The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1916. NEUTRAL TRADE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 41, 24 January 1916, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1916. NEUTRAL TRADE.

The discussion regarding the rights of the Allies in restricting neutral trade with Germany has brought out some surprising tacts. The New York Press, amongst other leading .journals in United States lias been fairly outspoken, and in discussing the shipments of American products to the Scandinavian countries gives an important piece of statistical evidence substantiating Great Britain's contention relating to maritime trade with Germany. The journal points out that while other countries which are buying American products lor their own consumption very largely in excess of the sales of their goods in the United States have not been able to maintain parity of exchange with the United States, even though they have been sending gold, selling securities, and placing loans there, exactly the opposite conditions prevail respecting exchange between Scandinavia and the United States. For notwithstanding that America's exports to Norway and Sweden in the first three-quarters of the present calendar year increased seven times over the corresponding period of 1914, the exchange is strongly in favour of Norway and Sweden. The Press goes on to point out that the truth of the matter i s Unit their swollen buying was not for themselves, but for Germany. They did no! have to pay America. It was Germany. Germany has been notoriously a seller of American securities in the home market. Vov months she sold so persistently and heavily American stocks and bonds, which afo favourite investments among her people, that on a rising stock market they lagged far behind other issues, and still do so. None of the proceeds were going back to Germany in gold. Th,. Unite,! States was not sending gold there or anywhere else. The Scandinavian countries were buying supplies and delivering them in Germany. Germany was selling American scurities in America and using the money to pay for exports to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The Press concludes by saying that while there may be room for argument as to whether American commerce with Scandinavian countries ought t" be shut out ; ... ....^...^ai'^tjLiJßl

from them by the blockade, there can be no room at all for argument where the difference in that trade—£ir,SUU,000 in nine months of this year, as against £2,800,000 last year—has be on going.