The War and Our Financial Fabric

In our loose and indefinite way -- as a result, maybe, of our defective vision -- we talk of a vast superstructure of credit erected on a tiny gold basis. We gaze upon this mighty fabric and shake our heads ominously. As we gaze we see the structure grow, extending upwards and outwards, enlarging itself by some invisible and mysterious agency, and when we cast our gaze to the foundations we see that it looks like a towering edifice perched insecurely on a small, uneven piece of rock. No wonder we have feared that when storms break the whole crazy thing will come crashing down, scattering ruin and devastation in a vast area around it. It seems to us like a structure built by a madman, in defiance of the laws of architecture, and that there can be but one end, sooner or later, to so fantastic a fabric.

So have we been told time and again that our superstructure of credit has been built only for fair weather and not for foul.