The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-02-15

recently said in his book, Assign ment in Utopia. "A socialism that offers to fill the bellies of its people but retains the privilege of slitting those bellies at will is reactionary; 1t cancels out ages of struggle and costly victory in the domain of the human spirit"
 In one of the most remarkable passages in his encyclical on the reconstruction of the social order Pope Plus XI speaks of those who, because they hold and control money, are able also to govern credit and determine Its allotment, for that reason supplying, so to speak, the lifeblood to the entire economic body, and grasping, as it were, in their hands the very soul of production so that no one dare breathe against their will"
 Who controls money and governs credit? The so-called aggressor group or the so-called democratic group of nations? The gold reserves of the so-called democratic group, according to the latest World Almanac, are: England, approxi- mately $2,500,00O,O0O; France, ap- proximately $3,oOo,ooO,Ooo; Russia, $839 9,0O0, ,OOO. The gold reserves of Germany are only $27,000,000; of Italy $208,0oo,000, and of Japan, $463, 100000. Any one nation of the so-called democratic group has a greater gold reserve than all of the so-called aggressor nations.
 Our Own Gold Reserve
 The gold reserve of the United States is over $11, ,OOo, ,oO0,0 It is to be noted that there is a tripartite monetary agreement between Eng land, France and the United States, and our Secretary of the Treasury has a $2,000,000,0O0 stabilization fund at his disposal for the use of which he owes no accounting to any one, not even to Congress, save the President of the United States. And this in a democratic nation.
 In the letter of Plus XI already quoted His Holiness speaks of the use of national power in the eco- homie struggles between the nations and of economic imperialism and of international imperialism in fi- nancial affairs. According to The New York Times for January 27, Professor James H. Rogers of Yale in an address before the Women'S s Conference on National Defense said: "The three great democracies with associated countries control 80 to 85 per cent of the economic sys- tenn of the world" And at the same conference Raymond L. Buell., pres ident of the Foreign Policy ASsocia- tion, said that wisdom lies in de- veloping a common front with powers which believe in the same philosophy of government and in the same principles of international order"
 Economic Oppressors
 It would seem that the democratic nations are the capitalistic nations the gold-controlling nations, the economic and financial imperialists It would equally seem that the forthcoming conflict is not cor rectIy designated as a struggle be- tween the democracies and the ag- gressors. The more realistic descrip- ton would designate it as a struggle between the economic and financial oppreSsor nations against the ag- gressor nations.
 The ex-Premier of Belgium, Paul van Zealand, has laid down the only sure way of obtaining peace, the way of economic justice. Propa- gandists for the entrance of Ameri- ca in the forthcoming conflict or the side of the So-called democratic nations will have nothing to do with recommendations of van Zeeland but pin their hopes for world peace on the old power policy, the bal ance of power policy, the discredlteo policy which is the sure road to war There can be no peace except by international and financial ano economic justice.
 Those who are bringing the na- ton nearer and nearer to the Vor- tex of var by our alignment with the so-calied democratic nations are neither working for the good ol the American people nor for laslne peace founded on economic ane financial justice.
 (Rev) Ignatius W. Cox, s. J,
 Fordham University,
 February 10, 1938.