The Dominion. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1915. THE COMING TRADE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2640, 10 December 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1915. THE COMING TRADE WAR

The announcement that the British Chambers of Commerce are about to discuss tho Empire trade problem, with special reference to tho new position which will be created after tlie war is over, is a welcome indication that the leading business men of the United Kingdom are alive to tho necessity of improving the commercial, organisation 0 f the E mpil . e _ When the clash of arms has teased a new war wil! begin in dcadly Snest—the. commercial war. 'Tho Oprmana aro confident that they will 1, 8 3 t0 back their lost trade, °P ln S to get a good start ot their competitors. They haw proved themselves masters of the l organising, and they openlv ? ther nations cannot do without their manufactures. It I is our business to show them in the Kirat unmistakable manner not only that they are not indispensable, but that German goods are unwelcome ll' er ' we are e°ing tQ do batlnt »+• - on t qua J terms we nlfn nf ™ (lov i?; n S' an effective Plan of campaign. We cannot afford to leave anything to chance. Our first duty is to make the commercial organisation of our own Empire as thorough as possible, and then wo will bo in a. position to. come to wfrt? V, nder^ ai ! din S with our Allies with the object of preventing Germany from recovering her lost ground and profiting at our expense. British goods for British people should bo our motto. Of course, the Empire must always haveextensive trade relations with foreign countries, and here we will bp able to favour our friends at the exfd n tW J™' e f nemies " ' Jt is suggesteel that a conferencc should be held Between representatives of the Britush ana Dominion Governments, and oi the nations who are now fighting on our side,, with tho' object of discussing international trade matters. ihe welfare of our own Empire must be our first consideration. Our next thought should be to assist our Allies by giving preference to their goods as against goods manufactured by our present enemies and unfriendly neutrals. Wo may take it toi granted that Germany wilK put up a great fight for trade suprem acy, and we cannot expect to win unless we are prepared to abandon our- old haphazard methods and thoroughly systematise the industries and commerce of the Empire. It has become urgently necessary to organise the Empire for trade as well as for uerence.

Tho Germans have' already commenced their commercial invasion of Switzerland. A Swiss merchant recently declared that Germany is behaving to: the Swiss as if Switzerland were economically a German colony. Germany, he said, "is on the high road to conquer us without arms, and the Allies are perhaps not altogether wrong in boycotting iiims managed by Germans." Large stoi ke. of.goods are being accumulated in Germany in readiness to flood the markets of other countries as soon as peace is declared. These goods will probably bo offered at nominal prices to. tempt buyers and thereby onable German manufacturers to regain their lost footing. A leading llussian newspaper is of opinion that the. Allies should form a Customs Union against Germany. It states that England and France are already busy with the trade question,!, ancl suggests that Russia should go band-in-hand wjth them. "The general plan and details," it sayß, "should be settled at an International Congress of tho Allied nations, but such matters as tariff changes and favour- • mg clauses must first be settled by each country independently for itself. The sooner the work is taken in hand the better, for no time should be lost." This problen cannot safely be shelved- until the war is over. The need of preparing for peace in time of war is quite as plain as,the wisdom of preparing for war in time of peace. It would be the height of folly to postpone our preparations for the coming commercial struggle until it is right upon us. To procrastinate is to play into tho hands of the enemy. It is, however, by no means an easy matter to devise a fair and workable scheme for the more effective organisation of the trade relationships of the British Empire, or to discover a generally acceptable basis for a Customs Union with foreign countries. Some extremely difficult political and economic problems are involved and formidable obstacles will have ■ to bo overcome. But the war has impressed upon British communities in all parts _of the world the imperative necessity of closer co-operation between Britain and the Overseas Dominions with the view of making the Empire as self-supporting and selfsufficing as possible.