The nation was in great peril after this war, and that peril will not
pass in our lifetime except by heroic remedies. We won victory in the
field and at the cost of our own ruin. We smashed Germany and Austria
and Turkey, but the structure of our own wealth and industry was
shattered, and the very foundations of our power were shaken and
sapped. Nine months after the armistice Great Britain was spending at
the rate of ?2,000,000 a day in excess of her revenue. She was
burdened with a national debt which had risen from 645 millions in
1914 to 7,800 millions in 1919. The pre-war expenditure of
?200,000,000 per annum on the navy, army, and civil service pensions
and interest on national debt had risen to 750 millions.
Our exports were dwindling down, owing to decreased output, so that
foreign exchanges were rising against us and the American dollar was
increasing in value as our proud old sovereign was losing its ancient
standard. So that for all imports from the United States we were
paying higher prices, which rose every time the rate of exchange
dropped against us.
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