The Wilmington morning star., 1940-01-29
WASHINGTON
DAYBOOK
By PRESTON GROVER

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28.-In spite Of British
secrecy on trade statistics, evidence has &C.
cumulated here that England is fighting SO
hard for her old markets that she is even cut.
ting down on production OF war goods SO she
can make things to sell abroad.
A government economist charged with OBJ
serving these things said England had pulled
numerous plants out of war production to I'LL
orders for foreign goods.
Even the rationing of British subjects and
the restraints on purchase OF non-essentlals,
he said, is in large part directed at preserving
the output of eXportable goods. 1t has other
purposes, too. Britain doesn't want her subjects
to spend their war wages foohshly. British
industrial wages are in large part pegged to
prices. If British wage earners begin buying
too lavishly Of luxury and non-essential goods,
prices will rise. That will force up wages. In
turn, rising labor costs will force up prices
and so on. The old spiral leads to initiation.
they want their wage earners to save their
increased earnings. 1t will be nice to have
them able to buy war bonds.
Little Destruction
Britain wants no silk-shirt craze to sweep
the country as it did the United States in the
war years. That sends gallons of gold out of
the country for fashionable frivolities just
when the country needs raw materials she can
make into things to drop on Germany or sell
to neutrals.
What has made it possible to return part
of the great English factory system to manu-
facture of export goods is the strange nature
Of the war. There has been no enormous de-
struction such as might have been expected
by this time. No trains have been blown up.
No columns of trucks have been destroyed.
Britain expanded her plants in the expecta'
ton that there would be lots of shooting by
now, and much destruction. There hasn't been
po11ch co ENGLAND ic ah1a RI 1iraot hor alton.
ton to saving overseas trade which she might
have expected to surrender to the U. S. or ia
pan if the war had become really explosive.
British Trade Climbs
Here is an indication of what is happening.
Normally England imports 1924, 600, 5000 of
goods a month, exports s157, 100000. For two
months after the war started in September
both imports and exports here were cut almost
in half. By November the conviction had grown
in Britain that there was no need to cut off
her customers. She would keep her own old
customers and in addition get those from which
Germany had been cut off. That was especially
true in South America.
Promptly British trade climbed back to nor
NAL and above. By December it was better
than normal, with imports at 1887, 900, 10000 and
exports at $3.50, 000, 900. Returns from shipping
and insurance handsomely helped balance her
trade.
She is engaging in direct barter in many in
stances, just as Germany did. Without ~stinting
her primary war production, England is able
to supply machine tools and railroad equip.
ment in return for essential raw materials.
The raw materials she has sought since No
vember are the kind which can be converted
either into essential war goods or into export
goods. She is using mighty little shipping space
to supply fancy goods for her wage earners.
England seems to think that when the war
ends she will have world markets already at
hand to take up the slack caused by dis
banding her armies. In time of war, England
is preparing for peace.