Letter from D. N. Filaretos to P. Tsaldaris urging him, on the one hand, to accept the formation of an ecumenical government and, on the other, to promote Greek tobacco abroad, chiefly in England, as a measure for resolving Greece's economic and monetary crisis.

7)11)932 2α Θα μου συγχωρήσετε αυτή την πατριωτική ειλικρίνεια. Αν σκεπτόμουν κομματικά, ίσως έπρεπε μάλλον να σας αποκοιμίσω, για να φτάσουμε ασφαλέστερα σε εκλογές, ας οι παλαιοδημοκρατικοί πάθουμε ως οριστική λύση για τη χώρα, αφού προσβλητικά αρνηθήκατε μέχρι τώρα σύμπραξη με τους φιλελεύθερους σε Οικουμενική. Στο μεταξύ, οι οικονομολογούντες, έχοντας οξύτερη την αίσθηση της καθημερινής φθοράς του νομίσματος (που εντείνεται αρκετά και από την πολιτική αστάθεια και την αμοιβαία κριτική, τις νομισματικές και δημοσιονομικές απογραφές κλπ. κλπ.), έχουμε καθήκον να μην αφήνουμε τον χρόνο να περνά, αλλά να κρούουμε συνεχώς τον κώδωνα. Με την ίδια ειλικρίνεια μίλησα πάντοτε και επί της προηγούμενης φίλης μου Κυβέρνησης. Δεν γνωρίζω αν σας δόθηκε καιρός, Κύριε Πρόεδρε, να ρίξετε μια ματιά στο βιβλίο μου που σας έστειλα την επομένη των εκλογών, με τον τίτλο «Διά του Καπνού η ανασταθεροποίηση των ελληνικών οικονομικών». Σε αυτό περιέχεται ό,τι πιστεύω για τα αίτια της νόσου μας και για τα προτεινόμενα μέσα θεραπείας της. Κρίση για το βιβλίο μου και για την πρακτική αξία των προτεινόμενων προς έρευνα σκέψεών μου μπορεί να διατυπώσει ο μόνιμος αντιπρόεδρος του Ανωτάτου Οικονομικού Συμβουλίου κ. Λοβέρδος, ο οποίος το διάβασε προσεκτικά και ετοιμάζεται, νομίζω, να το εισαγάγει για τεχνική και οικονομική έρευνα στην ολομέλεια του Α.Ο.Σ. Τον κ. Μάξιμο τον έχω επίσης κρατήσει εδώ και μήνες ενήμερο για τις απόψεις μου. Με λίγα λόγια, το βιβλίο μου καταλήγει ότι η πηγή της οικονομικής μας καχεξίας είναι η νομισματική εξασθένηση και ότι αυτή δεν μπορεί πια να παρέλθει αυτόματα με την ενδεχόμενη πάροδο της διεθνούς κρίσης ούτε με τη μακρινή απόδοση των παραγωγικών έργων, για τα οποία άλλωστε στερούμαστε κεφαλαίων. Η πίστη μας κλονίστηκε, συνεπεία της κρίσης, πολύ βαθιά. Τα μέτρα υπήρξαν σκληρά. Η δραχμή ήδη ήταν ασταθής. Η μετανάστευση φθίνει και θα φθίνει. Η ναυτιλία ποιος ξέρει πότε θα ανακάμψει. Δεν μπορούμε να αντεπεξέλθουμε στον υπερπληθυσμό, για τον οποίο ευθύνονται και οι Σύμμαχοί μας του 1920. Μόνη εναπομένουσα σωτηρία είναι να εισέλθει ο καπνός μας στη Βρετανική Αυτοκρατορία

7)11)932 2α Bu yurtsever içtenliği bağışlayacaksınız. Parti açısından düşünseydim, belki sizi daha çok uyutmam gerekirdi; öyle ki seçimlere daha güvenle varalım, eski demokratlar çekelim ülke için kesin çözüm olarak, üstelik şimdiye dek Liberallerle ekümenik hükûmette iş birliğini hakaret edercesine reddetmiş olduğunuza göre. Bu arada, iktisatla uğraşanlar olarak, paranın günlük aşınmasının bilincinde daha keskin olan bizler (bu aşınma, siyasi istikrarsızlıktan, karşılıklı eleştiriden, parasal ve mali envanterlerden vb. vb. de hiç az olmayan ölçüde şiddetlenmektedir), zamanın geçmesine izin vermemek, aksine durmadan çan çalmak ödevindeyiz. Aynı içtenlikle, dostum olan selefi Hükûmet döneminde de hep konuştum. Bilmiyorum, Sayın Başkanım, seçimlerin ertesi günü size gönderdiğim, “Tütün Yoluyla Yunan Ekonomisinin Yeniden İstikrara Kavuşturulması” başlıklı kitabıma bir göz atmaya vakit bulabildiniz mi. İçinde, hastalığımızın nedenleri ve onun için önerilen tedavi araçları hakkında inandığım ne varsa yer almaktadır. Kitabım ve araştırılmak üzere ortaya atılan düşüncelerimin pratik değeri hakkında hükmü, kitabı dikkatle okumuş olan ve sanırım teknik ve ekonomik inceleme için A.O.S.'nin genel kuruluna sunmaya hazırlanan Yüksek Ekonomi Konseyi daimi başkan yardımcısı Bay Loverdos verebilir. Bay Maximos'u da aylardır görüşlerimden haberdar tutuyorum. Birkaç sözcükle, kitabım şu sonuca varmaktadır: ekonomik çöküntümüzün kaynağı parasal zayıflamadır ve bu, artık uluslararası krizin olası sona ermesiyle kendiliğinden geçemez, sermayeden yoksun olduğumuz üretici işlerin uzak vadeli getirisiyle de geçemez. Krizin sonucu olarak kredi itibarımız çok derinden sarsıldı. Önlemler sert oldu. Drahmi zaten istikrarsızdı. Göç azalmaktadır ve azalacaktır. Denizciliğin ne zaman toparlanacağını kim bilir. Aşırı nüfus karşısında yetemeyiz; bundan 1920'deki Müttefiklerimiz de sorumludur. Geriye kalan tek kurtuluş, tütünümüzün Britanya İmparatorluğu'na girmesi ve

7)11)932 2nd You will forgive me this patriotic sincerity. Had I been thinking in party terms, I should perhaps rather have lulled you to sleep, so that we might reach elections more surely, let the old-democrats we suffer as a definitive solution for the country, and since you have insultingly refused, until now, co-operation with the Liberals in an Ecumenical [government]. Meanwhile, those of us who concern ourselves with economics, having a keener awareness of the daily deterioration of the currency (intensified not a little by political instability, by mutual criticism, by the monetary and fiscal stocktakings, etc., etc.), have a duty not to let time pass but to keep sounding the alarm. I always spoke with the same sincerity also under the preceding Government, which was friendly to me. I do not know whether you have been given time, Mr. President, to cast a glance at my book, which I sent you on the day after the elections, under the title “Through Tobacco the Re-stabilisation of Greek Finances”. In it is contained all that I believe about the causes of our illness and the proposed means of curing it. A judgment on my book and on the practical value of my thoughts, put forward for investigation, can be given by the permanent Vice-President of the Supreme Economic Council, Mr. Loverdos, who read it attentively and is preparing, I think, to introduce it for technical and economic examination to the plenary of the A.O.S. [Supreme Economic Council]. I have also kept Mr. Maximos informed of my views for months. In a few words, my book concludes that the source of our economic cachexy is monetary debilitation, and that this can no longer pass automatically with the possible passing of the international crisis, nor with the remote yield of productive works, for which, moreover, we lack capital. Our credit has been very deeply shaken in consequence of the crisis. The measures were harsh. The drachma was already unstable. Emigration is declining and will decline. Who knows when shipping will recover. We cannot cope with the overpopulation, for which our Allies of 1920 are also responsible. The only remaining salvation is for our tobacco to enter the British Empire