6 JUNE 1931, Page 30

WHERE DOES RESPONSIBILITY LIE ?

On the morning following Professor Cassel's address both The Times and the Morning Post criticized his conclusions closely and rather strongly, maintaining that there are many other causes of a more natural and human character which the Professor had not taken into account. On the other hand, the City Editor of the Daily Herald—the- organ of the Labour Government— commenting upon the Professor's address, said : " I have at one time and another said some pretty severe things about Bankers myself, but I unreservedly give credit to Professor Gustav Cassel for his greater powers of invective. Professor Cassel, whose reputation as an Economist is world-wide, told the Bankers yesterday just hew badly they have let the rest of the world down."

I have ventured to interrupt, as it were, Professor Cassel in his exposition of the situation by interpolating this reference to newspaper comments, and especially to the comments of the Daily Herald, because I want to emphasize the importance of the general reader coming to some kind of definite conclusion with regard to the matter. If, for example, the inference to be drawn from the comments in the Daily Herald were correct, then it follows that the main responsibility for a about an improvement in the situation rests with the world's (Continued on page 914.) Finance—Public and Private (Continued from page 912.) banking institutions. If, however, certain other and what I will call human and natural causes should be mainly responsible, then the improvement may have to be sought along the lines of human effort and human organization.