The New York herald., 1921-04-03
Reviewed by MARGARET F. ELIOT.

No attempt will be made here to estimate
the value of this book from the standpoint of
the technical financial expert Our concern
is to know whether the book is masked in
strument of propaganda for the principal
Allied and Associated Powers or whether it
can be trusted unsuspectingly for use as
handbook of reference also it will guide us
in Judging whether future publications of the
league can be expected to be impartial. And
il the research publications of the league are
not impartial doubt will be thrown more or
less on the impartiality of the decisions OF
the Permanent Court. This book. therefore
uhe first one to be published by the League
of Nations) deserves careful examination.
II is based on the answers to a question
nare sent to twenty-five governments, some
OF them allied Powers and others not, and
was used i'm preparation for the Brussels
International Financial Conference. II has
been compiled by twenty-four authors.
named in the preface number of these
authors have German and Dutch names.
Let US compare the chapters on China and
France. China is not yet recognized as one
Of tho great Powers of the world. France is.
The chapter on China evidently was not writ
ten by patriotic citizen of that country, nor
even by an American anxious to encourage
Investment in Chinese securities. This much
at least can be said about the book. In Fact,
ii underestimates the financial possibilities
OF China. Emphasis is laid on the uncer-
tainty of currency conditions there. But as
20 France there is no uncertainty.
The book would be much improved by
summary tabing the statistics In some sort
Of homogeneous form. At present each
chapter shows the earmarks of it's particu
lar author making II difficult to draw COM
parative statistics from the book. For in
stance on page 1876 II is frankly stated that
the par rate Of exchange on London on the
4th Of February. 1920 touched 1921 u. A
month later the French exchange passed II.
but all that can he learned by careful
search through the book is that on December
O. 1919. it reached 11.SSh. Why spare the
feelings Of the French and not those Of
the English? Moreover it is an ironical
commentary on the patriotism of the writer's
tha: the low point in the English exchange
is given I'm the chapter on the United States.
Any study of currencies after the war is
incomplete which makes no mention of the
substitution of stamps for small change, yet
no mention OF this condition in France Is
made The resort to barter In such anti
Bolshevik countries as England and France
is CLOSED over. forgetting the memorial Of
eminent literary men. including Charles w.
Eliot exhorting booksellers to exchange
books at their literary value, regardless Of
currences.
The chapter on Russia w.ll repay even
The casual reader, as this information has
hitherto been extremely hard to obtain
1t is unfortunately short. hut apparently
accurate. The statement tpage 9i) that
exchange cannot he said to exist. as the
foreign trade OF Soviet Russia has come
TO stands'ili" would he more accurate II
IL read "as the foreign trade Of Soviet Rus
sia has been stopped by the blockade" One
is forced 10 smile. also. at the statement
(page 95) that Germany was forced TO hand
over this stolen gold transferred at Brest
Tltovsk) to the AHtcs for safe
custody on behalf Of a reconstructed Russia"
Utalcs ours)
II is TO be hoped that an improved edition
of the book will appear now that the Brus
sells conference is over and that departure
will be made from the present custom Of
turning what should be education into prop
aganda Apparently the only difference be-
tween tho two now Is that tho former
name is given to publications Of Dc jUrc gov
crnments, while the latter epithet is applied
to publications Of merely dc iacto govern
mcuts.