FEAR OF GERMANY 187

only on their enemies, but on neutrals, it does not
seem likely that they will have much to spare for
capital expansion in foreign countries, especially
when we consider how many problems of reconstruc-
tion they will themselves have to face at home.
" To impose restrictions upon the influx of capital/'
the Report continues, " aimed at our present enemies,
with the result of deterring the flow of capital from
(say) America, would be a policy highly injurious to
the economic recovery and renewed prosperity of
this country after the war. For these reasons we
are of opinion that in all amendments of the law
falling within the scope of our reference, the expe-
diency of the attraction of foreign capital should be
steadily borne in mind." The Committee thus seems
to have thought it necessary to administer comfort
to anybody who might fear that the unrestricted
flow of capital from abroad might involve this
country in the terrible danger of being assisted in its
industrial recovery by capital from Germany.

If there were, in fact, any possibility of this
assistance being given, it would seem to be extremely
short-sighted not to allow British industry to make
use of it. In the matter of " peaceful penetration/'
we have ourselves in the past done perhaps as much
as all the rest of the countries of the world put
together, with the result that we have greatly
stimulated the development of economic prosperity
all over the world; in fact, it may be argued that the
great progress made in the last century in mant'
power over the forces of Nature has been to a greas
extent due to the freedom with which we invested