Smyrna times., 1939-01-05
UNITED STATES
VS.. CHINA WAR
Costs Business and Labor
About twenty-five Thou
sand Dollars Per Hour
HEAVY TRADE LOSSES

NEW YORK. - Japan's ''unde-
clared" war on China is already
costing American business and la
Dor approximately $4,000 per hour
and may ultimately cost more, it
was charged in a survey released
by o. o. Gallup, secretary Of the
Export Managers club Of New York,
Inc.
This loss, which according to Mr..
Gallup totaled more than S200, ,000,-
600, or about a half million dollars
per day during the first year of the
war, has reflected itself 5000 miles
away in United States factories and
industries, the survey asserts.
With experts from the United
States to China for the first four
months Of this year down 30 per
cent as compared with the same
four months Of 1887, according to
department of commerce figures,
the staggering costs Of war which
Japan expected to end in three
months have already cut that ma
tons trade with this country more
than Is per cent for the first four
months of this year. and have
brought so per cent drop in ex-
ports from America to Japan during
May alone, Mr.. Gallup declared.
Heavy Trade Losses.
But these figures. although they
present fair picture Of the heavy
trade losses which have resulted to
the United States from Japan's ''un-
declared" war in China, fail to pre-
sent the total picture, the survey
declares.
Japan's shift from normal to
wartime commodity imports, Mr..
Gallup goes on to explain, spelled
disaster to American labor in that
workers productive in one type of
enterprise are unable to move i'm
mediately into new industries due
to the immobility of labor.
AS a result, the survey states.
thousands of United States workers
are jobless today as luxury and 9TH
er peacetime exports continue to
| fall away precipitously and Japan
tightens her belt to finance a war
which costs $1,000, 600 a day.
An even greater drop in exports
to Japan is expected to follow a
recent letter from the state depart
! ment to American exporters which
warns they should be sure they
have confirmed, irrevocable letters
of credit from Japan before ex-
/ porting to that country. Otherwise,
the department letter is quoted as
saying, the exporters might have
difficulty in getting their money
because of the increased severity
Of foreign exchange restrictions
imposed by Japan.
In addition, further trade bar
riers have resulted from Japan's
'pegging'' of the currencies of Man
chukuo and the conquered provinces
of China to the yen, which has made
practically impossible all foreign
trade with Japanese-occupied ter.
ritories. the survey declares, point.
ing out that at the present time tc
do business in these territories. ap,
proval must be obtained from Tokyo
Investments Suffer.
Meanwhile, American investments
which prior to the war were esti
mated at about S225, 900, 900, have
undergone heavy depreciation, Mr.
Gallup asserts. The survey ex
plains that a large part of the
American capital investment lay
idle for long periods during the year
when concerns were forced to aban
don operations because of war ac
tivities.
For example," states Mr.. Gal
lup. Americans who last Decembel
were forced to evacuate Nankin,
have only recently been permitted
to re-enter the city to rehabilitat,
American industry and business"