Show Report From Washington By Representative LAURENCE J. J BURTON R Utah R-Utah Utah A soothsayer stopped Julius Caesar on his way to the Roman Roman Roman Ro Ro- Ro- Ro man Senate one day and said Beware the Ides of March The Ides fall on March and that was the day Brutus Cassius and the boys cut Julius down This year the Ides were notable notable no no- notable table because we had to ask our friends and that doesn't include France to in effect close the world gold bank in order to decide decide decide de de- de- de cide how to meet the run This they did Friday the For this weeks week's column I had planned to discuss Guam but in vi view w of the extremity of the gold crisis I will defer Guam for gold Last week I caught an 8 am a.m. shuttle air-shuttle from Washington to New York wh where re two of my colleagues colleagues colleagues col col- col- col leagues and I had made arrangements arrangements arrangements arrange arrange- ments to tour the gold hoard at atthe atthe atthe the New York Federal Reserve Bank during the morning have lunch with the officers of the Federal Reserve at noon and to spend the afternoon touring the United States Assay office From ancient times this bright metal has intrigued and been valued by men Cleopatra used it to enhance her beauty and the aforementioned Caesar stamped his face in the gold coins of the theRoman theRoman theRoman Roman realm Forty per cent of the gold of the free world sits in the basement basement basement base base- ment ment vault of the Reserve Bank of New York 76 feet below the busy streets of the financial district district district dis dis- dis- dis 50 feet below sea level and resting on the bedrock of Manhattan Manhattan Manhattan Man Man- hattan Island It has to be on bedrock because it is so heavy There is billion of it ingold in ingold ingold gold bricks and I saw it all At Fort Knox there is a little more than 8 billion and at the US U.S. Assay office there is slightly under 2 billion The United States owns the gold in Fort Knox and at the Assay office but the billion in the Federal Federal Federal Fed Fed- eral Bank belongs to more than 70 other countries One almost has to prove he is Mr Clean to get into the vault and even then no one gets through the series of clanking doors and armed guards and I mean NO ONE unless he is accompanied accompanied accompanied ac ac- ac- ac companied by two armed guards and a senior official from three separate departments the bank itself auditing and security Every door has three locks and each department must undo its own lock let us through and then relock the door Once inside the vault one has the impression of being inside a penitentiary as there are cells each with huge iron bars and three locks on each door On the floor outside some of the cells are gold bars on steel- steel framed pallets and inside each cell is a glistening yellow hoard of gold The bars on the pallets are being transferred from the account of one country to an an- other For example if Great Britain buys 50 million worth of beef from Argentina that amount of gold is moved from her account to the Argentine cell In the case of our country if we spend 40 million to purchase goods from Great Britain we move that amount of gold up the street five blocks from the Assay office office office of of- fice into Britain's cell at the bank At the bank the bars are weighed weigh weigh- ed on a scale that is so delicate it shows the weight of a one dollar bill If you write your name on the dollar doUar bill in either ink or pencil and p put t it back backon on the scale it will wiIl reflect an increase in weight because of the added ink or lead The bars are about the size of an ordinary building brick except except except ex ex- ex- ex that they weigh about 28 heavy pounds I asked if I might pick up one and our guide said sternly Yes as the two guards crowded crowd crowd- ed in with their guns and the theix six ix eyes from bank auditing auditing auditing audit ing and security observed carefully Well this week your Congress voted to take the gold cover backing from your currency and closed the world gold bank International bankers meet in Washington this weekend to figure figure figure fig fig- ure out how to help Uncle Sam stabilize the dollar doUar or in other words to keep from devaluing it as the British had to do with their pound sterling in Novem Novem- ber Several years ago your Congress Congress Congress Con Con- gress voted to take silver out of the coinage for the first time since the first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton issued the first coins of the United States in 1792 We will coin no more silver dollars and the silver certificates will not be redeemable after after this coming June There are those who have said all along that we could pursue this disastrous spending course with without ut any of this happening Iwonder Iwonder I Iwonder wonder how they feel this morning morning morning morn morn- ing Oh yes yest th they y gave us a pamphlet pamphlet pamphlet pam pam- last week at the New York Federal Reserve Bank Ironically Ironically Ironic Ironic- ally aUy it was entitled Keeping Our Money Healthy and it actually actually ac ac- ac- ac says The dollar is isas as as asgood asgood asgood good as gold You'd better believe it because French bankers dont |