THOUGHTS OF LEADERS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17109, 2 April 1921, Page 6

THOUGHTS OF LEADERS.

UNITED STATES A MARITIME PEOPLE.

(FROM OFB OW.V COBRKSPOXDINT.)

LONDON. February 3. Vice-Admiral A. P. Niblack (in command of the L'nitod States Naval Forces in European waters), as guest of tho Pilgrims:— "At this momqnt it is of particularly vital interest that the bonds uniting the two countries should be strengthened. There must be greater mutual confidence,. mor.> give and take. More cobwebs and jnoss must be removed from tho popular conceptions of each other. It is inevitable that England and America should be rivals in for-eign-markets, and tho future of AngloAmerican relations must depend on the spirit in which both sides face this corn-

petition as a sporting proposition. The United Suites faces on the great oceans, and, with a growing population—now 105,000,000 people—they, too, must look to the sea. The American people shrink from entanglements in Etirojw, but they have definitely made up their mind that they are going to take their place as a maritime people. The world will •recognise the necessity which compels Americans to look abroad, and will not view with suspicion their present activities, which seek to salvage from tile output of the war such shipping as is required by their economic considerations. My view of the maritime development of America is that there is no better guarantee of the freedom of the ssas, of the rights of the smaller nations, of tho balance of pow.or in tho world, and of the maintenance of the Anglo-Saxon ideals, and it is only natural that America should share with England and other countries in the seaborne trade. In taking over tln» command of the United States naval forces in European waters I undertake nothing which has particularly to do with international politics. My mission jn Europe is entirely benevolent. Tho United States Navy is busily engaged in police and rescue work in the Black Sea and on the coast of Asia Minor, and is assisting humanitarian organisations in those unsettled regions. In tho Adriatic they are, actively engaged in easing off the tension between tho various nationalities of that region and in relief work." COMPETITION AND FRICTION.'

Sir Lowther Grant, on tho same occasion : "I am opposed to the introduction of a great programme of capital ships at the present time, because* I am opposed to anything which can bring about the possibility of competition in armaments between Great Britain and the United Stages. Such competition, with its inevitable outcome of friction and ill-will,, is unthinkable, and it'«js our business to do everything possible to prevent it. There are many points' on which an understanding is required. lam sorry the United States have brought ill their naval programme so suddenly and under the existing conditions, because it has undoubtedly aroused in a good many people in this country a feeling that their tails have .been twisted. Nothing stiffen* the backs of either British or Americans moro than a feeling of that kind. If three or four men of good will from each country discussed the question of naval • armaments or any other question at issue between the.two countries, they would come to a cordial understanding in no time." (Cheers.) STATE MONOPOLIES. Mr W. Riinciman, .at Swansea:— "I recognise, as everybody must l who has been in a responsible position, the great difficulties that are now surrounding the administration of our pos-tal,-telephone, and telegraph services; Expenses have gone up enormously.' We should make allowance for that in any criticism we offer. When we have made all allowance we have good grounds for complaining that such a drastic change as a departure from the flat rate to thb call system should have been decided upon, and should have been announced, and sljould not be subject' to the revision of Parliament and the owners of the telephone, for let it not be forgotten that the British public own the telephones. There are two lessons to be drawn from the telephone experience. The first is that Ministers are ill-advised in taking high-hand-ed .action, especially in time of peace. The second lesson is that State mono-

polios are just asndangerous as private monopolies; ' Unless' we can break or control State monopoly ,we are going to find ourselves with a more inefficient .and less adequate system at a higher charge, which'means increased tux upon active commercial business."

THE INDIAN MENACE. Bishop E. G. Ingham, discoursing on "Some Reflections on how Empire came to us and'can alone.be Conserved".:— "We must not be satisfied with anything, short of a national awakening to our unprecedented responsibilities. A situation has grown up in India that is full of menace to the ' British' Itaj. Never 'was .the suaviter in modo more necessary to link.up ■with the fortiter in re- than now. 'Never was-it more

necessary for themilers to understand the ruled- Never was it more fatal to speak contemptuously and slightingly of the- races of our Indian Empire!' This would require considerable watchfulness and self-control. Even missionaries in India have confessed .how hard

it is for them always to be free from the consciousness that they belong to Iho ruling class. Race instincts among tlie African peoples are growing .stronger, and demands are being m?»le that it -will be difficult to refuse. lot

anyone .consider the racial problems of South Africa, the negro problems in the United States, and the new problems (largely arising out of th^-recent war) in relation to the Jew, the Arab, and the Moslem, and he would be compelled to agree that something more than a League of Nations is ne.ded to

keep the world at peace and our Empire undisturbed. Nothing less than a, fresh conversion to the ancient law:' 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,' and 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself will do it." EUROPE OUT OP GEAR.

I Mr Bonar Law, in Edinburgh: "The whole of Europe is out of gear, and that has a great deal to do with, what at the moment is the greatest danger at Home —the absence of trade. Let us not imagine that, in any case, wo should have escaped after tiie war from the question of bad trade and unemployment. History has a habit of repeating itself. To some extent the present position was bound . to come, and while I a in not unduly optimistic in believing that, to some extent the position is bound to improve, I have confidence in. the sound sense and brave hearts of the people, and in the energy, enterprise, and skill of the men who conduct our industries. Trade with Europe, upon which so many of our industries depended, has gone for the moment. ■ It was gone six months ago, and yet every industry was flourishing, but now everything seems to have dropped off. If there is one thing the Government have made perfectly plain, it is that we do not believe in .the conduct of industry by Governmental methods. (Loud cheers.) It is on individual energy and skill that we depend to carry • the country through. We may be wasteful and extravagant, but it is not because we love spending and wasting money. There must be a great deal of money unnecessarily sijent. It is true of every big undertaking: it is true still of every Government department. But. up to the extent of our ability no Government ias ever tried harder to cut down

expenditure. If we are blamed because taxation is so high—and it is going to be high long after this' Government censes to hold power —there aro things tor -which we ought to get an amount of credit." (Cheers.) PREDICTED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Mr Edgar Crannnond. at the British Shareholders' Trust, Ltd.: "A\V are passing through one of the most interesting periods of the eeonomic history of the world—a period marked by the greatest and most rapid fluctuations in values of which there is any record, and it is extremely difficult jor the ctedit machinery of the world to adapt itself to those" extraordinary movements. During the war there had been a production crisis. "We are now faced with a consumption crisis. Great Britain and America.' under the stimulus of conditions created by the war, have greatly increased their power of production, and they cannot find buyers for their manufactures. _ Those who see only bankruptcy and ruin have completely" misread the situation in which ivo are to-dnv. A

country which possessed such powers of recuperation as Great Britain could not remain in a state of depression for any length of time Before the war the world was, broadly speaking, one economic unit, and the history of the first, two years of peace should have brought home the importance of restoring the economic unity of the world as quick-, ly as possible. Another great lesson of the war is the necessity of attaining an economic parity of status. The time has arrived when the hankers and economists should he allowed to take, a hand in the work of directing the policy of reconstruction. There is no finality in economic evolution; lis ultimate- end is the improvement of the average "lot of the average man, and it is the destiny of tho British people to lead that great movement of humanity. The economic machine is teaching the people, that Canital is the friend of Labour —that their interests are one, and wheit Capital does well Labour does well, and that when Capital does badly Labour suffers. The capitalistic system has survived the shock of the war. It was the only one under which they could ensure the necessary volume of production by which such'a country as theirs could exist, bu,t that is not to say that we. ar<3 simply to revert to our pre-war status. The World can never go back to 1914 conditions. Wo are on tile eve of a greater economic development than that whjch took place in the forty years preceding the war. There are thirty or forty spars of constructive* work before us. Before the war, in order to provide a market for their oroduetions, it was neeessarv to invest abroad £200,000,000 per annum. In ordor to maintain our standard of living, and find employment for our people we must now , invest capital abroad, i.e.,. give our foreign buyers credit at the rate of £soo,ooo,ooo'per annum. Post-war finance must be conducted on as vast a scale as our war finance, but this time it should be left in the hands of. ■private enterprise. 1 hope that the 8.5.T:., acting in close association with the great joint stock banks, may assist in the work of helping to adapt the financial machinery of this country to its'new duties, so that we may have a credit machine "which will be worthy of England, and adequate to tho great economic task which the world has laid upon her."