Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-05-28 | Page 4 | As in Books to Me

I The. $hM&3o- L WASHINGTON, D. C, May 28 Of course this Is economic heresy, but we would like to talk about it just for the sake of talking about iL We have just read that the total excess ex-cess of exports over imports of all commodities by tho United States for j the year ending June 30, 1919, was '$13,351,906.0., f This means' that goods to this val-iiie val-iiie were sent out of the country to I be either exchanged for other goods, or paid for in currency, or owed for i until some future time when they can be paid for. This is what is called our "balance of trade." It is what Is called a favorable" fav-orable" balance, because the other fel-low fel-low owes us thirteen billions. Now comes tne heresy. We wonder won-der what would happen If we kept this thirteen billions of -products at ihome. Of course, we can't raise ban-Janas ban-Janas and pepper in the United States; ' neither do we raise tea and coffee, i but we cai raise mort everything else Including hell. .Now suppose we kept at home, 27 .million bushels of rye. which went abroad, 24 million bushels of wheat flour, 1 1-2 million bushels of rye flour, 'a billion pounds of sugar, 136 million pounds of glucose, a billion pounds of bacon and all the rest of it? Would we bo In such a terrible "unfavorable"' "unfavor-able"' condition? Would not there be more flour, bacon and sugar for us at home? I Of course this Is al wrong and of course the most desirable thing In thei world is "a foreign market," foreigners ! 10 eat our flour and bacon. -ft' But It Is terrible hard for tho infant ;D class in political economy to under- ft" stand why sending away food and go- l. ing hungry and sending away clothes ! ; and going shabby Is such a blessing 1 ' and is so terribly necessary. Perhaps after all, the question ought to be re- ; ferred to the Lusk Committee. i , They know everything and are all , ready to tell us all what we can think. t