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Hongkong Telegraph.
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 1938.
REFLATING AGAIN
DEMOCRACY NEEDS
THIS TREATY
T
HE final and formal negotiations for Anglo-American trade
an
·By⋅
treaty began in Washington Sir Arthur Willert
last month. Sir Ronald Lind-
say, the British
Ambassador,
and Mr. A. E. Overton, of the Board of Trade, represented
Former Head of Foregin Office News Department
Great Britain, Mr. Hull, the which will in turn increase the American Foreign Minister, led danger of another war. the American side.
Mr. Hull, therefore, has taken The negotiations aim at the full advantage of the Law pass- lowering of the tariff duties, be- ed by the Democrats soon after and they came into power which au- United States tween the Great Britain. They have been thorises the negotiation of trade agreements and the reduction of in progress informally for some American duties by as much as time past. They constitute the 50 per cent. in return for simi- biggest attack yet made upon lar concessions from other coun- 16 auch trade barriers and may be con- tries. He has mude sidered as the Anglo-Américan treaties, mostly with countries answer to the Van Zeeland re- of the Western Hemisphere, in- port.
**
that
practise economic na- tionalism might be tempted to join the democratic freer trad- ing area. Then the way might he open for another effort at general appeasement, for an- other Disarmament Conference,
and so on.
The negotiations at Washing- ton will not be easy. The pri- mary products for which the United States wants better tariff treatment in Great Britain in- clude such commodities as fruits, cluding Canada. He now wants fresh, dried and tinned, timber, one with Great Britain for poli- wheat, rice, bacon, hams. She as economic rea- would also like concessions for a smaller group of manufactures. The first political reason is We are asking for concessions manufactures such 415
sor.
THEY originated with tical as well
the United States. President Roosevelt and Mr.
Hull, being good Democrats that his treaties are considered for
by the owners of farms and whisky, woollens, tweeds, cut- (that is to say, American
forests to have done more for lery, leather, luce, fine textiles, Liberals), would have lowered
the industrialists than for them, earthenware, glass and china. the very high tariffs which they Therefore, unless his scheme is inherited from the Republicans
* **
OUR demands confront
Mr. Hull with the op-
a country position of the great vested in- which is a terests which have been for two large con generations the creators and sumer of beneficiaries of the American primary protective system.
The Ame products rienn demands cut across the
as a duty of domestic policy. As to run on to the perilous rock it is, they have been actuated of their opposition, he must find by considerations of foreign policy as well. Like M. Van The decision to desterilise in-Zeeland, and many others, they coming gold is the latest move feel that, unless trade barriers of the Roosevelt Administration can be reduced, there is bound to be another world depression to encourage recovery by mone- | tary means. It is a gesture; real recovery awaits the de- cisions of private persons, par- ticularly corporations and inves- tors, to sink their money into new productive ventures.
The gold policy of the Ad- ministration has become so com. plicated that only the initiated seem to understand its mys- teries, says the Christian Science Monitor on a topic of unusual interest and immense complica- tions. But the difficulty is mere- Dy 31 matter of terminology. Nearly fifteen months ago the Administration decided to sterilise incoming gold. This merely meant that the boatloads of the yellow metal which were
CO., LTD. then coming to America were
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STATE EXPRESS 555
THE WORLD'S
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· ACKNOWLEDGED
BEST
impounded in an idle fund. It was an expensive business. For the gold had to be bought before it could be sterilised; and this
was accomplished by borrowing, a process which added to the national debt.
It might seem peculiar that the Administration should bor- row money in order to buy gold which it straightway stored away. There was a method in the seeming madness. When gold is normally bought, it adds to the lending power of the banks, which fifteen months ago the brake to the accelerator is
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waxed so eloquent, has failed to materialise. Instead the coun- try is undergoing deflation. No doubt the sudden switch from
to
make
which she also will soon be start- ing in Washington. Australia is sending representatives to Washington to negotiate a trade agreement under which she hopes to secure tariff concessions on wool and other important pro- ducts.
The Federation of British In- dustries is alarmed at the pro- spects of an increase of the com- petition of American products with our manufactures in the home market. But the increase is not likely to be large and should be more than offset by the tariff reductions which the
United States is contemplating in favour of our manufactures.
The facts that the American
system of Imperial Preference tariff is far higher than ours him tariff set up by the Ottawa Conference and that the balance of visible conces in 1932. Under that system we
trade is badly against us are
síong let many of the most important alleged as further reasons those pro Dominion primary products into against our reducing our duties ducts; and Great Britain free of duty and in favour of American goods. we are place pretty heavy duties on the
The argument is unsound. It the only same commodities when they first, that America's visible trade ignores two important points: such coun- come from foreign countries. try avail-
The United States desires to by various invisible payments balance is considerably reduced able.
share these preferential advan- which she makes us, secondly, Mr. Hull's second poli- tages. That worries such peo- that it is entirely wiped off by tical reason for a trade ple as the Canadian producers of the immense imports of tin and treaty with us concerns apples, pigs, timber, wheat, or rubber which she the broader possibilities the Australian producers of our colonial possessions. which Washington secs dried fruits,
in its crusade against
high tariffs. The trade
It is, however, easy to exag- gerate the danger. In the first treaties, it is argued, pince, the United States is not
those European nations who have either lowered their trade barriers of are trying to do so could
por
* *
takes from
IN the United States the new depression has
have already made the asking for parity of treatment stressed the need for more United States the centre with the Domininos. She will foreign trade. Here, at home, of a great freer trading probably be content if, say, in discontent with rising prices aren in the
Western the case of a commodity which strengthens the movement for Hemisphere. If that aren
we allow in free of duty from lower tariffs; and on both sides could be joined to the the Dominions and is taxed 20 of the Atlantic the opinion similar area into which
cent. when sent in by grows that Mr. Hull is right Imperial preference has foreign country, she could have when he links together freer turned the Empire, and the duty reduced to 10 per cent. trading, prosperity and peace, and when he demands as an essential step towards those ends THEN there
are ways economic co-operation between in which the Do the United States, Great Britain minions should be able to com- and the Dominions. bination, then one thing pensate themselves for Ameri- would certainly happen. can competition in the British operation, if the volume of in- The necessity for this co- The Democratic coun- market. Canada, for instance, ternational trade is to be in- tries would become more has already been given, under creased, is made very apparent prosperous and strong, her treaty with the United by the facts that the English States, important concessions speaking countries represent And another thing in the American market and about 40 per cent, of the world's might happen, Germany hopes to be able to increase them markets, that the United States and other countries as the result of the negotiations, and Canada do more trade to-
be brought into the com-
er.
All That Glitters...
In the typical South American bar |
"Gold-digging's
gether than any other pair of countries, and that the United States and Great Britain come next.
.
KNOTTED SNAKE EXHIBITED
Taft, Cal. The latest snake story here con- 姐 mug's game," cerns a gopher snake which at some
15
was so enormous as to warrant bewildering, but the permuta- the old man was as conspicuous as was the expressive way he described time in the past evidently tied itself the feeling that inflation was tions of the American economy the minute I entered.
a raven amongst gulls. I saw him it.
in a knot but later was unable to At l the "Look," he said, "there's nothing unile itself. It eventually grew to just around the corner. There have become bewildering.
other tables. sat dark-skinned men, but glitter to gold. It's all gililer, snakehood with the knot sull tied, tome handsome, mostly the
and gets along as well as though and The glitter blinds you, and when you had never tried the acrobatic sunt. fore, the sterilisation of gold
Desterilisation of incoming graceful, but all South Americans regain your sight you find you're too As the snake is on exhibition in a WIS au anti-inflationary step. gold is a gesture because the trom skin to spine. But the old man old to make good use of your eyes store window here, the story
was different.
agalo. It put the incoming gold out of banks are already amply equip
Unlike the other men, he wore his
"You once see the glitter of gold generally accepted as being true, harm's, or inflation's, way,ped with lending power. Their clothes curelessly and his suit was and you're condemned to hard labour thereby reducing by that extent excess reserves before this step much the worse for wear. Ilis rugged for ite. You may work for a year comes back he's a soft mark for any-
face was burned and browned and and never see a speck of metal, was taken amounted to overwrinkled with the suns of many
Then you strike lucky-perhape and one who can took friendly. new lands, and his hands were gnarled for a time you sinve day and night "Look at me, m'lad I'm only 1,000,000,000, The
and broken-nailed.
to gather together a few bags of Afty-five years of age and I look like Desterilisation, obviously, has move will merely add to these He stared at me morosely when I dust or nuggets.
seventy! I have prosperied all over the opposite effect. Instead of excess reserves. What is want-sat at the table nearest him, but after
"Then perhaps you are robbed the world, and all I know is that 1 If not, nearly died of thirst in Australia, got
frost
bite In Canada, malarla In the incoming gold being im-ed, therefore, is confidence on a few minutes he came over and before you get back to town. pounded, it is now allowed to funds already available to the English, was how
the part of borrowers to use the spoke to me.
"You look as if you could speak you go back to the city to buy equip“ 1Africa, and yellow fever in Brazil." ment. You probably spend every
He suddenly grinned widely und penny you made in months, or years, He was English himself, of toll, and then go back to your amongst a collection of very yellow
pointed to add to the lending power of the business community. It is not himself.
two gold-filed teeth banks. This is an inflationary the desterilisation of gold that and to merkare but that dain. Likely as not the thing gives voces
was a long time ago. We had a out the next week and you're left
"That's all I've got that glitters," move. Why go from anti-is the primary need to-day. It drink together, and he told me some with a ton of useless machinery and he said, "and I got that in New York.
a big hole in the earth.
No, m'lad, I'm finished with pres- indation to inflation within fif-is the desterilisation of con- more about himself.
**
pecting. It's mug's game." teen months? Because in that idence. This will come when He was a prospector. He ha
Three months later I met him on "Sometimes you get a lot of gold. the entire community. recap-
But even his sun- interval the feared inflation, tures a feeling of social solidari-Prospected in Australia, in Canado, But there are different ways of gold- his way to Matto Grosso to looks
In Alaska, in South Africa. He had digging, and when a prospecter gets for diamonis! about which such pundits asty, and not before. That is as searched for gold wherever rumour back to town with a "ple there are thickened skin could not hide the kald there was gold to be found. plaiity of people who are ready to blush that came up from his obliar Colonel Knox, Prof. E. W. Kom- true in other nations as it is in But he had decided to give up dig for his gold. A man gets lonely when I spoke to him.
when he's up country, and when he prospecting. merer and Winthrop W. Aldrich the United States.
**
*
he
**
introduced
*
*
hiller Watson
...