BANKING SYSTEM

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 25, 29 July 1932, Page 4

BANKING SYSTEM

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—l would like to comment ou two points in Mr. Grose's address on banking as reported in your columns of Friday, the 22nd July. Firstly, Mr. Grose complained of the uninformed and unintelligent criticism being levelled at the banking system to-day, and secondly he gave as his; solution; of our economic troubles the necessity for "hard work." Dealing with tho-first point of criticism; the following prominent men in England are condemning "Banking Policy" in general and the "Bank of England's" in particular: Lord Beaverbrook, Lord Tavistock, Lord Milner, Winston Chi/rchilU Sir J^ Simon, Reginald. McKenna, and scores of others. .; '..; ... ... : ..-• ;.:- ---■ Lord Beaverbrook—himself a banker fors many years—has written a series of powerful articles, which appeared in the Sunday "Express" (London) commencing in Ist May, 1932 issue. In these articles h^ roundly condemns the Bank of England policy and says inter alia: • "I, am opposed to the present banking system in ■ Great . Britain. I want to deprive the Bank of; Englandof its power to regulate money and the, price otit, to determine credit and' the-amount of it,": etc. L.; J. Ewing, writing in th'ev. "Forum 1' (America), December, 1931, quotes Sir Ohas., Addis—a director of the' Bank' of England—as. condemning "our ineffectual monetary system." . Space forbids:.more; quotations;, but prominent men (including bankers) the world over are; raising; a wave of criticism against the present banking'and monetary systems, so little" wonder 'the ripples are beginning /to lap' our shores. ■■:■',■ ■■;-,•■.: - -.> With reference.to the second point, viz., that hard work will; solve our problems. Will our leaders, political and financial, who recommend this' sovereign nostrum, please.,explain what.'the 100,000 men, women,; and:': boys out of ■ work •in this country are to work hard at. further, if hard work is such a "wonderful cureall, then why in the name of all that is fantastic do we- allow people to invent and manufacture "labour-saving" devices? Isn f it time wo compelled the Government to bring in legislation to ban the ,use of machinery of all sorts, and revert to ,the: good old days of hand labour? Certainly the sixteenth century was the fcolden age of labour and an ont-of-work in those days was "run i-" as being a sturdy rogue and a maeterless man." One could quote statistics ad lib., to show how" machinery is displacing human labour in , every country in the world; but to what end, if all the effect they have on our leaders" is to produce the worn out phrase "Work hard and all win be well." ■Innally, may I mention that our Tinancial system" is .largely governed by the Bank Charter Act of 1844, which was passed into law at a time when industry was just beginning to shake ofi the chains and shackles, of the penurious pre=coal era. The perfectly astounding progress which productive industry has made in thp last 100 years haa far out-stripped the limitations of a "monetary system" devised to suit an "age ofz-scarcity" and the day of change .is at hand. Human beings are conservative, and,bankers aro superconservative, .as wo all'know, probably with good reason; but they must realise that the world, cannot stand still. Progress is the law of evolution.—l am, etc.,

E. P. GRAHAM