VOL. 10. No. I Registered a.t G.P.O. &I B. Newspaper.Poataia 'home ..nd abroad)' lei. FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1939 3d WEEKLY

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS:

THE PUBLIC INTERESTBy Arthur Brenton

. ON THIS EARTH-By Nicholas Mere

NON-PRODUCTION INDUSTRYBy Edward P. Kaye

THE BRITISH WON'T REBELBy G.W.L. Day

THE LANDBy Richard Kenward

SLAVERY-ANCIENT AND MODERNBy R.L.D.

SOCIAL CREDITERS AND THE PRESSBy Brian Reed

NEWS • VIEWS • COMMENTARY

Page 2 SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

Food fo.- -th.eStar,~iugScope for a United World Effort

WHY SHOULD NOT THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS ENLIST THE HELP OFEVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD ON THE ONE THING EVERYONE

EVERYWHERE WOULD AT ONCE AGREE TO SUPPOl\T?

IN Spain war has been raging for two-and-a-half years, and the civilian

population is suffering privation,Food and all the ordinary comforts of

life are short.Shops in the great towns like Barce-

lona are empty; queues of shivering, half-starved people line up for rations thatmean only slow starvation.

Meantime other countries are wrestlingwith the problem of too much plenty-ofhow to increase their exports-of what todo with their surpluses.

Well, why not send them to Spain?Already a plan has been announced bythe Acting Secretary of State for theU.S.A., Mr. Sumner Welles, to supplyAmerican surplus wheat for distributionimpartially to both sides in Spain.

The Surplus Commodities Corporationwill sell wheat to the American Red Crossat a nominal price, and it will be trans-ported as ballast free .of charge by vesselsowned by the United States MaritimeCommission.

The Commodities Corporation has500,000 bushels of wheat available, repre-senting 100,000 barrels of flour a monthfor the next five months; and by that timeplenty more could be available.

Since August the American Red Cross,using the Society of Friends' Service Com-mittee as. its agents in the field, has distri-buted 60,000 barrels of flour to women,children and other civilian Tefugees onboth sides in Spain. The Red Cross also

FO'REIGN STAMPSA Source of Revenue

T'!:IOSE of our readers who live abroad---especially in the British Colonies-

or who receive letters from abroad, are'.requested to collect and send to us thestamps from the envelopes.

Those who are in a position to makeoffice collections are specially asked toco-operate.

Don't attempt to dismount the stamps;just tear off the corner of the envelopeand port the accumulation periodically.

Small quantities or even odd stampsenclosed with correspondence are verywelcome.

Pictorials and high values are speciallydesirable,

Post to:SOCIAL CREDIT SECRETARIAT LTD.,

163A Strand,London, W.C.:z

arranged for the distribution of surpluscoffee from Brazil.

Mr. Sumner Welles has expressed thehope that other countries with surplusagricultural stocks would give them, so asto prevent "widespread starvation anddisease."

It should be noted that this is not anappeal for money-which means sacrificeof purchasing power that ought properlyto be spent in the home market for homebenefit-but for the good use of surl?lusesrather than their destruction or restrictionas at present.

Besides agricultural food, there arc sur-pluses of many other kinds at presentembarrassing the industrial countries.Everywhere there are manufacturers whoare seeking markets so that they may pro-duce more.

While this state of affairs persists, it iswrong to let anyone go short. And inSpain to-day there is a want: which all

•In Spain

humanity, all over the world, would liketo fulfil.

Of course, JIVe,in Britain, have our owndistressed areas and our slums, wherepoverty is acute; but these are our ownprivate affairs. In Spain there is distresswhich the whole world views with com-passion, and to relieve which the wholeworld would gladly unite.

If all the nations were to begin pouringinto Spain all their surpluses, seekingnothing in return, they would not onlysolve their own chief problem of exportmarkets, but they would also accomplishan act of universal pacification.

In Spain there would soon be such abun-dance for the people that they would loseall desire to fight one another, preferringto enjoy the plenty that was theirs.

Throughout the world, the chief cause ofinternational friction-the struggle toexport in excess of imports - would beremoved.

Surely here is a proper function for theLeague of Nations? But if the Leaguemisses the opportunity, no, nation needwait, any more than the U.S.A. is waiting.

I1\ITIATION... He glanced at the titles of Jim Culley's bookJets. One caught his eye -

"The Right to be Lazy," translated into English from the French of one PaulLafargue. . .. He read it again, then put it aside and looked at the ceiling.

The right to be lazy I The right I . .. as if the Holy Ghost Himself had comePodgornik understood the brochure only over with me. I decided that I'd neverin spots, and these were far apart; but as work again-that is, hold down a job likeremotely as he perceived the writer's argu- I used to for twelve or fifteen years. I'd bement, he experienced an inner excitation. lazy I Let the others work; they didn'tA vague thnll passed through his entrails. know any better. I laughed out loud.In view of the arduousness and grimness Agnes came in, wondering if I had goneof his labours in the past and the loss of crazy or what. I told her to get to the hellhis savings on two occasions, the philo- out, shut the door, and let me alone. I wassophy 01 laziness struck him as very a bit surprised at my own boldness, talkingcharming and worthy of one's thoughtful to her that way, and laughed some more.consideration. His labours, he suddenly She was sure I had lost my mind and forrealised, had been unproductive for him- a while treated me not alone with caution,self of any beneficial results: here he lay, but with genrleness,"-From "Laughingan old man at forty-four, tired, his body in the Jungle," by Louis Adamic.broken, his savings gone. No wonder behad lost his money; no wonder a femalebusybody could get him locked up lorthree and a half days for carrying upsidedown a turkey that had been raised to bekilled and eaten I He was stupid. His end-less labours had made him stupid, a fitobject upon which crooks and busybodiesmight practise their arts.

Suddenly he rebelled against work.Later he told me: "1 was so keyed up

'over this new notion that I sat up and feltno pain in my injured parts, although Iwas not supposed to move violently. Mymind seemed to be flooded with a light-

••••••••Good Work! •••••••••••••••••

We wish to express appreciationto the unknown individual whocollected five subscriptions whiehwere received in this office lastSaturday, followed by another fourreceived last Monday. Thank you.

The editor also gratefully acknow-ledges letters of appreciation fromH.T., Nottingham; G.M., NewYork; E.H., Amersham; M.E., of LeVesinet; and G.R., Kennington.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939 Page 3

COMMENTARYThe Greater Shame

IT is reported in the press that the Cer-man housewife is finding great difficulty

in buying coal because at me shortage ofsupplies owing to the demands at thearmament industry.

There is no need for superior sneers inthis country. We have plenty of coal, butmany people cannot buy it owing to lackof money-a much greater disgrace.

A Change for the Worse"It has been decided to transform

Zwiebacks, Vienna's principal women'sdress shop, in the Karnerstrasse, into theheadquarters of the Vienna City SavingsBank."-Daily Telegraph, December 30,1938.

From a dress shop into a debt shop.

A Square Meal ~After all the banker-inspired ballyhoo

about a "Square Deal" for the railways,it is wholesome to hear the commonsenseI~emand of the National UnemployedWorkers' Movement' for a "square mealnow."

In "free" Britain those who cannot getwork have no statutory right to live.

Incidentally, it is interesting to note thequickness with which the Governmentdecided to meet to discuss how they couldhelp the railways (not merely whetherthey would help them) compared with theindifference to the starving unemployed.Evidently this is another instanoe where itis "quicker by rail," or perhaps it was a

-> Help the Movement ;tNOW!

_> With actual Money Saving <_

Wholesale Price tof Social Crediters and 3d.~per lb. sent to Social Credit <-

Funds

FINEST TEA3 f2 Choice Ceylon for 2/63/- "Indian and Ceylon" for 2/42/10 Choice Coffee for 2/2

10 lbs. Carriage Paid5 lbs., 4d. extra for carriage

-> £hota Bazri Tea£o.~Ltd.

33 Moorfields, Liverpool j

wire pulled by one of the bank nomineeson the railways' boards of drectors,

Goodwill Not EnoughMr. Elliott Roosevelt, second son of the

President, has sharply criticised Mexicofor .. expropriaung " American oilproperties.

'W here do the "good neighbour," "good-will," "democracy" and all the othercatchwords come ill? When it comes to aquestion of money, the "democratic" and"dictatorship" countries are much thesame. Why shouldn't they be? Theyare both governed by the same WorldDictawr-lnternational Finance.

The Mexicans are to be congratulatedon striking a blow against this arch-enemy. Alter all, if the Mexicans cannotown the minerals of their own soil, whereis their country?

Money Squeeze"Year-End Money Squeeze in Lombard

Street."-.Newspapcr headune,Lombard Street is Iucky=-elsewhere, in

the Hign Streets at England, the moneysqueeze lasts all round the calendar-though it's a bit worse just after Christ-mas and the summer holidays.

Funnily enough, though we've heard oflemon squash and straWberry jam, we'venever heard of a bread squeeze or a buttersqueeze. There's plenty of bread andbutter, but we can't buy more because ofthe eternal. money squeeze.

.Beauty Thwarted"Design," by Anthony Bertram

(Pengwn Books, 6d.) shows how lovelyour homes could be.

The rat-ridden basement and thehideous bungalow are unnecessary.

Our England was a garden until "soundfinance" started turning it into a desert.

Social Credit will abolish Ugliness inthe midst of Beauty.

Holiday HauntsDuring the Christmas holidays, Sir John

Anderson (A.R.P.) planned to go Switzer-land, Sir Kingsley Wood (Air) to theSouth of France, Mr. Hore-Belisha(Army) to the Riviera, Lord Runcimanwas on the Isle of Eigg, West Scotland,Sir Thomas Inskip (Co-ordination ofDefence) at Portpatrick, Scotland.

The hungry remained as usual in theDistressed Areas.

France Holds Up Life"Snow Holds .Up Bacon."-Newspaper

headline.It is generally lack of money that holds

up the bacon from reaching our barnes,but the more common cause of difficultyin distribution does not hit the headlines.Can you guess why?

PRICE OF GASINt;REASED

What To Do About ItTHE South Metropolitan Gas Company

has just announced an increase inthe price of gas. Little more than a weekago the Gas Light and Coke Companyannounced that their gas would beincreased by ~d. a therm on March 1.

Nearly halt a million consumers in anarea of fifty-two square miles covered bythe South Metropolitan Gas Company areto have the price of their gas increased by'40d. per therm-from 9·3Sd. to 9.7Sd.-from the first meter readings afterJanuary 15.

The company say the increase is due to"the further and substantial increase inthe cost of coal with which the companyis faced."

The Daily Express, in drawing atten-tion to this un welcome news, remindsreaders that last year, almost to the day,the company announced an increase oftwo-fifths of a penny per therm "owingto the successive and substantial rise inthe costs of labour and materials."

There were protests against the increaseby local authorities in the area, who heldthat it was not justified and that figureson which the increase was based shouldbe furnished.

• • •If the ratepayers were to press, through

their councillors, tor the figures-all thefigures-showing how costs we~e built up,they would probably find that ordinaryshareholders, investors of hard-earnedsavings, got quite a small proportion, butthat debenture holders, i.e., mostly banksand financial houses, whose money costnothing to create got quite a largeproportion. .

The matter would be well worth lookinginto. An inquiry might lead to muchcheaper gas without penalising ahyone.Figures don~t always tell the truth.

S'OCIAL CREDITCENTRE

163A. Strand, London, w...C.2

•Thursday, January 12

8 p.m.

Address by

Mr. Jas. Ed. lukeon

"The Abolition ofChattel Slavery"

Page -4 SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

CO~IEn Y OF ERRORS

"THE PUBLIC INTEREST~'Do you appreciate poetry? Listen I

And that inverted system - soundfinance,

While underneath, crawling, cooped,we live or die,

Lift not thy hands to it for help,For it rolls complacently over thou

and 1.This is a verse from a poem printed in aSocial Credit journal in Australia. Thepoet apologises to Omar Khayyam for hisadaptation. Purists may consider thatapologies were needed; but never mindthat; the author's fine disdain for rules isappropriate to his theme. Down withdiscipline and up with individuality.

• • •The followinQ interlude in the House

of Commons is interesting and significant.It occurred in connection with a motionallowing the Speaker to call Parliamenttogether if need be "in the public interest."Mr. David Adams raised the point:"What is 'the public interest'?" and askedfor a ruling from the Speaker. OtherMembers asked the same question, butthe Speaker was not to be drawn. AndMr. Chamberlain, when appealed to, said"I do not think I can give any answer toit." No wonder. Even High Courtjudges do not know what it is, except, asone of them remarked on a certainoccasion, that it is somethin~ whoseinvocation must be accepted with greatcaution by the Bench. Of course, weinitiates into the mysteries of the credit-system know what it is-or what is hiddenin it-namely, the badkers' interest.Significantly enough, the most impertinent I

invocation of it known to me came fromthe mouth of a barrister who was defend-ing one of the London joint-stock banksin an action where a Mr. Leon Franklinbrought a claim to recover £450,000,000in respect of (as he said) the appreciationof some German marks which he acquired,Counsel for the bank submitted to rhejudge that it was not in the public interestfor tbe impression to be spread round chatthis bank (or any bank) could possiblyincur liabilities of those dimensions. (SeeThe New Age of June 4, 1931, for the fullfacts and comments.) Yet, apparently, itis altogether in the public interest for theimpression to get round that the Govern-ment has liabilities of £7,000 millions andno assets but the purses of the taxpayer.And that is curious, because what theGovernment owes everybody owes,whereas what a bank owes is the concernof its shareholders only-if it ever becomestheir concern, for banks enjoy the privi-leg<!of creating the means of dis..:htrgingtheir debts. a privilege denied to Govern-ments, It is here we come upon the realcause why the "public interest" is as

By Arthur Brentonelastic a concept as is the "Constitution"itself. Being unwrit it carl be writ up tosuit the book of High Finance.

• • •In these notes on December 16 (p. 4,

col. 2) reasons were given and discussedwhy "scandals" regarding our unprepared-ness during the September crisis aresettled out of court, so to speak. Theultimate reason, it was pointed out,· wasthat the official respondents to the chargesof inefficiency could pass the responsi-bility upwards until it rested on theTreasury. As if to underline what. wassaid then the writer of The Londoner'sDiary in the Evening Standard of Decem-ber 28 says this:

"I hear that Mr. Hore-Belisha hasgained an unexpected ally in his dis-pute with the junior Ministers who haverevolted against his administration ofthe War Office. His new supporter ishis own leader, Sir John Simon . . . SirJohn has realised that Mr. Hore-Belisha would not go without ....making his own case to the full, andthe War Minister's case would not bea counter-attack on the junior Ministersbut a flank attack upon the Treasuryand Sir John Simon.

"For it is an integral part of Mr.Hore-Belisha's defence for the shortageof modern anti-aircraft guns that hehas had to contend with a financialstringency imposed on him by Sir JohnSimon." (My italics.)

The writer finishes by saying that Mr.Hore-Belisha and Lord Strathcona can'tboth remain at the War Office and thatthe first-named will probably have to go-not from the Government, but "only... to another office."

Could you have a more detailed con-firmation of the alibi-theory set forth inthese notes twelve days previously? Thejunior Ministers attack the War Minister,who threatens to attack the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer, who could (if he chose)attack the Treasury, which could (if itchose) attack the Bank of England. Theidentity of the -Treasury with the Bankis established on the testimony of Mr.Montagu Norman himself whichdescribed them as "Tweedledum andTweedledee." Probably Mr. Hore-Belishais content to be transferred to anotheroffice, but riot to be deprived of officealtogether without stating his case. If so,he is acting reasonably, for doubtless hewould be honestly imr.ressed by repre-sentations that it was 'not in the publicinterest" to ventilate scandals, and thatthe recognised doctrine of collectiveresponsibility allowed him to withhold hisdefence without compromising his pres-tige. And, for all one .can tell, the con-

sideration may have had weight that itwouldn't do to hand out polemical ammu-nition to Social Credit propagandists.'

• • •With reference to the mention of the

circumstance that it. was junior Ministerswho revolted against the War Minister,there is something of importance to sayabout this. Just after the LabourGovernment was evicted and the firstNational Government was established(1931), The Times published a leadingarticle in which it declared that Under-Secretaries (i.e., junior Ministers) wouldhave to assume much sreater responsibili-'ties for the admirustration of theirDepartments than in the past. Itannounced as the reason the fact that thewhole of the attention of CabinetMinisters would have to be devoted to theproblem of preserving the financialstability of the country. This statementwas duly recorded and discussed in TheNew Age at the time, and the referencecan be looked up if any reader wants it.It will be seen that this was virtuallyannouncing that Cabinets would work inThreadneedle Street while sub-Cabinetslooked after thi'ngs in Downing Street.The only relationship between a CabinetMinister and his Department was that offinancial supervision, and the job of thejunior Minister was to administer theDepartment as best he could within thelimits of expenditure assigned to him.That is what the announcement meant-because it manifestly couldn't have meantanything else.

Very well. To students of Social Creditit will be obvious that the course of eventssince that time must have created tensionsin the Departmental zones - tensionsarising out of the conflict between tech-nical efficiency and financial economy.Previously each senior Minister wouldendeavour to extract generous appropria-tions for his Department from the Chan-ceUor of the Exchequer (the Bankers'Minister, as Snowden called himself). Inso doing he would have his junior Ministerbacking him. The two had one respon-sibility. But the change announced byThe Times drove a wedge between thesenior and junior Ministers. It detachedthe senior from the junior, and unitedhim with the Chancellor of theExchequer. As one might say, everysenior Minister became a non-Depart-mental agent of the Treasury exactly asis the Chancellor. Thus e,ery juniorMinister had, in effect, to fight his ownsenior on the question of appropriations,instead of fighting with him for them.Thus senior Ministers as a body becameconductors of lightning that otherwisewould have struck directly at the Chan-

SOCIAL CREDIT. January 6, 1939 Page 5

O~ STl"LEcellar and the Treasury. The lightningis, here, the irritation of technicians (theDepartmental staffs with the juniorMinisters now exerting their function) atthe financial restrictions placed on theexercise of their technique.. . '.

The foregoing must not be taken as adescription of personal conflicts but ratheran indication of the consequences logicallyto be expected from a strict applicanon ofthe change announced by The Times.How strictly it has been applied has to beguessed. But that it represents therequirements of Treasury policy, and thatit has been applied to some extent thereis 'no room for doubt.

• • •This being assumed, it accounts fully

for the phenomenon of the "revolt ofUnder-Secretaries" (as The Week termsit) and also for the fact that this revoltwas focussed on one single Minister.Energy flies to points. And it was Mr.Hore-Belisha's bad luck to be the pointselected. The circumstances of the crisismade him, as War Minister, the, tallestlightning-conductor; and so he it was whoattracted all to himself the currents ofdiscontent generated among the hamperedand baffied technicians of all the Services."Treasury stringency" (as the EveningStandard's diarist describes it) is felt inall the Departments at all times, and itseffects normally tolerated amidst profanewhispers. But the September war-scaredeceived everybody, including those whoshould have known better. Permanentofficials at' the War Office (whom onewould expect to be "in the know") appearto have been certain in their own mindsthat "war to-morrow" (as they told con-tractors) was certain, H they, then all.Naturally, therefore, the shortage of anti-aircraft guns exploded the dormant dis-content just spoken of, and before thoseofficials who harboured them stopped tothink of the real reason for the shortage.In their every-day life what is the firstthing they think of when their Depart-ments are charged with incompetence?Money. Shortage of money, with itsfrustration of initiative, its disruption ofefficiency. That is Reason No. I foreverything that goes wrong. Yet they donot appear to have thought of that con-cerning Mr. Hore-Belisha's Department.That gentleman, not being a banker, can'tmanufacture money for guns; and, notbeing a superman, can't browbeat theTreasury.

• •• •

These reflections suggest that there hasbeen a deeper cause for the explosion thanthe wirepulling of jealous politicians ordisappointed contractors. And if so, thetheory here formulated is at least tenableenough to be noted for verification orotherwise later on. Maybe the wish isfather to the thought, but according tothe logical iml?lications of the Social

. Credit analysis in the field of politicalpolicy and administration signs are dueto show themselves that the loyalties ofpublic .servants to the policies that they

are obliged to implement have becomestrained. And it is possible that the revoltagainst the War Minister is ta revolt, inits incipient stage, against the policy ofthe Money Monopoly. At any momenta scandal may arise which cannot belocalised and silenced. Suspicions ofFinance today may become subpoenas toFinance tomorrow. We'll see the bankerin the box for all-in cross-examination.

• • •The Week discussed the alignment of

forces in international affairs on thefollowing basis: New York, London andParis against Berlin, Rome and Tokyo.Since, in that publication, and also in theFleet Street Letter, more space is nowbeing given to financial negotiations, weI!lay probably see the alignment describedin the more realistic terms: Dollars,Sterling and Francs against Marks, Liraand Yen. Stated in this way, somehow orother the three autocracies don't lookquite so formidable as when referred toby the cities which they make their head-quarters. Mr. Chamberlain recently madea pointed reference to our "financialstrength." And in the Fleet Street Letterthe comment appears that Hitler hasnatural grounds for fearing that Mr.Chamberlain may "seduce" the Duce witha large loan, and that the Duce may"betray the Axis." The same publicationmentions a British loan to support theShanghai dollar, and describes this as theanswer to Japan's attempt to substitutea paper yen. In explains that China has60,000 guerillas in the Lower Yangtsealone. These have to rely on local sup-port which, in turn, depends on theirreintroducing the Shanghai dollar.wherever they go. This shows howmoney can be used for "appeasement" bythe indirect process of redressing balancesof military power. Money has the lastword.

WATER SUPPLY INRURAL DISTRI{;TSThe Minister of Health, Mr. Walter

Elliot, opening the Dunmow Rural DistrictCouncil water scheme at Thaxted yester·day, said that over 750,000 houses hadbeen built since the war in rural districts,of which one-third had earned Govern-ment subsidies which already amountedto £40,000,000. The Government's ruralwater grant of £ 1,000,000 had stimulatedschemes costing nearly £8,000,000, with theresult that two-thirds of the rural parishesand threequarters of the rural populationin England and Wales now enjoyed, orwould s~on enjoy, piped water supplies.-"The Times" December 20. '"

In order to enjoy their water, many willhave to forego food or clothes or warmthso that they can pay the increased ratesdemanded to meet the interest and othercharges on the £8,000,000 spent.

This [8,000,000' was, however, createdout of nothing by the banks, and sacrificesby anyone, therefore, seem to be wrong.

Men have a respect for scholarship andlearning gready out of proportion to theuse they commonly serve. We are amusedto read how Ben Jonson engaged that thedull masks with which the royal familyand nobility were to be entertained shouldbe "grounded upon antiquity and solidlearning." Can there be any greaterreproach than an idle learninp? Learn tosplit wood, at least. The necesSltyof labourand conversation with many men andthings to the scholar is rarely well remem-bered; steady labour with the hands, whichengrosses the attention also, is unquestion-ably the best method of removing palaverand sentimentality out of one's style, bothof speaking and writing. If he has workedhard from morning till night, though hemay have grieved that he could not bewatching the train of his thoughts duringthat time, yet the few hasty lines whichat evening record his day's experience willbe more musical and true than his freestbut idle fancy could have furnished. Surelythe writer is to address a world of,labourers, and such therefore must be hisown discipline. He will not idly dance athis work who has wood to cut and cordbefore nightfall, in the short days ofwinter; but every stroke will be husbandedand ring soberly through the wood, andso will the strokes of the scholar's pen,which at evening record the story of theday, ring soberly, yet cheerily, on the earof the reader long after the echoes of hisaxe have died away. The scholar may besure that he writes the tougher truth forthe calluses on his palms. They givefirmness to the sentence. Indeed, the mindnever makes a great and successful effortwithout a corresponding energy of thebody. We are often struck by the forceand precision of style to which hard-working men. unpractised in writing, easilyattain when required to make the effort.As if plainness, and vigour, and sincerity,the ornaments of style, were better learnedon the farm and in the workshop than inthe schools. The sentences written by suchrude hands are nervous and tough, likehardened thongs. the sinews of the deer,or the roots of the pine.

-s-T'horeau."A Week O1t the Concord."

"WHAT'S WRONGWITH THE WORLD?"

By G.W.L. Day1$.

FROM PUBLICATIONS DEPT ••I61A. STRAND, .W.C.2

A RealistA great astronomer once remarked to

a friend: "To the astronomer, man is aninfinitesimal dot in an infinite universe."

"Ah I" said. his friend, "but man is stillthe astronomer."

Page 6

------------------------------

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

ON THIS EARTHTact and Good Ta~te

IT was undoubtedly a graceful gestureon the part of the Income Tax

authorities to time their notice of the firstinstalment to arrive on Christmas Eve. Itwas no doubt made to synchronise withthe public's good .pennorth of newspaper-nearly all adverusement for food, drinkand laxatives. A Social Crediter willnever permit himself or herself anythingbut a laugh at the stupidity of a systemthat, in the instance before us, says,"Spend freely and Save for Taxes." Whythe system produces these conundrumsmay be thrown casually as a question toour opponents; .we could tell' them ~hatto say from their book of orthodoxy, andalso give them the real answer. Shall weburst into song?

An Income Tax demand,Is worth two in the bush,If put in the handBefore the Christmas rush.We are the quick detectors,We are the Banks' collectorsOf all them there notes-So with no quips or rueings,Hand over the doings.

There is no copyright, and above maybe sung in Pantomime or at mayoralbanquets.

PerspicacityAn observant writer of "The Londoner's

Diary" thinks that the half-finishedtrenches in St. James's Park looked moremelancholy than ever beneath a pall ofsnow. He also states ·that piles of costlytimber rot beside them. This informa-tion is very useful, and goes to prove thatthe writer does keep his eyes open. TheSocial Credit !iuggestion about the matteris, of course, for navvies to fill them inwith tea-spoons - it would make morework. But, even better, if fish-kniveswere used instead of tea-spoons the jobwould take longer time. As for the realreasons why they were dug in the firstplace, we might know them in twentyyears' time. .And no reader of this paperwill refer me to newspapers or the speechesof prominent men for the bed-rock, down-right, stark explanation.

Old EnglandAt Ewell, Surrey, and High Wycombe,

there is opposition to the building ofshops and flats. These buildings arespeculations; some acres of good countryare clamped in with bricks and tarredroads, and the emigrant to Australia canmake himself a shack when he gets there.Why not make a better job of it thanMussolini and develop parts of Australiawith good houses; the only sensible' wayof preserving the country is by makingtowns fit to live in.

Is He For Social Credit?~What may be a gleam of hope, or signsof an idea penetraung the minds of thosewho have power in the destinies of nations,appeared in the Evening Standard onDecember 20. The Right Han. A. DuffCooper, D.S.O., M.P., in reviewing a book,"The Totalitarian State Against Man,"writes as follows:

It is possible to abolish poverty andslavery in the modern world not by old-fashioned theories of Socialism but bymodern methods of production. Technicalknowledge provides the !ley to improvedconditions. Owing to the inventions ofscience, .man can now produce all that heneeds in abundance, without working forhours and in conditions which render lifeintolerable.

Readers of SOCIALCREDITwill do well toremember this of the Right Han. A. DuffCooper. We can prorruse him, withoutbeing a prophet, the finest satisfaction inhis life, if he is in earnest, and the ~reatestfollowing of any Member of Parliament.There are farmers, engineers and sea-far-ing men who know that the one way ofabolition of poverty is their mutual salva-tion. It is by the National Dividend, andhe can take it further than the meremention of it in an evening paper; he canhave the intelligent half of England at hisback, for the National Dividend isNational in every sense. In its applicationthere is injustice to none. Any reader inhis constituency should note this, con-gratulate the writer of it, and with theturning of the sun for a new year, addanother Man to the number of those whohave found out the hoodwinkings of thepeople of England and the Empire.

More Support forSir William Crawford

In his defence of the advertising pro-fession and the British Press, help comesto him by the barrow-load. You willremember that he described as "perniciousnonsense" allegations made by Mr. Wick-ham Steed that advertisers ~ersuadededitors to "tone down" depressing news,It would seem that the Press have beennettled and they have taken up a "We'llshow you" attitude. Get ready then for arefutation of any " toning down.""1,500,000 to pay more for gas." "Fivedie with Cold." "Colder-more die,"-and so on, But if there is any more proofwanted that the defender of the Press ismore than right-look at the faces of thepeople in railway carriages who read thepapers. And then decide, that as long asthere is breath in your body, you willstand up for yourself and for yourmentally and physically exploited Englishcountrymen. This time you will have thefacts of Social Credit to help you - andgood luck to your quarter-staff.

A' House to Live InA mass mortgage strike against building

societies is threatened on Morden ParkEstate. Mrs. Elsie Borders, who addressedthe members of the Morden Park Resi-dents' Association, in the course of herspeech said:

"If we win, it means our propertiesare not mortgaged to the buildingsocieties, and we' have to pay no moreto them as long as we live. It is notquite so good as it sounds-(Iaughter)-as we shall have to pay somebody. Ifour houses are not mortgaged to thebuilding society it may be they are mort-gaged to the builder, but not as a debtwith interest, and so we should probablysave fifty per cent. that way."

The lady, it would appear, can well lookafter herself, and knows her own case. Acorrespondent in the local paper, full ofthe wrong kind of good cheer in a boutwith money, writes as follows:

"The Morden borrowers will be welladvised to follow the advice to call offthe strike, as they are bound to lose inthe long run. Even if the High Court,the Court of Appeal and the House ofLords decide in their favour, the fightwill not be over. Parliament will bevirtually compelled to pas~ a shortamending Act, legalising extra-normaladvances in conjunction with a guaran-tor's cash collateral security."

The last part of the last sentence oughtto be written in letters of gold; it does notsound as if it had anything at all to dowith human beings or this world.

Making WorkAny suggestion is better than none. In

America, where the people are so clever,it is reported that zipp fasteners are beingused for sausages. By the time thesewords are in print, bananas in Englandmay be wrapped in cellophane. Zippfasteners for bananas would create a freshindustry, besides making the banana lastlonger--'-half today to be eaten, and halftomorrow.

That Cold SpellBy request this was specially delivered,

and no doubt it has sent up the sale ofovercoats. It has also sent up the stockof mineral waters held by a shopkeeper;the stock exploded. Also the cold spellmade a slump in trade with entertain-ment. In addition, plumbers were busy,but as there is no double-entry system forthe householder, he must pay up and lookpleasant - and think of the number ofovercoats sold. And if he can't see theballoney, he had better look at it standingon his head; he might see it the right wayup then.

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939 Page 7

Happy New YearOr what the Press thinks the public

wants, or what the Press thinks the publicought to want, or-well, write some morevariations for yourself. Evening Standard,front page, January 2, 1939:

Gibraltar 'Sea Battle. ,Tory Muddle in Norfolk: Party H.Q.

Back Liberal. "'London Mystery of Woman Found

Strangled.Flogging: K.C.'s Attack on the Home

Secretary.Dearer Flour.M. Daladier Flourishes a Corsican

Dagger.This should be good news for those whothink the Press guilty of "toning down"depressing news. Not on your life, boy ICan you see in the items any signs ofpeace, security, a share of plenty, or pen-sions at fifty?

AdviceThe Evening Standard, January 2, in its

leading article, advises its readers to "Stickto Old Moore" for 1939 events. We ~ug-'gest that its next advice to its readers be,"Stick to your Pennies" and get Alice inWonderland out of the Free Library.

NICHOLASMERE

Italy~sExpandingAgriculture

An exhibition of land reclamation wasopened in Rome by Signor Mussolini onDecember 22. The Times correspondents.ays i:I:iat the exhibition demonstrates theresults achieved during the ten years sincethe introduction of the Mussolini "Integral.Land-Reclamation Act" of 1928, for thefull ap(llication of which 14 years and anexpenditure of over seven milliard Lire(about £77,000,000 at current rates) wereforeseen. It is divided into 14 sections andprovides a picture of every phase of thevast work which has been carried out toturn waste land to useful purposes Theexhibits include an irrigation canal witha new type of pump in action, machineryused in drainage schemes, models ofpeasant houses and villages, and detailsof afforestation schemes and of the activi-ties of the migration board.

The impressive contribution which theMussolini Act has already made to theeconomy of the country can be gau!!;edfrom the fact that under it more than6,000,000 acres of land-or about 18 percent. of the former total cultivated area-have been reclaimed and rendered fertile,an extra 12,000,000 quintals added to thewheat crop, and the cattle increased by500,000 head.

This is a constructive achievement,benefiting the Italian people in their ownhomeland, and has been steadily proceed ..in~ while in Great Britain we have per-muted thousands of acres of good land togo 'out of cultivation.

Nou'-Production IndustryBy Edward P. Kaye

YES, that's the correct titlel Do you know what it means? WeU, read anextract from this month's Murphy Review. It is headed "Funny Finance":

and even some of the fit into the business;science and invention will take care of realindustry.

Very soon some more people will beginthinking over this bad joke, and then weshall arrive at the stage of convincing, firstthe people, then the Government, that itis a very vital factor in modern industriallife tnat we must realise the tragedybehind the' joke; that WE MUST HAVE, insome form or' other, MONEY FORNOTHING; that commerce, if it is notto suffocate itself under the weight of itsown un saleable surplus produce, requiressome free money, money not derived fromtaxation. This is the only hope of our fac-tories ever working at maximum produc-tion, it is the only hope of factories fittinginto a reallv sound economy, for theirproper function is to produce for consnmp-tion what the people need and desire.

"Money for nothing." Let it come asmothers' pensions. family or ag-e pensions.or accordinz to some famous slozan, suchas "national dividends for all" or "pensionsat so."

''Where is the money to come from ?"We Social Crediters refuse to let theancient and fishlike scent prevent us fromfilleting that hoary red-herring!

An amusing item in the Evening Stan--dard is the following letter about the non-production industry:

"Here is a letter from Mr. GeoffreyDobbs from King's College on the subjectof the British Sugar Corporation:

"'I have long been interested in thepossibilities of non-production as anindustry, and it was therefore with specialpleasure that 1 read in your notes. for'November 10 the following statements:"The unsatisfactory foundation of the'home-produced sugar industry 'is in' itselfa good security for the shareholders of theBritish Sugar Corporation ... Accordingly,if there were no beets available, the Cor-poration should have an income ... total-ling about £994,000." And "There wouldbe an available amount equivalent to about12Y. per cent. on the capital of the Cor-poration."

.. 'I have noted the sturdy efforts ofmarketing boards and other august bodiesto stimulate the non-production of variouscommodities, such as potatoes, fish, milk,rubber, tin, tramp shipping, etc., but this,if Y may say so, beats the band.

"'Evidently there is good money in it,and if you will allow me the use of yourcolumns to do so. I should like to offer mvservices to' the British Sugar Corporationas an expert non-producer of sugar beet,in rerum, of course, for adequateremuneration for my aid in conserving itsfinances.

,j 'Without boasting. I think I can claimto be highly qualified for the job, havinga long experience and a natural aptitudeinto the bargain.

"'Y"deed. as a non-producer of sugarbeet I should. if I may say so. be hard tobeat. T should he prepared not to makeavailable verv larze ouantiries of beet ofthebizhest oualitv, in fact. nothing wouldnlease me better than to tackle the jobin a hig way. not producing. sav, 1.000,000tons of beet or even more annually. pro-vided. of course, the money is available topav me.

"'If onlv we could e:et the unemployed· back to work at good wages in the, non-production industry, instead of living injndizent idleness. the whole unemploy-ment nroblem would be solved at onestroke.' ..

Actually. although this is funny (hath"ha-ha" and "peculiar") at first sight, 1think there is more in it than the joke.

• • •· As with .....the scorpion's, I find the ~om-

mentator's tail-piece worth noting. Hethinks. In due course he'll be convincedthat there's more in it than the joke. [£

· money can be made in one single instancein the non-production industry, why notput the unemployed, the unemployable

ULSTER RESISTSMONOPOI ..Y

"The action of the Government -in ,forcing this monopolistic scheme upon thepublic and in direct opposirion to thepublic will, is a negation of the democraticprinciples inherent in the Ulster people."

This is the view of the Ulster Farmers'Union on, the M'Lintock reconuncnda-tions for a Transport Board for NorthernIreland (reported some months ago inSOCIAL CREDIT). The farmers havealready suffered from the effects of theNorthern Ireland Road and Rail Trans-port Act which gave. rise to a road trans-port monopolv, provided a much worseservice for the country districts, andinvolved a very heavy financial loss whichthe taxpayers are to be asked to makegood.

In a democracy, such as the UniteclKingdom is supposed to be, the peonlecan have their way. Evidently some of thepeoole of Northern Ireland are beginningto express their will through their institu-tions, such as the Ulster Farmers' Union..It only remains for them as a whole touse their Parliament properly, and theywill prevent the threatened shackles ofmononolv from being locked on them.

Perhaps they may lead the rest of theUnited Kingdom to fr~edom. . ~-

Page 8 SOCIAL CREDIT, january 6, 1939

SOCIAL CREDITFor Political and Economic Democracy

Th8 Official Organ oj the Social Credit Secretariat Limite4.163A.Strand, W ...C,~. Tel. TEM 7054-

Sublcription Rates, home or abroad, poat free: One year lSI.; lix months 71. 6d.; threemonth. 31.9(1.

Vol. 10. No: I. Friday. January 6, 1939

PARALYSIS OR PRESSURE?HOWEVER we may boast of our

democracy, the truth is that thepeople of this country are ruled by a secretclique of International Financiers.

This dictatorial body has a purpose anda policy, which is imposed upon us bystealth.

The Government elected by the peopleare subject to pres.sur,e continually by thissecret clique, -and politicians. as a conse-quence, become the puppets of thefinanciers' policy. The policy which isimposed upon the Government and all ofus is one that, if it· was seen unwhite-washed and for what it really is, the peoplewould resist and oppose, because theywould recognise it for me evil, dangerousthing it is.

It is necessary, therefore, for inter-national finance continually to camou-flage their policy so as to make it appearatrractivei. but Its effects, of course, can-not be altogether hidden.

Thus we get millions of unemployedwho starve in the midst of plenty; dis-tressed areas within one of the richestcountries on earth; trade booms 'anddepressionss war scares; progressiverestrictions of personal liberty; andforeign entanglements which are beyondthe understanding of the common people.

Although the people want peace andsecurity, they know now that the dangerof war is a growing reality. Actually,facts prove that not only are the peopleof this country having a policy imposedupon them, but it is a policy which thepeople do not want themselves, one theyhave not initiated, but which is inspiredin darkness by unknown men.

The purpose of the internationalfinanciers is to enslave, comfortably buthelplessly, everybody in the world exceptthemselves=freedom for themselves, andppwer to deny freedom to everybody else.

Because they can create and destroymoney at their own whim and pleasure.they have chosen .and appointed pro-tagonists in every field of publicity to hyp-notise the people of all classes with afundamentally false idea of work.

Work is, or should be. only a means toan end.

There is a difference between, say, workas such and "employment"; for employ-ment means surrendering your cap'acityfor labour, your creative or other abilities,to the will of another; and the object ofwork-that is to say, the end to which it

is only a means-has been designedlyobscured. The means itself has beenturned wrongly, sinfully, and subtly intoan end in itself,

This conforms, as it was meant to do,with the secret policy of the internationaldictatorial clique,

The idea that a man has no right tolive unless he works is a false one; butit is propagated in a thousand differentways and elevated into a virtue.

The reason for this is that if thelabourer can be hypnotised with the falseidea "that he has no right to the productof industry unless he has laboured forit," he unknowingly disinherits himselffrom any of the ihcrements of association;the way is laid open for the commonproperty rights of invention and scientificjJIOgress to be stolen from him by thepower-lusters. Further, in his absence ofmind (or, one might call it, in the betrayalof his innocence), and because he acceptsthe idea that his labour, even in competi-tion with mechanical power, is his onlyclaim to life and the means of life, hecondemns himself, and accepts the moralphilosophy that it is reasonable to starveIn the midst of plenty if his, labour is notrequired

In simple language. he accepts himselfas surplus and condemns himself practi-cally to suicide, simply because he haslistened to the Medicine Man's falseteaching that his only claim to the abun-dance is the requirement of his labour

Another aspect of this false teaching,which is all part of the plan of whitewash-ing the secret policy of world dictatorship,is the insinuation that Jetting "somethingfor nothing" is not a Iy immoral, but isgenerally impossible. It would be fatalto the plan and purpose of the worldpower-lusters if grown-up people had thecommon-sense of babies, for you cannotby any means convince a six-months-oldbaby that it is impossible to eat heartilywithout having worked for it, or persuadeit of the immorality of eating one's fillevery time one is hungry Babies haveno bankers' sense of shame at all.

Even a mule cannot hie educated to thepoint of refusing to eat plentifully in afield of grass because its labour isunrequired by the !armer who owns it.But then, mules and babies are notrespecuers of bankers or institutions; theyhave rio awe of the sanctity of financialfigures in books, or such institutions as

the Bank of England, for instance. It isbecause we have been educated into bow-.ing down to. these sanctities and elevatingthem up as more important than'livingmen and women, and their personal saris-factions, that we find the world in thestate it is to-day.

It is important that those who under-stand the facts published in this paperweek by week should support any acnonaiming at the acquisition of somethingwithout work, "something for nothing."someth!ng. ~at will implement the powerof the ~niltTndual'

There is no hope whatever for the causeof common freedom except in the realityof pressure, applied behind a common-s.ense demand initiated, understood, andsanctioned by the people themselves inunity; and whatever form that demandor sanction takes, it is the demand andthe will to make and press it that matters.Popularity of aim is essential to such apolicy and alone guarantees its rightness.Such a demand cannot: fail to be anobstruction to the foul plot which is nowoperative: it will tend to overcome andreplace it with a better order-perhapsnot the best possible order, but one thatis in line with the best that can be. Thisdynamic aspect is by far the most pressingand important part of Social Credit, andshould claim the attention of all itsadvocates at the present time.

Money ForPensions at 50

The Answer to "Where CanIt Come From ?"

, In 1910£62,817,000was the amount spentin Great Britain on public social services.If it had been suggested then that, withinten years, the amount would be increasedfive times, people would not have believedit. Yet by 1920 the expenditure on socialservices had risen to £306,634,000. Andthis was in spite of the most costly anddevastating war in human history havingoccurred within the period I

Nearly £250,ooo,00o-two hundred andfifty million pounds,-more were beingsp.ent in this one way. The amountexpended in the year just ended will prob-ably be found to be about £500,000,000more than in 1910.

/ Who says it is impossible to give £z aweek for all unemployed over the age of50? We have the goods-or the ability toproduce the goods-ready now. All wewant is the money to pay for them; andthis can be put into the pockets of theover-so unemployed without taking moneyaway from anyone else.

Where will the money come from?Why, it will come from the same ever-

flowing source that provides all the enor-mous quantities of money required forsocial services, defensive services, war, andall other expenses.'

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939 Page 9

The British .Don't RebelBy G.W.L. Day

WHILE the snow lay round about, 50 unemployed men and three womenmarched into the grill-room of the Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly and asked for

tea.. They had a few coppers in their pockets and they were ready to pay.

At once there was great excitement.Telephones buzzed, policemen arrived,and after parleys the unemployed left inan orderly manner. Soon they were walk-ing down Piccadilly in a procession withplacards bearing the words I'We wantwinter relief."

Another day, Christmas shoppers sawmore than a hundred unemployed men,who were demanding extra winter relief,lie down in the road and block all thetraffic at Oxford Circus. At a signal fromtheir leader they were down on theirbacks four deep in front of the trafficwhich had stopped at the lights. "Work orbread," they shouted. "Stop the starva-tion of our families," "We wann extrawinter allowances." The traffic was heldup for fifteen minutes.

Later on, a deputation of about fifteencalled at the U.A.B:s offices at Millbankand demanded to see the Chairman, LordRushcliffe, Failing to get an interviewwith him, they marchedi to the House ofCommons to lobby their Members of Par-liament.

On a third wintry day they marchedto Buckingham Palace to present a peri.tion to the King. They were stopped atthe gates and some 50 or 60 policemencame up. The Police Superintendentallowed the petition to be presented to aSecretary, who refused to commit himselfin any way or even to answer the unem-ployed leader.

After referrin~ to their previous demon-stration, the petition ran, "We now appealto your Majesty in these last hours before

Christmas Day to intervene with yourMinisters in such a way as to ensure thatevery unemployed family has fire in thegrate and a Christmas dinner."

As far as one knows, the only resultof these demonstrations was a number otprivate invitations to dinner on ChristmasDay.

• • •

To-day, there is not -only highly organisedcontrol of the wherewithal to suppressrevolutions, hut the wherewithal itself isenormously greater in strength. Unlessthe loyalty at the fighting services can beundermined, rebellion amounts to suicide.

Another method is to appeal direct tothe public,' or to officials, such as LordRushcliffe, or to the King himself. This,as we have seen, is what the unemployedhave done this Christmas; and perhapsthe behaviour of the U.A.B. Chairman andthe Buckingham Palace secretary, whorefused even to speak, is a fair indicationof its efficacy.

But we must not forget the privateinvitations to dinner!

Insignificant, you say? I think not. Itshows that the sympathy of the publicis still alive; that if the public were asked,Do you or do you not wish the unem-ployed to continue in their present plight?most people would answer, No!

But no doubt they would add-some ofthem, at any rate-that the Governmentwas doing its best, that rearmamententailed sacrifices, that if U.A.B. benefitswere increased it would have to come outof the income tax, etc., etc.

If, however, you could convince themthat the unemployed are half-starvedmerely on account of dishonest financialjugglery and that they could be properlyfed and cared for without anyone being apenny the poorer, then I think therewould be very few dissentient voices.

Having got so far, the force of activeand united public opinion would surelybe great enough to compel any Govern-ment to see that suitable means wereinvented to bring about the desiredresults.

Such happenings are among the veryfew reminders the public is given that wehave among us millions of people livingon the very brink of starvation. Whenfirst the term "Distressed Area" wascoined, the conscience of the public wasuneasy. Poverty and distress were drama-tised in the newspapers, and funds werecollected to distribute food and clothing.

But as soon as it became apparent thatlarge-scale unemployment was a perma·nent phenomenon, acute feelings of sym-pathy died down. What we can't remedywe must forget, became our slogan. Likethe man to whom Dean Inge had not yetbeen introduced, the half-starved did notexist: they have had their benefit night,so to speak, and now they are expectedto suffer in silence.

What, then, are these unfortunatepeople to do?

They can attempt to start a revolution.If they did this, their chances of successwould be vinually nil. Sanctions would beused against them, meaning the armedforces of the State. In bygone days therewere no centrally-controlled sanctions,hence revolutions were more frequent andtheir prospects very much brighter.

Restriction ofTOO much mutton and lamb is being

produced, so Mr. W. S. Morrison, ourdestroying and restricting Minister ofAgriculture, in the House of Commons onDecember 20, announced a scheme for"closer control" of imported supplies. This"control," which means r-estriction, is saidto aim at keeping up prices. Keeping upprices, of course, means preventing thosewho are short of money-the vast majority-from buying more mutton and lamb.Farmers who could and would gladlyincrease supplies, must therefore restrictthem.

• • •Keeping Down Wheat Supplies

The United States Government, by whatit calls its "Wheat Acreage AdjustmentProgramme," intends to reduce the areaof wheat sown for harvest in 1939 to 55

Abundancemillion acres, as compared with 81 millionacres sown for harvest in 1938.

Mr. Oliver Stanley, President of theBoard of Trade, replying to a question inParliament on December 22, admitted thatU.S. wheat and flour exports had beendiscussed during the recent trade negotia-tions between Great Britain and the U.S.A.The U.S.A. policy, including crop restric-tions, aims at higher world prices-at thevery moment when people all over theworld are so poor that they cannot payeven present prices, and as a consequencecontinue to suffer poverty while the worldteems with "surpluses."

The U.S. Government, in its statementwhich is incorporated in the OfficialReportof the British Trade Delegation, says, ineffect, that it is subsidising the export ofwheat, i.e., it is enabling (by making upthe difference) exporters to sell wheat

abroad at a lower price than the peopleof the U.S.A. can buy it in their owncountry.

This, it says,' is one of the measures ithas had to take to assure that "too burden-some a surplus will not be accumulatedin the United States"-where there are10,000,000 unemployed persons going shortof food.

• • •In France the latest estimate of the

year's "wheat surplus" is 70,000,000bushels, but nothing serious has yet beendone to' get rid of it .

• • •Pensions of £2 a week for allover 50

who are not working for pay would gos~me way to solving the problem of these"burdensome surpluses."

Page 10

THE PATHWAY

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

THE•

LANDBy Richard Kenward

THE pioneers of America, after suffering a perilous journey across the Atlantic,had to face the opposition of the Indians, once they began to colonise the new

country. It was not always war to the death, for we know that in several casespeaceful settlement was negotiated by friendly treaties.

Having overcome the Indians, the we will see that it _had similar features invirgin forest was the next enemy, so it common with that of the history ofwas the man with the axe who became America.the symbol of progress. With the exploi- In Britain, we are more gentlemanly inration of the United States, quite seven- our ruthlessness; first of all, we. haveeighths of the virgin forests have been allowed our agriculture to sink into slowdestroyed. When the settlers followed in decline. There are nearly '2,000,000 acresthe wake of the pioneers, it was then the less under cultivation than before the war,man with the hoe who became the symbol while thousands of skilled farm workersof civilisation. have left the land (it takes several genera-

But progress to be successful must be tions to make a husbandman). Britainintelligent; mall must make his peace with once had the finest agriculturalists in theNature; man must make peace with man. world; we taught the world how to farmUnless these rules are observed, Nature and breed animals.has her own way of dealing with un- To-day farmers lack that incentive tofriendly man. When the natural forests farm as of yore, for the reason that theyafln'Uthlessly destroyed, the land is more cannot recover costs of production, andliable to flooding. Lack of moisture and hence the serious financial losses farmerscontinuous mono-culture brings about have suffered during the post-war period.soil erosion, so that what has taken Nature We can borrow astronomical sums forcenturies to make in the form of top the promotion of war, but we refuse ,tosoil, can be destroyed by vicious man in create money to restore agriculture to itsone·-:generation. Hence has arisen the seat of power in the national economy.modern phenomenon of the "dust-bowl" Farming can be made to pay, and help toin certain parts of America. pay us a Dividend, too, but that is the

Fortunately, tile U,S. is alive to the very last thing our rulers want; they woulddanger threatening her natural resources, rather see us in the workhouse at 50 thanand has now begun a policy of soil con- give us pensions at 50.servation and afforestation. The credit We must get our ideas right and in thefor initiating this policy is said to be right order, and the rest will naturallylargely due to an English colonial forester. follow: Man must work in harmony with

We are all familiar with the rough Nature Man must make peace withisland story of our tight little islands, and Man Man must seek the. eternalif we will pause and think for a moment, verities There is Plenty for All ...

The Peopiev.Money PowerWarnings of Early U.S.A. Presidents

"The nature of the struggle betweenthe people and Money Power that ragedduring the formative years of Lincoln'smind may be inferred from this extract ofAndrew Jackson's warning message toCongress under date of December 2, 1824:

The bold effort the present bank hasmade to control the government, thedistress it has wantonly produced, theviolence of which it has been the occa-sion in one of our cities famed for itsobservance of the law and order, are butpremonitions of the fate which awaitsthe American people should they bedeluded into a perpetuation of thisinstitution or the establishment ofanother like it.'"Andrew Jackson's fear of the control of

money wealth by Money Power was

shared by Daniel Webster who, duringthe same period, declared:

'There never has been devsied by anyman a plan more specious by whichlabour could be robbed of the fruitsof toil than tile banking system. Thepeople not only take bank paper asmoney, paying interest on it, but whenthe banks suspend, the people lose thediscount while the bankers gain it.

The people wonder why financialpanics occur so frequently. I can tellthem why. It is to the interests of thebankers and brokers that they shouldoccur. It is one of the specious methodsby which these despotic and utterly use-less knaves rob the producing, manu-facturing and mercantile classes of theirhonest earnings. It is one of the chief

plans by which this infamous ring isriveting the chains of slavery upon thelimbs of labour. It is one of the chiefmeans adopted to build up a moneyaristocracy that shan live in idle luxuryand ape the pretentious airs of Europeannobility.'

Lincoln Vetoes Bank ActThe following veto message was dis-

patched by Lincoln to the U,S.A. Senateon June 23, 1862, and it had the effect ofchecking (for the time being) the bankers'attempt to replace Government money bythat of their own creation:

"This bill seems to contemplate no endwhich cannot be otherwise more certainlyand beneficially attained. During theexisting war it is peculiarly the duty ofthe National Government to secure to thepeople a sound circulation medium. Thisduty has been, under existing circum-stances, satisfactorily performed, in partat least, by authorising the issue ofUnited States notes, receivable for allgovernment dues except customs, andmade a legal tender for all debts, publicand private, except interest on public debt.The object of the bill submitted to me-namely, that of providing a small notecurrency during the present suspension-can be fully accomplished by authorisingthe issue-as part of any new emission ofUnited States notes made necessary by thecircumstances of the country-of notes ofsimilar character, but of less denomina-tion, than five dollars. Such an issuewould answer all the beneficial purposesof the bill, would save a considerableamount to the treasury in interest, wouldgreatly facilitate fayments to soldiers andother creditors a small sums, and wouldfurnish to the people a currency as safeas their own governmenr.

"Entertaining these objections to thebill, I feel myself constrained to withholdfrom it my approval, and return it for thefurther consideration and action of Con-gress.

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN"June 23, 1862."

Six Months Later-December I, 1861.

. and it is extremely doubtfulwhether a circulation of United Statesnotes, payable in coin, and sufficientlylarge for the wants of the people, can bepermanently, usefully and safely main-tained.

"Is there, then, any other mode in whichthe nec'rssary provisions for the publicwants can be made, and the great advan-tages of a safe and uniform currencysecured?

"I know of none which promises socertain results, and is at the same time sounobjectionable, as the organisation ofbankmg associations under a general Actof Congress well guarded in its provisions.To such associations the governmentmight furnish circulating notes, on thesecurity of United States bonds deposited

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6. 1939 Page II,

in the treasury. These notes, preparedunder the supervision of proper officers,being uniform in appearance and security,and convertible into coin, would at onceprotect labour against the evils of a vicious

'currency, and facilitate commerce bycheap and safe exchanges."

Lincoln's Opposition EndedOn the evening of Friday, April 14>1865,

Lincoln attended Ford's Theatre with hiswife. During the course of the play hewas shot by John Wilkes Booth, who,leaping from the Presidential box on tothe stage, escaped through a rear exit andfled. Some days afterwards Booth wasfound in a barn suffering from a brokenankle.

The record of the trial, as printed byPeterson & Bros., contains "the sup-pressed testimony of Richard Mont-gomery, James B. Merrett and SanfordConover," which apparently was not pub-lished in the original public records ofthe trial. This evidence shows that dur-ing the Civil War, Richard Montgomerywas a secret service agent of the NorthernGovernment, . During the winter of1864-5, he was detailed to observe theactions of a group of Southern agentswho were operating in the cities of Mont-real and Toronto in Canada.

With these facts in mind, an articlewhich appeared in the "Bankers' Maga-zine" in August, 1873, sheds some definitelight on the identity of "the group of boldand daring men" who were pointed to byRichard Montgomery as, the men whoincited and financed the assassination ofLincoln. The article referred to recordsthe manner in which the gold standardwas eventually established in the United

• States. Among other things it said:"In 1872, silver being demonetised in

France, England and Holland, a capitalof 500,000,000 dollars was raised, andErnest Seyd, of London, was sent to thiscountry (the United States) with thisfund, as the agent of foreign bond-holders and capitalists, to effect the sameobject here, which was accomplished."The Congressional Record of April, 1872

(page 2032) says:"Ernest Seyd, of London, a dis-

tinguished writer and bullionist, who isnow here, has given great attention tothe subject of mint and coinage. Afterhaving examined the first draft of theBill, he made sensible suggestions whichthe Committee adopted and embodiedin the Bill."The Ernest Seyd referred to was an

English solicitor, acting for English andEuropean bankers and financiers. Lateron he is recorded as having made an openconfession to one Frederick A. Lucken-bach, an American citizen of. standing,that "he had gone to America in thewinter of 1872-73 with the 500,000 dollarsreferred to in the Bankers' Journal, withinstructions that if that was not sufficientto accomplish the object to draw for.

another 500,000 dollars, or as much moreas was necessary to secure the passage ofa Bill demonetising silver, as it was in theinterests of English and European bankerswhom he represented." Seyd further saidto Luckenbach: .

"I saw the Committees of the Houseand Senate and paid the money andstaved in -America until I knew themeasure was safe."These articles and the recorded confes-

sion of Seyd acknowledges that withinseven years after Lincoln's assassination,there existed a "group of bold and daringmen," who did not hesitate to raise 500,000dollars to secure the demonetisation ofsilver by corrupting the American Con-gress and Senate. These were the samemen. Yes, they were the "secret foes ofthe nation" with ,whom Lincoln was atwar. Following Lincoln's assassination,they were successful in wiping outLincoln's national currency programmeand did establish the gold standard moneysystem in the United States. With eachstep forward, the men behind the racketwere able to reap personal fortunes ofinestimable value.

Money Power has established a morevicious form of universal slavery over .theAmerican people than ever was establishedover the American Negro. To 'useLincoln's own words, the bankers andcredit dealers of this age have placed the,American citizen in this position:

"They have him in his prison house.They have searched his person and haveleft no prying instrument with him.One after another, they have closed theheavy iron doors upon him and nowthey have him, as it were, bolted in witha lock of 100 keys which can never beunlocked without the concurrence ofevery key; the keys in the hands of ahundred different men, and theyscattered to a hundred different places;and they stand musing as to what inven-tion in all the dominions of mind andmatter- can be produced to make theimpossibility of his escape more com-plete than it is."Yes, the bankers destroyed Lincoln+as

the preliminary step to the destruction ofthe American civilisation which they willnow complete if the power they haveusurped is not taken away from them.

FIRE AND WATERLIABILITY to payout for A.R.P.

expenses was recently thrust uponratepayers. Here comes another attackon their pockets. The Fire Brigades Act,1938, makes County Boroughs, Boroughs,Urban and Rural District Councils respon-sible for providing fire-fighting appliancesin their districts, and for keeping suchappliances and the brigades to work themin AI condition; the Secretary of State isempowered by Order to prescribe thestandard of efficiency, which is the key-word. This sudden decision by White-hall is not unconnected with A:R.P.;hitherto, in country districts, someparishes have provided fire brigades whichwere paid for out of a small parish rateand receipts from Insurance Companieswhen the brigades attended fires outsidethe parish. Large areas of the countryhad.rio fire-fighting apparatus at all, pro-perty-owners relying on insurance against'fire. All this is to be changed; the rate-payers are to shoulder responsibility andthey are to pay a standing contribution tocover all services based on the rateablevalue of the area protected, and perhapsin addition a further payment in respectof each fire. A standing contributiononly is likely to become the generalmethod, although this would appear toknock out the voluntary system uponwhich small parish fire brigades have beenrun hitherto. ,

Apart from the difficulties experiencedin providing water in many country dis-tricts, it would appear that the efficiencyaimed at by the Secretary of State willonly be attained if he can enthuse volun-teers sufficiently to take the job, on at a

, J'

retammg fee only. Perhaps he will beable to rouse such enthusiasm and pro-vide water, too.

How do the Insurance Companies stand, in the matter? Originally they provided

their own fire-fighting services in certainplaces, the brigade turning out only wheninsured property was alight or threatened,such property being distinguished by themetal plates attached to the front of thehouse which have long become collectors'pieces. Then came parish fire brigadesand the payment by the Insurance Com-panies of fees to the brigades for attend-ing fires. Now, apparently, the ratepayersare to pay for the lot, the brigade (at aretaining fee) putting out fires in unin-sured or insured property indiscrimin-ately, the Insurance Com~anies payingnothing ~o anybody for their services.

In these circumstances surely thepremiums charged by Insurance Com-panies should be substantially reduced.There is no hint of this being (lone, andit does not appear that the Secretary ofState is empowered by the Act to enquireinto the finances of such companies forthe benefit of the overburdened ratepayer.A glance at a Stock Exchange list makesone wonder whether the Insurance Com-panies should not shoulder the burden, ormost of it themselves. Phoenix, [l fullypaid, [14 19S.; Prudential "B," 4S. paid,

'[4 liS.; Sun [l shares, 5S• paid, [4 IS.,etc., etc.'

Ratepayers demand either a substantialreduction of premiums or a large contri-bution to the new fire brigades from theInsurance Companies. A.W.

Page 12 SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

Slavery-AncientBy B.L.D.

THE culture of ancient Greece flourished on a basis of chattel slavery. In thosedays, there were no steam engines or dynamos to work in place of man or

mule. The eurse of Adam bore heavily upon the human labourers.To-day, vast .numbers of our fellow. eitizens-the unemployed-beg for work,

and starve in I?atience amidst plenty, unaware that they are disinherited fromtheir property rights in the nation's credit l>ya cheating trick operated by bankinginstitutions.

... "Household slaves play their part inGreek history and drama from its begin-ning. In the great days of Athens a freecitizen who did not own at least one slavewas esteemed poor indeed." As Hendrikvan Loon says:

"The Greek city, whenever it was notruled by a King or tyrant, was run by andfor the freemen, and this would not havebeen possible without a large army ofslaves who outnumbered the free citizensat the rate of six or five to one. .. Theslaves did all the cooking and baking andcandlestick making of the city. They werethe tailors and the carpenters and the.jewellers and the school-teachers and thebook-keepers, and they tended the storeand looked after the factory while themaster went to the public meeting to dis-cuss questions of war or peace or visitedthe theatre to see the latest play."

• • •"The small valley farms, with their corn

lands and vineyards and olive groves,passed from father to son for manygenerations: to their labours on the landthe owners added boat building, sea fish-ing and -trading ventures along theMediterranean coasts. Centuries passed,the population increased; the polis(fortified place) of the chief grew into acity with market place, town hall andstreets of dwellings, the town houses of thefarmers. Each city with its surroundingfarm and forest land was known as a citystate, ruled, in the case of Athens, by itsassembly or town-meeting of all the freecitizens.

"In the fifth century B.C. the question offood supply became a serious one, for thequantity of corn which could be p;rownonthe little farms did not increase with thepopulation. The people of the city state ofAthens dealt with this problem in threeways: by limiting their families, byencouraging in all possible ways theimport of corn, and by making exile acommon punishment-law breakers wereshipped away to some foreign coast, thereto found a 'colony.' The Athenianfather was neither expected nor desired toallow a weakling baby to grow up, nor onehe had not the means to support ....

"The Athenian farmer and importer ofgrain were obliged by law to send theircorn to the public granaries of Athens andnowhere else. There it was weighed andtwo-thirds of it were despatched to thecity market, where the merchants had toshare it-no merchant might buy more

and

than fifty measures. The remaining thirdwas at the disposal of the owner. Soessential was the import of foreign comthat citizens were forbidden to lendmoney to masters of ships unless suchvessels were commissioned to bring backa cargo of grain to Athens. So the jars ofolive oil, the pottery and other work of theGreek craftsman went forth, and the graincame in. . . . .

"The Greeks of Lydia in Asia Minorbegan to use coins for money in theseventh century B.C. In die BritishMuseum we may see their coins, smalllumps of electrum stamped with the sealof merchant or ruler.

"The fifth ad fourth centures B.C. areoften called the Greek Golden Age. Why'golden,' we may ask? This metal, thoughnot essential to man, and of limited use,tends to be regarded as the symbol ofexcellence. So the period of Greece'sgreatest people and finest achievementsmust be calIed its Golden Age. Let usconsider the economic position of theAthenians at this time.

"Athens is no longer a city of farmersand fishers. The wealthier citizens haveleft their farms to the management ofslave stewards, or leased them to poorermen. They live in the city, occupyingtheir time with its government, trade andshipping. There is no King; the rulingbody is a council of citizens presided overby, a member of the leading Athenianfamilies. All Athenian freemen have theright to vote when laws are being madeor altered. Large numbers of, foreigntraders and.craftsmen now live in Athens;these people were not welcomed, nor arethey granted full citizen rights; but sincethey brought money with them or somespecial craft or skill, they are allowed tostay. Money-owners, indeed, are begin-ning to command the respect formerlypaid only to heroes and land-owners, forsince the invention of coins all theMediterraean peoples are becoming evermore fascinated by. these 'symbols of thepossession of power and wealth. Fromthe silver mines of Laurion, near Athens,slaves dig the silver from which theAthenian coins are made-the obolsexchangeable for so many desirable things,from a cargo of corn to a slave's freedom.The richest and most influential citizensof Athens are now those who hold sharesin the Laurion mines. The mine-slaveswork under conditions so bad that even astrong man is soon worn out-a mastercan utter no worse threat to a lazy house-

Modernslave than that of selling him to themines ....

"Above the city on the hill of theAcropolis, stand the beautiful pillaredtemples built by the Athenians-the greatParthenon, shrine of the patron goddessAthene, and the smaller shrines. Thewalls and columns of the temple are ofmarble, the columns fluted, the friezeabove them carved with life-like carvingsof men and horses in motion. Thesebuildings, and the statues adorning them,the colossal bronze Athene, thirty feet inheight, the ivory and gold Athene, thebronze image of the Wooden Horse ofTroy, with more we have not space toname here, represent the thank offering ofthe Athenians to the gods for victoryagainst the hosts and fleets of the GreatKings of Persia. Master-masons, freeartisans and slaves, had all workedtogether upon the fabric of the temples,receiving for their labour each the samewage, a drachma a day.

"They were very fine, very impressive,those Greek temples... ,"

• • •Having read the pictorial account of

Ancient Greece, given by Helen Corke in"Towards Economic Freedom.'?" fromwhich the above extracts are taken, oneis compelled to ask what such realistswould have said of ourselves who do nottake steps to utilise all our crops, who aimto export more than we import, who gowithout national necessities with twomillion registered unemployed.

• • •In ancient Greece, culture could only •

flourish on a "slave" basis. This is nottrue of our time, the harnessing ofinanimate power has made culture, leisure,security, and freedom a potential for all.

According to the editor of Power, evenin 1929, in Great Britain, there wasmachinery capable of generating [75millions horse power; 'in U.S.A. 7,040millions; in Germany 1,750 millions; inFrance 700 millions. One horse-power isgenerally reckoned the equivalent of tenmanpower, so that in this country we caneach claim to have the equivalent of 40slaves available, and in the U.S.A. theequivalent of 50 slaves in mechanicalpower is available for every living person.

When are we going to insist on ourfreedom?-for at present all of us. whetherin receipt of wage, salary, or dividend,-are slaves of Finance.

• Methuen & Co., Ltd. 35. 6d.

The Nf4:WERAAUSTRALIA'S SOCIAL CREDIT WEEKLY14Pages. lIIultrated. 11months, Ils.

The New Era, Radio HOUle,196Pitt Street, Sydney,Australia

SOCIAL ,CREDIT, January 6, 1939 Page 13

Social SecurityIn New

UNDER the new Social Security Actwhich is to come into fooce in New

Zealand as from April I, 1939, a mainfeature of the scheme is to provide freenational health services for the wholepopulation, to include a general practi-tioners' service, hospital or sanatoriumtreatment, mental hospital care and treat-ment, maintenance and maternity treat-ment as well as the cost 0.£ maintenance ina maternity home.

These services are to be available toevery person over the age of 16, ordinarilyresident in New Zealand. In addition, anumber of cash benefits are to be paid, ofwhich the following are new to NewZealand legislation: sick benefits payablein respect of temporary incapacity,invalids' benefits payable in respect ofpermanent incapacity, emergency benefitspayable where the above-mentioned bene-fits and unemployment benefits are notpayable, widows' pensions, orphans' pen-sions and family benefits.

Under the new Act it is 'also proposedgradually to substitute for the existingnon-contributor» system of old-age r«.

ActZealand

sions a new contributory system, and theexisting scales of unemployment benefitsand miners' benefits will be improved.The main grounds of qualification torthese benefits, as provided for in the Bill,were that an applicant should satisfy cer-tain conditions of residence and 0.£ means.The scheme in 9,eneral was to be financedby means of a 'registration fee" of £1 ayear payable quarterly in respect 0'£persons over the age of 20, and by meansef a "social security contribution" at therate of IS. in the £ on all salaries, wagesor income,

The most important amendment rela-ting to the financial provisions of thescheme consists in the addition of aspecial section providing in effect that allcom panics are to pa y Is. in the £ on their"chargeable income," which with minormodifications is the income assess.able forincome tax. In addition, there is a pro-vision for taxation on profits which may.be distributed to shareholders by non-taxable companies. Exemption from pay-ment of the tax is allowed in the case ofcompanies engaged in gold mining,

··TDE FIG_ The December issue of The Fig Treeis worthy of its predecessors, and that ishigh praise. The names of D. E. FaulknerJones, Arthur Brenton, G. F. Powell, G.Hickling, and G. W. L. Dayan the coverwhet the appetite, and it is certainly truein this case that l'appetit uient en man-geant.

In "Fate Takes a Hand," Miss FaulknerJones, with her customary brilliance andlucidity, reveals the dilemma of our credit-controllers, who dare not imitate whatthere is reason to suppose are the financialmethods of the dictators=-i.e., theapparent maintenance of "sound financialprinciples" before the people, togetherwith the issuance of secret credits fordefence, public works, etc.-until theyhave completed the process of centralisingcontrol and are no longer under the neces-city of discussing ways and means in Par-liament.

Mr. G. Hickling, in a Ina table exposureof the Bank of England, shows us how"crises" are manufactured, and the sinistertechnique of Finance which deliberatelyplans these periodic upheavals and thentakes advantage of the situation it hasitself created to get further legislationpassed which will increase and consolidateits power and bring the general popula-tion a step nearer to complete indigenceand impotence. ,

Probahly many readers will turn first

TREE"to Mr. G. F. Powell's "Notes on Alberta"and take heart from his expressed convic-tion that the Albertan Government is"operating on the wave-length of theCanon" and is bound to succeed even-tually, however long the struggle.

Under the pseudonym "A.B.C." aregiven some "Old Testament Anticipationsof Social Credit" when "the floors shallbe full of wheat and the vats shall over-flow with wine and ail .. '. And afterwardsI will pour out My spirit upon all flesh."

Miss Griselda Cochrane-Shanks gives usa Christmas tale about a Bishop and aBanquet, and Mr. Arth ur Welford tracesthe life-story of the Rate from its humblebirth in 1562 after the dissolution of theMonasteries to the present day, with somevery interesting facts about the life ourancestors lived, from some of which itmay be gleaned that the work complexexisted in 1582 when Sir Richard Hakluytwrote that "there is no comrnoditie of theRealm that may set so many poo're sub-jects on worke as this (wool) doeth ... "

Articles by Hilderic Cousens and P.McDevitt, book reviews by W.A.W. andA. W. Coleman, and verses on "TheMoney-Minded" by Ge~f£rey Dobbs, com-plete the list of good and satisfying farewhich The Fig Tree offers to those whohunger and thirst after the economicrighteousness of Social Credit.

D.B

scheelite mining, petroleum mining, lifeinsurance and banking, and turtherexemption may be allowed to particularclasses of companies by Order-in-Council.

Other amendments which have beenpassed include a provision that the rightof a woman to select her own medicalpractitioner in a maternity hospital mustbe subject to the concurrence of theperson or body controlling the hospital.

The New Zealand branch of the BritishMedical Association has declared itselfentirely opposed to the rrinciple of auniversal general practitioners' service,and up till the passing of the Act it hadrefused to co-operate with the Govern-ment in organising the scheme. The atti-tude of the Association was that freeservices should be granted only to thoseclasses of the population whose meanswould not allow them to pay for thoseservices. It remains to be seen whether thepassing of the Act into law will havemodified the attitude of the Associationand what measures the Government pro-poses to take to deal with the situation.

UTILITY LETTERIn 1900 Mark Twain wrote to a Mr.

Kester, who had asked permission to makea play out of Tom Sawyer:

I should like to see Tom Sawy'c-rstaged. You need not submit the playto my approval . . . Turn the bookupside down and inside out if youWant to. If you wish to add people,incidents, morals, imrnorals, or any-thing else, do so with a free hand.My literary vanities are dead andnothing I have written is sacred to me.

Sincerely yours,S'L. CLEMENS.

We are framing a copy of this letter forprominent display in our reception room,where once an editor died like a dog fortaking a comma out of a 'couplet.

-The New Yorker.

MEETINGS FORI

WOMENat the S.C. Centre

Thursday, January 12(Tea served till 5-30 p.m.)

•ADDRESS

at 5-30 by

Mrs. Dorothy Cousens"Pension« at 50"

Page 14 SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

Social Crediters and the PressAbstract of an Address by M... Brian Reed at the

Social Credit Centre, London, dannury :;IN reply to a toast of "The Independent

Press" given at a press banquet someyears ago, the editor at a newspaper knownthrougnou.r the world said:

"There is no such thing.as an indepen-dent press-unless it is in the countrytowns. You know it and I know it. Thereis not one of yo~ who dares to write hishonest opinion, and if you did you knowbeforehand that it would never appear inprint. I am paid [jo a week for Keepingmy honest opinions out of the paper 1 amconnected With. Others of you are paidsimilar salaries-for similar things. And anyof you who would be so foolish as to-writehis, honest opinions would be out on thestreets looking for another job. The busi-'ness of the journalist is to destroy thetruth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify,to fawn at the feet of Mammon, to sell hisrace and his country for his daily bread.¥pu know it and I know it, and what tallyis this to be toasting an 'independent press:We are the tools and vassals of rich menbehjnd the scenes. We are the jumpingjacks; they pull the strings and we dance.Our talents, our possibilities, and our livesare.all the property of other men. Weareintellectual prostitutes."

In the intervening time the shackleswith which the press has allowed itself tobe bound have been drawn tighter.

There has always been a tendency forus in this country to swallow the tale thatif by some strange mischance our presswas not absolutely free and incorruptible,it was at least a thousand times betterthan the press of any other country. It

I isn't. It is, indeed, just as fettered, just asservile and as cowardly as that of anycountry under an open dictatorship. Theterrific decline in English newspapers asmoral and intellectual forces during thelast two decades or so has been accorn-panied, by an astonishing commercial suc-cess, largely through advertising.

There was a time when the leading news-papers of this country were very largelyindependent, and honestly followed thelines of a pronouncement made in no lessa paper than The Times almost 90 yearsago, that it was the purpose of a news-paper to "Seek out truth above all things,and to present to readers not such thingsas statecraft would wish them to know, butthe truth, as near as it can be attained."This was long after the attempts, of suchpeople, as Charles II and Horace Walpoleto censor the press, the fruits of whichlasted' until, roughly, Napoleonic times.It is interesting to note, too, that thisdictum of The Times lays the bogey ofwhat is now called "the public interest,"when what is really meant is "the Govern-ment interest," which is quite a differentmatter.

The Cult of the AbstractDespite the buttering which has accom-

panied the gradual and cunning move-ment towards the total. corruptlon andcontrol of what is humorously called the"national" press-national being really aterm for "State," which is sunply ariabstraction-very many thousands ofpeople are now deeply suspicious of thepress. And they have every cause to be,Indeed, if the newspaper readers of thiscountry knew but a quarter of the truth,the newspaper business would undergo astriking change almost overnight.

It is to try, albeit in a clumsy manner,to keep the=idea of an honest and ireepress before the British people, that therehas been such a spate of speeches recentlyon the freedom of the press, and how illthe "democratic" life to which we in thiscountry "are committed," the free pressis one of our most valuable assets. .

The incorruptibility of th~ Britishjournalist-which, taken as I have justsaid it, is in the main quite true-s-has beencarefully fostered in the public mind asmeaning the incorruptibility of the Britishpress, to which it is actually quite different,But even in the purely journalistic field,the pride of the profession, and the ideasof the public generally, should be tem-pered more in accordance with those linesfrom Humbert Wolfe's Uncelestial City:

You cannot hopeto bribe or twist,

thank God I theBritish journalist

But, seeing whatthe man will do

unbribed, there'sno occasion to.

Although the duty of the press is, orshould be, avowedly to the public, and notto any constituted authority, during thepresent century, and more particularly inpost-war years, the London press has comerapidly under the domination of highfinance and big business.

Free to 'Suppress'Although profit-making "pure and

simple," if I may phrase it so, may seemto be the sole object, of the "national" pressindustry, with the change round to thisobjective has come insidiously the mostpotent means of undermining the libertyof every individual in this country, byensuring that he will be able to read onlywhat certain powerful personsjand organ-isations wish him to read, and by con-stantly holding over his head veiled threatsof civil war, commotion, revolution, andfamine, wrapped up in such fulsomephrases as "falling confidence," "servicebefore self," and so on. One can hardly

open any London daily on anyone of the3'3 publishing days in a year withoutbeing reminded of Northcliffe's phraseabout the crime of committing a news-paper.

Take any issue of any London daily. Istheir half-no, is there one-quarter-of itscontents of any real interest to you? Doyou find anything in it to tell you justwhy the abounding plenty of this earth isnot being freely distributed to us all? Isthere as much as a ro-line paragraph insmall type to say JUSt who gets the[260,000,000 collected each year in incometax, although a debtor has a legal right toknow to whom he is in debt? Does it eversay why day after day it rolls out plati-tudes to men and institutions which arefailing in a most conspicuous manner togive us what we want, and what we, ascitizens of this country, have a right todemand? Does it ever hint that a Memberof Parliament should be responsible onlyto his constituents, and not to corruptparties?

Nol But it tells you to pay your taxes,and to pay them bright and early. It tellsyou, in the midst of almost unconceivableplenty, mind you, that the unemployedshall not eat unless they first go into train-ing-for cannon fodder, presumably. Ittells you that you, and your wife, and yourchildren, and your parents, and yourfriends, and your hopes, and ideals, andlife must be sunk or glVen up for the State,which, it doesn't tell you, is simply an/abstraction which would have no meaningwhatever if you and I and our fellows werenot here. Nor does it offer any commento!l the criminal racket of our countrybeing run-to destruction-by an inter-national gang of financial crooks and theirtouts.

It is in these respects that the present-day "national" press is pre-eminentlyeorrupt. It is not the matter it prints, butthe matter which it does not pnnt, that isso harmful, and when Social Credit madean effort in Alberta recently to see thatthis was put right, and that. newspapersshould have access to all facts and shouldprint all sides of a question, a howl wentup from every newspaper of any size inCanada about tampering with the "free-dom of the press."

The public of a country may take "free-dom of the press" to mean freedom tosearch out, and publish, and criticise, onthe basis of all facts, the doings of thepeople's parliament and its organisation,and of public men and public institutions.But it is obvious from this Canadiandemonstration, and from various outpour-ings in this country, that to the press theirfreedom means jhat they can contort,twist, withhold and 'mutilate' with

SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939 Page 15

Iunbridled licence anything they like, or BOOK REVIEWanything that their governors like.

•• • •

Mr. Reed indicated various lines ofactivity as practicable, including that ofcontinuously bringing people's notice {O

the true position of the press, writing tothe editor, and exercising s.anctions uponad vertisers.

There is a positive undercurrent ofopinions. which more truly expresses theideas of (he real mass than the patheticand patronising efforts of the press. Thisopinion is growing. There is scepticismwith the majority of newspaper readersabout their daily printed fare, and allinterested in Social Credit must, for theirmental health, say goodbye to any hope orhelp from the pressf And the activities ofthose working for a freer economy will letfresh air into the fool's paradise of theprinted word-which is half-truth, or,.information having no contact withhuman life.

WHY BEG?An appeal has been made for donations,

large and small, to be sent to the Secre-tary, Church of England Pensions Board,55 Tufton Street, London S.W.1.

According to a press report:"Arrangements are being made by

which it is hoped that a church collectionwill be set aside for the appeal on someSunday in every parish dunng the comingyear. Members of the Church and otherswho care for the work of the Church areasked to make the most liberal response."

Why do not the Churches support theSocial Credit policy which would abolishthe need to beg?

• .. •b a week pensions to all over fifty not

gainfully employed would _abolish theneed for charity.

Thank YouWe thank the anonymous donor

of Bristol for sending us ForeignStamps and twelve penny stamps forthe funds,

FANFARE FOR FREETHOUGBT*THE analysis of the glorious money sys-

tem (for a few) is now complete. Finan-cial policy could. by its domination, get apart of the public to eat cinders tor itsbreakfast. It could also get newspapers toexpatiate on the benefits of such a diet,and the country would be divided into twoparties-the cinder eaters and the anti-cinder eaters. Folly and. knavery compar-able to this exists, until a poet comes alongand sums up' the humbug, in a few lines.In "A Question," Mr. Simmons sees thesituation:

"Have you e'er thought, my friend, thatdecent men

Are all like Daniels in the lions' den?The wonder is that decent folk survive,So hard it is for them to keep alive,Surrounded as they are by rogues and foolsWho have learned villainy in Pu-blic

Schools."

And then, noting the forces that exploitignorance (the task of enlightenment beingbeyond them) the poet, with a choice ofclear words, puts the matter thus:

"The rogues set fools at fighting oneanother,

Father killing son, and brother, brother ;The rogues survive and, laughing, scoop

the pool;A decent man may starve like any fool.When will the decent people make an endOf fools and rogues-and will you help,

my friend?"

The appeal in the last line can be madeto any who are determined to put an endto superstition, or beliefs that do not litthe facts, or dominance by the cunningover society either by words, or a thunder-ing "Thou shalt not." This latter is theposition that Finance is gradually taking.Thou shalt not-have a full life, a securelife, thou shalt not live-s-unless working.The Crisis niay have made a good numberof people reconsider their position insociety: if so, it is all to the good and gainof society. Slick half-truths from the press,

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5 NEWSAGENT'S ORDER = SUBSCRIPTION ORDER I~ ~ Send SOCIAL CREDIT to ~~ To Mr.-------------- ~ ~§ § Name ....__ §

~ Please supply me weekly with ~ d ' ~~ a copy of SOCIAL CREDIT; ~ A dress ~

§ E· -------------- ~!Name------------------- ! For 12months' enclose ISs. ~~ ~ For 6 months I enclose 7 /6 ~~ Ad dress ------------------- ~ !lor 3 months I enclose 3/9 ~~ Fill In and hand to your local dealer. ~ I'cst chi. to SOc/AL CREDIT, 163A, STRAND, .~== == LONqON, W,C.2 ==~UlII1I11I1II1I11I11IUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"IIIIIIUIlIlIlIlIl"""mll1I1I1I1I1II1II"11"""III"IIII11""IIII"IIIIIIIIIIII"~

doubts and fears of folk who are not awarethey can only die once, and the travesryof life that goes on will sift a few moredecent men who, if they cannot be leaders,will be intelligent followers.

There are thirty-seven poems in thisvolume of verse which we recommend.An American reviewer of the line A. E.Housman's work stared that of Englishpoets, he had written the least trash. Thewriter of this little volume could weI).beincluded in the same category; he hasrespect for his own intelligence-and con-sequently and necessarily, yours. You willbe in no doubt of his meamng, and JUSt togive another sample from bulk, here is asonnet that should warm the heart of everyindividualist-who wants things for him-self that he would not deny to "others,Thinking for oneself is a difficult art.

"His mind is tangled in an undergrowthOf words and phrases got from books;His broth is spoiled by too many cooks;His mental poverty comes not frOID"sl&th.Resounding word; the flashing phrase;

they bothCan 'captivate him by their very looks rThey hold him fast; they grapple 'B.im

with hooks,To think things for himself the man i

loath. .He reads the Times and from it every 'dayCuts out the speeches of our public men;He learns by heart the empty things they

.say:But should you ask of him politely whenThese childish things will all be put away,He cackles like a stupid, frightened hen .

To the discerning reader there r is awealth of sympathy in the fourth line; ~tis subtle sympathy, and in the same way,the wholesome fife-furthering' ideas ofSocial Credit must be put over to the poorwanderer in the jungle of economics-i-withcomfortable and understanding words.

We recommend this book to the grewingand grown up, and John Milton saves 'usall the trouble of going abroad to learnanything about freedom; Mr. BayardSimmons' splendid volume of versereminds us of our house production andhis work is in line with the tradition oftaking the liberty to know and speakfreely. CHRISTOPHERGAY.

• "Fanfare for Freethought," BayardSimmons, The Pioneer Press, 61, FarringdonStreet, E.C'4 1s. net.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• GET your SOCIAL and COMMERCIAL •.: STAT.IONERY. and your PRINTING (rom :: . BILLINGTON-GREIG :• 31 Carnaby Street, Regent Street •: ' (be~lnd Llberty'l) :...~.....................•....

Page 16 SOCIAL CREDIT, January 6, 1939

Announcements &- Meetings~liscellaneous Notices

R4u IS. II line. Suppor' our IUlwr'isen.

Will advertisers please note thatthe latest time for accepting copyfor this column is 12. noon Mondayfor Frida;s issue.

Advertisers are requested to writefor space rates, to AdvertisingManager, Social Credit SecretariatLimited, 163A, Strand, W.C.~.

BIRMINGHAM and District. Social Crediterawill find friends over tea and light refreshmentaat Prince. Caft!, Temple Street, on Friday even-ings, from 6 p.m .. in the King'. Room. ,

BLACKBURN So<:ial Credit Study ~up meetseach Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Y.M.C.A.,Limbrick. All welcome. Enquiriee to Hon.sec., +7, Wballey New Road, +Blackburn.

DARLINGTON. Residents' enquiries welcomedthrough Mr. J. W. Jennings, I, Bracken Road.

DERBY S.C. AncelatioD. Meetings are heldfortnightly (Tuesdays) at the "Unity Hall," Room14, at 7.45 p.m. Next meeting, January 10."United Social Club" cater for refreshments toall bona fide members of S.C. Association.

GUERNSEY. Persons interested in SocialCredit are requested to communicate with Mr.H. McTaggart, "Sherwood," Mount Row, St.Peter Port.

THE Liverpool Social Credit Forum, an autono-mous local group, is prepared to arrange forspeakera to address meenngs on Social Creditand will welcome enq uiriea regarding otheractivities in the Social Credit Crusade. Addresscommunications to F. H. Auger, "Malvern," Cor-bridge Road, Liverpool, 16.

LONDON RESIDENTS AND VISITORSarc welcome at the Social Credit Rendezvous,16JA, Strand, W.C.~ (entrance in Strand Lane,close to Aldwych Station). Open meeting:Thursdays; at 8 p.m.

January 12Jas. Ed. Tuke

on"The Abolition of Chattel Slavery"

All visitors welcome.

PORTSMOUTH D.S.C. Group, Weekly meetingsevery Thursday at 8 p.m" 16, Ursula Grove, ElmGrove, Southsea.

SOUTHAMPTON Group. Please note thatthe Headquarters have been removed toS, CRANBURY PLACE, SOUTHAMPTON.Tuesday meetings are postponed temporarily.Members please call to see the new and moreadvantageously-situated premises. ,

TUNBRIDGE WELLS and District. Will SocialCrediters please get in touch immediately withW,L.W., Cor Laerum, Hastings Road, Pembury,near Tunbridge Wells?

TYNESIDE Social Credit Society invite co-operation to establish a local centre for SocialCredit action in all its aepects, Apply, W. L.Page, 74-6, High W~.t Street, Gatcahead.

W ALLASEY Social Credit A••oclatlon.Enquiries welcomed by Hon. Sec., ~, Empres.Road, Walluey.

UNFURNISHED FLAT, 3 rooms, newlydecorated, Chingford. Frequent trains City. Suitcouple interested gardening, tennis. Write BoxII, SOCIALCREDIT.

SOCIAL CREDITCENTRE

163A STRAND, LONDON, W,C.l

OPEN daily from I I a.m. to 6-30p.m. Closes I p.m. Saturdays.

Refreshments.

THE FIG TREETHE DECEMBER ISSUE, JUST OUTcontains an important article by G. F. POWELL reviewing the Alberta

situation.GEORGE HICKLING draws the veil from the machinations of the Bank of

England, which he calls the "Crisis Factory."

A remarkable analysis of the events that have precipitated the presentworld condition, from the graphicpen of Miss D. E. FAULKNERJONES,should be read by everyone.

Other notable contributions are from "A.B.C." ARTHUR BRENTON}A. W. COLEMAN, G. W. L. DAY, ARTHUR WELFORD, C. G. DOBBS,Hn.nERlC COU5ENS, GRISJµ.DA COCl-mANE-SHANKS,TOM DIXON, Pmx.n>McDEVITr, and EDWARD P. KAYE.

Post free, 3S. 6d. from the Publishers, The Social Credit Secretariat,Limited, I63a Strand, London, W.C.'l.

For NEW',-READERS ·

Read about Social Credit and thensee bow much more interesting yourdaily paper becomes.

SocUL DEST OR SOCUL CaMIT.By George Hickling ..... ......•... <td.

DEIIT AND TAXATION. By L. D.Byrne ad.

UNTO Tms LAST. By the Deanof Canterbury .. 3d.

WOMEN AND POWRTY. By JeanCampbell Willett 4d.

ARMAGEDDON.By Jaere •............ :aY.d.SANrrr or Socw. ClualIT. By

Maurice Colbourne •.•............ 6d.'WHAT'sWRONGWITH TD WOaLD?

By C. W. L. Day 11.

Tu:a ECONOMICQuSIS. Southamp-tOD Chamber of CommerceReport .........•.......•......•..... 6d.

TH'f WILL BI: DONJI. By J. CreaghScott. Wi,h II fornIJord by 'MDean of Can,erbury Jd.

1m FLu or LJmIuu. By A. R.Orage •................................ 6d.

ECONOMICSFOR EVD.TlIODY ByElle. Dec ••..•.. •••..•••••... .•...•• 3d.

TIDS LLuls TO WAR. By G. W. LDay .....•.....•................•..•. It.

How TO GET WHAT You WANT.By G. W. L. Day and C. F.Powell ..............................:ad.

Sis Propaganda Folden:WASTE: THE CHOSEN FAST OFGoD; FEEDINGRAVENa; A FAMILYNUDa MONn; FoamcN T!lAD.:WAlInn Lrvu (.. of each I'.)

(each) Y.d.·Leat!ets:

"Au AND IT S~ B. Grv.IfYou" (:u. per 100) •....•..••.. Y.d.

WAll (21. 3d. per 100) ......•..••• y.d.WHT PAT TAXES? Y.d.

(:n. 3d. per 100)

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SOCIAL CREDITI63A Strand, London, W.C.l

New Leaflet-(Page 5, Social Credit, October 7)

COST OF WARPREPARATIONS

12 for 3d.; 100 for 1/6 ;500 for 6/6,

From: Socia] Credit Secretariat Limited,163A Strand, London, W.C.z.

Publisbed by the Social Credit Secmarlal Limited, I6JAStrand, LOndon. W.C.2. Tel. TEM. 4154 (Sec:rctariu)TEM: 70S4 IEdi.otial .nd Publi.hinII). Printed by TheBlackftian P.... , Lui., Ie Middle Tanpl. Lan~ R.C.4!and at Le.ice.tAlr. Sol. Allin .. 'or CaDado: Tbe """"ria~ ... Co.