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1^——niT1IIIIIM—1ITlTHII~Wf II' nil I I —lllil I iTIITIIWI ...—..
I England on Sound Financial
I Basis Notwithstanding War
LONDON, July 21.—“Notwith
anding the fact that Parliament re
ntly voted another billion and a
alf dollars for tne prosecution of
e war, and that Great Britain’s
aily war bill is now nearly twenty
ve millions, British politicians say
ey view the financial outlook con
dently. Do the business men of
e empire share this view?”
rfere is the answer of Lord Kev
|ppjlstoke, active head of the great in
Bjernational merchant banking firm
jjgpf Baring Brothers, a director of the
ank of England, and probably the
>ne man in England best qualified to
eak with authority on the subject,
given to the United Press in an in
terview today:
if “The country is proving that it
'can cope with such an expenditure.
So long as our military authorities
require money to carry on the war
we shall shrink from no sacrifice in
S.order to provide it. The civilian
. community is just as Jhilly and firm
resolved on victory as the armies
hich are fighting our battles in
e field, and it entertains as little
oubt as to the ultimate result.”
Lord Revelstoke was quite will
g to talk to an American corre
spondent about Great Britain's pres
nt economic position, provided the
iscussion were limited to the finan
ial and commercial situation as it
ppeared to a banker and merchant
ithout official status.
“London," said Lord Revelstoke,
like other credit centers, was un
repared for the crisis which ac
lompanied the outbreak of the war.
hatever may have been the case
n Berlin, English bankers at least
ad no fore-knowledge of the calum
ty that was to strike Europe in Aug
3t, 1914. But after nearly two
ears of a war waged In a manner
!ar more exhausting than any na
oa had anticipated, the edifice of
Iredit in London stands firm, and
e delicate banking machinery
orks smoothly. For this the world
.s chiefly to thank the courageous
licy adopted by the cabinet and
»
lj
the treasury department during the
first months of war.”
Emphasizing the fact that this
policy had been justified by results,
Lord Revelstoke explained: “Lon
don’s credit is not like Berlin's. It
is being tested every day by tne
standards of other countries over
seas, and if it were not found want
ing, the world would quickly know
it. London is the center of the
sensitive network, of nerves which
constitute the foreign exchanges.
Banks and merchants all over the
world have credits in London on
which they may draw at any mo
ment. London has attained its pres
eht positon owing largely to the vol
ume of foreign trade to and from the
shores of England.
“War tends to cripple exports be
cause it turns productive workers
info soldiers. Imports in turn have
to be restricted as far a3 possible to
the necessities of war. Thus Lon
don stands specially to lose by a
reduction in the volume of world
trade, because this reduction makes
the processes of world-finance hard
er to carry through. But despite
these disadvantages, London remains
the world’s financial clearing house.
Now has this been done?
“The key to the position has been
the maintenance of an export trade.
Exports have been possible, to an ex
tent beyond expectation, partly ow
ing to the sound financial policy of
the government, and partly to the
use of the great reservoir of labor
previously untouched here. Worn- I
sn and men who did no work before
having taken the places of those who
have gone to the trenches.
“But chiefly, the successful main
tenance of exports is due to the Brit
ish navy. No small part of the navy's
effort has consisted in the protection
of the world's sea-borne commerce,
which has enabled financial London
to.do its share in the great struggle.
Notably It is the navy which has
made it possible for the allies to
obtain from America free shipments
of food and munitions, and although
the orlers placed In America have
had the effect of creating a trade
balance adverse to the allied coun
tries, measures have been taken to
arrest, and control the fall in the
I American exchange..
“I refer, of course,” said Lord
i Revelstoke, ‘‘to the mobilization’ of
negotiable securities and to the re
strictions on certain imports. in
these matters the chancellor of the
I exchequer has found the business
community a ready coadjutor, and
! if the necessity for more energetic
measures for the protection of our
trade balance arises as time goes on,
there is little doubt that a substan
tial and hitherto untouched reserve
could be made available by a stricter
regulation of our imports and a
greater economy in their distribu
tion.
‘‘London has been able to meet all
claims on herself, has been able to
borrow abroad, when necessary, on
reasonable terms, and in other cases
to meet in gold all obligations
abroad to those w ho prefer that form
of payment. Nor has the financial
community any doubt but that the
freedom of London's’ gold market
can be maintained in the future.”
Turning then to Britain's capacity
lor shouldering the financial burden
of the war in the future, Lord Rev
elstoke spoke in a manner quietly
confident. ‘‘No serious business
man,” he said, “will be inclined to
underrate the nature of an effort
which casts the country $25,0.10,0011
a day. Such figures speak for them
relves. The spirit which you will
come across in the business com
munity is the same spirit which ani
mates the rest of England, one of
earnest determination to prosecute
the war, however long it may last, ,
to a victorious end.”
The question naturally arises,
whether this confidence should be
modified in view of the large advan
ces which Great Britain is making
to the other members of the alliance. I
Lord Revelstoke’s answer is that
these advances are included in
Great Britain’s war bill, and fully
allowed for therein. The question
of the advances to allies, is, to Lord
Revelstoke, one ot politics rather
than of business. “The financial
community is not inclined,” he said,
“to weigh overnlcely the respective
value of the service rendered by dif
ferent nations to the, common cause.
All that is needed is confidence that
all are doing their best, ar.d about
that no doubt can be felt by those
j who know the facts.
“The statesmen of the allied na
tions arc working together. They
allot one task to this nation anti an
1 other to that. Part, but only part,
( of the British share is to finance
: the allies; more than two billion dol
lars were advanced to the allies and
| dominions during the last financial
] year, and the amount is not likely
to decrease. It is a serious amount,
but the bill is met cheerfully.”
It was suggested that there are
folk in every country who regard
finance as a secret agency possessing
the power to instigate and stop wars
at will.
Lord Revelstoke smiled. "War
and trade,” he said, “are impossible
bedfellows.” Trade, he explained,
depends on credit, which is a rea
sonable expectation that goods and
services will come to market and be
sold in due course; war makes that
expectation doubtful. The profits
of a few specialized business men
can never compensate the communi
ty for the destruction wrought by
war. and finanee depends for its
earnings on general not on special
prosperity.
Asked how' London views the
growing financial power of the Unit
ed States, in view of the suggestion
tliat there is some jealousy in finan
cial London of this new arrival in the
sphere of international finance, Lord ;
Revelstoke, speaking with obvious
sincerity, said that never had the 1
friendship between bankers in j
America and England been more
cordial, a fact which he could per
sonally confirm from the intercourse
he had had during the last six
months with leading Americans. The
United States had gained greatly
in financial strength since 1914. But
London need not, and does not,
grudge that success.
“American and British ideals in
this respect are similar,” he de
clared. “Both nations believe in us
ing their money power for the de
velopment of the newer countries a
development vhlch can only in
crease the prosperity of the w'hole
world. There is room in the field of
international finance for the new
world as well as the old.
“The association of American cap
ital with British experience and
technical knowledge of European
»nd eastern conditions Is one from
which both parties will derive bene
fit. It is to the co-operation of
these two factors, to the joint en
deavors of the United States and of
Ureat Britain, that the financial
world will look when the reign of
: force is over and the hour for recon
struction arrives.”
With 2,500,000 cars now registered
and running in this country, there is
still a market for 1.000,000 cars a
year until 5,000,000 cars are in use,
according to Alfred Reeves, general
manager of the National Automobile
Chamber of Commerce.
“The motor-car demands of the rest
of the world, as well a? the increas
ing needs for the transportation of
passengers and freight in the United
States, will have to be supplied by
this country,” says Reves. “States
like Iowa now have a car for every
16 persons, yet it is shown that other
states, like some in the south, have
only one car for every 215 persons, j
“In view of the fact that govern
ment figures showed 10,000.000 horse
drawn vehicles in use in 1910, and
that there are 5,000,000 farms in this
country, one-half of them without a ■
mortgage, and the increasing demand i
of motor trucks, i can see no reason ]
why, with the increasing service sup- j;
plied by motor cars, this country can
not ultimately make use of at least 11
5,000,000 power-driven vehicles of i
various types.
“While pessimists have been j 1
preaching from year to year that the i
automobile business must come to an t
end, progressive men who appreciated !
the need of the motor car because of i
the service it supplied have been de- 1
veloping the car and increasing its <
sale until now we have 2,500,000 reg
istered in the United States, with a l
scheduled production for 1916 far in i
excess of a million automobiles. i
“Such an industry canot but offer ]
opportunities for young men, al- <
though, because of the keen competi- i
tion, the opportunities are only for
those men who are prepared to work
loyally and enthusiastically and who
are willing to train themselves for a
particular field.
“The automobile business offers not
alone an opportunity to make money,
but opportunities to do things worth
while. \\ hether for good or for evil
the coming age will find this a great
industrial nation, and our young men
must be trained for their places in its
great progress.”
NEW YORK COURT
DEALS WITH TRAFFIC
A traffic court for the special pur
pose of dealing with violators of
speed laws has been opened in New
iork, according to advices received
The establishment of this court is one
af the most important steps taken
by the New Y’ork authorities in their
plans for controlling the traffic con
iitions of the big metropolis.
New Y'ork followed Chicago in op
ting a traffic court and in his open
ing address Chief Magistrate McAdoo
said:
We hope to establish by this court
a consistent treatment of those vio
lating the ordinance so that those
areaking the law will know exactly
•vhat to expect and accordingly be de
creed from violating the regulation.
All the cases in Manhattan coming
lere to a given center will permit an
alysis and careful study of the cause
>f accidents in our streets. Judge
douse realizes, as we all do, that
vhile the population of this island is
ncreasing and the number of motor
tnd other vehicles advancing by the
housands the island itself is growing
to larger and consequently the dan
ger on our streets is increasing.
He knows from personal observa
ion that high speed on Manhattan
sland is absolutely impossible. In
he congested districts, as the traffic
legins to enter, it is very doubtful if
my vehicle can proceed faster than
hose formerly drawn by horses.
We hope to extend this court’s ac
ivities to the Bronx, and, in due time,
o Brooklyn. These special courts are
established not because of any lack of
aith in the magistracy in general,
>ut for the reason that one or two
nagistrates sitting continuously and
lealing with special cases gain by ex
lerience and are vast aids to the ex
ecutive branches of the government
n enforcing the law.
Road The Daily Times and be an
Vnchorage booster