ECONOMIC OUTLOOK TO-DAY

Evening Star, Issue 18255, 20 April 1923, Page 8

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK TO-DAY

PROFESSOR V/OODTHORPE’S ADDRESS. PROSPECTS FOR STABLE MONEY. There was a largo gathering at the meeting of the W.E.A. class _in economics and finance at the University last night, when Professor Woodthorpe delivered a lecture on ‘ The Economic Outlook of To-day: A Study of the Prospects of Stable Money in Great Britain, France, and Germany. It was the first of a series of studies of the economic, financial, social, and political problems of modern Europe and the United States of America. In his lecture tho professor dealt first with three results of the war—(l) The vast increase in the amount of paper money in circulation throughout the world ; (2) the increase in the amounts of the public debts of the belligerents ; and (3) the determination of Labor lo maintain wages at a higher level than before the war, and to improve tho standard of living. He then dealt with money and credit. Hie present position of the foreign exchanges, and discussed the views of the experts as to the problem of stabilising the exchanges. After a careful analysis of (lie relations between England and the United Slates of America with regard to the war indebtedness, ho pointed out in his analysis of French and' German finance that in 1925. with an unbalanced Budget, France will have a total domestic debt of 365 billion francs, and her interest charges will be over eighteen billion francs—.almost equal to the total taxation revenue of 1921 and 1922. Having carefully examined the financial position of Germany, he stated that tho attempt to stabilise prices in Europe is impossible under the present international policy. Dr H. G. Moulton, the director of the Institute of Economics, Washington, D.C., maintains that it will be difficult to bring it about in 100 year? under our present traditional national policies. At tli© close of the lecture it was decided to meet at the University in the lower Oliver room on Thursdays, at 7.30 p.m. The subject of the next lecture will bo ‘ Gold, Money, and Prices.’