VOICE OF THE WORLD

All sorts of grandiose echemea for

.. _~ . national ana internals Missing tional planning and conSnperman. trol of finance, industry, and commerce have been advanced, but usually without any precise ideas of the processes of control and always without indication of the persons to whom control would be entrusted. The point is made by the "Economist" in concluding an appreciative review of Mr. G. H. D. Cole's "Through World Chaos." Mr. Cole recommends various measures of nationalisation and national economic Planning. "Even if we admitted the theoretic feasibility of such schemes, Mr. Cole gives us little hope of finding persons capable of carrying them out " saya the "Economist," "for he has already rejected the possibility that the capitalist world can clear up the European economic tangle, settle war debts, unify world finance through co-opera-tion of the central banks, or regulate wages internationally— all smaller tasks than those he now proposes. And he reproaches the Labour Party for failing to make use of the large resources of technical and administrative ability among its own followers, but does: not name these supermen. More constructive planning is certainly, required, but m industry as in architecture, it is well to begin at the bottom. Let us reorganise the industries before we

tackle 'industry'; already we are making some approaches in coal, iron arid steel, cotton, and transport."

The extent to which foreign Governments are subsidising Subsidised their merchant fleets Shipping, was described by Sir Archibald Hurd, in an address under the auspices of the Eoyal Sailors' Society. He said that since the war British shipowners had done little more than replace the ■ tonnage they lost during the war, but foreign merchant fleets had been enormously expanded—with the assistance of State subsidies toward the losses : they are incurring in carrying goods and passengers at less than cost price. The shipping industry in France has been spoon-fed by the State for many years; bounties on tonnage built, subsidies on ships' voyages, and exaggerated payments; for the carriage of mails have been made. Though the state of the French industry is now tragic, the Government continues to pour out everincreasing funds for its support. With under 3,500,000 gross tons of shipping, Italy is granting £2,500,000, recently increased to £4,000,000, each year to her shipping companies. Of that sum over £1,000,000 is being paid to the owners of tramp tonnage in the form of operating premiums. Japanese shipowners receive- £1,000,000 a year. Finally, ever since the intensive submarine campaign of the Great War, the American Congress has been voting large sums for the building and operating of ships of all classes under the American flag. At a rough estimate, the countries which are subsidising their shipping directly or indirectly, are spending £30,000,000 per annum in so doing. They own between them about 28,000,000 tons gross of shipping. If Britain were to subsidise its shipping on the same basis, £21,000,000 per annum would, have to be extracted from the British taxpayers' pockets. Since this mad expenditure of public revenue on shipping began after the war, hundreds of; millions of pounds have been spent in this way, and year by year the misuse of public money goes on.

Australia is the subject of the second

of a series of articles in Australia the "Economist" dealing Criticised, with the British Domin-

. ions and the Ottawa Conference. "The Great Commonwealth," says the "Economist," "has been brought into her present difficulties as we (Great Britain) have been brought into our difficulties by means of a series of appalling mistakes, committed by a suoceession of Governments, and what we are pleased to call 'our representatives.'" Although the debt per head of population is heavier in Britain than in Australia, the "Economist" considers it extremely doubtful whether the burden on those unfortunate individuals who have to bear the strain of finding the money is not greater in the Commonwealth. Australia, the "Economist" considers, having made a series of'political mistakes, is faced with an almost Insoluble problem owing to those mistakes coming to a head when there is a world-wide fall in the prices of com-

} modihes ..on which, Australia mainly I depends. Had Governments of the past been content to borrow for the purpose of developing Australia's natural resources, "instead of using the money in the building iip of cities, living upon artificially sustained industries," oven, with the world slump in prices, Australia's public men might plead that they were in no way responsible for existing conditions. Conceding that Australia probably produces the best wool: in the world, and "certainly the best graded wool in the world," the "Economist" contends that during the war Australian wool, was kept up to a wholly unjustifiable price, much above the •world's level, and that this stimulated the making of various substitutes for wool. "It assisted," says the "Economist,", the artificial silk.industry, and it assisted the making of fabrics known as a mixture of wool and cotton, and various other substitutes for pure Botany wool. ... It was an_ attempt to meet the difficulties inevitable ' after: a great- war at the expense of the wdol consumers in this country, notwithstanding'that the trade had received from this country ample compensation for the services rendered. It ought to be clear, at this time of day, both to statesmen .and to traders, that it is impossible permanently to bolster up an industry by political action upon an artificial basis."

The importance of the price factor in

■ ' British export trade was Vicious Circle discussed by Sir. Arthur of Dear Goods; Michael Samuel, M.P.,

; - formerly Financial Secretary>to the Treasury,;in a speech at the annual, dinner .of :the Bath Chamber of Commerce. He said that if every square,inch.of the whole, surface of the British Isles were, cultivated,. still not enough' could be produced to feed and clothe half the population. Oversea trade was therefore, indispensable. There- was an abundance of • oversea food and raw materials which Great Britain, needed;, there was an abundance of manufactured-goods in Britain waiting to be sent abroad in exchange. But the oversea-producer of food and raw materials could notJ make a living by trading the'products of his labour against manufactures produced in Britain, because the Tatter were too dear. They themselves did not fix wage rates in the exporting industries. The oversea .buyer fixed' them. British goods were too dear in relation to oversea raw materials, and that was why their people were unemployed. And that, too, was the main cause why the world price-level of raw primary products had fallen heavily. They were not wanted to be made up into manufactured merchandise, or to supply the dinner tables of the unemployed working people, without wages, because manufactured goods were too dear for the primary producer to buy. Thus they arrived at underconsumption. That was the vicious circle of too-dear goods.

Addressing the Eoyal Empire Society * en.« . last; month, Lord EssenA snipping don, chairman of the Problem. Furness, Withy Line, '■ said the shipping problem was not the old-fashioned one of how to put a quart into a pint pot, but how to find even pints to put into the quart pots. While he was ready to admit that in.certain eventualities tariffs might be desirable' and even necessary protection, quotas, restrictions and exchange regulations were all blows to shipping. As a recent illustration, he cited the restrictions on^ meat supplies Lord Essendon< said the shipping companies had been called-upon to make a very serious contribution toward the carrying out of the Ottawa agreements and also the giving of aid to the agricultural industry. The solution of the problem had required the restriction of meat importation from Argentina and other sources by means of a quota. Those companies which had built ships specially suitable for the carriage of meat and other refrigerated produce and had spent very large amounts in the development of that trade had had to recognise that their interests were of secondary importance in relation to the Empire's general welfare, but it meant that a large percentage of that tonnage would remain idle during the | period of restriction. He hoped that the sacrifices thus entailed would result in the full achievement of the expected benefits. In the meantime overseas shipping must suffer, and more seamen would be out of employment.