EXPERTS' VIEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 16, 20 January 1933, Page 7

EXPERTS' VIEWS.

WORLD ECONOMICS. COMING CONFERENCE. Grave Fears of Future if Effort Fails. ABOLISH EXCHANGE CONTROL. (United I J .A.-Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Received 2 p.m.) GENEVA, January 19. A plea for economic disarmament is made in the preamble of the experts' report to be submitted to the World Economic Conference.

The preamble emphasises the gravity of the situation and estimates the world's unemployed at 30,000,000. Wholesale prices have declined one-third since 18&9. Stocks had been accumulating, and production was being curtailed. The international flow of goods was incredibly low.

Few countries retain the gold standard. Nevertheless, the security of markets was improving, although reconstruction was essential to expedite recovery, ending the conflict of national economies. Failure in this connection would shake the whole system of international finance, giving lower standards of living, which would shatter the social system. The problem of inter-Governmental indebtedness, though outside the scope of the conference, must be settled in order to overcome a barrier to reconstruction. The conference could not settle the issues piecemeal. Governments must act concertedly and promptly.

The international monetary standard must be restored and a fresh breakdown prevented. A general policy of easy money in order to promote business should be advocated. Exports of production might be regulated, especially wheat.

The abolition of exchange control was an essential preliminary to recovery, but Governments must adapt Budgetary systems so as to restore confidence in foreign lending markets. Restriction of imports created a paralysis in international trade, and the normal interchange of* commodities should be re-establisheft by moderating tariffs. The experts express grave fears forthe world's economic, financial and social systems if the conference fails. They emphasise that world prices have dropped one-third in respect of primary products and one-half in respect of lowest for 400 years.- Yet there is the anomaly that in some protected markets the price is five times above the normal. Furthermore, some countries' exports are not sufficient to meet the service of foreign debts. The value of world trade in the first half of 1932 was only onethird of that for the same period of 102(9. There is unanimity on the part of the experts that gold is the most suitable medium for economic intercourse, but this is qualified by so many provisions that no suggestion of an early return to the gold standard is envisaged.