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Show MONEY & MARKETS By James McMullin Til. TeleosnTl Eaeluiiv. Observe Ale. Wall Strsst NEW YORK A new spirit of bristling aggressiveness is developing devel-oping in ant I new deal quarters. Business and financial leaders who have "suffered in silence" up to now are Beginning to tell "IhworlcTwhanhey really tninkT" Last week's convention of the Investment Bankers' association was a ease in point. Two former for-mer officials of the treasury department, de-partment, T. Jefferson Coolidge and Ellsworth C. Alvord, vigorously vigor-ously denounced various phases of the new deal. The convention conven-tion adopted strongly critical resolutions in marked contrast 'to the meek submissive ness of previous gatheringsand elected Francis E. Frothingham, an outspoken out-spoken opponent of several new deal measures, president of the. I. B. A. About the same time, Orval Adams, new president of the American Bankers' association, associa-tion, chipped in with a lively de-nunciation de-nunciation of administration poli- "cies. This barrage was a logical sequel se-quel to earlier sighting hots fired by chairman Winthrop Aldrich of the Chase bank. President Presi-dent Charles R. Gay of the New York Stock exchange. Chairman Alfred E. Sloan of General Motors Mo-tors and a few other hardy souls who dared the Olympian lightning. light-ning. The anvil chorus will grow louder and more persistent from now on. What's all the sudden shooting about? Mainly this. Most business busi-ness men are sincerely convinced that we are in for another economic eco-nomic taiispin unless the administration admin-istration drastically reverses some of its policies and permits large industry and finance to function more profitably. They insist that the federal budget must be balanced, tax burdens on business eased, the utilities encouraged en-couraged to spend, the construction construc-tion industry stimulated and. above all. that the government show a friendlier attitude toward business. Otherwise, they contend, con-tend, a severs relapse cannot be averted. Their object is to dump responsibility re-sponsibility for the anticipated setback in F. D. R.'s lap. New York leaders recall vividly that the depression which began in '29 has kept them on the defensive defen-sive for eight long years. They are tired of playing goat and are anxious to get out from under un-der in advance. But some of the shrewdest New York sources doubt the wisdom of these tactics. They point out that the average citisen will never believe Wall Street as against the president and that his critics are simply providing him with ammunition am-munition for a fresh political counter-attack. "It's the same old Liberty league blunder dressed up in a new uniform that won't fool anybody." The . longwaited exodus of "hot money" has begun. A steady stream of gold is flowing back to Europe. Improved prospects for continued peace on that harassed continent plus uncertainty about the American political and economic eco-nomic outlook have combined to act as a magnet Informed financial men see no cause for alarm in this. Much more than the 11.270.000.000 of "sterilised" "steril-ised" gold can be withdrawn without with-out serious deflationary coase-quencea. coase-quencea. We have billions more than we need for a credit base and the redistribution of the metal should promote world trade, and thereby world recovery. Also it will be a relief to have the sword of Damocies actually fall and get it over with. Curiously, there is little fresh .liquidation of American securities securi-ties owned by Europeans. Nearly all of the capital outflow to date represents repatriation of cash balances created by security sales mad between August and October. Octo-ber. Foreign speculators have evidently decided that our market mar-ket will not offer attractive reinvestment re-investment opportunities in the near future. One phase of the gold aituation New Yorkers do not like is the cheery assurance from Washington Washing-ton that all is well. They agree that the gold exports themselves will not hurt, but they don't care for the tone of determined optimism. opti-mism. It smacks too much of the Pollyannish pronouncements of the Hoover regime. The departure of gold is a minor matter compared to indications of a serious slackening in the business tempo. Statements apparently ap-parently inspired by the treasury treas-ury ignore this development, and in that respect resemble the pott-battle pott-battle comment of a football coach who points out that his team made more first downs and neglects to mention that the other fellow won. Success is not going to the head of the American Labor party in New York. Its leaders have no illusions that it can compete on even terms with the established parties in stale or nation. Talk of an indepedent Labor party ticket for statewide officea next year is the bunk. The strength of the party lies in ita balance-of-power position, which will probably enable, it to drive worthwhile bargains with the older parties for its support. Its alliance with the G. O. P. licked the Democrats in New York City and exactly the opposite oppo-site happened In Buffalo. As a third party, the major parties could safely Ignore it especially the Republcians. But both Democrats Demo-crats and Republicans must take it seriously as a potential ally of the enemy. It can safely be predicted that , A. L. P. strategy will be based on this principle. Last Monday's supreme court decisions, relatively unimportant in themselves, disappointed New York conservatives who had hoped that resentment over the Black appointment would lead to eight-to-one antinew deal divisions. divi-sions. Circumstantial evidence Indicates Indi-cates that the court is split three ways: Four liberals (Brandeis, Stone. Cardozo, Black), three conservatives con-servatives (McReynolds. Sutherland. Suther-land. Butler), two balance-of-power (Hughes. Roberts). On that basis, Hughes and Roberts are the court. Further, by allowing Black to read a unanimous decision for the court at an unusually early data for a junior justice, his associatea seemed to wish to make it clear that they have accepted him as a member of their club in good standing. (Copyright. 1937. for The Telegram) |