| Show 0 T national topics interpreted by william bruckart washington the presidents move now sanctioned by congress to provide us ins with means a dollar that has higher prices a purchasing power not to exceed sixty cents by comparison with tile dollar that has fins been our medium of circulation so long has caused a bout about as much controversy in the national capital as anything that has been done under tinder the new deal nor Is there at this time any possibility lity ot of either side giving up in their arguments for it must be said frankly that there Is merit on either side aide of the proposition mr roosevelt lias has elected to adopt a course that means roughly the establishment of prices for everything you sell at levels that approximate the range of 1020 at the same time it means that roughly everything you buy will be proportionately tiona tely higher than the prices that have obtained during the depression pres slon thus it must become readily a apparent that raw materials such as farm commodities for exa example are going to return more to those who are the source of that supply than they have been receiving lately coincidently everything that the farmer buys will have jumped up in price and in between we find the individual who lives by the sweat of his brow the so called white collar worker of the office and residents of towns or cities who will pay more for or everything and without any perceptible addition to their income tile the theory that has haa been advanced by those who support the presidents plan Is that it will start ft a larger return of cash to the farmer and that when such a result Is obtained an extended expansion will take place in general cycles of business in other words it Is their contention that the agricultural industry constitutes a key that will unlock the door of a more prosperous era on the other side of the ar argument u one hears the insistent contention that nothing has been gained actually by reducing the value of the dollar as measured by gold assuming that there will be the restoration to of 1020 0 price levels say opponents of tile the presidents course what will have been gained for the farmer when the things he be has to buy are increased in price and the buying power of the millions who live in cities towns or villages lia has been reduced and it cannot ne denied that after all the banners fan farin ners market la Is in those areas it Is equally true that ft wages ages never keep pace with increasing prices arid and the natural result of this disparity Is to force the residents of urban communities muni ties to cut down on their purchases even it if that entails reduction of the food they buy they cannot buy it if they do not have money what hns has happened to the dollar Ittie itself lf by the presidents action 7 the antion fight over awer Is noali till money ing S that Is cor if one considers only the aby physical ical dollar of silver or dollar in paper currency but the effect of tile the action Is tile the hone bone of contention and from what I 1 have read of this nations political history lil story anybody can be assured of a red hot argument over proposals for tinkering with our form of money mr loosevelt noo Boo sevelt has done it however and he moved solfast BO fast that there has been argument after the tact fact rather than before it was accomplished complis hed for that reason it RP ap pears certain ceita ln you will hear of a serious na nature and maybe a few fist lights fights over money questions through several c elections to come to get back to the dollar again the president asked congress to prescribe the limits of the dev devalue altig tion or to say it another way he asked congress to enact legislation for which it Is responsible to the people of course that will let him proclaim a new dollar value as measure measured in terms of gold lie told congress that tile the upper limit should be sixty cents and the lower limit should be fifty cents tile the old dollar w was s rated as worth 2007 grains of fine gold the minimum or fifty cent dollar would be worth just half of that amount of gold and the sixty cent dollar would be proportionately more when the terms fafty cent dollar or sixty cent dollar are used here they are for purposes of comparison with the long established dollar that was valued at 2007 grains of gold and gold Is the a accepted basis of international trade c le whatever america does however does not alter that basis and consequently the new roosevelt dollar assuming it stands standa at 1034 grains of gold will be worth just half as much in forel foreign agn purchases as the former dollar was worth so as I 1 stated above there lina has boon been nothing happen to the p physical currency the has been only in the effect you can change a dollar bill into two fafty cent pieces or four quarters or ten dimes or twenty nickels or I 1 one hundred pennies under linder the new scheme as well as before but when you change that dollar into commodities a pair of shops shoes a shirt a dress or a suit stilt of clothes clot lies if it works out to increase prices as M mr r roosevelt loosevelt Koo sevelt contends the result will be plainly apparent it Is apparent to most anyone that tho the full force and effect of the presidents action will not bo be wholly manifest for some time conditions have to adjust themselves nut but the sponsors of tile the now new arrangement for money have not been able to explain to me why the artificial boosting of prices rally may not lead to ultimate evils I 1 mean by that to inquire why if the prices are started upward we may not notes ex poet to see them reach a level that Is disproportionately high a level that will have the same effect upon you and me in our dally daily buying that drained our resources during the world war 0 4 the legislation affecting monetary ma matters aters which the president asked congress to enact treasury included author Hold sAll gold y for ua blin to take the sold that the federal reserve banks have stored up it amounted to all of tills this gold now becomes the property of the treasury that agency of the gov ernaie nt therefore possesses nil all of the gold for monetary purposes pur posea that there Is aval available lable in this country when the treasury has taken it over it will pay the federal reserve banks in gold certificates yellow backs of the type that used to be in circulation but the irony 0 of the thing Is that the reserve hanks banks cannot cash those certificates they must simply hold them awaiting the pleasure of the treasury because they are to be redeemed at the pleasure of the treasury of course the reserve banks will III ased be allowed to use them as they used to use gold federal reserve notes can be issued with the uncas un cashable liable gold certificates as the collateral instead of gold the reserve resene banks therefore simply had to obey tile tha dec decree ree of the federal government and turn in their good gold as every one else individuals or corporations the federal government Is going to use two billions of the gold taken from tile the reserve deseive banks to establish a stabilization fund simultaneously the secretary of tile the treasury tins has been given authority to buy or sell international exchange that Is he can buy british pounds or french francs or german marks or lie he can sell doll dollar ar exchange ge or tiny buy dollar exchange money itoney from tile the stabilization fund will be used the purpose of this Is to bring about a balance between the amount any nation pays the united states and the amount paid by the united states to that particular foreign country by that method no gold would have to be transferred or only small amounts amount s would change hands thus it Is c claimed the new value of the dollar will be maln main rained at what amounts to an even trading worth insofar as foreign nations are concerned of course it la Is not actually the nations that aro are concerned but the business of those na nations eions th that a t mak makes es I 1 international trade causes the sale of wheat or cotton or corn or hogs and the purchase of coffee of sugar of novelties or the hundred and one other items no one seems to know how much it will cost to maintain the dollar on n a stable basis as measured in international to ter trade when the president provided for a two billion brillon dol lar stabilization fund he apparently was guided by the size ble of the british fund which was created for exactly the same purpose namely protection of the british pound from being made a currency that nobody wanted 0 another phase of the monetary program upon which sir mr roosevelt has launched credit seems to warrant control discussion T the h e now new legislation lias has the effect I 1 am told by authorities of giving the treasury the greatest power it has ever held in the matter of credit control it has taken over this power from tile the federal era reserve system which was created under tinder the democratic administration of woodrow wilson to provide a flexible currency forbuss for business its purpose was to make certain that as business expanded and need for far more currency developed the federal reserve banks could supply it IL whether that purpose has been destroyed authorities inform me it Is too early to tell but from all of the fear that to Is evident in some quarters there roust must be at least some threat of danger I 1 have been told too that the legislation almost makes u central bank of the treasury it if that be true the treasury will be able to tell the federal reserve banks to some extent how they shall run their affairs how high or low their rates of discount shall be e Q by western newspaper union |
