Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1921-12-02
The World Peril

subject important the peace and security
OF mankind the restoration of industry reesabshmen
OF commerce than disarmament is the monetary system
world the huge accumuatons of useless gold in America
the depreciation of the of Europe and the chaos
prevailing in exchange Yet nothing has been done by the
international conference in session to solve this most
vital Of all international problems
The monetary system in has broken down, and
other system must be devised to meet the emergency
universal bankruptcy will overwhem the nations industry
be parayzed and commerce Civilization itself will
collapse
The currences of Europe becoming SO worthless that
they cannot much longer be used medium exchange
In Russia the old unit the roub formerly worth 81 CENTS
has value small that old denominations have passed
of use and 10000 5OOOO and 100000 roube have
become the change in use the Austrian crown,
formerly 70 cents is now worth hreehundedths of cent
the crown of JugoSava is worth 36 of cent the Hgar-
ian crown oneenth of cent and the lei of Rumana worth
76 of cent In Germany the mark, noinaly worth 1882
CENTS has dropped to 35 hundreds of cent In Poland the
mark is worth but three hundreds of cent
The Increase in the volume of paper currency and it's
depreciation have reacted each other causing general
in prices and cost of living and cost of government
which have been met by issuing still currency which
created still further depreciation and initiation and contnu
ing the vicious circle is only because there other
available substitute that the existing currency continues o
be used
The committee of the League of Nations has attempted
to grape with the problem by planning central bank
with note issues based gold reserve but without the
cooperation of the United States the great creditor nation
of helpless Other plans have been proposed by
American bankers for great international banking
poraton with subsidiary national banks in the several
countries, which would issue notes gold reserve which
would gradually shift business to the basis change
to gold basis from rredeemabe paper currency would
probably be welcomed by all
There is question but that many nations of Europe
are drifting into bankruptcy and concerning this probability
H. G. Wells in of his articles in the New York
World in which declares that debt is the great world peril
says:
But have not extended
whole nations
debts
VIII be under his share this burden the
debt the domestic foreign creditor
enterprises will be weighed discouraged
immense and universal encouragement
all Europe There another in
operation to
shattered economic e That is the failure
do Its work Europe cannot get work. things
has become untrusworhy
thing that is destroying civilization in the
Europe without trustworthy parayzed brain
blood She cannot act cannot
poymen impossible production
steadily toward the starvation that
satisfy their
barter is mockery The schools working
public services the teachers and doctors and officials
live upon their they starve
1t is that beginning of
disaster which Generalization bringing
the world mean the smashing of this social order in
through smashing which
extent which
parts of Eastern Europe which likely
months in which
only be arrested by the vigorous collective
validity to