Evening star., 1933-02-26
BY WILLIAM HARD.

sees as the new Presidents first task the
re-establishment Of some sort Of eco
nomic unity in the so-called family of
nations"
It is easy to surmise the tone of the
conversations that have just taken
place between Mr. Roosevelt and the
returning British Ambassador, Sir Rom
aid Lindsay. Virtually all nations in
the world are In a condition of eco
nomic secession from mankind. More
over, in each nation there are strongly
backed proposals for further and more
drastic secessionary measures.
In Sir Ronald's own nation there Is
an important and influential element
which desires and advocates a perma
nent secession from the international
gold standard. It is the international
gold standard-or, conceivably, an in
ternational gold and silver standard
that establishes the links which bind
the prices Of commodities in the vari-
GUS countries Of the world into q toler-
able and workable worldwide trading
system. The United States Government,
Roosevelt, Is ardently insistent upon the
restoration and retention Of such q
standard. In Britain there Is power
full agitation for British withdrawal
from it, and for the creation-under
British tnspiration-of a "bloc" of
countries which will defy gold and silver
and which will operate under a system
Of managed" paper currencies, led and
dominated by sterling.
~ X
New momentum has just been given
to such plans by Sir Basil Blackett, one
~ nv{k tv,te 4,.~
eminent financial authorities. He was for
treasury. He is now q director N dis
tinguished British industrial enterprises.
He is also director of the Bank of
England itself. Out of the very heart
of that bank, so long a synonym for
gold and for economic world unity, Sir
Basil now lifts his voice for the division
OF the world into a fragment which
will rest on gold and fragment which
will rest on paper.
Essentially he proposes to isolate the
United States and France into a pre-
carious leadership Of the countries tied
to gold. China he sets aside as pc
culiarly and permanently silver country
Russia he also sets aside as country
dedicated to special and extremely Sc
cessionist monetary ideas. Germany and
certain countries to the south of 1t he
brilliantly and veraciously describes as
being today not on the gold standard, u
but on the Insolvency gold standard II
They hoard gold. They do not freely
make payments in it. In these circum-
stances Sir Basil sees a resplendent op-
portunity for Britain.
At the International Monetary and
Economic Conference next Summer the
British delegates should ask the Ameri-
can and French delegates to abandon
their present monetary systems and to
adopt managed currencies." Sir Basil
assumes-accurately- their answer
would be in the negative. He would
then have the British government pro-
coed to organize group Of countries to
which managed currencies" would be
acceptable; and to this group he gives
the glamorous prospective territorial
title Of "Sterlingaria."
"Sterlingara" would include Britain
and India and all the British colonies"
and almost all of the British "domin-
ions" 1t would include Egypt and
Iraq. 1t would incluGe many South
American countries. It would aim at
including the Scandinavian countries.
~ WOu1o- ~ WClC- aAAAlSA OtAA OC4ACl
countries, here and there and anywhere,
as opportunity offered. It would be a
new British monetary empire, of free
and severally independent countries, In
deed, but with Britain as its pivot and
with London as its capital.
One cannot too much admire the pas
sion of empire which at London, when
military measures no longer avail, turns
itself to monetary ones. Additionally
one Is obliged to admit-and it is in
creasingly admitted at Washington
that the commercial policy of the
United States furnishes large justif1ca-
ton to proposals for withdrawing from
the circle Of the gold standard and for
erecting a new international co-opera-
tive principaltty outside of 1t.
That stiflcation-without of course,
any mention of the United States by
name-is amply set forth In the recent
draft annotated agenda" prepared by
the commission of experts" for the In
ternational Monetary and Economic
Conference to which American delegates
will soon be appointed by Mr.. Roosevelt.
This draft annotated agenda" is in
reality an economic analysis Of the
present posture of the world and an
economic forecast of the steps which the
world should take In the International
Monetary and Economic Conference In
order to regain its equilibrium. Ap-
pended to 1t are the signatures not only
Of authorized foreign experts, but Of
authorized and officially governmentally
appointed American experts Ed
mund e. Day and Mr.. John H. VIII
liams.
II
In their report all these experts, for
eign and American, unanimously hold
that no international monetary stand
ard can be universally re-established
without q vigorous resumption Of In
ternational trade. They further hold
that such o resumption Of international
trade Is impossible in the face Of exf
asting trade barriers. In the forms d