The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1933-06-14

| listing problems ana cohuieiohS onu
the underlying influences ch1eny
responsible for their creation sus-
tains this conclusion.
"When every nation Is visited
by DISASTROUS panic 1t Is for the
| isolationist a mere coincidence. For
him no panic has an international
character. cause or cure. He credu-
lously believes that this present
depression just happened to come
upon all countries at the same
time an dthat, despite demonstrate
ed failure to do so since 1923, each
by its own local program can at
will restore full prosperity.
Economic nationalism as prac-
ticed since the war comprises every
known method of obstructing in
ternational capital AMI trade such
as high tariffs, quotas, embargoes,
exchange restrictions and depre-
ciated currencies. Many govern
ments by manifesto are constantly
changing their tariff and other OBJ
structions so that their utter lack
Of stability is seriously destructive
of business. Thee trade barriers,
inevitably caused a disastrous re-
action upon production, employ
ment, prices and distribution with
in the confines of every nation.
Under the ravages Of these COM
bined methods of extremism un-
counted millions of people are star
wing in some parts Of the world
while other parts are glutted with
vast surpluses. Raw materials are
fenced Off from factories, factories
from consumers and consumers
from foodstuffs.
"How many nations can get a.
long without world trade? The In
dispensable nature of information
al commerce is better understood
when we recall that most Latin
American countries ordinarily sell
abroad from thirty to eighty hve
per cent Of their total production
Of movable goods; England must
sell twenty-five per cent; Germany
thirty per cent; Canada thirty per
cent; Australia thirty per cent;
New Zealand forty per cent ana
japan forty five to sixty per ceent.
A serious decline of the interna-
tional market can cause a severe
irnnairment of the economic and
financial life of these large ex-
porting countries, and this in turn
dislocates all foreign trade and, as
has been demonstrated during this
panic, cuts deeply into all produc-
| ton and throws tens of millions
of wage earners out of employment.
"The strangulation of interna-
tional trade from more than nifty
billion dollars, the amount 1t
should be according to the pre-
| war rate of annual increase, down
] to a rate less than fifteen billion
dollars reveals a most tragic phase
of this short-sighted and ruthless
policy. An international transact
aion become an exception rather
than rule. Each country proposes
to sell but not to buy, 60 extore
but not to import and to get rich
at the expense of the oaher.
1.-THE inevitable effect of these
contradictory practices has been
to reduce to the lowest level all
prices of primary commodities
bought and sold in world markets
with similar effects upon commod-
ity prices back in each country.
The inability of peoples in different
countries to transfer goods in pay
ment of balances strains all domes-
tic financial structures. Currencies
i and exchanges become unstable.
These practices, offensive and de-
fensive, have forced business in
every nation to an artificial basis
and plunged the world into econ
omic war.
1.-THE more extreme propone-
ents of these disastrous policies in
operation during the postwar Pc
riod, in q spirit Of mistaken sell
fshness or unreasoning fear. have
insisted strenuously upon the very
minimum Of economic contacts
with other nations. Their slogan
has been the talismanic word
| prosperity and each nation living
by itself was to grow rich and the
people everywhere were to wax fat
| and be clothed in purple and fine
linen. In their eyes it was I'M
patriotic not to buy homemade
goods regardless Of costs.
"In the making of tariffs thought
| was given only to the safeguard
| ing of the home market even to
| extent of protecting the more en-
efficient individual businesses, in
efficient industries, and industries
clearly not justifiable economically
No serious thought was given the
| disposition of surplus production
| through exchanges. The home mar
ket was to be kept separate from
the world market and prices bear
ing no relation to those of other
countries would be fixed arbitrarily
| within each nation.
Has not the time come for gov
ernments to cease erecting trade
barriers with their excuses, rank
| Determinations, and hate breeding
reprisals and retaliations?"
Honest intelligence now COM
"A al set
| substantially interrelated and in
terdependent in an economic sense
with the result that international
, cooperation today is fundamental
| necessity. The opposing policy of
self containment has demonstrated
its inability either to avoid or ar
rest or cure the most destroying
depression in all the annals Of
business.
This conference should proclaim
that economic nationalism as i'm
posed upon the various nations is
a discredited policy; and from
those who insist that the world
| should continue in this discredited
policy the conference must turn
aside. Many measures indispens-
able to full and satisfactory bust
ness recovery are beyond the pow
ers Of Individual states. The ex-
treme difficulty is manifest of one
nation by itself undertaking large
ly to reduce its tariffs or to remove
exchange restrictions or to stabi-
lie its exchange and currency or
to restore the international finan-
cial credit and trade structure.
1T is equally true that mutually
profitable markets could only be
obtained by the liberalization of
the commercial policies of other
countries and this is only possible
by the simultaneous action of all
governments stabili0ing exchange
and currencies and reducing to a
reasonable extent trade barriers
and other impediments to COM
merce between nations.
".rhis conference must formulate
plans to deal effectively with these
difficulties. Satisfactory conditions
OF peace and prosperity and hui
man progress itself require the
maintenance OF . growing inter