Excerpt from Address by A. C. Miller, Member, Federal Reserve Board: Delivered at Philadelphia, Saturday Evening, December 21, 1918, Before the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Contrast for a moment our situation with that of the European belligerents, which have had four years of war. Sixty millions of men at one time or another have been drawn to the front. Two or three times that number have been drawn into work so closely related to operations on the front that they were virtu ally in the line of battle, so far as the normal processes of economic and industrial life were concerned. Ten millions have been killed, fifteen or more millions are left so maimed and diseased that they will be of doubtful in dustrial value, unless or until they are 'reconstructed.' These killed and maimed and diseased represented much of the flower of the industrial population of Europe. They represent a heavy and grievous loss to their countries' industries. Their loss must some how or other be made good through finding and training others to take their place. Until this is accomplished, the industries which de pended upon their skill will limp. Here is a problem of reconstruction. The lands in many of the choicest and most fertile districts of Europe were laid waste by the war; farm steads burned, tools and live-stock gone; the very soil itself destroyed. Here is work of veritable reconstruction. Factories, mills and foundries in France's busiest work-shop dis trict have been destroyed or so badly injured or dismantled that much must be done before they can again take their place in the industry of the world. Here again is reconstruction. It is clear, also, that much work must be done not only in the fought-over and devastated dis tricts of Europe to repair the work of ravage and destruction, but also even in those where the sound of a gun was never heard. There has everywhere in Europe been such deterioration of industrial equipment through en forced neglect of upkeep that much must be done before factories and mills are gotten back into good working order and able to turn out products which can be used by their own people or sent into the markets of the world in payment of needed supplies and materials. This also means reconstruction.

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