Milford chronicle., 1940-05-17
ECONOMIC HICHICHTS
Happenings That Affect the Dinner
Paiis, Dividend Checks and Tax
Bills Of Every Individual; National
and International Problems Insep-
'slzabls from LEGAL Wellarss


short, despite the ever-recurrent ru
mors Of the Blitzkriegs from bot
sides-it is obvious that the worI
Of tomorrow win be a vastly differ
ent place than the world of today
And the neutral nations, no les
than the belligerents, will feel tn
immense changes, and will gprobabl,
be forced to adapt themselves [,
conditions utterly different thai
those of the past.
Working on the assumption tina
the United States will be able Il
remain neutral, we, as the world
principal financial power, will ma
turally feel most directly the eco
nomic and social fruits of a long
and destructive war We are a great
exporting power, making a , large
part Of the worlds machinery and
finished goods, and furnishing much
of the world with vital raw materials
in addition. 1t seems certain, say
the economists, that our export bus
iness will suffer tremendous losses
when the war ends. There are two
reasons for that, one tangible, the
other intangible. The tangible rea-
son: England and France, which are
our best customers, are spending
their money at an Unprecedented
rate And while the vaults of the
banks of England and France are
deep, they are not bottomless. When
the money is gone, the demOcraeies
will no longer be able to buy unless
we extend immense credits. They
will have little to offer in return for
what they may need. Perhaps they
will be forced to descend to a barter
system, such as has been long pur-
sued by Germany, In which case it
is difficult to see how we could trade |
with them to any great extent.
The intangible reason: when the |
long war ends, all Europe will be 1
hungry, desperate, bitter, many au-
thorities believe. A mad scramble
for mere existence will be the harsh
result. European standard of living
viii be on a rock-bOttom basis, and
there will be no demand for even
the simplest luxuries. The average
European will be fortunate, the pes
simists think, if he is able to get
sufficient food, clothing and shelter
to keep alive.
I
American Mercury, by Henry Alberts
Phillips. is harshly enllghtening Mr.,
Phillips, an author of reputation, has
recently returned from a tour of {
Europe, and feels that the continent ,
faces famine. Agricultural labor has
been taken from the farms and put
to military uses, leaving only the
old and the weak to till the fields
Trenches have been dug where nor
mally would bloom vital wheat. The
great feed boxes" of middle Europe
are producing less and less. Says
Mr.. Phillips: "In the past. fighting
nations relied on their non-combat-
ant neighb0rs for nourishment What
impressed me most deeply as l went
through Europe, therefore, was that
this time, the, neptrals are not only
unable to sustain those engaged in
killing but uncertain of sustaining
themselves. Neutrals are in the
same mad-dOghouse as non-neutrals,
bullyragged and threatened by war
on every side, forced to abandon nor
NAL life and making ruinous Outlays
for armamcntS"
Mr.. Phillips seems to think that
the almost certain upshOt will be a I
gigantic revolution in Europe And |
there are many who agree with him ,
no orderly government as we know 2
1t now, they argue, can come from
ArmageddOn. But, even if revolu- I
ton is not the result, it is almost {
to escape the conclusion I
that unprecedented depression will I
engulf the Old World. That ex- Q
plains why more and more econo- O
mists and business men are coming I
to the view that, whether we wish n
to or not, we must forget Europe, .
economically speaking, and turn to q
our own part of the world for the a
future trade and commerce that we Al
must have to keep going. War Or ot
ders are keeping the airplane and D;
munitions factories buzzing now, Fl
and are immensely benefiting certain d.
peace-time industries as well-but h,
when those orders stop, the out ey
ook will certainly not be bright.
-oOo- an
Mr.. Roosevelt is far and away the 20
most popular of all possible presi- pr
lential candidates-but there is a 90
ieffnite majority opposed to a third ra
erm. That is the rather confusing
picture presented by the last For Nh,
une poll. IN,
Over 35 per cent of Democrats Ia,
licked the President, while run vel
er-up Garner got Sc per cent. On yel
be Republican side. Dewey led with S
4.9 per cent, as against SIS per cent an,
Or Taft in second place Fifty-four "Ir
er cent of those queried voted Dem the
cratic. tim
Less than IL per cent said that tiol
ooseVelt's reelection was vital, fer
lille almost 21 per cent thought it s
lie worst thing that could happen bee
the country. On the third-term the
lestion, says Fortune, the major Iv
= against is about per cent. Hu
In the meantime, the political man wo,
lvering goes on. There is a report Of
at the President may back Hull eisi
ekscn ticket, though this theory flor
IS its doubters, inasmuch as Mr.. be
I'LL has never been considered a r
w Dealer in domestic matters. His not
record was eonserva- tar,
ie, in the old-time Southern Dem MeS
rat tradition. one
On the Republican side, the opin- nan
1 grows that dark horse may be Unit
,ked-certainly no candidate is sion
tstanding with the voters and the met
rty leaders as well. besi
o-yr., = ,.r.,,,r., 49,,