The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-05-16


plies a determination TO insulate
the American price level against
the effects of world price move
ments. This program quite clearly
implies also a determination TO adj
just the domestic supply of goods
TO the domestic demand.
All this has not been explicitly
declared to be the purpose Of the
program, but Enthusiastically it is i'm
plicit in the farm bill and the pre-
liminary descriptions of the forth
coming industrial bill.
EVIDENTLY this program does
IL not rest upon the theory that
the United States must wait upon
agreements at London for any con-
siderable measure of recovery.
The program rests upon the as
sumption that the United States
can, by its own actions, greatly i'm
prove its own economic condition,
and that it need not consider itself
too dependent upon the outcome of
the international conference.
In this sense the program is ma
tionalistic. 1t relies primarily upon
policies which are wholly within the
control of the American people to
bring about relief and re-employ-
ment and a greater economic Sc
curity.
But in describing the program as
nationahstic it is important to dis
tinguish between an aggressive
economic nationalism and an essen
italy non-aggressive nationalism.
During the twenties the United
States drifted unCOnsciOusly into
policy of highly aggressive economic
nationalism. 1t not only raised
high tariff wall, but from behind
that tariff wall it developed a great
surplus of exports which it forced
into the outer world by heavy for
eign lending
AS a creditor power, it not only
refused goods from the debtor ma
tions, but it invaded their markets
and the neutral markets with its
own exports. That this was one Of
the major causes of the world
crisis can hardly be doubted.
II
IN carrying out this policy many
i important American producers
adjusted themselves to a continual
ton of the artificial export trade
and became dependent upon it.
When it collapsed, as it has col
lapsed, the productivity geared to
an export surplus exercised a very
depressing effect at home.
The potential supply threatened
to oVerwhelm any probable demand.
Now in these circumstances there
have been, theoretically, two pos
sible courses open to us One was
to return to the policy of the tWen-
ties. This involved not only per-
suading the world to reduce its tar
ifs drastically, but also a reSump-
ton on large scale of American
foreign lending.
But for more than year, more
particularly since Britain adopted
protection, there has been very lit
tie real hope that the world would
soon see as much free trade as pre-
vailed in the twenties.
And as for American foreign lend
ing, any resumption of that on a
large scale is clearly probable for
some time to come.
1t followed, therefore. that the
export SURPRISES of the twenties
could not be restored, even if it
were desirable to do so. But if
they could not be restored then a
different course was necessary.
The American export industries.
which had been artificially eX-
banded, had to reorganize to a sub
stantially domestic basis. The I'M
DERIVING meaning of the farm bill
Is to assist the farmers to do lust
that. and one of the obvious adj
vantages Of modifying the anti
trust laws is that it will enable 9TH
err producers to do also.
THUS, looked at from an inter-
Il national point of view. the
American domestic program pro-
vides the means by which the United
States can free itself of depend
ence upon an artificial export sur
plus, and cease, therefore, to feel
the compulsion to an aggressive
trade rivalry.
1t may, therefore. fairly be said
that the kind of economic nation
aliSm which has now been adopted
in the emergency is retreat from
the aggressive and internationally
disturbing economic nationaliSm of
the postwar years.
A United States which is not try