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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1942-09-10, Page 6Economic Unityin the New World ' The world -shuttering events of the past few years and the waging of total war, have brought in their train the ruin of the industrial edifice of our 'generation, The normal course of trade and commerce has been shat tered, Organized •conununicfitions and channels of business have coil= apsed, • A brief study of the map of the world reveals that in continental Eu- rope the only countries free to trade with North America, as and when possible, are Sweden, Russia, Switz- erland, Spain, Portugal and Turkey. Of the remaining eighteen continen- tal countries, six are at war with us or our allies and the rest al%e domin- ated by or over -run by the common enemy. Nor does the picture in the Far East differ from that of Europe. There remain only four of the eleven countries with whom we can trade as and when possible. Our attention, therefore, is of nec- essity focused on the Western Hem- isphere, Small wonder that the trad- er—be he importer or exporter—see- ing his business disappear into thin air, looks around for new outlets for his merchandise or ntw sources of supply, now that the old order has disappeared. Is it not inevitable that business men living in this hemi- sphere, as yet unmarred by the Con- vulsion of war, should think in terms of Western Hemisphere solidarity? This trend of thought, this impulse, to unity. spells trade. It may be worth while to look back for a moment and try to dis- cover why the human race, in the course of its history, has not been more "hemispherically" minded, It is undoubtedly true that from the dawn of history the movement of tribes and nations has been west- ward. Europe was settled by four waves of migration from the East. Europe in turn sent its sons west- ward; Spain, France, Britain, Portu- gal and Holland peopled the Western Hemisphere with their colonizers and adventurers. Perhaps the reason for this lateral migration may be found in the fact that in searching for new worlds to explore or conquer the same climatic conditions were sought by these men as in the countries of their origin. Whatever the reason, while the political ties were finally severed with their mother countries, the racial, lingual and cultural ties remained. We find the English-speak- ing peoples in the north and the Lat- in speaking peoples in the south. Once having reached the Western World, latitude rather than longitude was the course by which their vessels were charted. Nor did business men on the nor- thern continent of the Western Hemisphere give much thought until recently to the potentialities of trade of trade with their Southern neigh- bours. Now, however, the people of Want the northern continent are thinking "hen ispherically,' and it is our hope and desire that all the countries corn. prising the Western Hemisphere are like minded; that is that trade should flow north and south, soutb and north—for trade, must flow both ways.' Heiuispherie solidarity can be aehieved and much is' being done now to pave the way for better un- derstanding between. the, two con- tinents. The Latin-American 'eonn- tries, too, are thinking 'hemispheric ally' as a matter of self-preservation, because what has happened to us in regard to cessation of trade as a re- sult of the war has happened to therm. In the clays before the war, Eur- ope was South America's best cus- tomer. According to the latest fig- ures available (1988), Europe took 98 per cent. of Latin -America's heat, 86 per cent of its corn, 73 per cent of its wool, 74 per cent of its cotton, and 66 per cent of its hides and skins. Total Latin-American exports of that year were approximately two billion dollars, of which Europe took 54.4 per cent. Total Latin-American imports for the same year, in round figures, were one and one-half bil- lion, of which Europe provided 43.6 per cent, The Western Hemisphere nations, therefore, have everything to gain by establishing closer trade relations based on equitable tariffs and, as the keynote of it all, the setting up of some form of financial stability or balance in relation to eeonomic and fundamental standards; under which wages and living conditions in the different countries will be brought into some form of equilibrium, the basis of which might be termed a fair and proper exchange, or free movement of goods or services with- out the thought of exploitation on either side. One of the most important steps towards attaining hemispheric econ- omic unity is that propsed by Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. He recommends a hemispheric dollar. There are in thus, hemisphere twenty Latin-American republics, the United States, Canada and Newfoundland, and certain British, Dutch, and French colonies, There are, there- fore, twenty-five monetary units -- twenty-five kinds of money, all fluc- tuating with respect to each other in value. Perhaps no one can adequate- ly conceive the extent to which this Situation handicaps both trade and travel. This plan for a hemispheric dollar has certain implications worth not- ing. There cannot be a common mon- etary unit for the 'Western Hemi- sphere unless the barriers totrade and immigration are removed. and For Sale Ads, 3 weeks 50c. It is now ILLEGAL to HOARD scrap steel or UNUSABLE machinery The Steel Controller has ordered that, after September 15, 1942, no person may retain in his possession scrap iron or steel weighing a total of 500 pounds or more unless he has a permit. (For the purposes of the new regulations, scrap metal includes machin- ery, structural steel, or any ether article or commodity containing iron or steel, which is not serving an immediate vital purpose.) The order also provides: That anyone, coming into possession after September 15 of scrap iron or steel weighing 500 pounds or more, must dispose of it within 20 days. That any person having a valid reason for not disposing of scrap metal as scrap metal or who believes that it can serve some essential purpose, must send in a report by September 15 to the Used Goods Administrator of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, Lumaden Building, Toronto, His report must reveal the exact description, quantity, and location of his scrap metal. The provisions of the order do not apply to scrap dealers who are already subject to previous orders; nor do they affect metal fabri- cators and processors who are in legal possession of metal to he used in manufacturing. A copy of the order, S.C, 16, may be obtained from the Steel Controller, Department of Munitions and. Supply, Ottawa, rnfraetmns of the new regulations are subject to a fine of up to $5,000, or imprisonment of up to five years, or both fine and imprisonment. Department of Munitions and Supply HONOURAr s2 0. D. HOVWE, 0srN1ss R 404 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10. 1942 Above—Three soldiers examine a Thompson sub -mac an English country lane. r' hine gun. Below—A platoon of Infantrymen swing down Counter Check Books We Are Selling Quality Books Books are Well Made, Carbon is Clean and Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf and Black Back. Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere. Get our. Quotation on Your Next Order. • Seaforth News SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, ft)