Evening star., 1933-08-27
British Coal Strike Ended.
Ship Merger Discussion
Held Premature.
WORK-SHARING BOOSTS
GERMAN JOB FIGURES
French Favoritism to Wheat Farm
ers Stirs Wrath of Grain Mer.
tnants and Public.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK. August 26.-Cables and
wireless dispatches to Business Week
give the following survey of business
abroad for the week ended today:
London.-Business is seasonally quiet,
but the tone is good and the industrial
markets are still optimistic. The an
thracite coal strike has been settled.
Rail traffic in July, as well as cable and
wireless activity, was down, but was
well above the July figure year ago.
London considers the current rumors
that Cunard and White Star are to be
merged little premature, though the
announcement is expected by early
Fall Really encouraging shipping
1t Is definitely announced that foreign
shipping companies are to receive equal
treatment in Germany despite the ru-
mors a week ago that they would not be
allowed to transfer funds out of the
country.
Wheat talks opened optimistically in
Canada House early in the week. I'm
porters are expected to comply with the
very reasonable demands of the big 4"
producers-Canada. Australia. Argen-
tina and the United States. Real worry
is Russia and Germany Germans are
following nationalistic policy and will
agree to accept a relatively small quota
in the world market, but refuse to cut
acreage.
German Work Shared.
Berlin.-The striking gains in the
number Of men working in Germany at
the end Of July compared with even the
mldmonth figures are out of lines COM
pletely with the very modest industrial
gains which are reported There is
only one explanation. and this has been
admitted by the minister of economy.
Work has been shared. In some cases
the number of unemployed has declined
because the men are no longer receiving
state aid. Finally, the large number Of
young men who have gone into the
Volunteer Labor Corps are no longer
counted among the unemployed, but
their purchasing power is little more
than 1t was when they were without
jobs. In all cases purchasing power hes
been increased only a little. The whole
lack Of business optimism Is reflected
IN sagging bond and stock prices.
There is no actual setback I'm busi-
ness activity. Electrical consumption is
up per cent. Hamburg freight trafic
is down only slightly and Bremen re-
ports per cent more business the first
half OF this year than in the same pc
Rod year ago. Iron and steel pro-
duction is rising, but slowly
The one Nazi economic measure
which has been strikingly successful is
the abolition of the tax on motor cars,
planned to encourage consumption.
When half-year reports were released
output Jumped from 22,116 a year ago
to 42.293 this Spring; sales increased
from 23,278 to 1888.
Paris Wheat Aid Scored.
Paris.-Grain merchants ana the
wheat consuming public in France has
risen in vigorous protest against the
extreme favoritism which the govern
ment is showing the wheat farmer.
In July France decreed minimum
price for wheat. This became neces-
sary when the country, usually a wheat
importer. found that several years of
mountainous tariffs plus bumper crop
had produced an unexpected wheat
surplus in France.
To relieve the pressure on the do
nestle market the government further
offered an export bounty so vt French
farmers could dispose of their surplus
on foreign markets. Trouble has de-
veloped.
One Of the first effects Of the new
law, which really didn't get into full
operation Until august !, has been that
wholesale dealers In wheat have been
practically put out Of business through
the refusal of millers and other large
buyers to pay more than the fixed
minimum price for their wheat. They
know they can get ample supplies d.
rect from the farmer at that price if
the middlemen refuse to sell as low.
Grain merchants in one of the great
wheat regions have already warned the
government that they will pay no taxes
If the injustice Of the law IS not cor
rected
Consumers voiced their protests loudly
when they discovered they were paving
almost three times the price for Their
wheat that it was commencing when
exported, especially after tney realized
that this low export price was made
possible through a government subsidy
which came back to them In taxes. al
ready unbearably high. It IS small rea-
son that the wheat conference in Lon
don this week won little more than
passing notice. It is a case where the
Frenchman can't see the woods for the
trees.
Through it all business and the
bourse are calm and steady.
a