The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-05
IMPORTANT PLACE
 FOR FRED |. KENT
Bx HOLLAND


 to be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Mir. McAdoo, as director of for eign exchange. The reports were of es- pccial interest to the brokers and oth- CTS who make a speciality in dealing in foreign exchanges, and yet no one seemed to be able to give any reason hardly a guess, for the selection of Mir. Kent or of anyone else for an important post such as this would be.
 About the time these rumors began, reports came from Washington that some of those in high authority were consider ing the expediency of establishing a for eign exchange bank. If this were done
 the institution was to be unter the
 control of or in indirect alliance with
 the federal reserve board at Washing
 ton. There came little latef what seemed to be authentic reports tat this project had been postponed untl after
 the war Is ended
 Now the appointment of MT. Kent as
 director of foreign exchange appears to
 be confirmed. There is,. howeve', some
 doubt respecting the duties which the
 responsibility devolves upon him. Some
 are of the opinion that he will do no
 more than thoroughly to oversee or su- pcivise or concentrate within such de-
 partment as he may create, the entire foreign exchange operations of the coun- try. These transactions already. how ever, by command of Secretary McAdoo are reported.
 There seems to be lurking belief that it will be found essential after the war is ended to establish foreign exchange bank allied with Or under the authority of the federal reserve board at Wash ington. And if this surmise be correct, then Mir. Kent may be placed in au- thority over an institution of that kind. His appointment as director of foreign exchange Ids possibly first step towards the establishment by and by of a federal foreign exchange bank, although this of course now is mere surmise.
 MIR. RENTS QUALIFICATIONS None of those who have been associated for the past 15 years with MT. Kent has the slightest doubt of his qualification ! for an important post of that kind. He has been for some years esteemed one of the two or three great American au-
 thorities upon foreign exchange He mas tered that exceedingly difficult and technical science even before he came to New York from Chicago. The Bankers Trust institution selected MT. Kent chiefly on account of his mastery of foreign exchange as It's representative In the delicate and very important work of establishing correspondents in Great Britain and throughout the continent of | Europe, in fact to some extent through ,tIo 1x-oc ep pt
 as having succeeded admirably in this work. He has been and is now vice president of the Bankers Trust company, and is one of the men of the younger aneratien who have shown remarkable ability and qualifications for meeting satisfactorily the great financial emer- geucies occasioned by the war.
 AN ALMOST MYSTIC SCIENCE It has sometimes been said that the mind that can master the science of l foreign exchange could if it's attention was turned to higher mathematics or astronomy, master the exceedingly diff cult and delicate mathematical prob | lems the solution of which has been the achievement of the great astrono- | niers.
 1 Foreign exchange has played far | more important part in the deyelopnicnt | A
 few financiers realize. It was the utili-
 zation of foreign exchange which made | 1t possible to turn over to Spain the | s20 000 in gold we agreed by treaty to pay her for the Philippine islands which | came Into our possession and yet not one
 dollar of gold was sent across the ocean
 to fulfill the obligation of this treaty. 1 It was mastery of foreign exchange
 which enabled J. P. Morgan & Co.,. in as- | Inr. n~tt fSx n | to turn over to France the $i0,0o00o0 we
 paid for the Panama canal and to dc that without the shipment of dollar in gold Tn the first days of the panic oi l 1907 skllfui utilization of foreign ex- i change chiefly bills drawn by the ex- pcrters of cotton, enabled us to- receive 1 from I.ondc~ 'n gold and day
 O. two later si0,o0O0OO more until at last the total amounted to sloo,oooc0o. Thi: gold served chiefly to stay and finally tt end the panic.
 It used to be said of J. P Morgan. sr. Il that one of the reasons for his great sue cess in international operations was hi' wonderful mastery of the science of for eign exchange. but he never had oppor tunity to demonstrate that ability to st lgreat an extent as did his son, J. P. Nor gan, Jr, in the first weeks of the war At that time the foreign exchange pres sure was bearing danperouslv upon thu limited States. New York city was fl danger of seeing it's notes go to protes in London. and merchants who owed mil Hons abroad when the war broke ou were unable to secure the exchange witl
 which to make payment. although thei resources were abundant. The presen
 head of the house of ! P. Morgan & Co. in co-operation with the banks of Nev
 York. in one instance. and the banks O the United States in another secured
 total of saoo 100000 in gold which. havini been shipped to Ottowa. Can. served l.
 put an end to the dangerous foreign ex
 change situation. These two transaction
 considered as one were the greatest b, r,illions of all in which the United State
 has had a part since the beginning o
 the nation. and they were the turning
 point in our financial relation with tn
 rest of the world.
 Great as these two transactions wer they are undoubtedly to be. dwarfed b
 others which will be entailed after tn
 war is over through the liquidation o
 the indebtedness our allies have create
 in the United States. It is to be fla Imore difficult problem to liauidate thi
 Indebtedness which in the aggregate wi lan,ount to many billions, than 1t was t
 perfect the financial arrangement whic made it possible for us to be credito l | to the rest of the world, almost In tn
 ltwipkline of an eye. If the liquidation
 of this indebtedness is wisely handled ( . great factor Tn which will be the treat ment of foreign exchanxe,. there seem 1 to be no reason why the United State should not after the war Is ended shar upon equal terms with London the con ot,r r rok <>fk kIx> ,f<