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Show TRADE BALANCE IS MOST FAVORABLE Chicago. Inn. CO For the first lime in history the United States la "experiencing the sensation of a real trade balance" In its favor, Dr. Edward Ed-ward K Pratt, chief of the federal bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, com-merce, told the Illinois Bankers' association as-sociation at its annual dinner here tonight. As a result of the developments abroad during the ltst six months, Dr. Pratt said, "we have turned the corner cor-ner and are facing a new era of DUBl-nes DUBl-nes expansion In this country an era which has made the term 'home market' mar-ket' obsolete and archaic, and put in its place the unfamiliar term of 'world market ' Ho explained that, while the export excess in favor of the United States had ranged annually an-nually for fourteen years from $250,-1 OOO.oOo to $65000,000, "invisible fac t-1 ors" had made this only an apparent! favorable balance. Fixed Charges Against Us. Foreign investment in the United I States, the speaker said, totaled $7.-1 500,000,000 with an annual interest Of 1350,000,000, constituting a fixed! charge on American industries, while American investments abroad produced pro-duced a revenue yearly of only $75,-000,000, $75,-000,000, reducing the balance against the United Slates on this count to S:7." i'.imi oho. Moreover, he pointed out, American tourist traffic poured millions into European coffers each year, the 1914 figure being approximately $J86 000,-000; 000,-000; foreign-born Americans sent home annually at least $150,000,000, and foreign shipping companies collected col-lected freight from American foreign commerce amounting to $25,000,000 a year. The resuli ol all these invisible i n tors during the fiscal year of 1014,: Ir Pratt declared, had been to produce pro-duce au actual excess of remittances I over receipts of $55,000,000, Real Trade Balance. The charge began on July 1, 1914. he said, and by December 31 last year the trade balance exceeded remittances re-mittances by $133,000,000, due to the huge exportation of foodstuffs, merchandise mer-chandise and gold and silver. At the same time came "a period of export ex-port capitalism, and we are just at the point of expanding into the world's markets, " To illustrate "export capitalism. Dr. Pratt cited the Swedish loan of $5,-000,000, $5,-000,000, the Argentine loan of $15,-000,000, $15,-000,000, and the Russian loan of $25,-000,000, $25,-000,000, all floated in this country during the last six months This will, of course, be a very slow movement at first.' he added, "be-j "be-j I cause we must pay our interest ( barges abroad and, naturally, a con-Blderable con-Blderable amount of liquidation in American securities will take place, thus utilizing a part of this favorable favor-able balance in reducing our foreign debt But we have turned the corner." cor-ner." Effect of the War. Turning to the effects of the European Euro-pean war upon international finance, Dr. Pratt said. Information now at hand placed the total of war loans made by the belligerents at $6,000,-000,000, $6,000,-000,000, all made at high rates of interest. "The income expected and obtained upon investments in Europe," he continued, con-tinued, "has been much less than that prevailing or expected in this country. coun-try. This war, however, will be succeeded suc-ceeded by a period of high interest It will be succeeded by a period of intense demand for capital for reconstruction recon-struction purposes. The stock of capital cap-ital is being depleted, and it is more likely that financial exhaustion, rather than milltar exhaustion will 1 determine the final result "At the close of the war. then. Eu-I Eu-I rope will not have much advantage over us in the matter of cheap cap-I cap-I ltal." Economic Conditions. As to economic conditions which must arise nroad. Dr Pratt said the war's toll of dead, wounded and diseased dis-eased would be paid from the ranks of the "skilled laborers who have made the goods which have been sent to the markets at home and abroad ," oo |