Norwich bulletin., 1920-07-10

There is plenty of internal evidence to
 show that the great administrative
 agencies of the government are maintain
 ing close liaisen in the carrying out of
 the general policy of national contraction.
 1t is policy which actuates not a single
 department, but all departments or in-
 strpmentalSdes fhrough which govern-
 nert directly keeps it's fingers on the pulse of business. says the Manufaetur- ers' Record
 The close inter-relation between the fedral reserve board and the-interstate commerce commission indicates that the sarne mental impulse is anirnating both and that each is getting its inspiration from identical quarters. This means that the administration 'fhas been sold'' on the question of defation and that the AIneri- can government, deliberately and after long consideration, has determined that the people of the country must do less business.
 There are two reasons for this. The first is that the federal reserve board has reached the conclusion that it is not able to finance the legitimate business of the country. The second is that the inter state commerce commission has reacfi- 1 ed the conclusion that the railroads ean- not handle the legitimate business of the country. Each declares, in effect, that its facilities are Ninadeauate, on which account each in turn, instead of attempt ing to make the facilities adequate, has determined to follow the lines of least resistance and bring business back to 1 the size of the facilities which are avail able.
 This would be suicidal in any case. but the tragic nature of it is mere than ever eBppAas5zed by contrast with the stupen- dous efforts England is making along exactly contrary lines. Nor is this true of England only. Even in Germany we l are informed, it is casters to get com snerciai credit for legitimate undertakings than it is to get snch credit in the Unit ed States today
 We are not surprised by the attitude of the bankers as revealed in the special and apparently confidential report of the dehation committee of the American Bankers Association submitted to the federal reserve board. There are far seeing and militant bankers in the United States. but they are in the minority.
 The pawBbsekef method of banking has been in cegae 90 long and has been ss profitable that the benefciaries of it's nat uraiiy intend to fght hard for the perpet- uation of the system, The banks, it is true, are burdened by the necessity oi carrying the enormous floating national l debt. which bad financing failed to pro- vide for in peramnent loans but they are also welded to medieval principles oi banking and seem to have learned neth- \ ing from the epoch-making lessons in 6n- ance which the war taught. There is
 good reason to suspect that the steam era of traffic is having to depend or stage-eoach banking methods. The Ener whe decided that the world war could not 1 last a year because there was not enough money to carry it on are now declarins l that the great business of the world can. not continue because there is not enough l credit to sustain it. They have beer i proved wrong in the one case and they ] will be proved wrong in the other.
 l It is of importance to compare tht i recommendations made by this bankers committee on defafioh with what has