New Britain herald., 1918-02-23
Henry CIews ,
 Weekly Letter
Especial to the Herald.)

1 from Russia, has tended in financial circles to retard the improvement so noticeable at the close of last week. Ever since the Bolsheviki gained control of the immediate sit uation developments of this same general character have been so dra- matic and such violations of sound Judgment and practice that the capit- ulation of the leaders to the German military machine may with propriety be considered but one more of these spectacular and irresponsible hap penlngs. The Bolshevik government
 Is not Russia; it cannot itself con-
 trol with any degree of per1nanence
 the huge eNpanse of territory, nor tho
 many millions of souls. Sooner or
 later order will develop out of the
 current chaos. Men will be found
 with sufficient moral and intellectual
 force to direct the destinies of the
 unfortunate country on lines dictated
 by modern civilization. Even drunk
 as they are with their success over- throwing former autocratic condi-
 tions, no considerable part of the
 Russian people is willing to jump
 from the frying pan into the fire;
 when time for sober thought comes they will be far from content with
 g. mere change from Car to Kaiser. What in their own hearts they are
 striving for is the freedom of thought and action which can come only from dem ocracy. Any attempt of Germany or any other country to run counter to this inherent trend can but end disastrously.
 To this extent any agreement to conclude a peace based upon a $4,- 0,ooo,000 indemnity and the cession of such a large amount of valuable territory as now demanded by Berlin does not possess the inn portance as a market influence that superficially one might feel impelled
 to attach to it. It exposes the falsity of the spacious German talk of desire for a 'just peace without indemnity and without annexation" and leaves no other course for our own govern
 ment and our asso ociates in the war than to pursue the war aims that have been so frankly set forth by our own president, by David Lloyd George, the British premier, and the French foreign minister, M. Clemen- ceau, namely, the safeguarding Of democracy by removing the German military menace. Here we have the cure for the real disease; the Bol shevik developments are merely dis agreeable symptoms.
 Meanwhile the winter season is passing and the most favora ble time for negotiations is ending. Wednes- day was the second anniversary of the German drive against Verdun. Interest therefore iG centering upon military operations on the Western
 front, where the Supreme Drive
 
 freely advertising should come, if
 such a drive is in fact contemplated.
 The active advance advertising the
 project has received suggests, how
 ever, that the German military ma-
 chine may have other plans it pro-
 poses shall take precedence, as, for
 instance, the pushing of the campaign
 which winter so suddenly suspended
 in Italy. If the drive is undertaken
 on the Western border. the loss of
 life will be appalling on both sides.
 Especially must it be so on the part
 of the aggressors in view of the am-
 pie preparations which have been
 made to meet it. Should the drive
 not succeed--and the Allied com manders are confident that it will not then internal affairs in Germany
 will most probably force the German military party to accede with much 1
 more freedom than under existing conditions to the peace terms set
 down so definitely by the Allies. This brief review of existing mill tary and poli1ral conditions is. I be- lieve, justified at this time by the ad- mitted fact that the prospects of peace are so completely the dom- l inant influence in the market for se- curities as a whole. Today nearly all ] our national activities are under na- tlonal restraint and will remain so l until peace shall have been declared. l When that fortunate moment is to l
 arrive there is little definite basis for l
 estimating. But one thing does stand 1
 out-that the military and diplomatic l
 developments of the next few weeks l
 will operate most conclusively in an !
 sWerlng this most important question. !
 So long the war continues just so 1
 long will our government require the 1 full service of the savings of our peo- l
 pie.
 To attract these savings the Treas l
 ury will most probably be called upon ]
 to improve the attractiveness of it's l
 bonds. It goes without saying that ]
 in proportion as our Treasury's ob- 1
 legations are made attractive. not un- l
 naturally will there be withdrawals 1
 of capital from fixed channels that l
 are less attracti either by reason
 of their smaller return on the invest l
 ment or by reason of the popular 1
 appreciation of the predominant l
 soundness and safety of the financial 1
 obligations of the richest country in 1
 the world, such our own govern 1
 ment concededly is Until the war l
 ends private enterprise must stand 1 in abeyance. Our entire export and l import trade has been placed under [
 official control: our shipping, our rail- l