In fact the natural laws of economics impose at once a severe penalty
upon Spain, for example: America has quit buying Spanish oil; America
is substituting peanut oil, and the world is finding means to get
along with a minimum use of Spanish commodities. In the meantime it
is dislocating Spanish business, which will reappear later as a very
substantial loss to Spanish commerce.
The Allies are buying only essentials in Spain, and the non-essential
business of Spain is going through commercial depression.
Spain lost almost her entire grape crop, her tomato crop and other
perishable articles because there was no adequate market.
Because Spain was piling up credits not properly employed in being
loaned at acceptable interest she was led to purchase non-essentials at
war prices, doing Spain a commercial injury. While certain individual
banks or bankers might profit by the sale of pesetas at the high
rate, it has the effect of permanently diverting trade from Spain,
stimulating exports to Spain of commodities at high prices and
depressing exports from Spain to other countries, lowering the status
of the commercial life of Spain so that Spain pays a serious penalty
under the economic law.
It would have been much better for Spain to buy Spanish securities held
by foreign countries, to make temporary loans to countries compelled to
buy in excess from Spain, or to the nationals of such countries against
adequate securities—better for Spain and better for her commercial
customers. True commerce in its highest and best form serves equally
well both parties to such commerce.
Spain also adopted the policy of refusing to take foreign gold except
at a discount, on the theory that she did not desire to expand her
currency, and in that way cause a rise in the price of labor and
commodities in Spain. The effect of this was to deprive other nations
of a fair means of settling commodity trade balances with Spain, and
had the effect of automatically raising the prices to foreigners of
Spanish commodities, thus serving to dislocate Spanish trade.
These unfavorable conditions in Spain have also led many people in the
Entente Allied Countries to believe the Spanish policy was swayed, if
not controlled, by German influences and after this war this opinion
may prove commercially injurious to Spain.