This state of monetary collapse Is not without its parallel even in classical times; whenever prices fall so low that it is beyond the capacity of debtors to meet their obligations. In ancient Rome, a large army of soldiers, returning from the wars, were faced with wholesale imprisonment for debt and even physical dismemberment according to the laws of that time. But being in arms they could take the law into their Own hands. They threatened to evacuate Rome and to found another city and rid themselves of unfair debt. This brought the creditor class to its knees, resulting in compromise with their debtors.
Coming back to the case of America, it might be said that if the Government had not devalued the currency, there were possibilities of very serious civil disturbances, Witness the fact of the vast numbers of war veterans marching into Washington and against whom the Hoover administration had to use firearms.
Before rounding off the illustration of the American case, one must not omit another major source of disruption. Not only was the internal economy in disorder, as described above, but American foreign trade was at a serious handicap by reason of the pound sterling's advantage in foreign trade in first going off gold, followed by so many other nations. Incidentally, it proved that British money was the real universal yardstick of value—a genuine compliment to the power and supremacy of British banking and commerce.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.