The Wilmington morning star., 1940-08-13
If Hitler Wins
BY JOHN T. Y

Trade, after the war, and her
hand-maiden, gold, begin to dis
turb the economic statesmen of Eu-
rope.
Also they agitate American bus
mess men a little.
DR.. Walther Funk, German min.
lister of economics, says that since
America has most of the gold,
Europe will be like a boy in a
marble game: when one boy has
won all the marbles, either the
winner will have to lend back some
of the marbles, or the loser must
find another game to play.
Signor Vincenzo Azzolini, direc'
tor of the Banca D'Italia, says that
Europe must quit borrowing
abroad, must find some other way
to get along without plunging into
foreign debts.
1t is that other game" that
Herr Funk talks about playing that
is bothering some American ex-
porters. What is it,.
GOVERNMENT IS
CHIEF NAZI TRADER
Up to now foreign trade has been
carried on by individual exporters
and importers in most countries.
Now in Germany the government
has become the one big totalitar-
ian trader.
In a sense this is forced by cir
cumstances. Germany needs any
essential commodities from abroad
but she does not have the foreign
credits to buy them. What credits
she has or can create she must
use to buy these essentials.
She refuses, therefore, to leave
the choice of buying to individuals
who will purchase what they need
rather IL, , what the nation at war
needs. Also, as she has no gold and
practically no credits abroad she
has to find means of creating Gre
dts. This she does by using govern
ment action to increase her sales
abroad.
She does this by three devices:
Cd Concentrating all trading in a
single agency; ca substituting ex-
ports; 90 buying only from ma
tons that buy from her.
This is what Germany has done
in South America. A great deal of
fear has been generated in the Uni
ted States because of these meth
DDS but as a matter of fact it is
a clumsy system. 1t is used merely
because Germany has neither the
gold nor the money credits to
operate as we operate.
In the general world market the
system still leaves us at great ad-
vantage with a better system, with
our vast reserves and immense
credits. Barter is difficult, unpleas-
ant, creates ill-will over a period,
is hard to handle and substituting
exports is a costly game to play.
No country Ear keep this meth
cd of trading up Indefinitely Our
difficulty in the world market will
come from other factors than this.
They are:
l. Germany's totalitarian regime
forces labor to work long hours
at low wages. This makes for low
er prices.
On many products she will I'M
Gersell us and we will have the
choice of lowering our costs by
lowering our living standards, or
of sacrificing some part of our for
eign trade.
2. Germany will probably at
tempt to organize an immense area
of Europe and perhaps Africa. ia
pan will do the same for Asia,
which will be walled off as far as
possible under a self-container &C.
onomy with tariffs and other pref
erencesA to hold it together.
This, of course, is what we have
done in the United States between
the 48 states, and what England
has done under what is called the
Empire Preference System" We
shall have to adjust our trading
methods to this condition. We will
have some disadvantage in South
America.
3. Germany needs South Amer
lean products-we do not. We COM
pete with South American meat,
wheat, oil, copper, fruits. We do
not let them into this country.
Germany wants them. That
makes for a natural trading con-