The Hokitika Guardian WEDNESDAY. JUNE 21st., 1922. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 June 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian WEDNESDAY. JUNE 21st., 1922. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.

In the course of a review, an American financial journal says that Mr I*. A. • Vanderlip in his latest hook “What 1 Next in Europe?” gives a vrvid picture of the frightful demoralisation and distress that has resulted from th„ inflation of the currencies. His account ought to he read by all the people, by no reason few in number, who have 1 a lurking idea that something might he done to stimulate the business situation in this country by direct government i uriemy issues, Hera is a limitation: These fluctuations (of the eur--1 reneies) mark a chapter of financier liorI rots which is without parallel in the his. tory of human society. They have in--1 trod need .a period of social injustice, a 1 time of industrial disarrangements, and I ; m epoch in which moral character, and 1 the sound virtues of honesty, industry, | thrift and provision for tho morrow j have bren rendered valueless. W o so * than that, all that has happened is • only half the measure of the evils that 1 ; have flowed from the printing press with the endless -stream of paper money. For the time, must come when . deterioration of the money standard i pap go on further when some readjust. ment.toward firm values will be made, I Than there will be TMRnetfld Another'

‘•erics of injustices another period ol painful readjustments that will he discouraging to enterprise. Because of, the blind misunderstanding of the 0.1 list's there will probably lie futile po- | liticid action by which unscientific means will be sought to remedy evils the origin of which is obscure to the ordinary mind. If one were to attempt to make a catalogue of the results of the great war, I believe that on the credit side so few items niigTit be entered thai the page would he almost 1,1.. nit. Hut there is one result that should he of untold value to the fiii nre ifi Aliii'rica. The awakening of all men’s minds to the worth of a stable standard of value and an apprehension of the untold evils that any people must e neon liter who try to take apparently the simple course of filling tile gap in the national budget by the printing ol pa{a-r money will lie a great gain il », have learned the lesson. In eoiiiieetion with till; above it iS interesting to note a report by the Associated Press of a speech before the Genoa Conference by the premier or Ukraine: Christian Bukovsky, Premier of the Ukraine, depicted the Russian financial situation ill rosy colours, and seized the opportunity to allude to disarmament which the Russians ale contending should have a place oil the agenda. He wanted the world to know that, tile Ru'siait budget was in a very fii vihirablo condition of six sevenths of the expenses were coveted by ordinary revenue, and only the remaining seventh was met by the issue of paper currency. After making the statement that in two years the Russian army bad been decreased from 5.300,600 to 1,450,000 be said: “Russia has already disarmed, but all will be useless until the great masses of gold, which really belong to all countries shall be distributed fairly, instead of lieing cotirontrnted in the hiihds of a few nations.” It may shock the advocates of fiat money in America. concludes the reviewer, to leant that the Russians are ambitious to fully cover their expenses by revenues, and to re-establish their currency on a gold basis. What is this Russian revolution all nhoitt if that nrch-ngency of capitalism, the gold standard is to he reestablished there?