WORLD TRADE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21515, 12 June 1933, Page 9

WORLD TRADE

VITAL CONFERENCE

OPENING BY KING TO-DAY IMPORTANT PROBLEMS EFFORT FOR SOLUTION GREAT HALL PREPARED . i» Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright ■' (Received June 11. 6.35 p.m.) LONDON. June 11 "With brief but fitting ceremony His "Majesty to-morrow will open the World Economic Conference in which the hopes that are centred are almost too ambitious for fulfilment. This will be the 25th international conference since the war. The Empire's capital has risen to the occasion and lias placed 'the handsome new building of the Geological Museum, South Kensington, at the disposal of the gathering and adapted it to its special requirements.

Every conceivable facility for communication between the delegates from 66 nations has been devised. The King will arrivo at the conference at 3.30 p.m. and will adtlress the 16S delegates from a green and gold dais. He will stand before the gold microphone, a plate on which records each time it is used. This will be the fourth time. Then there will be an interval while His MajestV departs. The Prime Minister, Mr. Mac Donald, will be the next to speak. He is determined to set an example in brevity. Afterwards will come formal business concerning the credentials of the delegates and future procedure; The conference is expected to last six weeks, but the possibility of a midsummer adjournment has not been overlooked. / y Bemarkable Drinking Bar

Londoners whose own drinking hours are restricted are particularly interested in the long bar at which every drink in the world will be available at any hour. Here will be barmen who can speak six languages and can serve anything from the arrack of Arabia and the vodka of Russia to homely ale.

The social events will include a ballet at Covent/Garden Opera House, parties at many great houses, banquets to be given by City livery companies, garden parties and Government receptions. Among the interesting delegates is General Smuts, who has flown most of the way from Capetown. Dr. Dolfuss, Austria's harassed Chancellor, also has arrived by air. Dr. Schacht has arrived in an air liner from Berlin.

M. Litvinoff's .arrival is a mystery. The Soviet Embassy 011 Friday night was 'without news as to when he would arrive, and yesterday the officials there would only say: " He is here." M. Avenol, secretary-general of the conference, who shortly will succeed Sir Eric Drunlmond as secretary-general of the League of Nations, has cast an expert eye over the arrangements. Subjects lor Consideration Official circles hesitate to predict that anything will eventuate from the conference in the shape of a treaty for economic peace. They consider that tho subjects are too complicated to submit to documentary definition. The subjects can be broadly grouped as follows:—(1) Monetary and credit policy. (2) An increase in commodity prices. {o) A resumption of the movement of capital. (4) The removal of restrictions in international trade. (5) The organisation of production and trade. The British policy will be stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, but there will be nothing to prevent Mr. Mac Donald leaving the chair and speaking on behalf of Britain if necessary. Scepticism as to Results In the interests of truth it must be confessed that the general attitude toward the conference is mainly one of scepticism. The ordinary mind cannot visualise useful results from the talk between representatives of 66 nations with conflicting interests to press. The Government, also, has been reproached for not producing a cut and dried policy for submission to the conference. The impression is held that the decisions, if any, will not be reached by the 66 nations, but by an odd six, and that possibly those will reach more important conclusions outside tho conference. An instance of this is a small item published in only one or two newspapers. Jt records that Mr. Montagu Norman at the Bank of England had with Mr. Cordell •Hull and other American delegates and with rrench and British representatives on the subject of currency stabilisation. A small meeting like this well may be fraught with greater results than weeks °1 sitting in conference, though it nught not have been held had the conference not been summoned. Futility of Makeshifts

'I he choice before the world fit the J-conomio Conference is nationalism versus co-operation," writes Sir Walter ton (editor of the Economist), in til' l j\eiysl ( Jiroincle. j)

J lie u i iter -emphasises the facts that more than -'i0,000,000 people are unemployed in the world, that l-'t,000,000 ions of shipping (more than was des--1 roveq by submarines in the Croat »\ar) arc idle, that farmers are impoverished, that Budgets are unbalanced in spite of heavy taxation, and that there arc all the symptoms of postwar economic policy attempting to at--lain prosperity independently, often at, tiie exjieii.se of the remainder of the world. "1 nless the issue is solved rightly progress ivill he impossible in other directions," says Sir Walter. "Even the stabilisation of currency with a new international gold standard ultimately ill break flown unless freer trade is permitted. The omens for that at present'are not favourable. ''lf the delegates shrink from taking the courageous road and continue with national self-sufficiency they may as well go home immediately. No makeshifts or jiioiis resolutions will rescue tile world from its present economic barbarism." The World Economic Conference was kept prominently in mind in most of t'le churches in Auckland and suburbs yesterday; The ajijieal of tin? Archbishop <of Canterbury. Dr. Cosmo Gordon hang, that the day should he observed as one of special prayer for the guidance of the assembled world leaders and for the success of the conference had been specially commended to clergy nnrl all Christian people both by Archbishop Averill and by the Council of Christian' Congregations. At nearly all religious gatherings tome reference was made to the signilitanre of the occasion and prayer was offered for divine guidance : "jd help to facet the crisis.