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76 H A S K I N S & SELLS October Business and/or Politics in Europe BY M . P. SWAN (For several years until recently on the staff of the Paris Office) THE writer has been asked by the editor of the Bulletin to contribute something regarding the general political and business situation in Europe at present, the progress being made by American capital, and the opportunity for development of American business there. The first thought which occurs to anybody attempting to write on the above subjects is that so much useless as well as useful material has been already contributed along these lines by various persons of varying degrees of competence, experience, judgment, and rashness, that it requires a certain amount of courage to try once more the patience and forbearance of readers by inflicting one's views or opinions on them. How many times have we all read of this or that economist, banker, or big business man making a tour of Europe, studying conditions there, and after a sojourn for a few brief weeks, finding a ready-made cure for all its ills, social, economic, and political? But in all the host of would-be helpers of Europe how many false prophets have arisen and since been forgotten? We all know that the best brains of Europe, and for that matter of the whole world, have been working unceasingly and untiringly during the past six years on the many problems left in the wake of the great war, and that if these problems had not been inherently difficult and almost unsusceptible of solution, they would long since have solved them. If we have learned anything at all from the lessons of the past few years, it is not to be rashly optimistic, nor too despondent, but rather to preserve confidence and look to conservatism as our guide. Politics and business are so closely and inextricably associated in Europe, and the reactions of the former so noticeable on the latter that any attempt to discuss business conditions without briefly surveying the political causes underlying them would be unsatisfactory. This statement would seem at first sight perhaps an exaggeration, but a single instance will suffice to emphasize its accuracy and importance. A certain importer, we will say, whose business is located in France, may have ceased, or at least largely curtailed his purchases in the United States, and the question arises, "Why?" The answer, in a large proportion of the cases, is that the dollar exchange rate is so unfavorable that he simply cannot afford to purchase in America, and must either turn his attention to countries with whom the franc is in better standing, or otherwise go out of business. If we pursue the question a little further and want to know why the exchange rates are unfavorable, after some thought and having made due allowance for other influences, such as trade balances, financial policy, paper circulation, etc., which might reasonably be expected to influence the exchange rates, we are forced to the conclusion that in a very large measure, political events have shaped the exchange movement, with a corresponding reaction on business. In November, 1918, with the conclusion of the armistice and the subsequent signing of peace in June, 1919, the whole world heaved an immense sigh of relief, and concluded that the reign of brotherly love and good-will among men had commenced. Those alive today know how much bitterness and disappointment those unfulfilled hopes have caused. The attempts to put into operation and enforce the treaty provisions have held up before our eyes, on the one hand a Germany unable, or unwilling, or both, to meet her obligations loyally, and on the other hand that of the Allied Governments, whose soldiers had fought together a common foe, at odds with one another
Object Description
Title |
Business and/or politics in Europe [News items] |
Author |
Swan, Michael Patrick |
Subject |
Foreign trade and employment -- Europe Europe -- Politics and government -- 20th century World War, 1914-1918 -- Influence |
Personal Name | MacDonald, Kenneth J. |
Office/Department |
Haskins & Sells. Paris Office Haskins & Sells. Detroit Office |
Geographic Location |
Europe |
Citation |
Haskins & Sells Bulletin, Vol. 07, no. 10 (1924 October), p. 76-80 |
Date-Issued | 1924 |
Source | Originally published by: Haskins & Sells |
Type | Text |
Collection | Deloitte Digital Collection |
Digital Publisher | University of Mississippi Libraries. Accounting Collection |
Date-Digitally Created | 2009 |
Identifier | HS Bulletin 7-p76 |