Evening star., 1923-06-10
STABILIZINC OF DOLLAR
NEXT CONGRESS ISSUE
Pleas Being Made for Market Basket
Dollar Instead of Symbol Of
Grains of Gold.

can then decide the proposal on its
merits and see whether IT really is
propaganda ar sound common sense
| and economy.
Boiled down the proposal is to
stabilize the dollar through control
Of bank credit in such a manner that
the volume of currency and credit
circulating varies in accordance with
the varying volume OF business. Then
| 1t is claimed we will have a dollar OF
uniform working efficiency. It is
pointed out that the law of supply
and demand seems to be rapidly Civ
ing way to the law of maximum pro
fits.
Attempt has been made to curb or
correct all the recent or present Ills
Of the body polite through temporary
expedients, such as all sorts of credit
extensions. All of these, the sup
porters OF dollar stabilization insist
trend only to another period OF in
flation to be inevitably followed by
depression worse than what we have
just passed through. 1t Is merely
postponing the day OF settlement and
piling up the costs.
G. o. p. Committee Active
1t has been called to the attention
Of Congress that the republican ma
tional committee had subcommittee
at work on the big problems OF the
campaign. One Of these was on cur
rency and banking, Of which Frank
A. Vanderlip was chairman. and an
other on the high cost Of living, or
which Helen Rogers Reed was chair
man. Both of these reported that the
chief cause for the rise in prices was
inf1ation-"flrst and foremost a so per
power Of the dollar, due to a gross
expansion Of our currency and cred
It," and the republican platform stat
ed this very conclusion
DIR. Wolff in his argument has
stressed that in regard to its impor-
tant power ito coin money, regulate
the value thereof, and of foreign
coin." Congress has practically lin
tied itself as far as regulating the
value" is concerned, to fixing the
weight and fineness of composition Of
coins. 1t has not, he says, seemed to
realize that this merely fixed the
value OF such coins in terms Of the
number or grains Of gold in the dol
lar. which is not an expression of real
value-value in terms of commercial
commodities.
Principal Victims.
He argues for the various hitherto
inarticulate groups Of our population
who have been the principal victims
OF the instability Of purchasing pow
err the scientific and professional
men, the teachers. the clergy. the un-
organized workers, those who receive
fixed salaries or wages. includine
those whose savings yield fixed in
comes.
DR.. Wolff raised the ouesti,,r
whether imitation and def1ation made
possible through the on-exercise OF
the powers vested in Congress 70
regulate the value OF money have
tended to fulfill the principles set
forth in the preamble to the Consti
tuition.
Baruch Gives Warning.
Barney Baruch. as chairman OF the
War industries board, after paying
his respects to the open sales organ
izations. gave this warning: "These
combinations are capable also-anG
very easily capable-of carving our
purposes of greatest public disad-
vantage. They can so subtIy in
fuence production as to keep it al.
ways just short OF current demand
and thus keep prices ever high and
going higher. They can encourage
common understanding on prices and
without great difficulty can hold
price-levels at abnormal positions
They can influence the favoring of
one type OF buyer over another Trade
associations with real power can, in
respect to most of the staples, so in
fuence production as to keep the
margin Of shortage at a point most
favorable to high prices and rapid
turn-overs.
The recent problems with regard
to sugar gouging and coal famine and
the question of railroad valuation all
hinge on the question OF giving
stable purchasing value to the dol
lar.