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Show i America's Farmers and Europe's Buyers. z There are broad indications that the current annual balance of In- debtedness of the rest of the world to the United States which must be covered by American Investments In foreign countries will be in the ? fz neighborhood of one billion dollars for the year 1923. In 1022, according to the United States Department of Commerce, 8 21 American Investors purchased 709 million dollars of new capital foreign securities, 589 million the first six months of the year and only 180 mil- t lion the last six months of the year. The fact that only 23 per cent of ? 2 the total loans were made In the second half of the year is overwhelm- n Ing evidence that this source of funds for the purchase of American ex- ports is drying up and that the exports of the 1923 crops are likely to be g z seriously handicapped. Inasmuch as about 50 per cent of the cotton has Jz been finding a market abroad, over 25 per cent of the wheat, and over ? 15 per cent of pork products, and Inasmuch as more than one-half of the ? total exports are agricultural exports, American agriculture has a vital interest In the clearing up of European affairs. How are we to arrive at gound Judgments and concrete proposals for profitable economic co-operation between the United States and Europe? ?? three years our foreign Investments were 1,018 millions, about a third of which was made In 1022 ; but for the last half of 1022 there was a marked falling off, foreign investments In Europe Eu-rope as reported by the Commercial and Financial Chronicle being only $103,400,0J0, divided between $S3,700,-000 $S3,700,-000 government loans and $81,700,000 corporate. Without a revival of American confidence con-fidence In European securities It Is obvious ob-vious that Europe's purchases In this country are likely to be jeopardized, which will mean slackening export demand de-mand for this country's agricultural products. For more than two years the farm bureau has maintained that the prosperity pros-perity of the American farmer 13 closely close-ly linked with the European situation. The farmer must have a foreign outlet out-let for his surpluses. How shall he get it? It is the nation's business to answer that question. The research department has recently recent-ly released figures which show that this extreme deflation and continued depression of farming Is to a large degree the product of European conditions. con-ditions. It Is a familiar fact that we export a very substantial portion of our wheat, cotton, tobacco and pork. European Industrial nations, uu-poverished uu-poverished and demoralized by the war, are unable to keep the Industrial machine going at Its prewar rate. Consequently Con-sequently they have less manufactured products to sell, their exchanges are depreciated, and their demand for raw farm products reduced. Prices Ruinously Low. The exporting nations of Europe, Russia and the llalkun nations, are also demoralized. With their competition a thing of the past the American farmer farm-er for the next few yearn would be in an enviable position, If It were nut for the low purchasing power of his European customers. As It Is exports are going out In very large volume, measured by prewar standard. Iiut the price at which they must be exported ex-ported is ruinously low, except In the case of cotton In which two very short crops have created what threatens to develop Into a serious shortago. The crux of the export situation Is that much of the export business has been and must be done on credit. That means Investments by Americans In European securities now that loans by the United States government are no longer being made. A very largo amount of Europe's balance of Imports from us In the past several years has been settled by government loans, prl-vnte prl-vnte Investments and trade credits. A summary of the balance of payments between the United States, Canada and Europe prepared by Martin J. Allien All-ien of New York shows that In the last eight years those foreign countries coun-tries have Incurred debts to us to the extent of 40 billion dollars. Ten billion bil-lion of these debts have been settled through loans from the Unlled Stntes government to foreign governments; several billion more have been Invested Invest-ed by Americans In foreign socurll l(-i and currencies and In American securities secu-rities helil by foreigners; in addition trade credits variously estimated at: from two to live billions have been extended ex-tended by American bunks, though II Is said by Home authorities that these have now been nil cleared up. All tho world's surplus gold lias been used In settling these balances by Importations Importa-tions Into this country. Unfavorable Trade Balance. For the year 1022 Europe, so far as can bo Judged from published Import Im-port and export statist les, has an unfavorable un-favorable trade balance wllli us of about a billion dollars. Loans of six to seven hundred million dollars and gold Imports of around 200 million do;-lars do;-lars have figured In the pel I lenient .T this balance. If u like liudo balance Is to bo Incurred by Europe next year, which will be I he cane It' we are to continue exporting to European nations na-tions on the present or n large- scale, tho total of foreign Investments and cold Importations will have to be at least, as large as dining the past year, lint, both Investments and gold Imports Im-ports have fallen olT In recent mouths. In the three years IO'.:0'."J our net. Imports of gold were a billion iolar.-( of which four lift lis were In Die two years 11120 and 102,1, For tho wimo |