The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-09-18

FOREIGN EXCHANGE BEFORE,
DURING AND AFTER THE WAR.
BY I. f. Gregory. oxford University
Press.
INCREASED PRODUCTION. BY E.
Lipson Oxford University Press.
EUROPE AFTER THE WORLD WAR
A FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC
SURVEY. BY w. r. Lawson. The
Financial News" London.
TIME average American knows
little about foreign exchange.
= Some of our population. born
Europe and educated in the eco
nomics of money during the specula-
tive period following the war. would
be amazed to learn that foreign ex-
change functions for anything else
than speculation. One can only be in
Germany a few hours before she is
politely approached by the waiter. the
butcher the baker or candlestick-
maker with the question: Perhaps
the lady has some foreign valuta she
wishes exchanged-some dollars, per-
kaps?" And ten chances to one the
lady changes her dollars with the po-
lite inquirer at per cent. more than
the official bank rate and goes out
later in the day to find that had she
taken the dollars TO the shoemaker he
would have given her 10 per cent.
above the bank quotations. In Eu-
rope to-day everybody deals in foreign
exchange and every State official has
his own pet theory how the exchange
can be stabilized. But not all the Of
ficials know much more than Ameri-
cans about the economics of foreign
exchange. l remember asking a very
high official Of a central European
country: why do you suppose your
money has dropped so low in the past
few days?" Like a flash he replied:
Because of German manipulations
and speculations in our money" l
said. Don't you think the flood that
recently destroyed your potato crop
and the miners strike can have some
thing TO do with it," l give you my
word he was amazed. Madam" he
said TO me as witheringly as a Euro
pean diplomat to-day allows himself
tC speak TO an American: Il see you
cont understand the ,raftiness of the
Germans when 1t comes to discrediting
our money"
The possibility of the calling OF
special conference of international
fnanciers for the consideration of
means for the sterilization of exchange
gives 4. T. Gregory's book. Foreign
Exchange" timely interest. We rec
ommend the book especially TO peo-
pie who up to now have not been
fs.. ,.fg r,,la al. f,t
change, but who, because Of business
or other reasons, find themselves
obliged to become posted on IL and
who find il impossible to understand
the technicalitles Of heavier works,
which take a certain amount OF pre-
vious education on the subject for
granted. MIR. Gregory's book is in a
sense text book, but not an ordi-
nary one dealing with the Technology
and average uses current in foreign
exchange. IL includes all this and
goes deeper to the very root of the
causes of fluctuations, as. for instance.
the influence OF import and export.
In the chapter THE Foreign Ex-
change During the War" the author
enumerates the causes Of rising prices
during the war. not only In the coun-
tries engaged directly in II but I'm
neutral countries as we'll He also
deals with the remedies for such ills,
many OF which were applied by differ
ent countries, but without the desired
effect. for prices kept up with imitation
Of paper money which was contin-
uous necessity in the vicious circle the
war draxy around ua
However. II the reader should con-
clude that balance or trade is one
Of the most effective mediums for
the sterilization Of exchange. he might
find himself in a quandary. for all
European countries are financially in
the same inconvertible paper rut, and