On the other hand, the mobilization of armies and fleets in Europe will
draw millions of men from the field and factories where they have been
accustomed to make what we have usually bought. The war will vastly
diminish and in many cases stop altogether the stream of imports to the
United States. These millions of men in the field and on the sea will
not possess most of the economic wants they had in time of peace and
will become conscious of many which they usually did not feel. The war
will diminish and in many cases entirely stop the stream of ordinary
American exports to Europe. Because of the stoppage of the European
supply of things we have usually bought of them, and the cessation of a
European demand for things we have usually sold to them, the conditions
of the home market, both in regard to what we must buy in it, and to
what we must sell in it, will be vitally changed. When our present
supplies of European importations are exhausted, we shall be obliged to
make for each other and buy from each other the things which we happen
to be no longer able to import or export. A great readjustment of the
economic fabric in the United States will take place if the war lasts
longer than a comparatively short time.
Pages:
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588