The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1933-07-27
RESULTS OF CONFERENCE

Although few international experts have not
given up hope for the final of the interna-
tional conference at London, the greater majority
of them feel that nothing tangible will be accom-
plished in the British metropolis Some of them
even contend that the world generally would have
been better off had the conference never been held.
This is open to serious question While it ds true that
the conference may have engendered some interna-
tonal il-feelng especially the part of the gold
bloc nations toward the United States, the confer
if it folds up without accomplishing any
thing constructive will have served valuable pur-
pose in that it will demonstrate to the American
people the utter futiity of holding international
ferences in the present state of international dux.
Had the conference never been held there would
have been, in event, in the United States small
but noisy band of nternationalists who would have
blamed everything unfortunate which happened to U.s.
to the failure to hold conference, and would
have maintained that if a conference had only been
held, prosperity would have returned to the world
in short order. AS there would have been way
disprove their remarks, they might have put it
far great many unthinking and emotional
people were concerned.
But the London conference, if it does nothing
else has opened the eyes of the people of the United
States to the great difficulties of accomplishing any
thing definite in such conference. It has shown
them that if any concrete results to be obtained
in conferences these results must be obtained at the
sacrifice of the United States and to the advantage
of the rest of the world
For example, something could have been accom-
pIis6ed in the way Of immediate monetary stabiliza
ton in the present conference Uncle Sam had been
willing to forgo his domestic policies and to stabilize
the dollar at point which would have enabled other
nations to operate in the field international trade
to the disadvantage of the United States. When
France devalued her money several years ago it
regarded by her own government a smart trick
and patriotic move to save the economic structure
of France When Great Britain cut the pound loose
from gold in 1881 it regarded not only
sary but good business. London fnanciers glee-
fully stated at the time that it would give Great Brit
ain great trade advantages and it did. Japan and
other nations followed suit. France remained the
gold standard but with her devalued franc she had
already succeeded in reviving herself and accumu-
lating the greatest per capita gold reserve in the
world
The cheap European and Japanese money enabled
these nations not only to undersel in the world
markets but to leap the American tariff wall and
dersell producers in market. This might
have been remedied by embargoes the adoption
of the system of the American valuation but unfor
tunately Congress, opposed to President Hoover in
most things, elected to take waiting course and
permit the destruction of our trade to continue
Then came the cutting loose of the American
dollar and the embargo to stop the drain of gold
from America Did European nations regard this
smart trick and patriotic action on our part?
They did not. What good practice on their part
"villiany" the part Of the United States and
France and her satellites nearly If not quite, wreck
ed the conference over 1t.
It must be evident to most thinking Americans,
therefore that Europe regards international confer
ences principally meetings to be held for the pur