27 AUGUST 1932, Page 24

STUNTS AND CAMOUFLAGE.

And to some extent I think that this lack of compre- hension arises from the tendency of the modern 'newspaper to make a kind of stunt of every passing development, so that the community is puzzled as to the true conditions. It is just a year ago that we were faeed with one :of the greatest financial and political crises through which we have passed since the War, but it was not until the storm burst that politicians or the stunt Press appeared to per- ceive whither we were drifting. When, however, some small part of the task which the new National Government was called upon to perform showed promise of fulfilment, the public might well have imagined from some of the stunt newspapers that we had passed from a period -of great adversity to conditions of prosperity. The abandonment of the gold standard was immediately hailed as something giving a great stimulus to our exports and no heed was given either to the blow imparted to the London Money Market or to other countries Where Britain's departure from the gold standard undoubtedly aggravated the already chaotic exchange conditions. When the rise in Government securities commenced early this year the rise was boosted in many newspapers as affording evidence of the great improvement in the national -credit,- while much was made of the' saving to the Exchequer =Suiting from the Government 'being able to borrow on Treasury Bills at per cent. Yet all the time the main cause operating was the ever-increasing stagnation of trade, the lack of adequate employment for available resources, and the absence of confidence among the holders of liquid capital.