces.
That answer is simple. The whole
world was striving to overcome them,
but finally they accumulated until GER
tain countries could no longer stand
the strain, and their people, suddenly
overtaken by fear and panic, through
boarding and exporting their capital
for safety brought down their own
houses and these disasters spread like a
prairie fire through the world. No man
can foresee the coming fear or panic, or
the extent cs its effect. 1 did not notice
any Democratic Jeremiahs.
So much for the beginnings and
forces moving in this calamity.
now come to the amazing state
mentS that the tariff bill of 1880 has
borne major influence in this debacle.
quote from the Democratic candidate:
The HaWley-Smoot tariff is one of
the most important factors in the pres
ent worldwide depression"
1t has destroyed international COM
merce."
THE traiff has done so much to
destroy foreign trade as to make foreign
trade virtually impossible"
I shall analyze the accuracy of these
statements. not only because I should
like to get before my countrymen a
picture of the lack of understanding
which the Democratic party has of
world trade, but also for the further
reason that it is Of vital Importance to
labor that, as our opponents have this
ohsesslon, it means that if they are in
trusted with control of our Government
they intend to break down the protec-
tive tariff which is the very first line
of defense of the American standard of
living against these new forces.
Date of Tariff Recalled.
1t requires collection of dull facts
to demonstrate the errors in these bold
assertions by Democratic leaders
At the beginning 1 may repeat that
this tariff bill was not passed until nine
months after the economic depression
began in the United State and also until
20 other countries had already gone into
the depression
The Democratic party seldom men,
tionS that 66 per cent of our imports
are free of duty. but that is the fact
From half to two-thirds of the trade
of the world is in nondutiable goods
that is, mostly raw materials; another
part is in luXuries, upon which all ma
tions collect tariffs for revenue; another
part, and probably less than one-third
of the whole, is in competitive goods SO
far as the importing nations is con-
cerned and therefore subject to pro-
tective tariffs.
The trade of the world has Distress
ingly diminished under the impact of
these successive dislocations abroad But
the decrease is almost exactly the same
in the free goods everywhere as in the
dutiable goods. That is the case in the
United States. If the Smoot Hawley
tariff reduced our imports of dutiable
goods. what was it that reduced the
tWo-thirds of nondutiable goods?
Increase Held Small.
If We explore a little further, We
would find from the Tariff Commission
that the total duties collected in a COM
parable year represent 16 per cent of
the total imports, this being an increase
nf hn rNrQy-;pIlc