The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-05-01

the United States dealt a severe blow
to Britain's foreign trade by going OIL
the gold standard. And while Mac
Donald and Roosevelt were issuing
meaningless statements of mutual
admiration in Washington, Americas
economic offensive was continued
with the authorization Of unlimited
imitation of the dollar
BOrah Admits Failure
In Washington yesterday, Senator
Borah as much as admitted that the
international negotiations preliminary
to the scheduled World Economic
Conference in London have been a
failure insofar as they have not sue
ceeded in reconciling the profound
conflicts between the United States
and its major imperialist rivals. While
the American press has been flooded
with optimistic official statements,
Borah is forced to concede that
France and Great Britain seem to be
going forward in determined effort
to manipulate the currency so as to
gain a decided advantage over the
United States in trade"
Borah also stressed that the Euro
pean powers are emitting any provi-
sion for the payment of their war
| debts to America from their budgets
while retaining increased expenditures
| for ornaments. In so doing, Borah
gives expression to the American i'm
perialist policy of using the financial
! power of the United States to
strengthen Americas imperialist posi-
ton by forcing reduction in the arma-
ments of other powers in exchange
for debt reduction or cancellation,
while American war expenditures con-
tinue to rise.
Dollar and Pound Rivals.
When Great Britain went off the
gold standard in 1881, it was signal
for increased British exports, while
American exports fell sharply due to
the advantage enjoyed in foreign
markets by the deprecated British
pound.
England's huge exchange eQualiza-
ton fund, which has spent hundreds
of millions Of dollars during the past
year and half to maintain tba
pound below parity with the dollar
has been weapon directed at a
vital point in Americas foreign
trade. Neville Chamberlain, Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer, in presenting
the new British budget to Parliament,
provided another $3.50, 900 900 for this
fund What does this mean? 1t
means that Great Britain is deter
mined to keep the foreign trade ad-
vantage enjoyed as the result of the
deprecated pound and that it will
match the depreciation Of the dollar
cent for cent as American initiation
progresses.
Thus we see in the financial field
the most violent and intensive con-
flict between the dollar and the
pound for the control of the foreign
markets so vital to capitalist economy.
But this is not all. The British Of
fensive against Americas initiative
in the world economic field has just
succeeded in obtaining preferential
trade agreements for Great Britain
with Denmark, Germany and Ar
gentina. Negotiations for British
trade agreements with Norway and
Sweden are on the point of being
signed in London. These trade agree
ments ensure Great Britain preferred
treatment in tariffs, and in mini
mum quotas for the importation of
British-made goods.
Battle for South America.
Even the American capitalist press
admits that Americas going off the
gold standard and the consequent
rise in the Argentine peso and other
South American currencies marks
''the beginning of battle royal be-
tween Britain and the United States
for the South American market" In
this battle, Great Britain has very
important advantage in that British
investments in Argentina far exceed
American capital invested there,
while the present dictatorship govern
ment of Argentina is pro-British
regime established through coup
d'etat that overthrow the pro- Yankee
Irrigoyen government. America is
countering this with opening new
negotiations with Argentina for trade
advantages.
On the other hand, the negoti-
ations between President Roosevelt