The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-06-05


Despite their optimism and words
OF good cheer, all this was admitted
by the worlds leading statesmen
as group after group visited the
White House to exchange ideas
with President Roosevelt here.
The world said Secretary of
State Cordell Hull prior to embark
ing for the London conference as
head of the American delegation,
must make its decision now 1t
must level off its trade barriers and
induce commerce to start flowing
again, else admit failure, and let
the present tendency to economic
isolation take its fateful course.
World Trade ParalyZed
Already the world has had
taste of what that course means,
he said. After twelve years of it,
100000 Americans are jobless,
100000 in other principal coun-
tries are idle, and 100000 Amer
lean farmers alone have suffered
an aggregate loss of 40,000,000 900.
Business has been paralyzed the
world over Consumption in every
quarter of the globe has dwindled
for lack of purchasing power. Sur
plus products have accumulated.
and the bottom accordingly has
dropped out of prices. Gold has
gone into hiding.
Hardly a nation on earth is
strictly on the gold standard.
Neither nations nor individuals can
pay their debts National budgets
are out of plumb. International
exchanges either are closed or
operate only under the severest re-
strictions. The depression is uni
verSal.
Failure Means Disaster
The job of the fifty-four countries
sending delegates to London is to
remedy this situation.
Failure will pit nation against
nation and group against group in
the worst cut throat, economic war
civilization ever has seen. 1t will be
every nation for itself and the devil
take the hindmost.
Even so, Raymond Moley, assist
ant secretary of state, warned that
the public must not be too opti-
miStic. There is limit to what can
be done If an agreement can be
reached on a broad international
reconstruction program, he init
mated, to supplement the domestic
recovery programs of the participant
ing powers, the conference will be
doing pretty we'll.
In plain language, the main prof.
ects before the conference are
these:
l. Steps leading to the worlds re-
turn to a gold standard.
2. Sterilization of the worlds
principal currencies, including the
dollar and the pound, at some fixed
ratio one with the others.
Tariff Agreement Needed
g. An increase in the price of sill
yer to raise the purchasing power Of
the bullion silver-u users of the Orient
and the rest of the world.
4. Removal of exchange reStric-
tions to permit the free flow of
international trade and credit
5. Agreement on a world tariff
policy and the abolition of trade
quotas and other hampering devices.
6. Coordination of national hank
policies and practices.
T. Boost world commodity price
levels.
s. Qualification of the world
debt problem Most of these debts
are of a private nature, but inter
governmental debts are nevertheless
enormous
Some agreement with regard to
Europe's $11,000000,00 war debt to
the United States will be essential
to success. Though the administra-
ton policy prevents a discussion of
these debts at the conference itself,
beyond question they will be dis
cuSsed concurrently-eithe here CT
elsewhere
Much, if not everything, will de-
pend upon the outcome of these
concurrent" debt discussions.
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