Evening star., 1940-06-25
u. ). Trade Dollar
To Play Big Role in
Canada S War Effort
Neiehbor to the North
Seeks to Step Up
Income by Exports
(CdnddG at WGr-Third of a Series,
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Stan CORRESPONDENT,


income of approximately $4,000, ,000,-
600 is in the thick of war which
may cost it 100000 a year
that is quarter of all the salaries,
rents, dividends and payments for
products received by its people.
Such is the prospect in Canada
today, which the United States
neighbor is facing with an unf1inch-
ing courage. Like the United States,
1t has passed through it's decade of
depression with heavy expenditures
for relief and public works. For this
fiscal year its appropriations for
ordinary, peacetime government &C
tivities ran close to half a billion
S448,055,805. On top of this, with
the declaration of hostilities, was
piled war appropriation of $780,
100000.
That is the price in dollars and
cents which the Dominion is paying
for Realistically becoming the spear
head of democracy in the New
World In its life and death struggle
with the forces of destruction let
loose IN Europe. There will doubt
less be other and more precious
things to pay before the war is over
but this is something that will come
directly home to every citizen, how
ever far removed he may be from
any actual warlike activity.
Big Debt Inevitable.
Part Of it--as much as possible
will be raised by current taxation.
There has already been a 10 per
cent increase in taxes on individual
incomes. But there is a limit to
this possibility without DESTROYING
the economic life of the nation and
the Dominion sees no escape from
piling up debt for the future.
Every Canadian not in uniform
will be fighting Hitler just the same
by paying and paying. The citizens
OF the Dominion are paying cheer
fully enough, for they still are far
from the war tax burdens innosed
on the people of Great Britain and
on the people of France before the
collapse of the republic.
Uncle Sans dollars. it is gen.
orally agreed, will be silver bullets in
this war
In Scotch Highland legendry.
those who sold their souls to Satan
could be killed only by such bullets
In their hearts, and Canada seems
raced now with just such an incar-
nate malevolence. To fight Hitler
II must buy much of its war material
IN the United States and pay for it
IN collars. Ordinarily it has an I'M
favorable trade balance with it's
neighbor to the south. 1t sells Uncle
sam raw materials such as paper,
lumber and metals, the demand for
which huctuates with the state of
industry. 1t buys back a vast array
OF finished products from automo-
niles to baby carriages. With Great
brltain, on the other hand, 1t has a
highly favorable balance. With the
sterling it receives from across the
Atlantic 1t pays the dollars it owes
to the United States.
Tourists to Help.
But to do this today would be to
defeat its purpose as war partner
OF Great Britain by depletion of the
mother country's own credit re-
sources. Hence quandary in which
Canada finds itself and the efforts
to find some way to set up a bal
ance with the United States. One
way being energetically explored is
to maintain and increase American
tourist trade. with the assertion
that every dollar spent in the Do
minion this summer will be one
more silver bullet aimed at the
German war lords heart.
Last year Americans on vacation
spent approximately $4,000 900
here. This year they must dc even
better to keep the accounts any,
where near balance and Canadians
are hopeful that large part of the
summer traffic to Europe this year
will be turned northward, where, in
addition to the sports and the seem
cry, there is country in the throes
OF war but with none OF the imme-
diate perils of war.
In addition-this does not ordi-
narily enter into trade balance fig
ures-the Dominion exports to the
United States approximately $780,
100000 worth of gold annually, with
which an equal dollar balance can
be set up. Canada needs this dol
lar credit to purchase all sorts of
war material in this vital transi-
tion period to a full war economy,
when all the economic resources
of the nation must be directed to
equipping armies, producing fighting
planes and paying the wages of SOL
diers withdrawn from productive en-
terprise. AS the shift goes on with
the enormous costs entailed, this
problem of credit balance seems des-
tined to become more and more sig
nificant in United States-Canadiaa
relations and in the successful
prosecution of the war on the eco
nonic level.