ECONOMIC CONFERENCE

Grey River Argus, 15 June 1933, Page 5

ECONOMIC CONFERENCE

FACING THE FACTS Stable Currency Desired (Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.) LONDON, .lune 13. The opening of the Conference was marked by grey skies, which brought gloom to the Chamber The informal conversations indicated that lew constructive speeches were likely, delegates withholding plans until iho committees are constituted. Fruitful work in th<* (’hainber i> rendered extremely diflieult by the prohibition of smoking, the delegates spending most of their time in the lobbies, where they (ire :ib| ( . to exchange ideas in friendlv confidence. Even in lounge suits, the Conference .retained an atmosphere of homogeneity. though many delegates are less impressive in appearance. Al. Daladier. i- nuggety. tilled with Gallic fire ami Breton caution. lit’ spoke from a mam.script, but seldom referred to it. He possesses a manly voice of delightful timbre, always ar resting. lie mad,- a great imprt Signor .lung, a sexagenarian, thickset and of medium height. Wearing a emblem in button hide, he spoke with perfect EngliMi accent, a deliberate quirt delivery, lie , briefly mirrored Signor Mussolini’s practicability, an interpreter translating into French. Signor Jung approached nearer the bleak facts than miy of the statesmen have yet dared. As an earnest of the desire to get to grips with the problems facing the Conference, there was no dissent to the Bureau's proposal to limit the gen•ral debate to three days, and the speeches to 13 minute-. The President has discretion t*» exten 1. if the speaker is usefully conn ibatinir to the (’on'er net’ ’ s work. The opening speakei was M Dal:idie 1 eight minntes. in* traversed ■fit cities (l f production and exa age. whcri’Utidi*! two-thirds of the i! ; \ p’puiatio:’. are existing. Agri- - ma' <i !■ ; t";'v f-iiad prices fail ■if. an I sometimes two-thirds. Hew could they be deprived of pur--ir.g power and continue to be stumers in industry. To the evil of postwar mass production was added iliry -f currency. The main- . 1 ami restoration of the free- . d<m: • f movement of gold was indispensable to the restoration of the cir- , irion of goods. What would they [ <:ir of an engineer who worked with < an indiarubber footrule Adopting a 4<>-hour week within the international r framework was worthy of considcra- 1 tion. There was a tendency in all Gov- i eminent policies to run counter to one another. These must be harmonised to \ avoid economic warfare. The Italian, Signor Jung, emphasis- 1 ed the transcendence of a settlement t of war debts The fact that all nations, wealthy or otherwise, suffered the same ills of unemployment and decline in real prices, proved that the evils were outside monetary fields It was not logical to deplore the excess of productive equipment, and simultaneously expand it bv forced injections of credit. It was a problem of adjustment. They must co-operate to enable the investor to feel his interests were safeguarded. Hprcanent economic efficiency was paramount. General Smuts, one of the three survivor.-, of the Peace Conference, said ho had soon his fears of economic warfare- realised, and he now feared the fate of civilisation, if the Conference failed. He implored the Conference to separate politics from economics, and appoint committees of experts to advise the right steps for world recovery. JAPAN FOR GOLD STANDARD. RUGBY, June 13 Several prominent. delegates took part in the preliminary general discussion .at to-day’s session of the World Economic Conference. While different aspects were discussed by different speakers, there was a general recognition that an agreement had to be reached and vital decisions taken bv the Conference unless the wor'd situation was to develop into one of extreme difficulty M Daladier said we believe it to be the. first necessity to put an end to thp war of money and its instability, and give commercial exchange, an indispensable guarantee of monetary security. Signor Jung stressed the necessity for real stability of values, and said it was useless to create illusive values. Stimulus of credit could not be increased merolv by increasing supply of credit. General Smuts emphasised the need for quick decisions Count Ishii said they had burned the bridge behind them, and failure would mean disaster. Japan desired conditions making possible the general restoration of the gold stadard. Mr Beck (Poland) considered that stabilisation of currency should be kept to the forefront. No artificial measure could restore prices to where they were before the crisis All efforts should bo directed towards reconstructing the international relationships. Senor Marino (Cuba) said that if the Conference docs not succeed in tcducing the very high rate of tariffs existing in the world to-day, it will have failed in Hie principal task. Herr Neuralh emphasised the desire of his country to collohorate in the spirit, of the King’s opening address. He remarked that the interests of creditor and debtor countries seemed 1o differ and gold standard countries seemed to have other interests than the countries which had abandoned the gold standard, or which requlredl exchange, regulations for the protection of currencies. But

the Conference in the overwhelming desire to acknowledge common interests, proved most strikingly that, all those differences were only differences in appearance-. Industry could not prosper if agriculture did not nourish. The creditor could not exist if the debtor perished, and vi«'e versa. Gohl ctirrencv became meaningless if free circulation of gold was nut gr.aTanteed They must find courage to carry through the .solutions, while remembering that rhe- success of the Confetrenep was largely dc]iendent on the fulfilment of great political tasks. Count Ishii further advocated immediate temporary measnrpj, in connection with curreney and credit, tra'e barriers and price levels Japan w.i> re;idv to consider the obviation of exchange iluct iml ions, [lending a final i<-iu,rn to gold. Hf advocated unrestricted application of the- most favoured nation clause. Hen ‘ Xeurat h also urged a dear understanding uf Gerniany’s situation as a pielu <• to the select ion of proper ipntedies. I nteruai ional debts could on v be paid in goods and services, after credit and financial problems: were s:i 11 s t’;i c tor i 1 v settled. through peaceful co-operation. Chancellor Hit ler’s ileda rat ion had paved the way for a return of conti lence. Gerniany’s ui eplance of Mr MacDonald’s plan :i ,-i b.i-is of convention gave disarmament a new inipn’si- The spirit in•piling these ac 11 ofi s Would <■ ha ra ct er !<,• Germany’s upproadi to the world’s ti;-;iiida 1 and i i-oiioniic. problems. Th.- Foil feronce :id.jourric(l. Mr ('hamberlain will m-ake an important . iat eniei:t. jmtting forward thp Briti-h proposals at to-morrow's sitling. Herr Dolfuss is also expected to .peak before returning to Vienna.