Tuesday, July 25, 2017
When government WASN'T abysmally stupid....
Trying to guess the cost of paper for the Aberree in the '50s, I consulted government tariff stats. As usual Googlebooks stops at Steamboat Willie, so the latest I could find was 1922.
The book included paper and several other categories. In imports and exports of paper, I was struck yet again by our perfectly friendly and sympathetic attitude toward Germany, which we had supposedly just finished defeating....
Were we punishing the Krauts? No, we were fighting on their side.
What was the attitude toward Russia? Did the Revolution change commerce?
Well, the "internal strife", which we and our Kraut buddies were helping to foment, had affected commerce, but it was hoped that conditions would return to normal. Ideology was not a factor; we didn't assume that Communism would alter the normal flow of business. In fact Communism didn't affect business. Stalin did. At that time Stalin was already killing agriculture and pouring all resources into manufacturing, and his lethal priorities showed in the exports.
Several 1922 industries have pretty much disappeared. Asbestos, furs, silk, and whalebone were major imports.
Furs show a decided shift in attitude:
And did we have specific tariffs for dog furs?
Of course we did.
The section on silk shows that the government deeply understood the 'Ford law' of economics at that time:
Too bad we've forgotten it.
= = = = =
Couldn't resist....
Polistra is doing her Nita Talbot impression. The dog is NOT impressed.
¶ 2:14 AM 
Were we punishing the Krauts? No, we were fighting on their side.
What was the attitude toward Russia? Did the Revolution change commerce?
Well, the "internal strife", which we and our Kraut buddies were helping to foment, had affected commerce, but it was hoped that conditions would return to normal. Ideology was not a factor; we didn't assume that Communism would alter the normal flow of business. In fact Communism didn't affect business. Stalin did. At that time Stalin was already killing agriculture and pouring all resources into manufacturing, and his lethal priorities showed in the exports.
Several 1922 industries have pretty much disappeared. Asbestos, furs, silk, and whalebone were major imports.
Furs show a decided shift in attitude:
And did we have specific tariffs for dog furs?
Of course we did.
The section on silk shows that the government deeply understood the 'Ford law' of economics at that time:
Too bad we've forgotten it.
= = = = =
Couldn't resist....
Polistra is doing her Nita Talbot impression. The dog is NOT impressed.
¶ 2:14 AM
