Evening star., 1952-11-23

Vice President. ?
EFollotDing are excerpts from a
speech Mr.. Spdrboe made last tDeek
before the 39th National Foreign
Trade Contention in Nep York;
Now that the elections are over and
the United States will soon have a
new skipper on the bridge, submit
it is high time for all Americans to
lay aside their major political differ
ences and join in trying to achieve
legitimate and attainable human as
pirations, not only for themselves, but
also the rest Of the world. No matter
what political parties are in power
and regardless Of the types of gov
ernments embraced by various peo-
Piles. the problem Of learning to live
together peacefully and contentedly
will always be with us. Any formula
designed to gain that end must surely
include healthy and expanding for
eign commerce.
If this whole world had been one
political unit from the start, the word
imports would never have been
coined, since it applies only to goods
coming from other nations. II we are
serious in believing in competitive
enterprise, also that a substantial
portion of Uncle Sans economic
progress can be attributed to having
operated in a large unobstructed
market, why can't we recognize the
additional advantages to come from
freer and greater trade with the rest
Of the world? Moreover. how can we
successfully pursue political, social
and military policies on an interna-
tional scale without simultaneously
practicing international economic
policies?
Despite the erudite pronounce
ments by some leaders to the con-
trary, absolute sovereignty Is a luxury
which no country can afford today
not even the United States. Some
one has said that peace is not the
absence Of conflict from life, but
rather ability to cope with it. To
make his maximum contribution to-
ward this end, Uncle Sam must real
ize that it will take more than his
dollars and his exports. The eco
nomics by which he lived in earlier
generations simply won't work any
longer for his benefit.
Selfish Motives
But quite apart from political and
ethical considerations, a good case
can be made for increasing our i'm
ports on purely selfish economic
grounds. If our country ever had
any real moral justification for pro-
tective tariffs when we were young
and weak, it certainly expired when
we suddenly found ourselves the
worlds leading banker and industrial
giant. The so-called dollar. shortage
plaguing the world represents not so
much shortage of dollars as it
reflects excessive demand for goods
in foreign countries that presently
can be satisfied only by the United
States.
Continuing indefinitely to finance
a large share Of our exports with our
own money would make less sense
than fading ourselves in a crap game,
we wouldn't also be depicting our
natural resources. which unrequited
exports are bound to do. To avoid
dangerous depletion of our natural
resources and further imitation, we
must be disposed to import more our
selves. as well as encourage more
trading between other nations.
With the possible exception Of a
very limited number of industries
closely allied to defense, any sug-
gestionS that it is for our best in
terests to continue traditional pro-
lection against imports should leave
us very cold for many reasons. Not
only will greater imports permit
other countries to earn much-needed
dollars, thus reducing the need for
our outright gifts. but the time has
finally come when we must make
certain painful economic adjust
ments, even if it means having few
of our domestic industries decline and
die. If they haven't anything better
to offer us than merely desire to
continue operating behind tariffs and
other restrictions at our expense as
consumers, it is hardly in good taste
for them to refuse us the customary
benefits of healthy competition that
we expect from our domestic econ
omy.
With so much work to do in the
world to satisfy human needs and