Quote#War
An economic creed in an imperfect world must be at least equally…
Quote byF. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead · 1872–1930
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Speech to the Constitutional Club (20 November 1923), quoted in The Times (21 November 1923), p. 17.
English (original)
An economic creed in an imperfect world must be at least equally adapted to the purposes of war as to the purposes of peace. ... when war came in 1914, what was the situation of this country? The free-trade system had wholly failed to equip the Government of this country with the many instruments which were absolutely vital for the purposes of conducting war.
— F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
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