Excerpt from Russia A first analysis discloses the very great and unusual importance of this situation to the future of this country, for it threatens with a danger that must be met and warded off, and at the same time offers a very wonderful opportunity that should stimu late the initiative of every live man in the land. The remarkable growth of the cost of production in all fields of manufacturing, the unparalleled level of wages, and the resulting high cost of living, clearly intimates how pregnant it is of disaster, and how easily present conditions may be reversed when the war is over and our new wealth rapidly drawn away, leaving only the dregs of discontent and a multitude of commercial and political difficulties. During the last two years we have rapidly expanded our manu facturing capacity, and under abnormal conditions are producing an abnormal volume at abnormal cost. We will plainly face the greatest difficulties when the foundation, the unusual demands of the warring countries, is withdrawn, and we are forced to reduce costs and market our production under renewed com petition. If we are to avoid industrial stagnation, idle plants and idle workmen, we must prepare for the shock that can be clearly foreseen as awaiting our export business when this forced buying comes to an end. Our industry in many lines is already expanded to the limit, if not beyond the limit, which our available labor can operate. The war prevents the augmentation of our labor resources by immigration, and being thus limited we cannot utilize capital in the immediate expansion of legitimate manufacturing enterprises. Tocontinue to receive gold will only create an extension of bank credits which cannot be used in our domestic situation. This can only lead to an unsound financial position. This is recognized by the Scandinavian countries and is the reason for their active discourage ment of the further importation of gold. On the other hand, if we are ambitious simply to hold the new capital derived from the war, we can expect to do so only by putting it to productive use. The parable of the talents is good financial doctrine today, and we cannot devise a napkin with which to hold the gold. We can expect to keep it only by immediately putting it to active use, and incorporating it into the com mercial capital of the world's business. The conclusion seems inevitable that the outlet for our surplus capital must be in foreign investments, and that the protection of our domestic economic situation demands this. In vestment of capital in foreign government securities in sufficient volume will protect our gold supply against the immediate effects of the inevitable reaction after the war, and at the same time will prevent an inflation of bank credits at home. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.