Evening star., 1933-06-14
CHAMBERLAIN TALK.
OUTLINES PROGRAM.
Address of British Leader
Expected to Influence
Course of ParIey.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER AND
NEGLEY FARSON.
" Cable to The Sta,

| BY Cable to The Star.
| LONDON, England, June 14-The
| first great speech of the World Eco
nomic Conference was delivered today
by Neville Chamberlain, British chan
cellor of the exchequer, in the name of
the British Empire.
Completely ignoring the 15-minute
rule, he stated Great Britain's entire
position on all the questions involved
with such force. clarity and precision
that it is felt this British lead here
after will be difficult to escape from.
In this speech Great Britain has. so
to speak, fixed the program of the con-
ference. Chamberlain's tone was tech
| meal He spoke as statesman and
economist to other statesmen and econ
omists. He plunged deep into some Of
the hardest economic questions which
have ever .perplexed the mind Of man.
It is safe to say that his speech will be
studied by all the delegations for days
to come.
Chamberlain began with brief his
tory of the present crisis. Great Brit
ain, he said, debated and stabilized at
par in 1925. The effort has failed be-
cause the gold standard was falsified
by uneconomic payments like the war
debts and reparations, the evil effects of
which were temporarily concealed by
vast American loans to Europe, but
were felt disastrously as soon as these
loans ceased.
Summary Of Program.
Prices then began to fan. Great
Britain tried to tide itself over by ex-
tensive foreign loans, but Central Eu-
rcpe-f1rst Austria and then Germany
crashed, and in 1881 Great Britain was
forced off the gold standard. It has no
Intention OF trying to stabilize again
until better conditions are restored
Monetary, financial and economic
questions are interrelated, Chamberlain
said, and must be treated Simultane-
ously. His concrete proposals can be
summarized thus:
/. Raise prices by new war debt
settlement, removal Of quotas and ex-
change controls, lowering tariffs, CO.
ordinating production and marketing,
increasing cheap credit by open market
operations of the central banks, creation
OF political security and confidence, and
optional national programs of Govern
ment expenditure for public works.
2. Currencies must be stabilized in
two stages. First, with immediate meas
ures to check fluctuations, and second.
by return to the gold standard, but
only on the following conditions: That
prices rise; that there is new and
final reparations and war debt settle
rent; that tariff and exchange re-
strictions be reduced; and the gold
standard itself be reformed by using
gold hereafter only for the payment of
international balances and by reducing
the legal gold cover and by closer co.
operation among the central banks.
8. Reduction of trade and financial
barriers. A rise in prices and an in
| crease OF international trade would help
end the standstill agreement, would
help repay international private debts
and make 1t possible to resume normal
| international lending by countries
plentifully supplied with gold to others
who need it.
FavOrs Wheat Post.
The best way to reduce tariffs is by
| bilateral agreements, accompanied by
| the moSt-faVored-nation clause whose
benefits, however, should be extended
only to those who are willing to reduce
their own tariffs. Exceptions from the
| most favored dnation clause could also
be made for countries desiring to make
regional agreements.
The idea that each country should
buy from another only the amount it
| sells to it is unsound because much of
trade is three-cornered. Prohibitions
! and quotas should be removed. No
tariffs should be maintained to promote
uneconomic industries, nor should un-
economic subsidies be granted, for ex-
ample, to shipping.
| Great Britain is willing to enter into
producers agreement respecting wheat,
but other such agreements should be
attempted in commodities only If the
majority of the producers concerned re-
quest them.
Copyright. 1933)