ABSTRACT
Commissioner of Immigration Frederic C. Howe formulates three principles which he believes ought to be worked into any program of preparedness. The first is that the cost of armament should be paid for out of direct taxation graded to throw the chief burden on the well-to-do and very rich. Through the control of credit the financiers are in a position to pass sentence of death on a foreign government and to put an effective veto on the clear intention of our own government. This is the sort of consideration Commissioner Howe has neglected to deal with. International laissez-faire is no solution of the real danger to which he points. What he wishes to avoid is war to protect investments. But the facts of a given case may require investment in order to preserve the peace. In casting about for a better solution, a somewhat closer analysis is necessary.
