378 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



their battle against greed and corruption are per- 

 haps the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall, es- 

 pecially the Recall. 



Since the foregoing was written the stars in 

 their courses have fought for the finances of the 

 United States. 



Cunning men and their dupes had contrived a 

 system of expansion through which to control the 

 cash and credit of the country as John Law con- 

 trolled the finances of France just two hundred 

 years ago. Of course it worked smoothly at first. 

 So did John Law's scheme and for three years he 

 rode upon a rising tide of prosperity until he was 

 accounted a demigod by the people. The crash 

 of his system was as sudden and complete as its 

 rise had been meteoric. 



Happily for our own experiment the world war 

 has introduced new elements of such potency that 

 all ordinary checks and balances through the ship- 

 ments of products and the workings of exchange 

 were overwhelmed. There came a sudden, ab- 

 normal and tremendous demand for our products, 

 together with a wiping out of competition in 



