Arthur Kitson (6 April 1859, London – 2 October 1937) was a British monetary theorist and inventor.

Early life

He married Fannie Ernestina Aschenbach in

Spring Garden, Philadelphia Spring Garden is a neighborhood in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, bordering Center City on the north. Spring Garden is a neighborhood that combines diverse residential neighborhoods and significant cultural attractions. The resident ...

on 25 March 1886. They had seven children but eventually divorced. Arthur Kitson knew

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

personally and in Pennsylvania worked for Bryan's U.S. Presidential campaign in 1896.

Career

He was the managing director of the Kitson Empire Lighting Company of

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a town and civil parish in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed ...

and held many patents. In 1901, he invented the vaporised

oil burner An oil burner is a heating device which burns #1, #2 and #6 heating oils, diesel fuel or other similar fuels. In the United States ultra low #2 diesel is the common fuel used. It is dyed red to show that it is road-tax exempt. In most markets ...

. The fuel was vaporised at high pressure and burned to heat the mantle, giving an output of over six times the luminosity of traditional oil lights. This device was later improved by David Hood at

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

Banking research

Kitson was invited to contribute critical testimony to the Cunliffe Currency Committee in January 1919. In place of oral testimony, he published his criticism at his own expense and furnished copies to every member of the committee. He later formed the Economic Freedom League with

Frederick Soddy Frederick Soddy FRS (2 September 1877 – 22 September 1956) was an English radiochemist who explained, with Ernest Rutherford, that radioactivity is due to the transmutation of elements, now known to involve nuclear reactions. He also prov ...

and was active in this venture through the 1920s.

Later life

He was declared bankrupt in 1925.

Kitson's antisemitism and fascism

Kitson became convinced Jewish bankers were the cause of his bankruptcy and most of the world's miseries. He sent Ezra Pound a copy of ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

'' even before Pound changed from a money radical to a notorious anti-Semite.

Works

* ''A Scientific Solution of the Money Question''. Arena Publishing Company, 1895. * ''The Money Problem''. Grant Richards, 1903. * ''Industrial Depression: Its Causes and Cure''. Fisher Unwin, 1905. * ''An Open Letter to the Right Hon. David Lloyd George''. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1911. * ''Trade Fallacies: A Criticism of Existing Methods, and Suggestions for a Reform Towards National Prosperity''. P. S. King & Son, 1917. * ''A Fraudulent Standard''. P. S. King & Son, 1917. * ''The Great Pacifist Conspiracy!: A Warning and an Appeal to the British Public''. Dolby, 1918. * ''Money Problems: A Discussion of the Basis of our Monetary and Credit Institutions with Suggestions for the Establishment of a Scientific Currency System''. Dolby Brothers, 1920. * ''Unemployment: The Cause and a Remedy''. London: Cecil Palmer, 1921.
''The Bankers' Conspiracy! Which Started the World Crisis''.
London: Elliot Stock, 1933. ** Audiobook available. * ''A Modern Pilgrim's Progress''. Oxford: Alden Press, 1935. ::Published under pseudonym "A Fellow Pilgrim".

Pamphlets

* ''Usury (Payment for the Use of Things): The Prime Cause of Want and Unemployment''. s.n., 1910. * ''Is a Money Crisis Imminent?: Being the Becture Delivered under the Auspices of the Banking and Currency Reform League at the New Reform Club, 1 November''. Commercial Intelligence Publ. Co., 1911. * ''England's Trade Barrier! The Bank Charter Act: An Address Delivered to the Members of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, 17 December 1917''. Hudson & Son, 1917. * ''Reconstruction Through Banking Reform''. Cornish Echo Company, 1918. * ''Renewal of the Bank of England Charter: How the Present Banking System Restricts Trade''. Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, 1918. * ''A Criticism of the First Interim Report of the Committee on Currency and Foreign Exchanges''. British Banking Reform League, 1919. * ''The Treasury's Latest Craze''. Unwin, 1920. * ''A Letter to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales on the World Crisis – Its Cause, and Remedy''. Oxford: Alden Press, 1931. * ''The Science of Plenty'', s.n.

Articles

* "The Logic of Free Trade and Protection." ''Popular Science Monthly'', Vol. 38, November 1890. * "Fallacies of Modern Economists." ''Popular Science Monthly'', Vol. 42, December 1892.
"A Criticism of Henry George's Single Tax Theory."
''The American Journal of Politics'', Vol. V, July/December 1894.
"What is Economic Value?"
''The American Magazine of Civics'', Vol. VI, January/June 1895. Dietrick, Hellen Battelle
"A Standard of Value"
''The American Magazine of Civics'', Vol. VII, 1895.
"The Minimum Wage"
(letter). ''The New Age'', Vol. X, No. 18, February 1912, p. 428
Full issue available.

"Gold and State Banking."
''The New Age'', Vol. XI, No. 13, 1912.
"A Successful Experiment."
''The New Age'', Vol. XI, No. 26, 1912.
"The Root of All Evil."
''The New Age'', Vol. XII, No. 17, 1913.
"The 20th Century Napoleon."
''The New Age'', Vol. XIII, No. 13, 1913.
"Legislative Quackery."
''The New Age'', Vol. XIV, No. 11, 1914.
"The War and the Prophets."
''The New Age'', Vol. XV, No. 18, 1914.
"The Russian Myth."
''The New Age'', Vol. XV, No. 23, 1914.
"German Kultur."
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 2, 1914.
"Messrs. Facing-Bothways"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 10, 1915.
"The Psychological Factor."
''Land & Water'', 4 December 1915.
"The Financial Factor."
''Land & Water'', 30 December 1915.
"Treasury Notes: Their Present Advantage and Permanent Value."
''Land Water'', Vol. LXVII, No. 2830, 3 August 1916.
"Labour, Capital and the State."
''Land & Water'', Vol. LXVIII, No. 2839, 5 October 1916.
"Property and the State."
''Land & Water'', Vol. LXVIII, No. 2843, 2 November 1916.
"The Coming Trade War."
''Land & Water'', Vol. LXVIII, No. 2847, 30 November 1916.
"Psychology of the Workshop."
''Land and Water'', Vol. LXIX, No. 2856, 1 February 1917.
"The New Morality."
''Land & Water'', Vol. LXIX, No. 2876, 21 June 1917.
"The Perils of Restriction."
''Land & Water'', Vol. LXIX, No. 2888, September 1917. * "Our Invisible Rulers." ''National Review'', January 1920. * "The Trade Slump." ''The English Review'', No. 147, February 1921, pp. 122-136. "An address delivered before the Business Club of Birmingham."
"The Trade Slump, Its Cause and Its Cure."
''Industrial Development and Manufacturers Record'', Vol. LXXIX, No. 9, 3 March 1921, pp. 134-138. "An address delivered before the Business Club of Birmingham." * "Farewell to Gold." ''The Living Age'', November 1931. * "The Bankers' Conspiracy." ''The Living Age'', February 1934, pp. 496-502.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitson, Arthur 1861 births 1937 deaths British economists British inventors People from Stamford, Lincolnshire