The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1939-10-26

may go well, that bombing planes
Will also be a menace TO shipping,
neutral as we'll as vessels flying bel
ligerent flags.
So the American auto makers are
figuring on foregoing all foreign
markets where the trouble with sell
ing new cars is that there is nothing
to put into their gas tanks.
South america Is Also
A Disconraging Market
But that is only part of the bad
export picture for the motor COM
panies. There is no gasoline short
age in South America. At any rate
it would be comparatively easy to
supply any of the South American
countries with oil. Tugs and barges
could do the trick if necessary. But
South America is almost as dis
couraging market at the moment
as Europe.
The trouble there is exchange.
Most of the countries south of the
Rio Grande were caught by the out
break of the war with lot of bad
debts from Germany. The Nazis
had been taking their exports, in
considerable volume, paying for
them with blocked marks-marks
which could be spent only in Ger
many.
It is not just question of losing
the money, temporarily or perma-
nently. One has to see why Latin
America was willing to indulge in
this form of barter to realize how
serious il is now. The reason was
that the countries to the south of us
did not have the cash to pay for
goods they were buying from Ger
many. They had to pay for them
with exports. The United States was
just as good a place for them to
buy, if they had had the money. But
they didn't. and their credit in this
country was very poor because of
those defaulted bonds and their
own restrictions on exchange.
Now they are worse off than they
we're before, having parted with
huge amounts of exports for which
they have received no payment,
their normal export markets cut off
so far as central Europe is con-
eerned, Britain buying only necessi-
ties. Then there is great difficulty
in increasing exports to the United
States to pay for what they want.
An increase of United States inn
ports of Latin-Ameriean products
would solve the problem.
Little attention Is Giuen
To Problem Of Imports
So much attention. is being given
to the alleged war possibilities of the
neutrality battle in the senate, and
SO much oratory is centered on the
export Of arms, that very little at
tention is being given TO imports.
Yet imports are of the essence SO
far as American trade and Ameri-
can business are concerned.
Before the first World war the
United States exported more than
she imported. That was sound, then,
because the United States actually
owed money, and the excess of ex-
ports over imports paid the interest
on that debt. (This was mostly in
the form of foreign holdings of Unit.
ed States stocks and bonds, but ii
works out the same Way.)
Today the world owes the United
States, even if one eliminates the
debts that we suspect will never be
paid. So the United States, to main
tain sound equilibrium, should inn
port little more than it exports,
so that the foreigners can pay us
the interest, at least, on the debt
they owe US.
That is part of tie picture. The
idea of building up United States
merchant marine is another part
Many people under the pressure of
more exciting events regard these
two as academic. But there is
third phase. How are we going to
get imports that we actually need
brought to us.
BY its mandatory provisions pre-
venting American ships from carry
ing cargo to belligerents, the pend
ing bill virtually hands over to for
eign shipping all transport to French
and British territory. This means
not onlyexports but imports as WELL
Bars american Ships From
Trading With British Ports
Curiously enough, the original
provided that British
ships should haul half the cotton
and half the rubber. This was
changed, later, at the request of the
so that now the agreement
provides that all the cotton is to be
hauled in British ships, and all the
rubber in United States bottoms.
But the neutrality act would bar
United States ships from trading
with the British ports in the East
from which the rubber is exported
Moreover, the bill has plenty of
teeth, if no change is made to recog-