60 HOW TO PAY FOR THE WAR

voluntary savings added together, since the highertax will not be met entirely by a reduction inconsumption but partly at least by a reductionin savings.

> Thus, as soon as the rate of expenditure hasexceeded the maximum which can be handled bynormal methods, our drastic methods must besufficient to produce a yield greater than thisexcess, since we can no longer rely on the sameyield as before from voluntary sources. For thisreason I have put no reliance above on voluntarysavings by private individuals as distinct frominstitutional and contractual saving, though Ihope that this may prove unduly pessimistic.

I should mention in passing, what is obvious,that the excellent success of the War SavingsCampaign gives no useful statistical guide to theprospects of the voluntary method. The termsoffered, being attractive compared with the depositrates of the Post Office Savings Bank and theJoint Stock Banks, naturally attract old savingspreviously held elsewhere. Moreover, the forma-tion of savings groups is frequently assisted byadvances from employers for the purchase ofcertificates to be paid for gradually by futuredeductions from earnings. Thus the publishedtotals comprehend both past and future savings,and it is impossible to say what proportion ofthem is attributable to current savings in thesense of an excess of current income over currentexpenditure during the period in which thenominal total has been subscribed.The force of this general argument appears to