129 to the need for enlarged production of essentials and to the maximum of economy in both public and private expenditures. Financial machinery is, after all, only a means to an end. There are grounds for concern when we view gold and federal reserve notes as &dquocapital&dquo and fancy that by concentrating the one and by issuing the other we are necessarily aiding production. When we laud the achievements of the United States Steel Corporation for having done more dollars' worth of business

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... n 1917 than in 1916, but overlook the serious fact that its output in tons showed an actual decline of about 5 per cent, our judgment is awry. National budgeting is hindered, not helped, if banking machinery is utilized as a means of inflation.