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Hokitika Guardian, 23 September 1932, Page 4

The forthcoming world economic coniferenc© is the subject of an a’tide in the current number of the Westminster Bank’s Monthly Review. The writer says that failure at such a conference would be more trngic because the fruits of success are so incalculably valuable. He points out that the world is better equipped for the production of wealth than at any other time, He gives a' few examples of how rapidly the wealth of the world iperehsed . during .the years immediately preceding the present crisis. He adds that the world’s production of steel increased between 1924 and 1929' by 54 iper’cent;,- of copper by 47 per cent., of lead by 23 per cant.,. of tin’ by 29 per cePt., of wool by 20 per cent., and of rubber by 106 per cent. In'the sam© period: the outnut of the manufacturing industry in the United States rose by 26 per cent., in Canada by 62 per cent., in .Japan by 44 pel* cent., and in France by 27 per cent. Even in the countries whose post-war economic situation has left something to be desired conditions in ,thi© period preceding the slump were anything but unprogre-isiye. In Germany, forinstance, the output of manufactured articles rose 1 between 1925 and 1929 by 42 per cent. In Great Britain the increase between 1924 and 1929 was 16 per cent. . . .

In the seven years to 1929 the output of petroleum rone by 62 per cent. Between 1926 and 1929 alone the pro- ] duotion of electrical power rose in the United States by 33 per cent., in Canada by nearly 50 per cent., in France by 30 per cent., in, Great Britain by 40 per cent., and' 1 in Japan by. 43 per cent. At the same time the obstacles to the exchange of this gr©ab 1 (y increased supply of wealth have been greatly multiplied, and these obstacles' accentuated the fa'll in thie price level Increased productivity would have brought about a fall in prices in any case, for, the only known method of passing‘on the benefits of increased productivity to the consumer is through a reduction of price; but it would probably have been less sever© but for the hindrances placed in the way of international commerce. The lower prices fell primary producing countries with heavy debts at home and abroad had to struggle harder in their efforts to maintain the service of their loans and their import trade, which was an important 'item in their standard of living. This for a time stimulated production in certain lines and made prices fall further.