130 How to Pay for the War 



be brought into action at once, and that the sooner it is in 

 working order and going " full steam ahead," the better 

 for all of us. However nuich men may differ in their 

 opinions as to how the work can best be carried out, and 

 whatever hopes and fears each may have for his own or 

 his neighbour's scheme, all vote solid on the one point — 

 let it be done and done at once. Many of us, meanwhile, 

 are probably amazed that so important a work should 

 have been left in abeyance for so long, even when it was 

 known, as explained in the previous chapter, that our 

 neglect has proved our enemy's opportunity ; for whilst 

 we have allowed our immense riches to remain latent and 

 buried so far as we are concerned, we took no steps, 

 previous to the War, to prevent our present enemy from 

 seeking out the land and discovering what we had and he 

 wanted. This ascertained, Fritz then extracted our wealth 

 and, sending it to Germany, either resold it to us at a big 

 profit or turned it into war supplies; but in either case, 

 utilized our wealth to supply him with the sinews of war 

 to fight our Allies and ourselves. 



It is not only the undeveloped riches in India and our 

 Colonies that, hitherto, have been neglected in the manner 

 described. One splendid industry, at least, that could and 

 should well have been carried on m England, where the 

 raw material for the work is produced, has also been 

 allowed to go to those who live in Germany or who, 

 by birth or descent, come from that country, but have 

 migrated to increase the wealth and power of the Father- 

 land in other countries, and this time it is America and 

 not England or in British territory. The industry I am 

 referring to is, of course, the optical industry, the glass 

 for which comes, I believe, from a well-known firm in 

 Birmingham, from where it is exported to the United 

 States. Over there the glass is, or was until recently, cut 

 up, ground and polished principally by those with German 

 names, under the guidance of the well-known firm of 

 Zeiss, of Jena. As Mr. Octavius Beale very properly 

 pointed out in the paper that he read before the Fellows 

 of the Royal Colonial Institute on March 13, this playing 

 into Germany's hands and filling her pockets with our 

 money must stop. We must remember that, as Professor 

 Foerster, of Munich, openly stated in a recent article 

 that was published in the Mueiichener Neueste Naclmchteu, 

 Germany would not have been so well off as she was 

 previous to this War, if we had taken life as seriously and 

 had worked as industriously as Fritz and Michael have 



