ECONOMICS AND WAR

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22424, 10 June 1938, Page 8

ECONOMICS AND WAR

VO THX EDITOE OB THX PBK&O. Sir, —The charming little parable outlined by “Analyst” in your issue of June 6 is well worth studying, as it deals with a situation which goes to the root of the deplorable diplomatic actions of the , Powers. Three outstanding instances of the principles indicated by “Analyst” are the East India Company in India, the, Hudson Bay Company in North America, and the Chartered Company of South Africa. The first-named was founded in 1600, and its exploits are well known to every student of Indian history, its territorial acquisitions culminating in the establishment of British power in India with a legacy of ill-will and suspicion into the bargain! The Hudson Bay Company was established in 1760 under charter granted by Charles II to exploit the fur trade, and eventually became incorporated in the Dominion of Canada in 1869. The history of the company is anything but agreeable, and leaves a nasty taste behind. Of the Chartered Company of South Africa a great deal could be said, and has been said by J. H. Harris in his book, “The Chartered Millions.” Its underhand machinations, finally brought Great Britain into one of the most discreditable wars ever undertaken. The late Marshal Foch, in his book, “The Principles of War,” asks: “Who was responsible for the Boer War? Certainly not the Queen of England, but the merchants of the City.” The process of “peaceful penetration,” so dear to the Western Powers, can best be undertaken by granting charters to private or semi-private companies, who invest large sums of money in foreign adventures for the purpose of exploiting the territories and peoples of these areas. In many instances the charters give almost unlimited scope to the companies, as in the case of the Hudson Bay Company, with the result that situations are created which call for interference by the Governments granting the charters. Disaffection between the exploited peoples and the compames follows; the Governments send out expeditionary forces to quieten things down, and when all hope of peaceful relations disappears, the territories are quietly annexed and the companies' become incorporated in the State responsible for granting the charter .in the first instance! The legacy of illwill, discontent, and suspicion left behind in the native population is the cause of embittered relations, and then this unjust acquisition of territory breeds international hatreds and wars! —Yours, etc., C. R. N. MACKIE. June 9, 1938.