From the archives | 22 January 2015

From ‘Economic quackery’, The Spectator, 23 January 1915: Ever since the war began there has been a tendency to rely upon the government, instead of relying upon ourselves and upon the operation of economic laws. The political mischief resulting is the establishment of what is virtually an uncontrolled Cabinet autocracy. The economic mischief, though it has already made itself evident in one important particular, may only be realized years hence. The instance to which we refer is the case of sugar. The public and the government worked themselves up into a panic at the beginning of the war over the price of sugar, with the result that Mr McKenna was permitted to gamble in sugar with many millions of the nation’s money. The gamble turned out badly, as most government speculations do, and after a short time, in order to protect their improvident purchase, the government prohibited the importation of all sugar into this country.