Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-12-25

needed prompt deliveries. The Brit
ish were not in the market and had
no woolens to sell abroad at the time.
Statistics on Exports.
The comparison is shown by the
following statistics on Swedens 1888
| exports:
| Crowns.
Mineral products II: 5000, 900
| Livestock and animal fats - 10000, 900
Lumber. pulp and paper 35,O00,OOO
Base metals and metal products 80. 900, 900
Lumber wood pulp and paper "3SOOO,OO
Base metals and metal products 4S.000,00o
iron ore 10000, 900
Animal products bacon butter,
Lumber and wood pulp shipments
to Britain from Sweden have al
ready fallen of seriously, paper
shipments to a lesser extent The
| Germans have continued to obtain a
large part of their purchases OF
| Swedish ore and of animal fats, both
vital now
Berlin has no cold cash to offer,
such as London has, but must ex-
| change German manufactured
goods for Swedish purchases. Nazi
agents have assured the Swedes
that they can continue to supply
them plentifully with these goods.
This should be possible for some
time, so long as Germany can OBJ
tain from Russia or elsewhere the
raw materials needed for the manu-
facture OF many products.
1t is conceivable that the day may
come, if the war is prolonged, when
Stalin-by reducing or withholding
raw materials from Germany-may
be able to throttle much of the
Nazis' trade with Scandinavia.
German agents have been spon-
soring the idea of drawing the Scan
| dinavian countries into a so-called
continental block that would feed
Germany's sinews at the expense OF
the allies. AS yet they have had
little success with this project.
The Gotesborgs Misunderstanding,
Sweden's leading industrial organ,
dismissed it the other day with an
enlightening array of facts. After
pointing out that Britain buys 23.17
per cent of Swedish exports, this
publication added:
1T is impossible to develop COM
merce with Germany and Russia
in proportion to replace Swedish
trade with Britain. Where can we
find the 750,00O,O00 liters of gas
consumed annually. or 1l4,000, 900
kilograms of rubber necessary to
our textile industries? We buy As
900 900 crowns of vegetable oils per
year"
Gasoline, rubber, oils and coal are
essential imports which the Swedes
must obtain in large quantities and
none of these materials can be sup
piled by Nazi Germany; very little
by Soviet Russia. 1t is impossible
for Sweden to abandon her trade
with Britain and she must continue
to buy from the western powers
and from neutral nations.
AS matter of fact, the United
States rapidly expanding Swedish
market is already one example of
the increased foreign trade. in
creased profits and increased en-
ployment, that America cannot
escape reaping as a result of the
war.
For even if our trade with bel
ligerent powers were sharply linn
tied, we should still have European
neutral nations clamoring for more
of our products and raw materials
as Sweden is now doing-simply
because their normal markets have
been shut off. American sales to
Sweden have mounted steadily dur
ing the first two months of the war.
War does curious things to inter-
national trade. In my hotel here
is an American woman who came
to Stockholm in July, gambling that
there'd be a war this autumn. She
and her husband had bought up
huge quantities Of black and white
thread. They have sold the Swedes
all the thread they could manage
to ship, plus quantities of glycerin,
linseed oil and other oils and prob
ably soap.
copyright, 1899. by Chicago Daily