some of which we have described above, which were
volunteered either in letters or in interviews, and there was the
advice of well known bankers and men of financial prominence which the
Committee itself solicited. In the latter class figured a member of
one of the largest private banking houses in New York whose opinions
and counsel were of inestimable value. This gentleman, gifted with
clear insight and a thorough grasp of the situation, and generously
anxious to be of service to the Committee, pointed out from the start
that the reopening of the Exchange hung upon a favorable swing in the
balance of trade. When the indebtedness of the United States to Europe
could be offset by our exports the danger of reestablishing our market
would become negligible, and this shrewd adviser predicted that the
desired reaction in foreign exchange was much closer at hand than was
generally supposed. The most valuable of his admonitions, and the
words which did most to strengthen the courage and resolve of the
Committee were these: "You will be given all kinds of advice by all
kinds of people, but remember that in the end the responsibility will
fall upon you, therefore listen attentively to everything you are told
but act on your own independent judgment." This wise course was
successfully followed, and the change in the trend of foreign exchange
came, as he predicted, much sooner than was expected.

Numerous other prominent men who were turned to for assistance showed
the greatest willingness to render every service within their power,
and placed the Committee under heavy obligations. There was one case
where the zealous desire to work out a very detailed solution of the
reopening problem brought a ray of humor into these otherwise serious
and anxious discussions. A certain private banker presented his scheme
in approximately the following words: "Before you can reopen the
Exchange you must be in a position to know to what extent Europe is
going to throw our securities upon this market, and the only way to
obtain this information is to send some members of your Committee
abroad. This delegation should go first to London and settle there for
a long enough time to get intimately acquainted with leading persons
in the financial world. This could be done by cultivating social
intercourse, dining and consorting with these people until a frank
statement from them could be obtained concerning the probable volume
of American securities for