“WORLD IS BANKRUPT"

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12537, 2 January 1934, Page 5

“WORLD IS BANKRUPT"

BORROWED TOO MUCH. A NEW YEAR STATEMENT. (Association 5.5 p.m.) United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyr i ght. NEW YORK. December 31. Nicholas Murray Butler, as President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, issued a New Year’s statement to-day. He declared that the world is bankrupt, but “lacks the courage to face that fact and put itself into hands of a Policy Receivership.” He said that the world, through Governments, banks, business enterprises, corporations and individuals had borrowed 300 billion dollars, the greater part of which was payable in gold, of which there was less than twelve billions available, “chiefly gathered in two centres.” The whole supply of monetary gold should be placed'in a Bank of International Settlements and used only “on the books of the bank in settlement ol' international balances by the authority of the several governments.” He decried the trend towards economic nationalism. “The world’s troubles are international in their origin and extent, and cannot he cured with any completeness or permanence save through international under standing and co-opera-tion.” He declared that there was no spirit- of war in the western world, not even in Germany. The war talk was all emanating from military and naval lobbies and armament interests.