OCR Text |
Show (By Floyd MacGrlff.) LONDON, April 9. The chief and most pressing concern of 'the British troasury today is to obtain money wherewith to pay off one billion pounds sterling in outstanding treasury treas-ury bills, plus two hundred millions, advanced for ways and means. Until some system is devised for deflating de-flating these sums, tho country's financial fi-nancial position will remain weak, according ac-cording to Basil B. Blackett, comptroller comptrol-ler of tho British treasury, and chief treasury adviser to the chancellor of the British exchequer. Ho states that the government must find some way to raise between 300.000,000 and 500,-000,000 500,-000,000 pounds sterling in one year or begin this deflation. Mr. Blackett says it is impossible to create a fund out "of existing revenue to liquidate the outstanding out-standing 1,200,000,0000 pounds treasury bills, and that any refunding attempt would bring a financial crash. Tho floating debt, Mr. Blackett asserts, as-serts, must be wiped out by now taxation taxa-tion of some sort. In testifying before the war wealth taxation committee, which Ib probing ways and means for reducing the nation's financial bur-don, bur-don, Mr. Sackett emphasized the necessity ne-cessity of getting the country's finances fi-nances back to a stable position a thing impossible as long as tho floating float-ing debt exists In tolo. It has been suggested that a considerable con-siderable sum should and could ho raised by heavy taxation of fortunes maed out of the war. Asked bluntly by Sir William Pearso chairman of tho war wealth taxation committee, If the country could "carry "car-ry on, bear Its burden, and trust to the business of the country to avoid danger dan-ger to the progress of industry hero," Mr. Blackett said: "It is impossible, without some special spe-cial provision, to got back to a sound position, either economic or with regard re-gard to the exchequer. Deflation is the first essential." oo |