Last Saturday the Premiers pressed Mr. Theodore to produce the
financial scheme which to the common know- ledge he had been. working at for a long time. He then described it in outline. It proved to be an extremely " viewy " piece of finance; replete, so far as we can judge, with dangers and defying tradition at every turn. It is characteristically the work of a modernist. It is nothing less than a device for restoring the prices of primary products by decreeing that they shall not fall below a certain level. The level would be that at which prices stood two years ago—before the bottom fell out of the market. Mr. Theodore explained, very unconvincingly, that he is not an inflationist and that he has no thought of lowering the value of the currency. Still less does he ally himself with Mr. Lang, the New South Wales Premier, in demanding repudiation. He says that his scheme is really the only way of avoiding bankruptcy, and at present Mr. Scullin agrees with him.
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