RATE OF EXCHANGE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3391, 21 January 1920, Page 5

RATE OF EXCHANGE.

I While Great .'Britain",' and with her, [of course, her Dorninions, are contending with the heavy premium that has to be paid on imports from America, by reason of the adverse rates of commercial exchange, France is being forced into a. renewal of intimate trade relations with Germany, by reason of similar conditions applying to her transactions with Britain. This phrase of international trade has been referred to previously. but the causes are put with even more iinpressive clear-' ness in ':i recently published ltetter -to an English firm of engineers from old customers across the Channel. After expressing regret at finding‘ itself unable to place orders with the English concern, explains {the position thus: “Tllc pound sterling, which was worth 25f before the war, is now actually

about 36f., making, therefore, an in« crease of 33 per cent on the selling price, and of 50 per cent on ‘the buy; nig price. The cost of living in} France has, therefore, considerably'§ncreased, and we are obliged, as you: know, to buy large quantities o!.’ material outside France for repairing devastated «areas. The French "Govq, crnment, under the public :opin‘ion’s pressure, has examined. closely the situ« ation, and by an official note has in~ formed all the French buyers that they should consider it a duty, -although not‘ a pleasant one. to buy machinery in! Germany, where, as you know, the rate of exchange is very low. Beforfl. the War the mark and the shilling were both worth 1.25 f. Now, on account of the difference in exchange, a French.‘ buyer purchasing an English machined; worth £3OOO, or 60,0005., would have to’ pay about Ilo,ooof, but if ‘the. same French customer had to buy a German: machine priced at 60,000 marks this would cost him about 20,000 f.” This means, of course, that a French impor-‘ ter would have to pay to can Eng< lish exporter something more than five times the amount, as expressed in his own currency, for which he could procure in Germany an article of the same’ value according to prc-war rates of exchange. '

A STE-.T‘ESMAN’S PROGRAM ME.

'WORLD;’S GRAVEST PROBLEM.

OAPETOWN, Jan.‘ 17..

Speaking at _Whitbank,’ General Smufis (P-re-mie-r),A strongly cond\em;n—ed profiteering as one of the. :grave.st .'problems of the World. Referring to the political srituation, he urged the a.banc‘tonnle.nt of the old political Spirit ‘writhea View of making South Africa. one of the most highly or:gal'l.'ls.e~d countries in the w-cfrld. -"If the people would help him in that policy he was their man. If they would go {back to the old par-ty cries, he would fnather go fa:-zeninag. He was sick of politics.