'NANCE—PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE
BY ARTHUR W, KIDDY, RATEVER diyergent views there may be with regard the success which has been achieved by the League of ations there can be no doubt at all that Europe, d, indeed, the whole world, is indebted to the Economic tion of the League for all that has been accomplished aiding the financial rehabilitation of many of the uropean States after the War. '
EVILS OF INFLATION.
From the very outset of its career, this Economic on not only sounded a clear note of warning with to all the evils which must follow upon currency d credit inflation, but it led the way in devising means r stemming the progress of the plague. It was made ear that financial assistance in the shape of loans from mat Britain or the United States were worse than useless til the borrowing countries had definitely consented such elementary reform's as the balancing of budgets d the stabilizing of currencies, and the task of the nomic Committee in this direction is the more to be mmended because it was an unpopular one. Indeed,. a few of the countries did their utmost for a time to -ade reforms, only to find, however, that financial sistance was impossible to , obtain apart from the•thorization of the League of Nations, that the ague was not inclined to move without the assent its Economic Section and that the Economic Section as adamant in requiring certain essentials previous to -rowing. These are facts which deserve to be recognized ause, while in a general way we talk about trade being pressed because of unstable exchanges and changed nditions in Europe following upon the War, there are w who take the trouble to realize the enormous' work volved in reconstructing the fiscal and credit system of urope in the.years following the War.
FREE TRADE V. PROTECTIO.
I am very glad, therefore, to find that some. Of Our nks are already recognizing in advance the importance; hich attaches to the forthcoming conference of the conomic Section of the League of Nations Which id, pected to foregather some time during, the, present Winn, and_ while I do not pr pose to foreshadow-- eat length the Many matters with which the Conference ay have to deal, I may perhaps suggest to readers of e Spectator that the War has left behind it great trade blems which are probably most imperfectly realized the general community. When, as a result of the ersailles Treaty, Europe Vids broken up into a vast mber of new States, there were probably few at the oment who completely visualized the extent to which at development was calculated to give a stimulus to teetionist tactics and also to occasion some external dustrial developments, most of them calculated to ect adversely the manufacturing industries of our own untry. Although, thank' to the financial assistance ni this country and the United States, accompanied budgetary and Currency reforms to which I have already err- in ed,-Austria and soe Other of the Central European tate s havernade wonderful progress during recent years, de activity throughout Europe has been enormously "Vered by great tariff barriers between these 'new tates, the effect of which has been always to hamper e and not infrequently even to hamper good political lotions. Moreover, and somewhat in the same con- ii-eicien,'theSedifties have -stiimilated the desire-Or Many countries which usually were, „engaged in agricultural and pastoral occupations to strain for industrial activitie"s' in their _place:. This tenderieLlias no doubt also been( further stimulated by the geqyal effect of the War i4 decreasing the supply of goOds', while matters have mit been helped' by theldet that in the years immediately fallowing the Waf-thOselcOuntries, not excluding Great Britain; which Were in a: position to export were charging' . . . _ prices which together with difficulties arising out of th-g. chaotic state ofthe foreign exchanges, made it impossibl,e for many of the -foreign countries to acquire goods fronr abroad; • - • -0- . - • - • . TaitiFF. BARRIERS.
In the pre-War days, Europe was accustomed to be confronted With a problem of _ a high tariff wall in the United-States, but while among the European countries duties, Of course, existed, they were not, for the most part; of a character to-impede trade materially, while the economic condition of Europe as a whole was probably wellservedbythe agricultural countries producing to the fullest possible extent, while Great Britain was a huge' Purchaser of foodstuffs from abroad, making payment for, them by her exports of manufactures. Now, however;, as a result both of this epidemic of high tariffs and of the; tendency not only in Europe but in other countries of the; world to Compete industrialW, we have new forces in operation all tending to increase the difficulty of return to anything like pre-War days and, moreover, to conditions which adapt themselves to the credit facilities for financing international trade as a whole. It is one thing, for example, for a manufacturing centre. like Great Britain to finance a country when the proceeds_ of the loan are likely to minister to the prosperity: of the borrowing country and also to larger supplies of foodstuffs and raw materials, and quite another when the proceeds are required to promote industrial competitioni Cols-m.1mA ACTION ESSENTIAL.
Finally, the problem becomes all the more interesting and pressing when it is considered in the light of the indebtedness of Europe as a whole to the United States.; 'HoW- greatly that country benefits in -its trade- by the enormous territory over which no question of tariffs has to-be- considered it would be difficult to estimate, and if tills_ problem of redeeming obligations to America is to be diecessfully- carried through, and if, Moreover, - Europe • is to prosper in spite of the handicap- involved in such indebtedness, it would seem that no effort should be spared by all:the countries of Europe so to conduct their fiscal arrangement's as tomake for the minimum amount of eeonomic friction' to the advantage of Europe as a whole: In fact, the coininon bond of indebtedness to America ;.constitutes in some measure an argument for common : ground of action. And it will be well if, before the Autumn Conference to which I have referred is held, the business section of the coMmunity at all events should realize that the- problems Which will come up for discussion are not' those connected with mere economic theories, but are connected with matters vital to the prosperity of each separate country, and certainly to the industries of Great Britain.
Previous page
