NEED FOR PUBLIC ECONOMIES

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26857, 9 October 1952, Page 9

NEED FOR PUBLIC ECONOMIES

Bank Governor’s Advice

(Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, October 8. The Governor of the Bank of England 'Mr C. F. Cobbold) today echoed the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr R. A. Butler) in calling for public economies. He said action through credit control on the borrowing and spending of individuals, firms and companies could now be much more easily outweighed than formerly by the action of the Government, local authorities, and nationalised industries. In private borrowing and spending there had been a strong and healthy reaction to Government measures, but these results were in _ danger of neutralisation by the heavy expenditure on official accounts and by the resultant necessity of borrowing for Government needs. Mr Cobbold said this was the most important question of the day for the further progress and strengthening of currency. The figures Mr Butler gave, said Mr Cobbold, showed that the storm into which they were running last winter had abated considerably. If they could reach the point where people felt that the £ might be worth more in the future they would have inflicted a defeat on inflation and won a victory for currency. He advocated a freer system of I international payments with cur-I rencies more freely exchangeable I throughout the world.