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current expenses of their creditors will not reach the obligations now stipulated, then the commission might be expected to take the view that the scope of the annual contribution must be brought within the limits within which solvency can be preserved, even though it might be necessary for that purpose to extend the period of instalments.

"The load of the burden and the period during which it is to be borne must not, however, exceed certain bounds. It must not bring about so drastic a lowering of the standard of living that a willingness to pay a just debt is converted into a spirit of despair and revolt.

"It is also true that among the victorious countries there are some whose economic condition is exceedingly grave and which will have to reach the limits of their taxing powers. It appears therefore, to the undersigned, that the position of these countries, too, should be examined from the same point of view of keeping taxation within the power of endurance, and within a scope that will not be conducive to financial chaos and social unrest."

Continuing the Memorial suggests the following principles which should govern the world in meeting the present serious financial situation:

"1. The greater part of the funds must necessarily be supplied by those countries where the trade balance and the exchanges are favorable.

"2. Long-term foreign credit, such as is here contemplated, is only desirable in so far as it is absolutely necessary to restore productive processes. It is not a substitute for those efforts and sacrifices on the part of each country by which alone they can solve their internal problem. It is only by the real economic conditions pressing severely, as they must, on the individual that equilibrium can be restored.

"3. For this reason, and also because of the great demands on capital for their own internal purposes in the lending countries themselves, the credit supplied should be reduced to the minimum absolutely necessary.

"4. Assistance should, as far as possible, be given in a

form which leaves national and international trade free from restrictive control of governments.

"5. Any scheme should encourage to the greatest extent possible the supply of credit and the development of trade through normal channels.

"In so far as it proves possible to issue loans to the public in the lending countries, these loans must be on such terms as will attract the real savings of the individual: otherwise inflation would be increased.

"7. The borrowing countries would have to provide the best obtainable security. For this purpose it should be agreed that:

"(a) Such loans should rank in front of all other indebtedness whatsoever, whether internal debt, reparation payment, or inter-allied governmental debt.

"(b) Special security should be set aside by the borrowing countries as a guarantee for the payment of interest and amortization, the character of such security varying perhaps from country to country, but including in the case of Germany and the new states the assignment of import and export duties payable on a gold basis, and in the case of states entitled to receipts from Germany, a first charge on such receipts.'

One of the most alarming features of the situation is the widely prevalent disinclination to work, existing not only in this country but throughout the entire world. The war has produced a spirit of restlessness and has destroyed habits of industry and thrift created by years of peace.

The uncertain element in the entire situation concerns the willingness of the people of Europe to throw aside the specious and unsound panaceas of the ultra-radicals, to turn their backs upon the mirage of Bolshevism and Sovietism, and in the same spirit of united determination and self-discipline with which they waged the war, start back over the long, hard trail to comfort and prosperity. The ultimate hope for a speedy return to normal conditions depends upon the fiber of the people of Europe and America, their common-sense and

good judgment in realizing that of all times in the history of the world, this is not the time in which to try visionary economic experiments and Utopian theories. As Mr. Asquith, former British Premier, in a speech delivered recently before the Free Trade Union, well said:

"What is the real remedy against high prices and of the individual hardships which the war has brought? First and foremost, public economy ** The next thing is increased and better production * * *The prime economic need at this moment of mankind is that production should be increased until the maximum output is obtained. What is true at home in the domestic sphere is not only equally true but more significantly true in the international sphere."

The hope of the world depends upon the willingness of the people of Europe and of America to produce more and save more, and thus gradually absorb the outstanding war obligations and make good the ravages of the great conflict. I believe it is the duty of every one of us, upon every occasion, to preach the gospel that the cure for the economic ills which beset us on every side, is to work and save,-faithful, industrious work, thrift, and the wise investment of our savings against the proverbial rainy day.

PROGRESS

BY EDGAR A. SINGER, JR.,

Professor of Philosophy

Yet

We little realize, until we have met them socially, how engaging the manners of cannibals can be. It is unfortunate that so many obstacles lie in the way of our making their better acquaintance, they live so far out of town for one thing, and for another are so clannish a set that only occasionally is one of our sort welcomed to their inner circles. when one who has had this fortune returns to tell about it,which happens too rarely-we can see it has been a revelation to him and an enlightenment. There is that friend of our youth, Herman Melville, who about the year 1840 was entertained by the Merquesan Islanders-I swear that as I read him I find something very winning about the ways of these people. It is true they were what Melville calls "occasional cannibals;" but although cannibalism, however occasional, cannot win our entire approval (perhaps because, as Montaigne suggests, we have learned how much better it is to torment our enemies alive than to consume them dead) yet it is not wise or just to allow our prejudice against an odd local custom to blind us to so much that is fair in their lives.

For much there is that is fair in the lives of the Typees. Dwelling on that enchanted island of the Pacific, their lines are cast in pleasant places. The asperities which civilization seems rather to have aggravated than softened do not roughen their way. Their existence is passed in the midst of tropical plenty, on which their numbers, few and not on the increase, make light demand. They toil not to cover what nature has conceived in innocence, and spin but lightly to adorn what nature has fashioned fair. Little thought do they take on their housing. "There are few villages," Melville tells us,

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