TO CORRESPONDENTS

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22906, 30 December 1939, Page 5

TO CORRESPONDENTS

Owing to the necessity for conserving space no letters of more than 200 words can be accepted for publication.—Ed_ “The Press.”

C. S. Trillo.—Your letter will be referred to the Defence Department. WAR COSTS TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRESS. Sir,—Sir John Simon, in the House of Commons, said: “The present annual expenditure is already half the total income of the community.” He added that “further requirements will be considerably greater”; also, “There are 10,000 odd people whose aggregate income is £180,000,000. From that I will take £120,000,000 in income tax and surtax. If I took it all it would be 5 per cent, of the amount I need to borrow this year, and it would keep the country going for between seven and 10 days. Moreover, we take an additional £40,000.000 a year from this group in death duties, making a total of £160,000,000.” To finance the 355 to 358 days £2,400,000,000 will be borrowed. From whom? Where is it to come from? R. G. Hawtrey says that “credit originates in production and is extinguished in consumption.’ Credit, as understood by sound finance and the debt system, is utterly impossible of extinguishment. Like Topsy, (for war purposes) it grows. It does more—it grows fat—as fat as Wackford Squeers, jun., of whom Wackford senior observed to Newman Noggs, “He’s a fine fat boy, ain’t he? He has the fatness of 20 boys.” To which Newman jerked out, “Ha! the fatness of 20 boys. More. He’s got it all. God help the others. Ha! Ha!”—Yours, etc., T. POWELL. Albury, December 28. 1939.