WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 May 1931, Page 5

WELLINGTON NEWS

BARI ERS AQAINST PROS* PERITY;

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, May 23. Mr Arthur Henderson, the British Foreign Minister, who opened the session of the Committee on European Union, made some timely remarks on the barriers against trade, otherwise prohibitive • tariffs, which he described ns ‘’barriers against prosperity.” International trade is largely a form of barter of goods against goods, in other words a nation must buy goods if it wishc,s to sell goods. The secret of economic life is in the production of goods and services for one another, and one of the most serious problems of economic life is to get goods and services produced in right pioportionS, so that they will dear the markets of one another. Human wants are unlimited and unsalable.

Some authorities persist in the belief that there is over production of goods, which is not correct. Wheat/ is supposed to be in excessive supply, but tJiat is because of the obstruction to its distribution. There are many people in Europe eating black bread, that is rye bread, whq would g l ad]y eat white if they could afford it, Ihey cannot afford it because their hands are tied by lack of markets for the fine goods they turn out with limited tools and machinery but with an abundance of skilled handwork.. There is a glut of wheat in producing. Countries and a surplus of fine artistic manufactures in Europe, and If the tariffs were lowered these gluts would disappear.

The principal creditor countries, that is the United States and France, ar© the countries with prohibitive tariffs. These countries insist on the debts due to them being paid in gold, and the scramble for gold which this s e lfish policy involved caused the crash of community prices and embroiled the creditors with the debtors. ; The United States has to-day the most gold of any country.: in the world and it has the most unemployed of any country in the world. There are men said to be walking about the streets of New'York actually begging for food, i Money is very plentiful in . New York. Short term; loans : cgii ho arranged atjl per cent, per, annum, and yet there was a crash on the New. York Stock Exchange only the- other day, and United States. Steel- stock, the favourite' investment of ■ America ns j dropped to the lowest. level for years, lower even than ip the great crisis of 1929.

International trade must take the form of barter, but the American idea of barter is one-sided,, for they believe in selling goods but- not buying. Fortified with this belief they have equipped tl.er. factories for 'mass |product|i6n. In the matter of motor earache American can more than supply domestic demands, and to maintain that production they must develop export markets. Mr Benjamin .Anderson, the Economist of the Notional. Bank of New York, touched on the row' spot recently when he told iris coup* tryment: (< We are in the midst- of a severe depression which is, worldwide.

The most- serious obstacle ip the way of early recovery is the state of our foreign trade. The most serious obstacle in the way of the revival of our foreign trade., is ; opr high , protect ive tariffs- The quickest way 1* get out -of the depression is to reduce oUj' tariffs so that our foreign customers may sell more goods here and get more dollars with which to pa.v intercut on their debts to us 'and with which to Buy our goods. If we do not buy we cannot sell. If we do no buy enough we cannot sell enough.” That puts the position briefly but clearly. Some leading American business men have been predicting that the depression would pass away during the next few months, but there is little prospect of that for the conditions causing the slump still exist, for no attempt has beep made A to lower the tariff barriers.. Many ,S* authorities believe that'.trade revival v must have its beginning in tlie United ■States, but if the Americans cling totheir high protection tariff, the revival will be long delayed. It- should be a religious duty with Britishers,notg to buy ’American goods .so. long as‘the ; Americans pursue, their selfish policy. -