PAYING FOB THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2719, 14 March 1916, Page 8

PAYING FOB THE WAR

I SIR GEORGE PAISH ON NECESSITY | OF ECONOMY. Sir George Paish, editor of the "Statist," addressing a large meeting of business moil at Cardiff recently, said that in tko current year the 'nation's expenditure oil tlie war was expected Ito bo in tho neighbourhood of £1,800,000,000; it was possible it might even reach £2,000,000,000. The problem of finding this money was not so difficult as it seemed. was convinced that the nation had tho power to find this additional money. The expenditure of tho nation upon the war would be £5,000,000 a day. Of this sum £1,000,000 would come from existing taxation, another £1.000,000 per day by the sales of foreign and colonial securities • and by foreign credits, another £2,000,000 a day out lof existing savings, and the' last £1,0(10,000 a day out of additional savings. Th© oiily method of adjusting tho situation was by economy. If they could reduce tho domestic expenditure of tho nation to the extent of £300,000,000 to £400,000,000 they would have provided a very powerful check to rising prices. The condition of this country and of Europe after the termination of the war depended almost entirely on the conditions of peace. If | those conditions brought renewed confidence, then he believed the contraction of trade which would occur would be I of short duration.