LEIPZIG FAIR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 April 1939, Page 9

LEIPZIG FAIR

TREND OF GERMAN TRADE NATION’S ECONOMIC POSITION. OBSERVATIONS BY MINISTER OF PROPAGANDA. The Leipzig Spring Fair —Germany s greatest single bid each year for the foreign trade which is now more than ever vital for the Reich —was opened this morning by the Minister of Propaganda (Dr. Goebbels), said a special message to "The Times” from Leipzig on March 5. This year at Leipzig for the first time the textiles, glass and musical instruments of the Sudeten Gau and the woollen wares of the Ostmark stood side by side with the products of the Old Reich, no longer as foreign competitors, but as potential sources of foreign exchange and raw materials for Germany. In a speech delivered at the opening ceremony this morning, Dr. Goebbels said that the economic position of the German nation was more restricted than that of any other in Europe. They were, he said, scarcely even in a position to supply it with the most necessary foodstuffs and minor luxuries which it needed for its daily use. The reason for this was not that they had not brought enough energy, intelligence and hard work to bear on the problem, but solely that the German nation had been inadequately treated in the distribution of the treasures and goods of this earth. It belonged to the "havenots.” For this reason the German Government had found themselves compelled to introduce a number of unpopular measures, which had become all the more necessary and unavoidable with every increase in the difficulties of the economic situation in which Germany found herself. EASY TO CRITICISE. From the point of view of the Western democracies it is extremely easy to criticise these measures in a spiteful and superior manner, Dr. Goebbels continued. The democracies are mostly in the happy position of having great riches, raw materials and extensive colonial territories at their disposal. Thus, for example, when the British public start to find fault with and criticise Germany’s economic measures, we can reply with a perfectly clear conscience that it is all very well for them, seeing that they possess an Empire of an almost inconceivable extent. It would, therefore, he continued, be a good thing if the English people did not smile scornfully at the sight of the obvious disproportion of ownership of . the goods of the world which yawns between Germany and England, and if they ceased to criticise the ways in which we are trying to reduce this disproportion by our own energy and ingenuity, but were rather to give the heartiest support to such endeavours, because they seem particularly suited to decrease the causes of the tension in Europe which are otherwise only too apt to increase—and thus, little by little, do away with them. The German attitude towards problems involved in her national economy might be briefly summed up as follows, said Dr. Goebbels: — The German economic programme was sound common sense. Germany must live, and Germany would live. It was impossible simply to strike off the roll of nations a people of 80,000,000 living in the very heart of Europe. For this reason all attempts of the' outside world to hamper healthy business with Germany were foolish and politically immoral. What else were the Germans to do if they wished to live? The world outside was doing its best to cut Germany off from the export markets. Did people really believe that a nation of 80,000,000 would, in the long run, be content with a basis of living which was too restricted to ensure its livelihood and economy? Germany had on every occasion made clear to the world her readiness to obtain through an exchange of goods the raw materials which she lacked, but in view of her straitened financial position it was obviously necessary ,to German economy not to import more than she could herself export. Consequently Germany could buy abroad only to the extent that German products .were bought by foreign countries. In his speech before the Reichstag the Fuehrer had made it clear that it was not only imperative that Germany should export, but that she was firmly determined to increase her export trade. In other countries which were more fortunate, and could, therefore, afford the luxury of democratic government, there were today 12,000,000 or 13,000,000 unemployed. In Germany, on the other hand, there was an increasing scarcity of workers. This showed what Germans could bring about in the way of prosperity in those countries which were today “ruined by the incompetence of the democratic system.” NEW YARN SEEN. There are few novelties to be seen this year, the ingenuity of German scientists and inventors having apparently been concentrated on improvements and additions. The textile fair, however, contains a new artificial yarn —the “PC-Yarn,” devised by the I. G. Farbenindustrie. This is produced, not from vegetable matter, as is cellulose, nor from casein, as is the so-called “milk wool,” but as the result of a chemical sythesis of coal, lime and other ingredients. The new material, which is extremely elastic and is practically unaffected by water or acid, is not suitable for clothing at present, but is already used in making filter cloths, washers and fishing-nets. The use of artificial resin and bakelite has increased since last year; when it was first shown at Leipzig, and new machines for the manufacture from this material of gears, pipes, airscrews and so forth have made their appearance The material has also been used to make a portable typewriter which is less than 3in. high and weighs little more than 81b. Other novelties of a more frivolous kind include a new liqueur made of milk, from which all fats and casein have been removed. The result is a clear liquid with an extremely pleasant taste. There are also detachable runners for converting a perambulator into a sled for snowy days, an electric-ally-operated toy tank with remote control, and a wide display of new artificial foodstuffs —a field in which important research is now being undertaken in Germany.