29 MARCH 1946, Page 22

A Page of British Folly. By R. F. Harrod. (Macmillan.

Is. 6d.) IN this lively pamphlet Mr. Harrod states with conviction and some passion the case for close economic co-operation between this country and the United States. The folly to which he refers in the tide is that of accepting with ostentatious reluctance the Bretton Woods proposals and of being willing to break away from the famous Article Seven of the Mutual Aid Agreement of February, 1942, whereby the United Kingdom and the United States (together with any other country which cared to come in) pledged themselves to an expansionist economic policy. For this alone he earns gratitude. But it will be unfortunate if the layman, under the spell of Mr. Harrod's eloquence, forgets the less palatable side of the Agreement and the stringent conditions attached to the proposed loan. Perhaps he will be saved by a slight note of over-eagerness in the exposition. The main argument for a clear and friendly understanding with the United States will stand in any case, and Mr. Harrod's pamphlet will also stand as a vigorous plea for common sense on a critical question.