NEED FOR ECONOMY.
It must not be forgotten, however, that before the next Budget is produced something should have been heard both as regards economy recommendations by the Committee which is now sitting and also as regards the Debt settlements by France and Italy. After all-,_ it must be remembered that no small part of the American Budget surpluses at the present time arise from the interest paid by Europe on its 'War debts, and we have: a right to expect that our own Budgets ere long will experience some relief, however moderate, from the repayment of the debts of our Allies. Nevertheless, I think that most people will- be agreed that it is upon our own economies rather than upon War debts or Reparations that we should be concentrating attention at the present time when considering the forthcoming Budget as an aid to an improvement in our economic position,- If Mr. Winston Churchill should succeed in making his next Budget balance by some new forms of taxation least calculated to injure the ordinary taxpayer or our industrial activities—such, for example, as a tax on betting—it. will, no doubt, be a feature to, be. welcomed. Nothing, however, can really take the place of actual economies, for these, if wisely arranged, usually have the double effect of relieving the taxpayer and also of bringing _about those wide economies which result from a cessation of unproductive forms of expenditure. More- over, ust as prodigality. on the part of- the -Exchequer tends to stimulate wasteful expenditure throughout the country, so determined thrift on the part of the Govern- ment usually reacts favourably throughout the nation..
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