Page:Bankers and Credit (1924).pdf/292

 heartiest respect, all success in the task of working out a scheme of currency reform which will avoid Government control and will be accepted by all of them; and in the meantime to follow the line marked out by our leading bankers at the International Chamber of Commerce Conference held in 1921. Sir Felix Schuster expressed their determination to "return as soon as possible to the pre-war gold standard . . . whether it be this year, next year, or in five, six or ten years." The best way to get there is not to cut down our money but to increase our goods so that we may have cheapness through plenty and make England the best country to buy in. When we have got back the gold standard we can go on to think about Professor Lehfeldt's suggestion for a working agreement between United States and ourselves to stabilize gold prices by regulating the output of gold. In view of the close relations already existing between the Bank of England and the—American Federal Reserve Board this proposal seems to be much more feasible than a European Consortium with a gold pool and a common Bank Rate. But even it—so close is the connexion between monetary policy and political money—could not be considered if a Presidential Election were anywhere within sight.