NATIONAL ECONOMY EXHIBITION.
[TO THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR:1
Sna—The National Economy Exhibition at Prince's Skating CIA% Knightsbridge, will be opened by the Lord Mayor on Monday next at noon. It is unnecessary for me to go deeply into the reasons for holding this Exhibition. I touched upon them in my previous letter, and yaur admirable articles on the subject leave few arguments unstated. There are one or two points, however, that may usefully be emphasised. Purchases made at the present time have this disadvantage, that they are governed by " war " prices, which tend to mount higher all the time. If people will deny themselves for the present and have patience to wait till the war is over, they can then make their purchases under conditions tending steadily to improve. The purchasing power of the sovereign is bound to recover, and those who have saved their sovereigns will get the benefit. Moreover, the postponement of private demands will bring this further advantage, that we shall have needs to supply and money to circulate when the large Government contracts cease and work would otherwise be scarce. At a time when milliens of discharged soldiers are returning to the labour market we can easily foresee the importance of such a reserve. It will go far towards bri.lging over the dreaded gap between our temporary prosperity and what Ls to follow, while contributing materially to the present benefit of ex- change and shipping. The industrial classes, as the Lord Chan seller reminds us, are having the bulk of the money we are spending on the war, and it is they who will suffer most by the reaction. Caro in the outlay of money is as largely in their own interest as in that of the State as a whole, and it is with that conviction that we have entered upon our arrangements for the Exhibition. We have endeavoured to find all the thrifty devices applicable to domestic management and assemble them under one roof. The more fanciful innovations have been discarded from a governing idea of practical usefulness. rut enough has been collected to prove quite conclusively that few depart- ments of personal expenditure are without room for more economical methods. The Exhibition will be supplemented by a Conference, about which I should like to say a word. Thanks to the "United Workers," who have co-operated with us, lectures have been arranged to take place each day at 5.30 and 7.30—in a few instances at 3.30. Amongst the speakers will be Lord Sumner, Lord Sydenham, Sir Hugh Bell, Sir Charles Addis, Mr. Hartley Withers, the Hon. R. H. Brand, Lady Ferrara, Sir George Paish, Mr. Percy Corkhill of Liverpool, Mr. William Schooling, Mr. A. E. Zimmem, Mr. It M. Kindersley, Mr. W. L. Hichens, Mr. Drysdale Woodcock, Mr. Theodore Chambers, Sir Hedley Le Bas, Mrs. Hudson Lyall, Mrs. Arnold Glover, Mr. T. Lennox Gilmour, Mr. W. A. Lawton, Mr. Christopher Tumor, and Dr. Parkin. In conclusion, the Exhibition will be open from June 26th— July 8th between the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Readers of the Spectator may assist its object by attending themselves and by sending
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