ECONOMIC

TRIBULATION
by

VINCENT C. VICKERS
Director of The Bank of England
1910-1919

*
Surely YOU, as tax and rate-payer,
are concerned with constantly rising
prices, increased rates and taxes, and
high interest rates.
*
Read, €or your enlightenment,
what a former Director of The
Bank of England has to say.
 ECONOMIC
TRIBULATION
VINCENT C. VICKERS

“ I n so far a s we are able, we must try to

assist our fellow-men to understand. This
WE can do fearlessly; for that which is
mistaken or false will carry no weight and
will be lost and forgotten, whilst that
which is true will prevail.”

published by kind wrmisiion of the Economic Research Council London W.1.

Printed by G. W. McKans & Son. Ltd., Ksrwick
 NOTE

INCENT CAKTWKlG1,lT VICKEKS was born on

V 16th January, 1879, and educated at Eton and

Magdalen College, Oxford. H e was a Deputy
Lieutenant of the Ciiy oi London, a director ai Vickers,
Limited, ior twenty-two years, a director of the
London Assurance from which he resi,gned in January,
1939. In 1910 he was made a director of the Bank of
England, and resigned this appointment in 1919. Later,
he became President of the Economic Reform Club and
Institute.
He died on 3rd November, 1939, a f t e r a long illness
during which, against time and with failing strength,
he was working and writing on economics. A few days
before his death he wrote : ‘ M y keen desire t o help
up to l h e end has been the sole incentive which still
enabled me to carry on perhaps a few weeks longer.’
I t hag thercfore been my privilege t o arrange my
iathcr’s papers into the hook which he laboured t o
finish, a d which represents only a part o i his ceaseless
work towards national and international economic
stability and his single-minded convictio:is of its
attainment.
WILMA CAWDOR.

3
i

CONTENTS

WKEWOKU 6

I ECONOMIC POLICY .4NO OUR STANDARD

OF HONESTY . . . . . . . . . . . . Y

11 1'HE OLD SCHOOL CJk 1HOUGHT 16

111 CHANGES AND EXCHANGES 23

IV THE CASE k O K ACiKlCULTUKE A N D THE

PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRIES . . . . . . . . . 31

V DEMOCKALY OK FINANCIAL DICTATORSHIP? 3Y

VI TO BANKEKS AND OTHERS . . . . . . . . . 45

VI1 THE DIRECTION OF FUTURE POLICY . . . . . . 51

5
 FOREWORD
who write this, need no proof of the importance of
I
I the money system upon the very lives of the people
and even to the fut'ure existence of the British race,
so long as that system fills the position which i t now
holds in ou,r National Economy.
There a r e many thousands of well-educated men
and women who, 1 believe, endorse my views in their
entirety. But even for the most zealous of money
reformers, to attempt to writc 'upon so vast and
momentous a subject as our monetary system and the
managemen? of our national finances, such attempt
would appear doomed t o failure unless it were supported
by great financial experts whose names were a by-word
in the country. T h e next hest a1ternatii.e was that the
author should himself be qualified by past experiences
t o express an opinion worth reading.
I therefore decided to take the unprecedented course
of offering t o my readers my own qualifications for
putting down before the British people t h e very pre-
carious condition of our monetary system as it exists
in this country to-day ; that this our money s8ystem
forms the most important part of o u r economic system,
and t h a t t h e nation's economic system forms part of our
social system.
Ever since t h a t day in 1926, when, not in arrogance
but with humility, I felt it my duty to explain t o t h e
Governor of khe Rank of England, Xlr. Montagu Norman,
that 'henceforth I was goinp t o fight him and the Gold
Standard and t h e Rank of England policy until I died '
-(and well I remember the words of his reply !)-
1 have been an ardent money reformer. Some few years
afterwards I resigned my long directorship of Vickers,
Limited; s h e when I'have spent much time and money
in advocating the necessity for a reform of the monetary
system. This has naturally brought me into contact
with most sections of the community; with Communists
and those with axes t o grind, with malcontents and
debtors, and, in addition, with men and women who are
i
fi
 FOREWORD

honest and disinterested patriots. Not more than a

tenth of my income is earned ; the rest comes from
investments in banks, Bank of England stocks, American
and Canadian securities, etc., and, mainly, from British
industrial securities. I a m therefore a ' capitalist '-one
who has seen better times-and content t o remain in
my present financial position, butt most unwilling to have
my present standard of living, further reduced. I bear
no ill-feeling towards my own class or any other class.
I seek neither notoriety nor kudos. If someone can
change my convictions 1 shall he only too ready to alter
them. But in fifteen years ,nothing whatever has
occurred to make me alter my views. I still believe that
the existing system is actively harmful to the State,
creates p o v e r t y and unemployment, and is the root cause
of war.
This personal confession is merely to demonstrate
that I have seen both sides of the picture. M y opinions
are based upon my o w n experience and knowledge.
I am to-day in the unique position, of being absolutely
and entirely devoid o f animosity and wholly dis-
interested. I feel myself no longer under any restrictions
whatsoever, except t o guard against doing harm t o my
country or giving offence to anyone.
v. c.v.
October. 1939.

I
 I
ECONONIC POLICY AND OUR
STANDARD O F HONESTY
LOWLY but inevitably the old financial system is

S crumbling under t h e weight of modern conditions

and the better education of the people; the sooner
it cru,mbles the better, and t h e sooner i t gives way fo a
better and more modern technique the sooner will the
world achieve goodwill and peace amongst men.
The present order of things' must change. The
economic structure of civilization is obviously leaning
heavily, To build upon it, t o add weight t o it a s it now
sthnds, crooked and unsafe, can only bring nearer the
day of its collapse.
The structure must, be surveyed from its foundations
upwards, and the quality and suitability of its masonry
tested. Then, having discovered where its, weaknesses
lie, we must' endeavour with honesty t o restore the walls
i
a,nd make them strong once more and upright as they
were meant t o be. Then and then only can we: safely
proceed with the building and work in peace. W e can
no longer truslt to a complication of endeavours to
conceal t h e existing flaws and t o cover u p gross

a
injustices and mistakes by temporary expedients. In
future our labours, if they are to succeed, must be
directed towards the general betterment of mankind
and the progress of humanity. Only by su8chefforts can
our economic str'ucture once more follow the proper
plan of its building, in accordance with the original
design of its Architect.
For the hard-headed business man, for the astuRe
financier, for the man in the street, sheer common-sense
and force of circumstance must now compel t h e realiza-
tion that it is only the powers of the spirit which can be
relied upon t o save humanity from the consequences of
man's failure t o follow the right way,. President
Roosevelt has said : 'Rules are not necessarily sacred.
Principles are. T h e methods of the old o'rder a,re not, as
some would have you believe, ahove the challenge of
youth . . .' Is it not time to see that in the future we
9
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

a r e n o longer t o be euslaved by the methods of the old

order, but t h a t we a r e t o bo equitably governed ,under

I
principles which will indeed be sacred, becau3se they will
be founded upon Christiauity itself and will be Christian
principles ?
But, it will ,be asked, how can we, as practical men
with mundane mentalities, combine Christian principles
with bus,iness abilities ? Our business is t o quote you a
price, not a text from the Gospel according t o St. Luke !
When it comes to businesls, the Parson cuts no ice and is
merely an interfering busybody who has often been
instrumental in creating strikes and lockouts and coii-
troversies between Master and Man. What do you
mean hy pustting forward such an impossible and
grotesque suggestion ? Would o,ur shareholders b,e
satisfied if we said : " We can pay yon no dividend, blut
the Lord will provide " ?
And the answer is this. W e do not ask you' to unseat
your directors and put the bishops in their place, nor t o
introduce psmalm-singing among your employees ; but
rather to carry on as you a r e now doing, with only one
exception-an exception to which no industry will dare
openly t o object, even though it may seriously affect
certain trades which, like the mistletoe, thrive upon
others. We ask that you carry on your affairs as a t
present, except that you be honest-honest not only
with others bu,t with yourselves. It is not enough t o be
able t o call a spade a spade; with others, as with yonr-
selves, you must be ahe t o put all the cards', and not only
the spades, on the table, and t o play the game through-
o,uit by the Christian principle of honesty.
Let us acknowledge the truth. Humanity is not
suffering from unavoidable circumstances over whlch
it has no control, bust from the results of deliberate and
dishonest actions of its own creation and invention.
Fundamentar laws, originally designed for the common
welfare of the individuals of a community, have been
broken-community laws which were never intended
to permit the individual, t o grow f a t upon *he poverty
of others,, nor to permit him, in pursuit of his own
personal profit, t o base his standard of honesty upon
10
 E C 0 N 0 M 1 C P 0.L1 C Y

his own llexible conscience, consoling himself with

gratitude that he is within the law. Nevertheless, just
as man has brought upou himself, o r has permitted,
this world tribulation, so can he play his part in undoing
the harm that has been done.
h u t how is this possible ? l l o w can the ordinary
individual change the world I Shall the man in the
street become an expert economist, or a banker, or ,a
cabinet minister, and control the press and publlc
opinion I How otherwise can he assisr in the regulation
of manknd ? What is meant by ‘ l a c k of economic
equilibrium,’ ‘ sound finance,’ ’ stability of foreign
exchanges,’ ‘ currency res,trictions,’ ‘ the creation o f
credit,’ ‘ t h e inverted pyramid of credit,’ and a host of
other such phrases ? ‘The smell of long study, special
technical ability, and great learning. Surely, then, it is,
commonly felt, it is better that ordinary individuals
sho,uld leave economics to t h e economists, tinance to t h e
bankers, and national policy t o the politicians ? But,
alas, that is exactly what we have for too long been
doing. Look a t the result ! The experts, have hope-
lessly failed. What is needed is a little less economics
and a little more common sense.
All that is necessary for us ordinary men is t h a t we
should make use of the knowledge tha,t is already ours
-that is to say, the knowledge of good and evil; so t h a t
we may recognize, not only in others but in ourselves,
those habits and customs, and practices which a r e
definitely harmful t o the community as a whole, how-
ever advantageous they may appear to be t o t h e
individual o r to some particular section of the com-
munity. For it is these habits and practices which have
twisted scientific development into fetters upon the
arms of society and turned the immense advantages of
improved education into R growing discontent amongst
the mass of the people. The futu,re of the world is, the
future of the human race; the human race is the world;
and the character and the welfare of Britain is the sum
of the character and welfare of its population.
11
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

In SQ far a* w e a r e able, we must t r y t o assist our

fellow men tu understand. This we can do fearlessly;
for t h a t which is mistaken o r false will carry no weight
and will be lost and forgotten, whilst that which is true
will prevail.
* * *
What follows is certainly no economic treatise for
experts to smile at. It is merely an attempt to show
clearly that every man and woman in the country has
his o r her part to play in h i l d i n g up the future of the
wo'rld ; and it is primarily f o r them that this book is
written.
If the country were happy and contented, with its
agriculture and its great basic industries a t full swing,
full of confidence in the future ; if the numbers of our
unemployed stood a t something approaching the un-
avoidable minimum, with the standard of living of the
people f a r above any threat of starvation, malnutrition,
o r real poverty-then it might be possible f o r the nation
t o overlook some of the difficulties which are imposing
such heavy handicaps upon its progress. But, as things
are, the nation cannot continue t o carry unnecessary
burdens and can no longer afford t o let these adversities
pass unnoticed and untouched.
If it be true that we have, in fact, a democratic
government, the will of the people will prevail ; and if
it be riot true, then i t is bes,t that this should be realized.
For, in the latter case, still greater changes are inevitable.
Although it is the money system which is t o be
accused of dishonesty, those who use and depend upon a
dishonest system, knowing t h a t system to 'be dishonest,
cannot themselves be regarded as honest men. More-
over, it may be t h a t t h e present system, which inter-
natioual finance has forced our democratic government
t o adopt, uphold, and protect by every poss'ible means,
has undermined t h e character of the people and forced
them to alter their definition of the word honesty so
that it may be made to comply more nearly with modem
practice.
l?
 ECOXOMIC POLICY

There has never been a time in history when men

and women in this country and all over the world have
been so ready t o admit that something is profoundly
wrong somewhere. All of us have real o r imaginary
grievances; most, of us are discontented with the general
order of our lives. W e wani things we have not got ;
we are restricted when we want to be free ; we ask
questions but there is no one to answer. We search in
vain for a n honest opinion and f o r leadership, and yet,
wheu things go wrong, we see how even our leaders
foist the blame ulpon others f o r their own actions or
inactions. There is amongst us a continual competition
one with another for the good things, of life.
What is the reason f o r this selfish and continuous
struggle of humanity for a better life ?
It is a recognized and acknowledged fact t h a t the
P
economic structure of the world is out of alignment, out
o f t r u t h ; and naturally this has created an intense desire
to discover how and why and where it is a t fault, and
how best to rectify t h e defects of our social system.
T h e young men of this country, and those who will
60me day rule it, have heen trained and educated t o fill
vacancies which no longer exist ; the country has n o
room for them and no work. W e can hardly blame them
if they have become reformers, malcontents, or even
Bolshevists. A dull intellect may for a time be satisfied
with an enforced idleness : but he who has an educated
brain must be given scope to excrcise his abilities or his
intellect must inevitably become twisted and his vision
distorted.
W e others, we older men, who have spent by far the
greater part of our lives in a ' rising market,' where an
average brain meant an average income and a superior
intellect the promise of luxury, have no right t o decry or
belittle the attitude of the youriger generation. Those
who are to-day in a position t o lead the country, influ-
enced by happy memories of the old economic system,
must endeavour to realizc and t o analyse more modern
tendencies : to distinguish between those tendencies
which are false and useless and those which a r e bas'ed
upon human nature and are unconquerable and inevitable.
13
 ECONOMIC TKIBULATION

Rather than oshtrucl and ignore genuine desires f o r a

new and more equitable economy we should assist them
and try t o guide them in a proper direction.
If this is not done, if we set our faces against social
reforms and continue to preach a return t o t h e effete
arrangements of the early Victorians, we shall be
deliberately forcing the future majority of the country
to adopt ii ready made policy rather than t o study and
create a new and better plan, subject to present needs.
That ready made policy, that advertised refuge for
those who a r e fleeing in terror from the oppression,
imaginary or real, of the old system, is a refuge open
day and night ; its gaily painted doors wide flung t o
welcome the poor and needy and those in trouble or
distress of mind or body. In fact, it is that form o f
so-called Socialism which holds out the illuminated
promise of freedom, but which, in reality, is the gateway
t o the established slavery of Bolshevism.
Under our existing parliamentary system, the first
consideration of any self-respecting and duly elected
government is to remain in office. T h e party t h a t can
count on the whole-hearted support of that undeniable
' cheque-book influence ' which banking, finance, and
big-business leaders have at their disposal and which
they can at all times exert, possesses, in itself an electoral
advantage which renders true statesmanshi in ou,r
E
political leaders almost impossible. Our would- e states-
men, old and young, no matter t o what section of what
party they may happen to belong, can never usefully
emerge from the sub-imago stage.
Had we possessed in this country a statesman with

N imagination bold enough t o defy the orthodox principles

of an antiquated financial system, there was much that
mi,ght have been done years ago which was not done,
but which would have very greatly assisted the
conditions of this country and prevented the chaotic
conditions of the world's production. But t r u e states-
manship implies the advocacy of a far-sighted National
Economic Policy, designed t o benefit, not only thls
nation as a whole, hut this British Empire as a whole,
and consequently the Trading World.
14
 E C O N O M I C POLICY

Whether it be true to-day or not, t h e City of London

is, by repute, still considered to be the money market
of the world. I t therefore stands to reason that, in so
far as British policy sm i affected or controlled by the
money-power of the City of London, so also must t h a t
same money-power inos,t seriously affect the trade status
of t h e world. It is inconceivable t h a t British policy should
flourish in an enforced alliance with, and largely con-
trolled by, the money market of the world and the Bank
for International Settlements and almost innumerable
international, industrial, and financial combines.
To advertise our gifts of oratory by informing the
people t h a t ' this great country of ours should lead the
world to prosperity,' fails t o divert the national tendency,
and the national necessity, to discard old-fashioned and

e
orthodox ideas and ta create a more modern economic
system. But the immense task of bringing a,bolut any
such economic evolution, entailing, as it does, a complete
change in the relationship between the supply of money
and the supply of goods, will be difficult enough even
were all interests agreed upon the national necessity for
such a change. Unfortunately, we have t o contend with
two schools of thought, possessing views which are
often diametrically opposed to one another ; so much
opposed, in fact, that open animosity and mistrusNt are
becoming more and more apparent as the faults of the
old system are driven out into the open by the press,ure
of new circurns,tances, and by the increasing demands
of democracy for social justice which it is t h e aim of the
new school to make possible and to achieve.

1s
managers of the money industry and of banking and
finance, headed by the Bank of England with its charter,
t o exercise the existing monetary system, even if i t
entails war.
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

evsential t h a t those who controlled money and t h e issue

of credit should control trade, and should determine and
regulate (under their own highly profitable system)
those economic processes which enable productjon
find a market. This, of course, means t h a t financiers in
reality took upon themselves, perhaps not the responsi-
bility, but certainly the power, of controlling t h e markets
of the world and therefore t h e numerous relationships
between one nation and another, involving international
friendships or mistrusts.
Ignorant acquiescence in this theory, constantly and
profusely advertised and upheld, has penetrated into the
minds ,of the peoples and their Governments; so that
to-day i t is, not food and shelter, comfort and health,
recreation, enjoyment of life, and a fair share of the
rodigious capacity of the world to produce and to
genefit mankind, which are the direct aim of all men
and all nations. Those who are hungry do not ask for
bread or m e a t ; they ask for money, so that they can buy.
So it is that the main concern of the average indus-
trialist,, and of the average director on the board of an
industrial company, is t o produce his goods a3 cheaply
as possible, and. having done so, to sell his goods a t the
very highest price obtainable from the consumer ; in
order that his shareholders may benefit and that he may
build up reserves of money against the ' uncertainties
of the future'-whilst, a t the same moment, the nation
is told that ' confidence has heen restored.' Confidence
i n whar ? Has, our friend the director confidence in the
hanlcing system ? if so, why should he hold up the
profits which belong to the shareholders ? Can he not
be quite sulre that, if and when the occasion should arise,
he has only t o go t o his h m k for all the money he
needs ? Does, he not realize that, by distributing more

l.
money to his shareholders, he is increasing the purchasr
ing power of those why buy his products ? Perhaps he
forgets that production is dependent upon the purchas-
8 ing power of consumers, and that his, first consideration
should be the capacity of consiimers t o absorb his
production, and not, first of all, the capacity of his
works to prndnce a t the lowest pnssihle price and t o
17
 THE O L D S i H V O L O F THOUGHT

sell a t the highest possible price. T h e future of his

business is dependent upon the consumer, and it is the
economic position of the consumer which governs not
only the volume of the producer's output but the price
that he can successfully ask for it.
Lnder o u r modern ecouomy, it is, true t o say that all
producers are consumers. Uut it is certainly not true
to say that all consumers are producers ; for there a r e
inillions, i n this country alone, who have never produced
anything ;it all, who iieb'er will, and who could not if
they would. Like the banker and the agent and the
broker, they are middlemen. Nevertheless, it is the
consumer, in his millions a i d in his capacity to purchase
for money what is for sale on the market, who, funda-
mentally, governs the world's economy and therefore
the peace of the world. F o r where there is contentment
there will be no wa,r ; and where there is discontent
there will remain war and the threat of war.
From our earliest youth we have been brought up and
nurtured under a false economy, which w a s originally
acknowledged because of the simplicity and immense
facilities which money, as a substitute for barter, gave
t o us all. W e did not realize t h a t the acceptance of this

I obvious benefit to mankind might one day dominate our

welfare and eventually govern and control our progress.
W e have welcomed electricity instead of the oil lamp
and the night-light, the advent of the motor car as a
substitute for the hansom-cab, the water-supply com-
pany in lieu of laborious visits to a perhaps unreliable
well. But have we heen wrong in grasping a t these
modern opportunities ? Is it conceivably possible that
a great nation, anxious and determined to go forward
into a better and more equitable social era, will he
persuaded that, regrettable though it is, this is not a
reasonable request, hut is in fact quite impos,siblebecause
the nation does not possess enough credit, o r notes, or
cheques, o r money, or gold, or silver, to enable this most
desirable object t o be achieved ?
Almost unbelievably, there are still individuals in this
country w h o advotate a return t o gold, emphasizing
18
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

the importance of banknoles being once more con-

vertible into ,gold on demand. To some people this
suggests and implies that all notes should again be
convertible into gold sovereigns, pound f o r pound ; b,ut
it was never remotely possible t o exchange the note
issue for an equal number of sovereigns, nor even with
the necessary weight o f gold bars. T h e British public,
even uoder the Gold Standard, could only be sure of the
possibility of changing notes into gold provided they
never asked f o r it in kind. For there never was, and
never will be, sufticient gold t o permit the note issue to
be thus exchanged. The maitre d’hotel of the big restaur-
a n t prints canard sauvage a la presse on the menu, but
even if one-quarter of his clientele should happen to
demand it on the same day, they would quickly discover
that it was ‘off.’
In August 1914, when the public very foolishly
thought that gold money was preferable to paper money
and actually did demand gold f o r notes in considerable
numbers, the Joint Stock Banks, like Brer Rabbit, lay
low, and referred clients demanding gold t o the Bank of
England. A run on the Bank of England followed; and
when a paltry ten millions. o r so of golden sovereigns
had been handed over the counter to the waiting crowds,
in exchange for notes, the whole money system
collapsed and there followed a double Bank Holiday and
a moratorium ; we went off the Gold Standard, and we
were not even permitted t o draw our own money from
our own bank ,unless we could ‘satis’fy’the batik officials.
Therefore the British public should be warned to regard
with suspicion those who glibly talk of the advantages
of gold convertibility ; for it is a technical t e r m which
is grossly deceptive and misleading, and should carry
about the same weight as the expression ‘ sound finance.’
Every new invention, almost every phase in our
progress, tends t o produce a new nomenclature and new
expressions. Some years ago w e heard a great deal
about ‘ rationalization of industry,’ which in plain
English meant ’drastic cuts of wages and schemes of
amalgamation,’ so t h a t the price level of production
19
 T H E O L D SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
6:.
should make t h e restored Gold Standard look respectable
by sstill leavin,g a margin of profit i o r the producer.
Similarly, Inflation and Deflation a i the currency : W e
have been ta,ught that Deflation, which benefits the
lenders of money (such as hanks), is at times an unavoid-
able and necessary action in order t o preserve ' sound
finance' ; whilst Inflation, henefiting the debtor (such
a s farmers., shopkeepers, and traders), entails action
which is so disgraceiul that it should ncver be mentioned
in any respectable hank parlour. When things changed,
so that it had to, be mentioned, the word ' Reflation ' was
coined- in order that orthodox economists should not
have their delicate digestions upset hy being made to
eat their own words.
And 'sound finance' means nothing a t all. It is
merely a sort of bankers? slogan adopted to disguise
the injustices of a credit system ; so t h a t whatever the
form of financial jugglery in question might be, i t
should, in the ears of the public, give the true ring of the
genuine coin or, a t any rate, have a comtorting sound
about it. Whether w'e like it o r not, we m'ust realize
t h a t the opinion of the City o i London very often does
not represent the opinion of the Country ; t h a t ' sound
finance' is essentially an expression invented by the
banker and the dealers in credit. It involves stout
adherence to a customary ratio a s between deposits
and loans: it entails the principle of giving the lowest
possible interest t o the depositor and obtaining the
highest possible return from the borrower ; it favo'uirs,
quite naturally, t h e rich, as against the poor, borrower,
and gives a preferred credit t o s'xleable collateral in the
form of Stock Exchange securities, rather than t o any
other security. Rut, above all, it entails t h a t there should
exist a t all times a demand for credit and currency
which. normally, exceeds the supply : and i t prescribes
t h a t there should be no reform and no legislation which
mi,ght deprive the money industry of the natural and
interested advantaqe of its monopoly or o f its existing
policy.
70
 E C U N 0 M I C 'I K I H U L A l I U N

It permits aiid often encourages the taking o i risks

on the part of industry and Commerce, but must avoid
participation in that risk. I t favours l)efla,tion ; but
abhors intlaiioil eve11 when it is rechrisiened Reflation ;
and, in an eniergency, is al\v:cys the first into tlic life-
boat, the first t o leave the sinking ship, and the l u t t o
mati the pumps, I t reiuscs to understand that iiioiiey

?\
smliould be only a oieans of facilitating an equitable
barter economy, and that thcrc can be in reality no such
hing a s 'sound iina,~ice'so long as the coun,try is
uosound. It fails to believe o r to understand that the
welfare of a country's productive industries are of Par
greater national importance than the non-producii\ e
business of withholding, managing, and distributing a
credit founded iqmn bank deposits which are the
property of the bank's customers, and are based upon
the urilikeliliood that depositoi-s w i l l nll' withdraw their
credits a t the same time. Under the immense advantages
of the cheque system, hundreds of millions of pounds
change hands every week hetween the bank's individual
customers. T h i s rheqiie system is dependent upon the
inte,grity of lhe people as a xvhole, a n d mainly con-
stitutes a seriei of book-entries involving the movement
of an extremely small percentage of actual currency.
Another of the great features of the present monetary
system is that extraordin;iry ecotiomic propensity known
ai- the Trade Cycle- ii phenomction which is regarded
by the majority of our Iiatiking and finance experts, and
inany an orthodox economist of the old schuol, as an
unavoidzhle and unaccountable ecouoinic reaction, coru-
parable with the to-and-fro swing of ii pendulum but
having, nevertheless, no definite frcquency of vibration ;
whereby a boom, iiius? inevitably be followed by il
slump, and ii slump bc the l'recurser of a boom. This
' unaccountable phenomenon ' is of course a very objec-
tionable feature ; for i t destroys ?he confidence of the
optimist whilst a t t h e same time confounding the
pessimist, and therefore induces ii Ret-rich-quick-or-the-
tide-will-turn mentality which tends to convert the most
21
 THE O L D SCHOOL O F THOUGHT
sober trader into a quick-change artist, destroys perm-
anent confidence, fills us with t h e spirit of gambling and
speculation, and turns us all, so to speak, into Trade-
cyclists.
T h e finance industry, the exchange bankers and t h e
S,tock Exchange grow rich upon the ups and downs of
trade, and a r e largely dependent on variations and
changes of the price levels of commodities. But pro-
ductive industry grows rich upon stable markets, a constant price
level, and the absence of violent economic fluctuations.
There are not a f e w in the City of London who have
(wholly le,gitimately) converted their annual incomes
into a,nnual repayments of capital, i n order to escape
the over-burden of British income-txx and snper-tax.
And yet it is the fiuanciers of the City of London who
a r e the great conscientous objectors, t o any ‘ prematwe ’
or ‘emergency’ reduction in this heavy burden of income-
tax. How can one justly blame the Chancellor of the
Exchequer when he budgets for the ultimate benefits of
‘sound finance’ rather than f o r the immediate neces-
sities of producer and consumer ?
Under such general conditions the Communist is
naturally content t o abide his time; for he observes that
the trend of affairs is slowly converging towards the
very conditions which he most desires to see-a growing
discont,ent with finance and the money system, an
increasiFg weariness of the present form of party
government, and a n increasing poverty and loss of
influence among those who have so recently been the
mainstay and backbone of the country. Unles’s the
great producing industries of this country hold
together, consult together, and support one another,
there is n a safe anchorage for the nation in the storm
that is already on the horizon.
 I11

CHANGES AND EXCHANGES

a national emergency i t is essential t h a t the nation'

I" should be able to rely implicitly upon an adequate
supply of credit and currency to meet all possible
contingencies. We cannot risk a repetition o f the
financial fiasco of August 1914, nor permit any unregu-
lated flight of capital such as occurred a t the time of
the Munich crisis'. W e do not want once more a sudden
inflation of the currency, followed eventually by a still
more ruinous policy of long-term deflation. W e know
how we stand with regard t o our Navy. Army, and Air
Force, and that Fourth Arm, our Civil Defence. In
addition we have the assurance t h a t in time of w a r t h e
nation can rely upon an adequate food supply. And yet,
in spite of these defences, each one of which adds its
quota t o national confidence and spurs us t o further
efforts, we have heard little of encouragement concern-
ing our money preparations for this emergency. The
nation cannot be expected to have full confidence in t h e
future whilst this vital Fifth Arm remains a more or
less unknown quantity, obscured from the public eye
and wrapped in mystery.
Cheap money and the exchange equalization fund
have well fulfilled their peacetime objectives, and t h e
nation has thrown off for evcr the restrictions of the
Gold Standard ; but such steps are not in themselves
enough. T h e supply and issue of money and the creation
of credit still remain almost entirely outside the control
o f the Government, and are still managed by Ranking
and Finance and hy t h e Rank of England with its
intimate associatons with thc Bank f a r l'nternational
Settlements : whilst, 'until our actual declaration of war,
Foreign Exchange spcculators were permitted a t all
times to gamble with the nation's credit, untrammelled
by any sense of patriotic duty and thinking only of their
own profit. Although an Act of Parliamcnt w a s designed
23
 ECONOMIC rRIBULATlON
~

to enable the police t o give the citizens of this country

greater protection against the bomb-dropping prop-
a,ganda of the I.K.A., these misguided terrorists have
not done half as much harm to the nation as that con-
sortium of Foreign Exdiange speculators who were left
free t o initiate a national financial crisis whcncver a
profitable opportunity presented itself. Until these

I
financial gangsters are liermanently exterminahed there
can he 110 complete contidence in the economic welfare
of the country.
-
Just as the greatest advocates of a better agricultural
policy f o r the nation are the agriculturalists themselves,
so the greatest opponents to a chan,ge of monetary
policy are those who arc themselves satisfied with the
present order of things. Although there has always
been grounds f o r t h e assertion that t h e Bank of England
considers the profits of its stockholders as coming
second in importance t o the interests of the nation, the
money industry, in all its branches, is not a charitable
organiza,tion, but a non-productive industry working
for profit. That part of our invisible exports which is
profit to ' t h e money market of the world ' (estimated
at, say, f50,000,000 per annum) is obviosuly a national
advantage of great importance. But in so far as this
profit may accrue to the City of London at the expense
of the nation, by promoting the importation of goods

I
which can he better produced a t home, so this profit
b,ecornes of infinite less value than profit derived from
home productive industries which carries, in the cost of
production, 70 per cent t o SO per cent of wages.
The moment we realize that, under the existing
system, the main inducement to work is one of profit,
it follows that the practices and rules and regulations
governing the money industry must be mainly based
upon its controllers' own desire for their own profit.
It is therefore important t o understand where the
interests of hanliing and finance clash with those of
the producer and consumer - that is, the community.
24
 CHANGES A N D EXCHANGES

Three great deterrents to progress in productive industry

?‘re :-
I. Indebtedness and the fear of indelitedness.
2. Lack of capital.
3. Lack of ndetluatc piircliasing power in the
markets.
Therefore the nntion, the community, requires iree-
dam from indebtedness \vliere that hinders trade ; easy

I credit facilities a t low rates of interest with adequate

and just terms as to time of I-elxiynient : a n d an ample
~iurchn,singpower available lo the IiiiMic.
On the other hand, the iiloney industry lives and
depends upon the indebtedness of others -upon those

I
who must borrow. The greater the nation’s indebted-
ness, the greater t h e profit of the moneylenders and, in
the same way a s the money market of the world, the
greater the world‘s inilehtedtiess, t h e greater the profit
of London’s international financiers-provided, of course.
that the linrrn\\.cr pays his interest and eventually the
capital.
I t may be said that capital is always availalAe t o
‘ credit-worthy’ applicants; Iiut, ai. the lender is always
, the sole judge of what constitutes credit-worthiness
! and bases his judgement uNpon comparisons o f other
securities available, those most urgently in need o,f
capital are often unable t o obtain it a t all, or must pay
exorbitant rates of interest t o issuing houses, under-
writers, o r banks, etc. T h e slogan of the moneylender
i i s , ’‘To them t h a t hath shall be given.’
When we come to the question of interest i t is
plainly evident t h a t the business of the lender is t o
obtain t h e highest possible return for his money. which
is, of course, diametrically opposed to the interests of
the producer. When we conie to ddequate purchasing
power, which means adequate markets for produce, we
see a t once t h a t a plethora o r abundance of available
free money, o r of unhorrowed currency in the hands of
purchasers, would immediately lower the demand for
money lent a t interest, which is the stock-in-trade of
75
 E C O N UM IC T R I B ULAT I ON

Lhr hanks m d Lhc money industry generally. I t is

therefore the first concern of the money industry so to
regulate the supply of money that there shall be at all
times l)e ii constant demand f o r it.
'l'urniny lu other instances where tinancial and
nioney interests are opposed t o productive and public
interests, we lind that the exchange broker lives, not
upon exchange, but 'upon movements and alterations
of exchange. The public, and production, need fixed
exchanges. The moneylender, up t o a point, welcomes
a high bank rate, and takes advantage of changes of
the rate, The merchant banker lives upon exports and
imports and has little interest in home produ,ction o r
the home market. The stockbroker lives upon rises
and falls, quite irrespective of merit, so t h a t the
outside investor is a t all times losing t o the Stock
Exchange, even when he gains. (The cost, plu,s stamps
and fees, etc., of our Sto,ck Exchange is f a r higher
than any other Stock Exchange in the world). T h e
company promoter and the issuing house quote the
highest price t o the productive industry and give t o
the public the least possible advantage. T h e nnder-
writer, saddled with a new issue, calls upon the Press
t o persuade the puhlic t o take the burden off his
shoulders. New issues vary ; from those which are
merely advertised in t h e Press I,uC a r e not an applica-
tion f o r public subscription, heing too good f o r the
public, down t o the issue which has special advertise-
ment in the I'ress a n d where prospectuses are sent
t o couintry addresses and should be treated with
suspicion. Loans t u foreign countries are organized
and arranged by the City of London with no thought
whatsoever o f the nation's welfare but solely in order
t o increase indehtedness, upon which t h e Clty thrives
and grows rich. When it productive industry i s unable
to meet its commitments, it fails and goes into bank-
ruptcy. When the money industry fail, the whole
country is forced t o make sacrifices in order t o save
the ' financial interests.'
26
 ( ti.+rvcIb.5 , A N I ) OX< HANGbS

! i I , n d i i c i i i c ~rldustrycould cut out the intervening

1,roIit u i t h c iiiiildlema~~;mil trade direct with the
indivirlu:il consiiniers u f their Iiroducts, there would
i d h w it11 iiiiiiiediatc dern;rnd throughout the country
f u r i~ n i i i c l i g r e a t e r production, necessitating iiri
itrcl-c;ixd c~~~!,!~,ynieiii of l~lliour and therefore an
eventiid 1-edurtion ,,iiiixatiiin. Unfortunately this is
ilri ideal siluirtuii wfiicls is inqir;rcticab,le and impossible.
'l'liese iiiiddleiiiw, these agents, these brokers and
,ioIil~[Link]) :iii,l nietiil exchange operators, money-
lenders, issuing houses, banks and insurance com-
Ijanies-~ thcse entrepreneurs create nothing a t all. They
are <\i,: drones of the n;itional beehive and live and
;ire ilei~endcnt upon the honey t h a t ,others collect.
Like tlic uneml~lojcd,they are supported a t the cost
of the nation.
In recent years ii curious change has come over t h e
Iiritish investing public. They refuse to do what is
expected of them ; more often than not ignoring t h e
advice of City editor3 which is so temptingly laid
before them in the Stock Exchange news ; casting on
one side the advice of their broker to switch from thls
investment t o that, almost as if they supected that
some other broker was advising his client t o swltch
from that investment t o this.
With it flourish of printer's ink, svnie desiralile new
issue is underwritt,en, sulr-underwritten, strenuously
xlvertised, and strongly recommended--only to pi-ove
ic ,lisni:il iiiilnrc. ?'he issuing houses itre completely
, , l i t ,,i iuu,cl~wit11 t l ~ cselltimelit u i the public investor.
Pui-cipi lencliiig hiis I~ccoiiie ;L thing of the past.
1Vhiit~liasIiaplxncd ? 1s il rcally tlic vagaries of Hitler
w h i c h itre ~-espunsjLdcfor this lethargy and inaclion ?
Ilirve we lost the g;iinbling spirit ? We watch our
svcurities rise ;uid fall and then rise again. . . . W e
jus( siiiile and do nothing. At $he week-ends, Friday
to 'l'ucsd;ry, jobbers widen thc prices of securities
jtisc in case someone might come along to buy or sell
while they are away. But there is no real movement,
27
which absorbed and retained the moisture of t h e rains
by shading the soil from the sun ; resulting in more
clouds, more rain, less sun, and so a very diffierent
climate. There a r e innumerable instlances showing how
 .
. r

CHANGES AND EXCHANGES

war. So also we a r e led t o believe that the main cause

of international disequilibrium, in t h e exchange of
goods and commodities between one nation and another,
is t o he found in the trade restrictions imposed by
individual nations, which hamper international trade
and delay world economic recovery. Remove o r greatly
modify these restrictions and all will he well. . , . It
seems' a perfectly logical argument, but the question
might hc examined from a slighly different angle :
It was raining heavily ; the nations were getting
wet ; so they put up their umbrellas to protect them-
selves as best they could. But umbrellas a r e encum-
lirances to activity. In these days. of competition w'e
want both hands free, and so we said, ' Let u,s by mutual
agreement cast aside our various umbrellas, in order
that we may all work with both bands.' An excellent
idea. But unfortunately the rain still continues, and
i f we all discard our umbrellas we shall all become
most miserably wet. What in reality we want, is for
the rain t o stop. If and when t h a t happened, the
umbrellas would automatically become useless. Once
we have arrived a t this conclusion, we a r e logically
lround t o ask what has been the cause of the economic
downpour which h a s produced these economic pro-
tective measures ; and we immediately find that i t
resolves itself into a question of Prices and Costs-
and uot cntircly that, hut also the variability and the
changes of these Prices and Costs.
The first consideration of a nation is, o r should be,
the Irotection of its own nationals aud its own in-
dustries. It will never allow, in principle, a foreign
importatioii to ruin its, own producers of t h a t same
commodity. I n other words, no one will buy a pair
of boots for a sovereign if he can get them f o r 15s.
And so, gradually, it dawn3 upon us t h a t the whole
question of International Trade, and of greater free-
dom in exchanging goods with one another, is not
a question of the real value of the exports themselves
but of the price of those exports -t h a t is to say, t h e
29
 E C O N 0 M I C : 'I- K 1 B U L A ' l ' I O N

money value. T h e prohletrr i s thcrefure essentially

a money problem. The value of a ton u f butter may
be the same everywhere, but its price when delivered
t o this country o r that may be very <heal> in one
market and prohibitive in another. Why ? Because
we do not possess, and haue never possessed a hue and
honeest measure of ualue. Those ' umbrellns,' those trade
restrictions, came into I)eing solely hec.;ruse money in
one country buys much more, or much lcss, than it dues
in some other country.
The restoration and comparative freedonr of Inter-
national Trade does not depend primarily ulioii the
elimination of existing trade restrictions ; it depends
fiulndamentally upon a new and better money system,
so t h a t money based upon goods ;md commodities
! shall represent the true and international value of those
i commodities, and shall cease to be, a3 it is to-day, a
permanent and constant irritant and restriction stand-
ing in the way of the world's economic progress, the
happiness of the peoples, and the achievement of a
lasting peace among nations.
 '1.1 Ili CAS11 l X ) l i -\C;KICUL'IWKE AND
'I'HL I'KO1)UCl'IVE INDUSTRIES
I' ih iiiipussilile IO over-estimate the extreme import-
I iuicc t u agriculture i ~ i i dto t h e individual farmer which
it stable Iiie;isurc of viilue \iould bc. Supposing, for a
mvmcnt,, that the staljle iiie:istire of value already
existed, we can see what ii difference it would make t o
;I rather i i i i ~ ~ e c t i i i i o uks i r m w u,hii has a loan from his
1)iiiik \\hicl? he c;innut relxiy: :itithe t o pay, which is
U L I ~of ;ill ~ i r u p r t i i ~trii i his ng:ricultural turn-over, where
an ~un~~rolitalile price lcvel exists.
In the Iirst place he would ,be able to calculate
wiihiii a few siiillirigs whal extra quant,ity of produce
he would necd to grow i n order to meet annual interest
and, eventually, tlie capital of his loan. He could lobk
a t a field u t potatoes, o r t i herd of cattle, and work
ou,t roughly what liis profit should be when he finally
sold them for ciish, arid what liroportion of his produce
Njould be needed to meet his bank-loan requirements.
ltc would know what his cost of living would be, he
would k n o w what the price of machinery would be,
and, with the h e l p , i f jioveriinient statistics,, he could
iii:ilic ,ti)) l i i s nriiiil whxt i t \ \ a s safe to grow. H e could
distinguish I,et\yeen his crqis as an investor distin-
II (;ilt-l<dgedstocks and ordinary shares ;
carryitlg ;I xi-cater risk, I j u t i v i t h the possibilities of
Ixrxer 1)rutits.
I'ruili t l i c i i ; i t i o i i i i l ~,r,iiidpuintit i s essential to realize
i h c n ~ ~ t i ~; ~ri ic( i , t u \ > eiglr tlie importance, of conflicting
interests. I:ut i t is iiot right t u do so solely from the
[ m i n t o f \.iev cif foi-e;gii trade ;ind international finance :
iiiir is i t right t u ilcciclc, SI; if it. were a recognized
ecunoiiiic l i i \ l , t l i i i t 110 devclolmieiit of British agricul-
ture tntist I,e I)ei-iiiitied t u # U su far as to interfere with
these stiliposedly ljrior claims. It is not right that the
iritercsts and influen~.eof money should persuade our
31
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

I
leaders that imports from foreign countries a r e of greater
importance than the encouragement , o f our home
markets, and of the employment of Britlsh lahour; nor
is it perfectly honest t o perswde the public t,hat the
first and foremost duty of a National Government should
be the protection of international interests.
Thus, British agricultural interests, and the develop-
ment of the land for the production and proper market-
i n g of home-grown meat, and foodstuffs generally, still
remain confined and restricted by the definite limitations
imposed by more powerful interes,ts which are considered
t o be of greater importance to o,tv,r economic system.
In its development the home-grown meat industry can
g o so far and no farther ; f o r as soon as the proper
development of the land begins to encroach upon the
built-up area of those more powerful. interests. it is met
- Until we can begin t o realize, perhaps by still greater
with an impassable, barrier.

suffering, t h a t a policy of exaggerated internation-A 1'ism

is by no means the only approach t o peace, British
agriculture will remain of third-rate importance on the
list of reforms which should constitute our national rind
imperial policy. I t is only by amalgamated effort t h a t
agricultural interests will find once more their rightf,ul
place in our economy.
With the help of nature, mankind to-day is capable
of producing far more than mankind can consume;
more food than he could eat, more clothing than he
could need, more houses than he could occupy, mqre
entertainment than he c,ould enjoy, more protection,
more work, more leisure, more opportlunity, and a mare
contented mind. Even were the productive capacity of
the world t o stop still where i t stands to-day, the world
would not suffer f o r years t o come. If need tie, the
world can produce more than the whole world can use-
fully consume. HOW fortunate w e are, and how
contented we should all h e ! What a wonderful world!
-divided, it is true, into sections of different sizes,
32
 I THE CASE FOR AGRICULTURE
I
I speaking different languages, possessing different
j climates, characters, tcmperameiits, habits, and customs ;
~ some educated, others primeval; some clever, some
I' foolish, and some intellcctu8al; wearing different, cloth-
in,,
' r r ' and having different religions ; yet, nevert,heless,
all bound together by the one coninion and univers,aS
desire of man: t o he happy and contented, to possess
the hope and opportunity of becoming even happier and
still more contented, t,o live and let live, and t o help one
another , . . An idiosyncrntic 1 ict:<re, so unreal, so f a r
from the actual truth, that it scer:s mere waste of tin;e
to contemplate it. And yet, however difficult or even
impo,ssihle it may seem to tutm this dream into reality.
u-e are confronted with the undeniable fact that the
chaotic state of t h e world is due t o t h e inability of
consumers to use and profit by the world's ability t o
produce If once we can decide what, it is t h a t constitutes
a barrier between the producer and the consuimer whilst
hoth remain dissatisfied, we shall have discovered, not
only the nia,in cause of the world's discontent and of
t,he e x k t i n g enmities and jealousies among the nations,
but a t the same time the true road to the peace of the
world.
If the producers are waiting t o produce more, if
ships are waiting to carry the goods, if there are railway
and transport services wheresoever there is a demand
for them, then the fault mu(st lie with the consumer.
Why docs he hold back the trade and commerce and
progress of the world, and prevent the consummation
of a lasting peace by deliberately refusing to avail him-
self of the good things the word can offer him ? The
answer is obvious,. The consumer cannot afford t o buy
more; he has not enough money! Let us discard all
biassed ,opinions, and we shall find it possible only t o
arrive a t one decision-that the health and welfare of
the individual, the happiness of the community. the
contentment of t h e nation, and the peace of the world,
are mainly, if not entirely, a, monetary problem.
Those whose main business it is to make profit out
33
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

of short-term money arc inclined t o have a short-term

outlook. Those who deal in money and who profit by
t h e indebtednes,s of others may attempt to argue t h a t
Finance is still the handmaiden of Industry and t h a t
the fault is in reality one o f ‘over-production’ or of
industrial inefficiency ; or t h a t t h e world has been
attempting t o live beyond its means; or that, because
we have by habit regarded money as wealth, we a r e
confusing produce with its value in terms of money.
So also Germany does not admit her responsibility for
war any more than the armament firms admit their
sinister influence over pacifist premiers,. We do not
allow brewers t o dictate our licensing laws nor the
hours o€ opening public houses’, any more than we allow
motorists t o decide our speed limits or t o dictate by-laws
f o r the pedestrian o r t o decide the price of petrol. In t h e
Same way, a very large section of the community is
becoming unreconciled t o the fact that the nation’s
monetary and financial policy is influenced, if not
entirely directed, by the directors of the money industry
and international finance, whether these be British sub-
jects or not. . . , Shall tht claimant choose his own
compensation, or t h e thief his term of imprisonment ?
T h e United States have already made a move to
break away from this cotumtry’s policy of inaction.
Having thrown ,overboard t,he gold standard, President
Roosevelt has had the courage and true statesmanship
to inform the world, by his defiance of the orthodoxes
of finance, t h a t in his view the prosperity of the pro-
ducer and the consumer are of greater importance than
strict adherence t o the principles of w h a t is termed by
its exponents as ‘sound finance.’ His especial determina-
tion to assist American agriculture, taken in conjunction
with the demand of the United States farmer for an
‘ honest dollar,’ reflects t h e desire of t h e British farmer
for additional credit facilities and an ‘honest pound.’
Although President Roosevelt has not yet been given
scope t o develop his policy with freedom of action, upon
its development, and upon his not being forced to submit
34

I.
 THE CASE FOR AGRICULTURE

t o the powerfiwlly combined influences of international

finance, will depend the repercussions which will result
from his policy and their effect upon producers in this
country and in t h e rest of the world.
It is1 a logical and undeniable fact t h a t once we could
point to a prospermm agriculture, down would go our
unemployment figures, up would go the demand of the
primary producer f o r manufactured articles, and their
increased o,utput would in turn necessitate a greater
demand f o r labour. This important repercussion, with
its b,eneficial results upon the heakh, stamina, and birth-
rate of the people, seems t o have escaped attention
altogether. To those who believe that a properly
balanced economy is still possible and desirable, it would
seem that o u r trade policy is t o he based upon the idea
t h a t it i s impossible and undesirable to alter what
already exists.
During a speech in Northumberland in 1938, the then
Financial Secretary t o the Treasury made the following
statement: 'Securing the greatest measure of prosperit?
in the country does not mean securing the prosperity of
one indulstry or one class, a t the expense of another. or
vice versa.' No one would dare attempt' to refute this
ideal diatum; ,and yet, since that is preciselv what we
have been, doing for half a centurv. i t could only have
referred t o a f u t u r e policy and could only have meant
one of two alternatives-on the one hand, a Govern-
ment,al determination t o recoqnize e x i s t h p economic
factors, to stabilize the existing order of things. and t o
maintain the existing relationships hetween our different
productive industries where thev must continue to
compete with each other in a restricted market possess-
ing strictly limited purchasing power. Rnt a t t h e same
time we were to'ld t h a t prosperity could not be achieved
in this, way. W h a t , then, is the alternative? Virtually,
we have been given t o understand t h a t British agricul-
tural prosperity would be a natiqnal catastrophe; but
we have not vet been told the solution of this inequitable
and impossible economic situation, n o r what action it is
proposed by the' Government t o take in order to remvve
35
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

the economic obstacles which necessimtc and hai e

~
established the admittedly unchallengeable f a i t tha,t,
under the present order of things,, British agriculture
tnusl not be given t h e opportunity of becoming a pros-
perous and profitable business employing hundreds of
thousands more men, because its prosperity would
adv-ersely affect other vested interests, some o f them
foreign, supported by the political influence of financial
internationalism.
I t is so easy to say t,hat the Government's agricultural
policy is based on the view that town and country are
interdependent and that neither should be sacrificed to
the other. But agriculture has already been sacrificed
I until it has been reduced almost to bankruptcy, and the
first consideration should be a restoration of its rightful
position so that the interests of town and country may
meet on equal terms. The more foodstuffs we import,
the better f,or our export trade and the worse for oiur
own agriculture; and to say that the best guarantee of
prosperity for the Hritish farmer is a prosperous urban
and industrial commmunity which in turn depends on a
flourishing export trade, is, in other words, t o say: Lei
us import still more food from abroad for the people,
an1 then they will; consume more food produced a t home!
T o say that any measure which gives the farmer
immediate benefit at the expense of our overseas trade
would soon react against him by throwing m,ore people
out of work and reducing their ability t o buy his
products, is an admission that, in spite of all our boasted
social reforms, the man out of work would immediately
be forced to cut down his own food supply, t o buy less
from the home producer of food, and so become, t o the
national disgrace, inadequately fed. But why should
this have an adverse effec,t upon the home produmcer if
foreign imports of food continue t o flood the market ?
On the other side, it, would be equal,ly true t o argue that
any measure which gives the farmer immediate benefit
a t tha expense of Q U r overseasl trade would nevertheless
benefit the employment of nritish labour and increase
their ability t o buy h,ome-grown food.
36
 THE CASE F O R AGRICULTURE

It is not the object of these comments' t o refute the

arguments of o u r politicians, hu,t t o emphasize the fact
t h a t very often there i s an evident tendency to adapt an
argument t o suit a prearranged, policy and t o discount
the reactions which it involves. Agriculture is in the
doldrums and must apparently be kept there, lest by i t s
prosperity it should damage the interests of other
industries, and especially of o u r export trade.
A prominent feature of o u r policy having long con-
sisted in securing the prosperity of one indumstry and one
class a t the expense of another, the following instances
may be quoted :-
British investors in foreign loans have, over the last
fifty or sixty years, lost some f400.000,000, so t h a t our
exporters and importers might fln'umrish and continue t o
export gifts t o foreign co'untriesm a t the expense of one
class-to whit, the exploited Rritish investors.
Have we not, hitherto heaped hrirdens' of t?untinn
upon one section o f the communitv in order to henefit
another ? H a s not oiir whole r c n n o m v dervnded iinnn
the nrocess of robhinq Peter tn prlv Paul ?
Have we not deliberately delayed the produ'ction of
oil from coal, in the interests of international oil
romnanies ?
Have we not destroyed coffee, cocoa, wheat, herrings,
for the henefit of tho'se most interested to keep 'up the
price of thesme things against the consumer ?
Have we not issued war loans, and inflated the
currency and then deflated it f o r the benefit of the
m,oneylenders ?
Is it not common sense that in t h e case where a
consnmer has one hundred pounds per annum t o spend,
a new and addition1 expenditure on a motor car benefits
the motor industry a t the expense of other industries ?
But t h e most outstanding instance of all is the case of
the British primarv producer. Tn Rritish aKricnlture,
which is peppered alU over the country, there is a lack
of cohesion and co-operation. For this, the greatest of
productive industries, there has never existed R national
37
 ECOKOMIC TRIBULATION

policy ; for the simple reawn that Uritish agriculture

ullder party politics call be dealt with peacemeal, as
consisting oi widespread village voters who form a
purely local minority o i electors. Thus, gritish agri-
culture-by which is meant the interests o t the producers
of food from the land, and not the many 1,ucrative
businesses of the middIe,men and the distributors-has
been consistently used and exploited in order t o secure
o r to maintain the prosperity of other industries.
I t has been so easy to raise the cry : ' You food will
cost you more ' ; so easy t o perwade the igno,rant t,owns-
man that, because food is the first essential of life ,
t h e r e h r e cheap food is fundamental to the lives of the
many millions ,of under-nourished families in this wealthy
country, who possess full voting power 'but totally
inadequate incomes t o live decently and contentedly.
It has therefore been easy t o obtain political support
against any legislation which might benefit the primary
producer, o r to obtain it in favour of any legislation
whereby the primary producer is squeezed in order that
other industries may remain assured of their market.
World peace and prosperity, t,he recovery of agri-
culture, and t h e restoration of confidence between
industry and finance, can only be achieved by the
introduction and adoption of a stable measure of value,
permitting a better and more equitable system to operate
successfully.

38
 V

DEMOCRACY OR FlNANClAL UlCTXTOKSHlP ?

GKEEMENT amongst the nations t,o co-operate

A in the avoidance of war, so that the temptation to
regard might1 as right may be e h i n a t e d for ever,
and the consciousness of offensive or defensive superior-
ity nd longer exist in our mentality as, a weapon t o add
force to national diplomacy, is an ideal which will always
remain the aim of the civilized world, But democracy
is in danger for the very reason that democratic govern-
ment itself is8subservient to the sectional interests which
control finance, and which have it in their power t o inflict
a financial crisis upon t h e nation should they anticipate
legislation inimical to their ,owti particlwar interests.
Such a r e the economic conditions which are declared
tro be unavoidable and which only circumstances can in
time eradicate. The time has come when we must create
those circumstances a,nd change those adverse econo,mic
c,onditions,;for, until this is done, war and the menace
of war will comntinue t o hover over us. General un-
certainty, leading t o discontent with existing forms of
government, bas increased the tendency towards
dictatorship and of temporarily benefiting one nation a t
the expense of others. W e have seen nation after nation,
each in it9 own particular way, attempting t o defend
itself against t h e unnecessary hardships imposed upon
it by a wro,ng monetary system. Whilst a t any moment
there may be currency reactions, it1 must remain difficult
to contemplate any permanent recovery until the great
[Link] nations are willing to adopt a uniform policy.
No greater threat t o humanity and the progress, of
civilisation can he conceived than the general spread of
the Hitler regime of brute force. T o crush out that
regime f o r ald time even if it stood alone as our sole
war aim, would seem enough in itself without the
necessity of searching fo'r other objectives. Although we
recognize how serious and how immense is the task t h a t
39
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

we have undertaken, the vast majomrity of us gain added

strength from t h e knowledge that righteousness and
justice a r e on our side. T h e nation has reached a st,ate
of preparedness, both mentally and physically, both for
offence and defence, which will render the sacrifices and
hardships and swift calamities t h a t we must inevitably
endure powerless to divert it from the set course which
it has determined to pursue t o the end. Yet even then,
even when this great objective shall have been gained,
our labours will by no means be over. There is still a
long way t,o go before we can begin t o contemplate that
promised land of peace and justice for mankind which
n o destructive w a r can ever of itself attain, and there
remains vital, work of preparation and reconstruction a t
home which cannot be neglectied ,or delayed.
Unless we can contrive t o design and establish an
improved and reformed financial system, which is the
first essential towards a new and better economy in
o u r own country, no satisfactory outcome of the war
is possible: for where there is still widespread injustice
and discontent there can h e no ending t o that war,
unless it be a t,angle of internal revolts and revolutions.
How can w e presume t o hold up our own social system
as a pattern for other nations to follow, whilst it h'reeds
selfishness, unrest, and dishonest co,mpetition amongst
o u r own people, and whilst' it is dominated by a decadent
financial system in which we possess an ever-diminishing
confidence and which is not even under the unbiassed
control or management of Government chosen by t h e
will of the people? How can we hold out t o the German
people, o r to the world, the promise of justice under a
n e w and better ecomnomic system t h a t will eliminate
poverty, malnutrition, and unemployment, whilst no
such system exists, and whilst, o u r own system is still
permeated with these same evils ?
On the other hand it i s unthinkable t h a t we should
pretend t o o'urselves that w e can, first of all, and by the
successes of our arms, create in Germany an economic
vacuum and, havinp done so, ,compel her t o adopt a
moneylending system of international finance, designed
40

T
f o r the ,benefit of international financiers w h o will
become more and more anxious to preserve their
monopoly and their immunity from governmental
control. Are we now fighting t o uphold freedom and
dem,ocra,cy, or are we fighting t o u p h d d and strengthen
the dictatorship of international finance ? T h e mere
conception of' His Majesty's Forces sshould fight for the
benefit of such dictatorship, which already wields an
independent power in exact opposition to social progress
througho'ut the world, is wholly incompatible with the
defence and maintenance of democratic freedom and
seems utterly absiurd. But this world power, with its
pexnitted control of t h e national money supply and
wlth 1 t u support o'f a monetary system that has plunged
every nation into the miseries of irretrievable debt and
the world into economic strife, should not be under-
estimated.
I t would have been wise t o have expended some of
our energies in strengthening o u r home defences by
placing democracy in an impregnable position under
a money machine managed and controlled by its
Government and worthy of the public c,onfidence, But
although it is simple and obvious enough t o suggest
that t h e time for constructive reform is long overdue,
this is a problem entailing w a r against a dictatorship
of international finance which holds every key position
on the battle f r o n t and the power to cut, off essential
smupplies at the mere threat o f attack. We have, only t o
remember the fate of President Roosevelt's policy in the
United States, which aimed at the introduction of the
honest dollar ' and a better standard of living for his
people, Yet even these considerations miust not be
allowed t,o prevent us from making an endeavour t o f r e e
democracy from t h e one great obstacle standing in t h e
way of social progress; and we must also bear in mind
that the alternative path leads to revolution and
bolshevism and the break-up of what we call World
Civilisation.
In modern times there should exist no such thing
41
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

as an economic system without a money supply system.

All t h e business interests of the country, progress,
trade, industry, and the well-being of the people, a r e
dependent upon certain es8sentialsupplies without which
the whole economic structure would collapse. We see
how, in the case of all essential supplies, the greatest
care is taken to protect the best interests of the com-
munity hy j'ust and adequate legislation and Government
control. But we find t h e one outstanding and most
important exception in the national money supply, upon
which all other essential supplies are dependent f o r their
sale and their purchase. The money s,upply and the
management of the money system are almost entirely
outside the control ,of t h e Goyernment and are operated
by an outside, individual, section of the community,
working for prolit and possessing a virtual monopoly
of lending credit t,o the community a t high interest-
a credit based upon the community's own money; this
indeed being the only means, under the existing system,
of distributing such credit as may be available, so t h a t
goods may continue to change hands and so t h a t those
in need of money ran borrow the use of it, provided they
are ' credit-worthy ' borrowers. Above and beyond this,
w e discover that, in the progress of time and through
our own base carelessness and ignorance, we have per-
mitted the money industry, by the very virtue of its
business, gradually to attain a polit,ical and economic
influence 50 wide and powerful that it has actually
undermined the authority of the State and uisurped the
power of democratic government.
There i s nothing new in this emphatic assertion, and
it does not emanate from a distorted imagination but
expresses without exaggeration t h e sane belief held by
many thousands of thinking individuals in this country
and throughoub t h e Empire, and, for t h a t matter,
throughout the world. It. is shared alsomby many a score
of highly intellectu'al business men in the City of
London; the majority of whom, however, would no
more dare-(and no one could hlame them)--openly to
declare their views than they would tweak the no'ses
42
 DEMOCRACY OR FINANCIAL DICTATORSHIP

of their bank managers, brit who are certainly not solely

guided by the profit motive and who would willingly
sacrifice the present monetary system in order that a
reformed system should safeguard the future of the
Empire and ail the peoples who constitute it-employers
and cmyloyed alike.
The object and existence of money is to enable and
facilitate the exchange of goods aud services. The only
value in money lies in the value of the goods which it
enables, us t o exchange with other goods; where there
are no goods t o be exchanged money is completely
valueless. A sack of gold on a descrt island is not
worth as much as the sack t h a t holds i t ; and otm allow
the supply of moiiey to regulate the production and
consumption of goods, is as if we allowed stfdwherry-
baskets to regulate the supply of strawberries, o r an
insufficient supply of bus tickets t o bring about a strike
of bus drivers. And yet the present order of our lives
is governed and controlled by the governors and con-
trollers of money so that. those who have developed the
business of letting out stnwberry-baskets on hire, now
control t h e production and consumption of strawberries.
If an economist from Mars or a little child of ordinary
intellect were told of the present position they would
rock with laughter at the blind stup,idity of mankind._
This national and mainly international dictatorship
of money, which plays off one cou,nt,ry against another
and which, through the ownership of a large portion of
the Press,, converts the advertisement of its own private
opinion into the semblance of general public opinion,
cannot for much longer be permitted t,o render
Democratic Gpverament a mere nickname. To-day,
we see through a glas's darkly; for there is so much
which ' it would not he in t'he puNblic interest t o divulge.'
As a consequence the publi'c has, not unnaturally become
suspici,oos ; not so much of t h e Government, democratic-
ally elected, as of those other far-reaching influences
which are suspected of exerting undue pressure upon
the freedom' and discretion of Government a t all times
to legislate and act for the benefit of the State.
43
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

Lest they should spread and replace democracy, this

country n,ow concentrates ‘upon attacking or distrusting
dictatorships in any shape or form in other countries.
A constructive monetary policy in our own country
would strengthen the power of democracy, and would
cast out those enemies in our midst who are trading
upon o u r supposed ignorance whilst depriving UIS of
adequate means to express our opinions. In short, it
has hegun to be generally realized that the free vote
of the people no longer insures democratic government
except in name, and that the widespread influence of
money, of finance, and of ‘ b i g business,’ and, above all,
of international finance with it,s impartial patriofism,
not only dominates governmental pol~cy,both national
and international, and affects the lives and livelihood
of the people, but has very nearly succeeded in convert-
ing o u r boasted democracy into what is virtually a
financial dictatorship. Do the people of this comuntry
want such a procedure t o continue ? W e are prepared
t o admit that, without, honest and skilled leadership,
democratic rule is akin t o mob law : hut are we prepared
t o entrulst t h e future of democracy t o sectional influences
governed and controlled by those few who still govern
and control our capital, o u r money, and capital’s inter-
national finance ?
Stxenuous efforts have been made over some twenty-
five years t,o parch up the money system in an attempt
to make it last a little longer; but it has stood, and now
stands, in the way of progress and social betterment,
thereby creating universal unrest and a tendency t o
obtain by force what cannot he obtained otherwise.
For the sake of our children let us, take warning in time.
Let us discard the policy of inaction and pretence. and
boldly face the fact that it is not the inevitable smoke
o f the galley-stove which assails our nostrils, but t h a t
a fire is, raging in the hold and that the ship of State is
in imminent danger. Our democratic system and o w
existing financial system can no longer live together;
one of them must give w a y t o the other.
44
 VI

T O BANKERS AND OTHERS

HIS accusation against the monetary system is

T not intended to cast doubts o r aspersions upon
bankers and those few hundred individuals who,
either directly o r by their expert advice, control its
management,, Bu,siness is business, and it is, only hunian
nature and to be expected that a business man should
consider his own business and his own shareholders
first. There are some of us who believe that, without
armament companies there would he no war, just as
there are others of us who believe that it is wa,r which
brings armament companies into existence; and so,
when it is universally admitted that a community cannot
nowadays lead a norma,l life without money, it is not
unnatural that those who control and deal in money,
who thereby possess the power of issuing or WTitli-
drawing credit, and who decide the ups and doivns of
the price level of commodities and ;lie viiliie of w;iges,
should have come t o regard their own business and
their own property a s transcending in importance all
other considerations, and all other businesses.
For them, it is perhaps only natural that they should
argue : ' L e t the people and their governments be
careful to take no action and do nothing which might
weaken the power and strength of the money business ;
f o r money rules t h e world. As long as we can keep
the international business of banking and finance
intact and unaffected by troubles, all will come right
in the end.' But it is precisely this argument, and the
monetary policy adopted for the last fifteen years and
contrived for the benefit and preservation of the money
business and of t h e system that it advocated, which has
led 'up t o the present world chaos.
The monetary experts, the banking and finance
interests, led astray a t first by the City of London and
47
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

obsessed with the urgent necessity of getting back to

w h a t w a s considered to be the res-establishment of
‘sound finance,’ iailed to pay sufficient attention to
the new factor which had arisen in t h e world- a factor
which they themselves, through their own highly prized
system, had created a centmy ago, #but which has since
grown suddenly t o such vast dimensions t h a t it q0.w
overwhelms and renders diminutive the favourite
theories and admitted practices, of the past. They
watched with pride the growth of their own child, but
they did not realize that they were nurturing a robot
which must s,ooncr o r later grow up and become a
serious menace to its over-indulgent parents.
This new factor is the ogre of the world‘s stupendous
money-indebtedness t o its own financial system. With
every market short of purchasing power, the financial
system set the whole world gambling on its future
capacity t o produce more and sell more and at the same
time pay off its dehts; and it is mainly the abnormal
efforts of almost every nation t o pay off, or even to
pay the interest on, i t s impossible debts, which have
resulted in the present international confusion where
each nation seeks. t o exchange its own produce for
the money of other nations, ,hut not for the produce.
For money debts cannot be repaid by produce unless
and until that produce has been exchanged for money ;
production is of no value t o finance except in so f a r
as it may be converted into money: and the money
industry, under the existing system, almost wholly
depends for its prosperity upon the indebtedness of
others. What finance has failed to perceive is t h a t there
is a limit to t h e profitable increase of this indebtedness.
Similarly, Vickers, Limited, and, as the Bank of England
know5 only too well, Armstrong Whitworth a?d Co.,
and their rrcnective shareholders, were half rumed by
the w a r of 1914-18 and its natural repercussions, Those
who regard Vickers Armstrong as war-profiteers either
possess su’perficial intellects o r have no knowledge of
the proven fact%: and 1, who write, have suffered, and
I know.
46
 TO BANKERS AND OTHERS

Having indulged in these symbolic diversions,

without animus, without prejudice, and with no
personal axe to grind, 1 would appeal to all those who
have the power t o pull the strings, of inlluence-which
under the present regime are more powerful than a
tho,usand so-called democratic votes a t a general
election - to consider the economic situation as it
exists &day. If they are honest, if t,liey would deem
it a gross insult t o be included ainoiigst those who place
temporary personal aggrandiseuient before permanent
national welfare, let them consider the economic
situation and think deeply. I t may be that, many, in
these precarious times, will be inclined t o say : ‘ T h i s
situation is not new. There ism, of course, a t such times
a s these, a natural division of opinion between those
who a r e contented to continue the present order of
things, and lhose others demanding what they believe
to be a better and more Christian ideal which should
replace it. This is no concern of mine; they must
fight i t out amongst themselves. I bave quite enough
to look after m y own business.’ And to these 1 specially
appeal; for every productive industry, great or small,
every man ,and woman employed in that industry, and
every office-boy, is dependent upon the profit and there-
fore upon the output of t h a t industry.
Having had the opportunity of acquiring, over the
lasb fifteen years, a great knowledge of the feeling
and t h e tendency of the people than most bankers could
have achieved over two o r three years, 1 would make
the following appeal to the bankers o f this country, to
those who manage the machinery o f money and credit,
and t o those who a r e satisfied with things as they are
and therefore see no reason for change :-
I . 1 ask you to remember that you are dealing
to-day with a general public of a far greater education
and of a more thorough knowlcdge of affairs, of foreign
policy and of financial policy, t h a n they have had in
previous times; and that the majority of these are
47
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

conscioue that, in some way o r another, the key that

locks them out from the enjoyment of the good things
in the world’s shop windows is money.
2. That, because the public come into contact with
t h e monetary system mainly through the medium of
hanks, they naturally tend to blame the banks for the
difficnlty ; not realizing t h a t they are, in large measure,
tied houses - tied, that, is, t o the monetary system. and
that, however great o r sinall the faults of the banks,
it is in reality the system which is a t fault.
3. That banking is an industry working for profit,
just as a gas company or any other utility company
works for profit. And the people, realizing this-
erroneously, perhaps-do not believe t h a t any essential
supply company should, a t one and the same time, have
control o f the volume of its output ‘and control of
the price of its output, when the supply o f its product
is essential to the lives and welfare of those masses of
the people who are dependent upon that product.
4. That, whilst it may be possible, having regard to
the immense power of money, artificially t o maintain
and ,uphold the present position for some months or
for some years to come, against the rising revolt,
engendered by the present system, yet the time must
eventually arrive ( a s it did in Russia, as it has in Spain,
and as it may do in France) when the mass of the
people will insist upon their right t,o possess a much
larger share of the country’s available wealth, and
when they will insist also upon a much nearer appro’ach
of to-day’s poverty to to-day’s weath. With all
earnestness and honesty J impl,orc them to think of
this possibility and to take warning in time ; to recognize
what is inevitable, and t o decide : Whether it is best
t o continue the present regime and, with the power of
the Press and with the power of money, to continue
t o fight for its supremacy: or, alternatively, whether
it may be hest t o recognize that, for the good of the
cou,ntry, the maintenance of the Empire. the benefit
48
 TO BhNKERS AND OTHERS

of the British world community, and for their own

benefit, they should immediately take steps t o associate
themselves, with those who a r e demanding reform of
the monetary system,. This refers more especially t o
the controllers osf the system, embracing t h e whole of
that particular section of the community which deals
in, manages, and controls money, credit, and finance,
and whose buisiness main,ly depends upon t h e indebted-
ness o f others.
5. At times there has been in operation an expedient
of cheap money, caupled with a policy of secret and
progressive inflation, when i t h a s been hoped (not
without reason) t h a t such a policy, by creating a
steady improvement in trade and a gradual diminution
of unemployment, would in time obliterate or conceal
the necessity for reform and the exacting demand for
a better monetary system. And yet I would ask our
experts and our financial advis'ers to accept assurances
t h a t such a policy, welcome though it is, will not suffice ;
for past experience h a s taught a very large section of
the public that; whilst temporary policies may give
temporary relief, nothing but a thorough reorganization
and rati,onalization of the money industry and the
money and credit system will satisfy the permanent
needs of t h e community and once more restore t h e
confidence in the financial system. Kightly or wrongly,
a conviction exists in the minds of individuals and
organizations, influencing a predominant fraction of
public opinion, t h a t finance must in future become the
servant of industry, and that the welfare of the country
and of the Empire is of far greater importance than
the welfare of t h e City of London and the protits of
international financiers.
6. T h a t t h e t r u e wealth of the nation does not
consist in t h e hoarded gold of t h e Bank of England,
nor in the book-entries, standing to the credit of
merchant bankers. T h e wealth o'f the nation lies in
its capacity t o produce goods, and its capacity t o
consume goods, and its csapacity to exchange its
49
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

slurplus goods for necessary importations from other

countries. If t h e City of London, with its banks, its
gold, banknotes, and its money, were suddenly to
sink into the bowels of the earth and be no more, the
country would go on, and, with incredible rapidity,
would recover from the shock and build a new and
perhaps a better City. But if t h e country vanished,
the City of London would be dead fo'r ever. Tn the
last resort,, production and consumption could continue
without money; but money would h e useless dross
without production and consumption.
 VI1
THE DIKECTION OF FUTURE POLICY

N the question of what steps should be taken t o

I put matters, right, 1 can only suggest the general
direction in which our future policy shuuld point ;
f o r I myself do not believe t h a t there exists any perfect
cut-and-dried scheme which is likely hereafter to be
adopted, lock, stock, a n d barrel, as o u r iuture monetary
system. Moreover, there ore many other technical and
psychological considerations, which would be necessary
in order to achieve peace and contentment amongst the
people. T h e main objectives, however, should include :-
1. S t a t e control and State issue of currency and
credit through a central organization managed and
controlled by t h e State.
2 Stabilization of t h e wholesale price level of
commodities, That is t o say, a fixed and constant
internal purchasing power of money; so t h a t a pound
will buy to-morrow what it bought yesterday; an
honest pound, not a fluctuating pound. And this can
be done by so iswing and regulating the volume of
available credit and currency that it shald a t all times
be adequate to permit of the purchasing power of the
consumer being adequate with the volume of production :
not by limiting the purchasing power, butt, by firstly
increasing purchasing power more in proportion t o t h e
productive capacity of industry.
3. Fixation of foreign exchanges by foreign
exchange equalization funds,, and agreement with
Empire countries and all other countries willing t o fall
into linp.; and, once this, was accomplished, the removal
or diminution of trade barriers which io-day proizct
the countries from t h e results of a bad monetary system.
4. Any additional supply of money should be issued
as a clear asset to t h e State: so t h a t money will b'e
spent into existence, and not lent into existence.
51
 ECONOMIC TRIBULATION

5,. T h e fluctuating quantity of gold lying in the

vaults of the banking syst,em should never be permitted
t o govern the volume of credit and currency needed
by the c,ountry.
6. The elimination of slumps and booms; and more
direct procedure for eliminating unnecessary poverty:
7. T h e abolition of the Debt System where all credit
is created by the hanks and hired out at interest to the
country.
8. Absolute State control over all foreign lending;
and the adoption of 'the general princ,iple thati our
foreign trade should he so conducted as to preserve-
(a) t h e intere'sts of the Home Market,
( b ) the interests of ohe Empire countries and t h e
English-speaking nations,
( c ) the interests of Foreign nations,
and t h a t this principle should particularly apply in the
case of Home production and foodstuffs.