21 JULY 1939, Page 52

UNITED DOMINIONS TRUST PROGRESS

There is inspiration as well as information in Mr. J. Gibson Jarvie's address to shareholders of the United Dominions Trust. Mr. Jarvie is one of those dynamic City men who refuses to be cowed into inactivity by busi- ness depressions or international politics and the results of his forcefulness are demonstrated very clearly in the bank's figures. Year by year fresh records of turnover have been established and the latest accounts have continued the trend. He explained at this week's meeting that the business on the bank's books is as clean as at any time in the bank's history and that transactions are being liquidated well up to standard. Nor apparently is there any need to visualise the end of the company's expansion, for in any conditions short of catastrophe there is scope for further growth both at home and abroad. Referring to overseas development, Mr. Jarvie spoke confidently of the prospects of the new subsidiary in Southern Rhodesia which began operations on July 3rd, but emphasised that the board's policy in this field was to proceed cautiously.

This banker is not among those who feel that in the event of an assured peace disarmament would cause wide- spread unemployment and distress. In his view the diffi- culty would be not to find employment but to control the boom. " Remove the fear of war and there would be such trade and trading opportunities as we have never seen before." I fully agree with this hopeful forecast, at least in the absolute sense that the total volume of trade and employment would be greatly enlarged. But there would be a formidable problem of readjustment during the period in which mankind was turning over from the pursuits of the " white war " to the pursuits of peace.