LARGER UNITS

Evening Star, Issue 19795, 20 February 1928, Page 7

LARGER UNITS

NATIONAL POLICY REACTION FROM WAR MAP EUROPE AND UNITY. The creation, after the war, of smaller national units on a racial oasis and imbued with desire for self-suffi-ciency tended to increase the number of tariffs in Europe and the number of obstacles to trade. _ The AustroHungarian Empire, for instance, was divided into various independent States with ideas towards economic as well as political independence. Tims the process represented by the German Confederation and Zollvcrein in the last century was reversed. The economic unit became smaller.

liut now some people believe that a definite reaction lias set in, and that there is a move, in the economic sense at any rate, towards a United States of Europe. The forces operating in Europe are said to be no longer centrifugal, but centripetal. Sir Alfred Motid, ui his noted address to Unionist members of the House of Commons, declared that as a result of a visit to Germany, Belgium, and France he was “ surprised at the almost complete unanimity with which tho idea of the formation of an economic Union of Europe, in order to preserve European inhas taken root in all those countries among men whose position is such that they really are great leaders of thought and industry in their countries. The idea that you must form some economic union of European countries, some form of joint action in industry, some form of joint action in taxation, in tariffs, and even further steps than that, in order to enable Europe to continue to go on existing against tho competition of the Continent of North Amerf.-a, is becoming almost axiomatic, almost a passionate faith in the bosoms of those who, a short time ago, would have scouted the very idea that such a step was possible or even advisable.” FORCING EMPIRE'S HAND.

Sir Alfred Mond’s argument is that the existent economic unity of the United States, and tho expected economic unity of Europe, compel the British people to create, as soon as may be, an economic unity of the Empire. He places side by side, as an object lesson to architects of State, the 106 million_population of the United States, the 427 million population of Europe, and the 450 million population of the British Empire; and he says in effect that the creation of a European bloc, as well as the existing United States bloc, would leave no loom for the Empire unit.

It js obvious, on the lace of things, that United States unity possesses the enormous advantages of being a going concern and of being based on absence ot internal tariffs, on a trade that is predominantly domestic, on singleness of currency, and, for the most part, ol speech; also in the advantage of territorial contiguity. Europe, whoa striving for economic unity, has none of these ad\ jmve, I'crhaos contiguity. The British Empire has common Jinks in speech, sentiment, currency, etc., but lacks contiguity of territory._ A critical feature is that Americanism seeks to bring Canada into its orbit, while British Empire unity would make Canada the link between the Atlantic and the Pacific regions of the Empue. Can the architocts ot Empire triumph over geography ' j soa . Ul) des, it does not divide’’) and tho widespread growth of local inft US A ne p al J K i ta !' lfts in tllc ovcr sc:i parts ot the British domain? of the Aloud idea hold that tnt British Empire complex could be made more powerful than the European complex and could hold its own with *“ ****■ Sk

W here arc _ there such markets, feuch potentialities, or such possibilities as in the British Empire? What does that vast. complex control? The British Empire already controls 27 per cent, ot the world’s wheat production, ho pei cent, of world’s rice production, b-i per cent, of the world’s population ot cattle, and 51 per cent, of the world's population of sheep. The British Empire already produces 69 per cent, of the worlds gold, 42 per cent, of the world’s tin, 8S per cent, of the world’s nickel, la per cent, of the world’s silver, 30 por cent, ot the world’s zinc, and 23 per cent, of the world’s lead. Jt already controls 77 per cent, of the world’s wool supply and 87 per cent, hr the world’s rubber supply. And there are vast undeveloped sources of Supply of these and other essential raw inatenals and foodstuffs.” A RECIPE OC AT IN G MERGER;

Sir Alfred Mond’s ideal is Imperial Freetrade, which would produce sonic fctep towards United States conditions, but he agrees that it would take lime. Still, something in the direction of donning spheres of industrial influence might ho attempted;—

Just ns in great industrial mergers you may determine where and how you will manufacture certain products, in what place the most economical production can be effected, how much you gain by concentration in largo units” so the same order of ideas can be applied to the even greater problems of Imperial production. And, just as it is found necessary by means of compensation payments and rearrangements to adjust those fields of ordinary business, feq some great Imperial body charged with these considerations could form a feystera of compensation pools, consider methods of quotas of production, and fenequrago and stimulate the creation bf industries in the places best situated for them, with benefit to the whole and without detriment to any part.

“The quota is a good plan. But why only a quota on British films? Why not a quota on British materials in all directions? Examined, the quota idea might become a very powerful instrument to further the use both of home and Imperial products as against products produced by those outside the magic circle. It is_ certainly a weapon which we are now’ engaged in forging in a relatively _ unimportant industry, and which might nave much wider uses.

“ Then there is a further step. If you want people to give up anything they have, if you want people to cease Operating in the direction in which they are operating in the ordinary bourse of business, you have to find some reason why they should do so, you have to give them some interest. You might come to the conclusion that fcertain industries were so uneconomic in parts of the Empire that we would be better without them. You could not fexpect those who created them, or those engaged in them, merely to acfcept the execution. But just as it is tommon practice in large industrial mergers to compensate those who suffer from the concentration of factories by the proposed scrapping of others, so an Empire compensating pool, which would not he a very large proposal, would help over a great many difficulties.”