King Leopold's Letter It is doubtful whether the letter addressed
by King Leopold of the Belgians to his Prime Minister, M. van Zeeland, is quite as timely or as useful as it may seem. M. van Zeeland is shortly to announce the preliminary results of the enquiry into the possibility of international economic agreements which he has been undertaking at the request of the French and British Governments, and it is to be hoped that he will have immediately practical proposals to make. King Leopold suggests that what is needed is the establishment of some new body for research into economic problems which will be characterised by " independence, permanence, and universality." The sug- gestion is surprising because such a body, of proved efficiency, already exists in the Economic and Financial Organisation of the League of Nations, and to go .farther might very well be to fare worse. But in fact no one believes that the obstacle at the moment to co-operation in the economic sphere is lack of essential knowledge and information ; the obstacle is refusal to act, for various reasons, upon information already in the possession of Governments. Additions to knowledge are always valuable, and King Leopold's letter is welcome as an expression of his earnest desire for co-operation. But Belgium has already shown in practice how sincere that desire is, and it is her practical example that most needs imitation at the moment.
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