Evening star., 1932-01-10

which started over the Shantung man.
date, has continued desultorily ever
since and, recently, has been renewed
with special vigor. As China Is Japan's
greatest market, this boycott has been
o. heavy blow to her business.
The suspension Of the gold standard
by Great Britain last September re-
suited In sharp drop in exports OF
japanese goods to Europe. Japanese
silk has fallen progressively in price,
due to overproduction and many other
arrangements Of foreign trade. A drop
Of not less than 20 per cent under a
year ago is noted in the foreign trade
Of Japan.
This series of events pushed Japan
off the gold standard and she has been
compelled to resort to q gold embsrsc
to hold an amount OF gold sufficient
to support her currency.
The immediate history Of China lead
ing up to this new warfare Is an almost
unexampled catalogue Of calamities.
Newspapers are still publishing pictures
of the disastrous floods of the Yangtze
Valley SO recent were they. Unknown
thousands of lives were taken by the
raging waters but, In addition, some
80, 100000 people were rendered home
less and without productive occupa-
ton for the time being. China can
spare people, but not wealth, and this
interruption to production was q blow
at her economic security.
China's Plight.
All the world knows the plight of
silver, and China, as the greatest re-
naming silver-using nation of the
world, has inevitably suffered greater
loss Of values than any other people.
Both her internal and foreign trade
were struck by this devaluation Of silver.
Much more silver now Is needed to
buy goods from abroad. There is less
to sell abroad because the floods laid
| "a 900 square miles waste-the greatest
floods in so years. The livelihood OF
180 600 900 people, a population greater
than that of the United States by more
than 50,000,000, has been directly and
adversely affected.
One billion dollars in actual damage
Is estimated as the immediate cost OF
the food to the Chinese people; latent
damage Is yet to be felt. Certain in
terror provinces of China for some
five years have been famine-ridden, due
to excessive drought and estimates Of
those suffering from starvation run as
high as 25,000,000 people.
War, famine, pestilence and floods
have resulted in increased banditry.
The tax burden has increased and
unity of leadership Is not conspicuously
present. Foreign credit Is at low ebb.
While China and Japan are the coun-
tries Immediately involved in the war
for Manchuria. other countries of the
| Far East and their economic conditions
have place in the picture.
! The last year Is declared to have
been the worst in the economic history
of Australia. Prices have been un-
precedentedly low and foreign trade Is
depressed.
All through Malaga there has been
distress due to the complete fiattening
out in the price of rubber, the COM
modify which brings that region its
greatest amount of foreign cash. The
Philippine Islands have been similarly
affected and their economic condition
Is low.
The troubles OF India. political and
economic, have been widely publicized.
Her domestic business has been crippled
and general business involving foreign
trade has been adversely affected by
! the boycott against British goods con-
Quoted by the Indian Nationalists.