| Show I INSIDE STUFF Pol Politics i ti-cs ti and and Finance Pr o. o by bl P Pau nl KaDon WASHINGTON By P Paul ul Mallon J. J Vashi Washington Is rumor mad and has Jibe been n for a week Overheated zealots f are are re running around shouting Inflation In 1 greenbacks whoopee The result is a national confusion which does not appear to be warranted warranted warranted war war- ranted by the Inside facts A the ground survey of what happened backstage here during during dur dur- ing lag Mr Roosevelt's co conferences shows the boys back there are not noi noti I i n nearly arIy as 35 excited as the people out front They are all sworn to secrecy but their actions and their whispers show conclusively that certain basic developments developments developments devel devel- are being ov overlooked in the public melee SOUND MONEY The h first Is that Mr Roosevelt and andali Tail ali hit his I men are ure arc unanimously opposed to 10 any sep s ep which would lead to an unsound currency None even suggested the Issuance of ot greenbacks under the Thomas amendment during those WhiteHouse White WhiteHouse House confabs Indeed the leading administration Agriculture Agriculture ture Secretary Wallace ran out of the meeting and grabbed a microphone microphone micro micro- phone to broadcast his altered view that unsound money would mean disaster dis dis- dis aster ter i Likewise Treasury Treasur Secre Secretary ary Woodin WoodEn and his assistant Douglas have acted ever since like two highly pleased cherubs with not a care inthe in inthe inthe the world They bey would be in spasms if it anything radical was contemplated MONETARY POLICY At the same time they all aU agreed i some sonie constructive monetary policy must replace oUt our old one They told the president that Most not all recommended dollar devaluation Some suggested the commodity dollar dollar dol dol- dol l lar r in addition They ey w were merely telling the he presIdent president president dent what he has been planning for months month The country is NOT in another crisis or on the brink of ot one despite all nU you hear iIi in confidential whispers from Washington Business is not as asgood asgood asgood good as it should be but it is fairly good Lood It is Js suffering more from and confusion about future monetary policy than anything else So Is is- the stock if any anyone ne stil cares about that As a a r the result Sult the administration tion can can b be mak its monetary in intentions clear as soon as as it reasonably reason reason- u abl ably ca can MEASURES Th The only oxly other things discussed in those meetings were ere things everyone knows ws about credit about credit expansion accelerating ac no- e- e the movement of capital goods treasury financing the farm program It li was was was' agreed something should be bed bedone d done ne' ne for the private building indus- indus It may take the form of more government loans ans' ans for slums clearance clearance clearance clear clear- ance and cheap residential construe construe- tion The move of Roosevelt and Eastman to sell steel rails Is in the ame same category There may also be bean bean benn an nn announcement shortly that the C. C C C. C. C crowd is is' buying some new kind of ot steel for camp construction The credit acceleration program also received new stimulus Unfreezing Unfreezing ing the closed banks was the biggest move in that direction The transfer transfer trans trans- fer of ot mortgages for home loan bonds will help make for cheaper money Interest rates may drop another peg pegas pegas pegas as a result But Dut all aU the administration men know there is not much hope for miracles in the credit phase of ot the business It Itis is just one of ot those necessary necessary sary ary things you try and hope it works out well alt although ough you know it wont won't INFLATION TION Probably the little BLUe word Inflation Is responsible for most of the misunderstandings mis mis- understandings about what is going on It should be barred from the English language It means so many divergent things that in present usage today it conveys no specific Idea There is good Inflation and bad inflation inflation In in- and merely cheaper money credit inflation and wind Inflation Dollar devaluation would come under the bead head of stabilization rather rather than inflation in the sense in which it is now being considered The dol do lar lax is worth 63 cents Stabilizing it at t 60 cents or 65 cents would only onI mean menn accepting our present position Also the commodity dollar is in theory a more honest dollar than the ones we have had so far GREENBACKS You may have noticed the labor leaders are not screaming their heads off U for greenbacks the way the farm leaders are There Is a reason The grinding out of paper money moncy would send prices sky high Wages as usual would lag behind A Also o there is grave doubt whether wild money would do as much for the farmers rs as their leaders seem to think Of course this is a farm selling sell sell- lag ing season The crops are arc ready for market marke The first results would be to make snake a It higher income f for r the farmer But as so soon n a 3 he turned around and started to buy something With his money he would find prices so zo high that his money would ably be worth no rio more I IJ would help him on his debts but C Continued on Pare Pace Two INSIDE STUFF Continued from Page Poto One there arc other better beter ways of doing that thal They arc are now being beig tried Real Tey estate experts believe beleve the situation is i working around to where there may zany maybe maybe be n a market soon son for tor farms Some people are now speculating on it it They Tey are arc picking up farms and mort mortgages mortgages mor gages for a n song NEW YORK By James FARMERS The keenest New York observers say SY that the farm revolt has more se serious serious se- se rious rou implications than most people realize reaUze Confidential reports report received here indicate that farmers in various parts pat of ot the country are sore as blazes at N R H A because their living costs cot have gone up rapidly while the prices prIce of or orthe the good goods the they sell sel have stood still sti or dropped They are getting the te idea that the A. A A. A A A. program Is J a colossal flop and insist that nothing but actual inflation will wi do them any good It is predicted in high quarters that nothing Mr Roosevelt Roosevel can do will wi satisfy the te farmers They say sy Inflation inflation tion ton wont won't do it because it will wi tend to raise rale all al prices and leave the relation relation rela rela- tion ton between farm fa products product and other othe goods god where it is isnow now They Tey believe beleve the president would be wise wie to t recognize recognize recognize rec rec- this situation before congress meets meet again The trouble is i that the farmers farmer's famer's Interests in interests In- In i- i terest are fundamentally different from those of either labor or industrial industrial industrial indus indus- trial capital capital He needs need an absolute price rise to t do him any good god The Te increase in business turnover which helps city dwellers in good goo times Ure doesn't mean mea a thing to him hi because the capacity to con consume me food and cotton clothing doesn't increase much with prosperity If I a manufacturer speeds up production as times Ume improve im fin- 1 prove he makes more money and presumably pays higher wages wage If I the farmer does the same thing he just raises raise a surplus that he cant can't get rid rd of No Ho wonder he never likes the dose prescribed for him If I some bright genius would dis discover discover dl- dl dis- dis cover an Industrial use for grains grai which would provide a market comparable comparable com corn parable to those for other industrial product products it I would solve the farmers farmer's tamers tamer's problem Otherwise there doesn't seem to be any answer Laboratory experiments Joi going on in the Industrial in industrial in- in alcohol field may pave the way lines line for real progress along these thee POLITICS The Te political aspects apet are important No one can tell tl you what the te farm blo bloc will do in the next congress but buti i its it's dollars to peanuts peanut they will wi have plenty of ot Ideas idea and be hard to hold holdin in r line lne New York doubts doubt that even Mr Roosevelt's political cal skill ski will keep them where he wants want them them and them them-d and that goes even if 1 he takes inflationary measures measure mean mean- while And that's where the te d despised stock market conies comes come in It I may be childish but business and public psychology pay pay- py- py do react favorably to a buoyant buoyant buoyant buoy buoy- ant market market Timely and judicious progress in i the Walt Wall Wal Street marts mat would strengthen Mr Roosevelt's hand And Arid then there which labor which ha has reason to be pleased with wit New Deal benefactions It I seems seem odd od to ponder an alliance alace of ot Wall Street Street big business and ad labor laborin in support of ot the president with wih agriculture agriculture agriculture agri agri- culture in i opposition But it i is i politically politically po po- po- po possible to please the first fist three tee at one time if i not the latter There would be no cause to swoon with astonishment if I the next congressional congressional lines picture is painted on those tose CUBA We don dons don's want to t intervene in Cuba but by gum if U we have to we dont don't intend to do it alone aone New York hears confidentially that wires wire are ae being skillfully pulled to tolie toline toline line lie up at least leit Argentina and Brazil Brazi for actual physical cooperation if 1 Intervention in intervention in- in becomes becomes' necessary That would be the neatest possible way to take the curse curs off oU Yankee ipe- ipe impe The reports report indicate that weve we've done a wonderful selling job to date |
