The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-04-30
WORLD MUST
TIGHTEN BELT.
SAY EXPERTS
Academy of Political Science
Speakers Consider Worlds
Need and What United
States Must Do.
MORE WORK; LESS PLAY
(By Associated Press)

(By Associated Press)
NEW YORK. April 3O-The entire
world must tighten it's belt if there
is TO be enough for all, and that belt
is strict control of bank credit with
out which the world will continue to
gorge itself and initiate, declared Paul
NJ. Warburg. banker, discussing in
flation, its causes and remedies. be-
fore the Academy of Political Science
here today.
Summing up what he termed the
practitioners advice in the case, he
said
First, we must fight initiation with
all the means at our disposal; by ar
resting the further increase of gov
eminent Indebtedness, and if possible
reducing it: and by calling a halt in
further bank credit and note issue ex-
pansion.
Must Fight Initiation
We would thereby destroy the at
mosphere of easy money and paper
prosperity that makes for individual
and corporate extravaganza and fos-
ters discomfort among the masses,
rendering them disinclined to give
their full measure of work. This in
cludes the >1st difficult task of curb
ing the production of unessentials and
of stimulating the production of es-
sentials.
And finally. we must fight rising
prices by stimulating essential pro-
duction, both here and abroad, which
means that we must furnish Europe
with the material required in order
to rehabilitate her industries, so that
once more she may become self
supporting"
DR.. B. NJ. Anderson, Jr., of the Ma
tional Bank of Commerce in New
York, speaking at the forenoon session
declared that the shortage of goods
and the attendant speculation is the
prime cause of present high prices in
! this country.
when our enormous export balance
disappears and when our domestic
markets are called upon to absorb
three or four hundred million dollars
worth of goods per month which they
have not been absorbing, we shall see
| lower prices" he declared.
! Two Policies Responsible
| Two mistaken policies in American
| war financing are responsible for in
! fiation, according to DR.. Jacob II. Hol-
lander, professor of political economy,
Johns Hopkins university.
The first" he said. consisted in
issuing bonds at artificially low int
rates with the aid of cheap borrowing
! facilities at the federal rserve banks
| so that bond buyers found it easier
to obtain additional credit from the
banks to pay their bonds rather than
use their savings or such bank depos-
its as they already had.
THE second. and more important
in which the treasury contributed to
imitation was by continued adherence,
even after the armistice TO its war
time practice of borrowing from the
! banks by means OF certificates of in
debtedness."
Foundations of World Shaken
Construction, rather than recon-
structiOn is the great task confront
! ing this congress, the next congress,
and perhaps even the 6Sth congress.
! Senator Walter E. Edge of New Jer-
/ sey, said, speaking at the luncheon
/ meeting.
Some persons speak of reconstruc-
| tlon,' Senator Edge said. but times
have changed so in the past six years
| that even the foundation of industry
| and business and finance have been
| shaken and must be strengthened to
! support the new structures to be erect
! ed in place of those which were raised
in the five years of destructive war
! fare"
Senator Edge declared there is too
! much government in business and not
enough business in government"
| U. S. Government Obstructed.
! The government of the United
/ States is deadlocked against itself.
government of obstruction" Assistant
Secretary Effingwell of the treasury
! declared today before the academy.
Failure of the government to deal in
a constructive way with any one of
the vital national problems he attribut-
ed largely to the fact that the govern
ment is divided against itself
/ 1T is at least questionable" Mr.. Lef-
fingwell continued, whether the pro-
gress of reaction would have been so
| complete or so disastrous If our insti-
| tutlonS had not given this country,
during the most critical period of the
world 5 history, a government divided
against itself, and therefore incapable
of effective leadership in national or
international affairs.
Gamblers and Invaders.
AT this most critical moment in the
history of Europe, when our financial
economic stake in Europe's affairs IA
so great that disaster there could
mean only disaster here. many Of our
own people have turned gamblers and
wasters. For plain living and high
thinking. We have substituted wasting
and pickering. We enjoy high living
while we grumble at the high cost of
living"
There is only one remedy, Mr.. Lef-
fngwell said. The nation must get
together. stop pickering and face the
critical situation which confronts the
world as we should a foreign Mar"