Show THE interdependence OF NATIONS prom the Cli christian ristian science monitor the report of the international economic conference affords a useful survey of the ground which the conference covers and the conclusions which it arrived at As a concise review of the economic conditions of the world and an analysis of the fun da mental causes of the troubles which the nations are experiencing it is a document of first class interest in the first place it has been esteb dished that although the worlds population in 1925 was only about 5 per cent greater than in 1913 the production of foodstuffs and raw material was 16 to 18 per cent greater moreover the production of finished commodities modi ties must have increased faster than these figures since technical progress largely consists of the more i complete and more economical use of material therefore the fact that the volume of trade in 1925 was only 5 per cent higher than before the war explains a great deal of the present distress in europe for certain parts of the orld notably america have progressed considerably moie than these figures fi pires indicate the most distressing evidence of Eu ropes economic difficulties the report says is the abnormal degree of unemployment while it financial reactions are shown in the burdensome ta la cation and inadequate savings of europe the reduced consuming consing power of europe affects the prosperity of the rest of the world especially in the iron and steel trades shipbuilding and chemical industry all of which were artificially expanded to meet the needs of the war while it has limited the epan expansion sion which would otherwise have place in other directions agriculture has been perhaps more severely lift than anything else owing owin to the fact tbt the price of the industrial products on which agriculture largely depends for it its development havo have remained hig high ah while vc hilo agricultural products havo fetched comparatively lov lower er prias tm thi depte depression assion is not due to any ah ab mcrea increase sein in the production of f ei lut but is duo dui to the lecren ea purchasing power of the industrial population in europe the moral of all this is the interdependence of industries and classes and if no other conclusion has eme emerged rg from the discussions of the economic conference it at least has driven home the fact that prosperity tv ill is not something which can be enjoyed by a policy of economic isolation moreover the belief that by returning to the prewar pre war state of affairs the troubles of europe would be removed has also been shown to he be illusory i FT for the N war left something more than mere disturbances in the currencies and financial position of the b belligerents el lige rents in so far as these were removed by establish establishing ng the exchanges and the balancing of budgets the international ter movements of capital were stimulated and the habit of saving i rig was ivas re revived d but there remained dep deep rooted changes in the economic situation of the world caused by war debts and increased taxation taa tion and the alteration in the balance between the public and private indebtedness of nations with the consequent diversion of trade thus europe has to face a new situation and in doing so finds herself severely handicapped by the economic and political consequences of the war owing to the multiplication of her frontiers and increase in in tariff walls the possibility of europe being organized as an economic unit appears more remote than ever while producing more she has fewer markets and less facilities for trade this is largely due to the entangle rr ir ants the european nations have have made for themselves by their tariffs all this is destructive of that good feeling and confidence which are as necessary for economic progress ss as for political stability the economic problem is much the same as the disarmament problem it is a moral one and neither can be solved until nations learn to think in an international sense the real value of the economic F conference lies therefore in the contribution which it has made to a more friendly feeling and better understanding between nations it is to the indirect effect of the conference in penetrating national administrations with the international point of kiev that the world must look for the removal of the economic troubles of europe and it must not be disappointed if this educational process takes some time |