The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1927-10-14
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Scores Killed and Hundreds
Injured by a Tornado
at St. Louis, Mo.
BY EDWARD w. PicKARD

BY EDWARD w. PicKARD
ID ETWEEN seventy and one hundred
- persons were killed and about six
hundred injured by terrific tornado
that swept through st. Louis, Mo-,
Thursday. An area of six square
miles in the city was ravaged by the
wind and heavy rain, and the property
damage may exceed $75,000,00O. More
than 5000 homes were destroyed, as
well as numerous business buildings.
The storms path was northeast, across
the Mississippi river. and in the Illi-
nois towns Of Granite City, Venice
and Madison several persons were
killed and much damage done.
Governor Baker of Missouri ordered
out the National Guard to patrol the
storm area in st. Louis, and the local
Red Cross as well as hundreds Of
members of the American Legion
turned out for relief work. Mayor
Victor Miller issued an appeal for
cash contributions to aid the thou
sands who had been rendered homeless,
and citizens committee was organ
lied to cooperate with the Red Cross
in raising funds.
EINANCIERS and many Othet per-
sons are still immensely interested
in the recent action of the federal re-
serve board reducing its rediscount
rate, and it seems certain that the af-
fair will be the subject Of congress
sional investigation. Members Of the
board, it Is said, expect such an in
quiry and are prepared to defend
their. course. It is charged that the
rate was reduced at the behest of the
governors Of the British, French and
German central banks, and at least
one Federal Reserve bank governor,
George w. Norris of Philadelphia,
frankly admits that the action was
taken for the purpose of aiding Euro
pean finances, and thus benefting the
United States. He explains this as
follows:
"Great Britain has just recently
gone back to the gold standard, Ger
many, Austria and Hungary are sta
bilized. Poland is about to be stabil-
lied, while France and Italy are not.
The United States, with half the gold
in the world, is vitality interested in
the preservation of the gold standard
among nations.
"The situation in Europe is such
that several Of the great banks in Eng
land and on the continent saw that
they would have to raise their dis
count rates unless the rates over here
were lowered. If they had been COM
PEELED to- advance their rates, it would
have thrown a chill on business
throughout the continent and in Eng
laid. This in turn, would seriously
affect our export business with those
nations just at the time when volume
shipments of cotton, wheat and other
commodities are beginning" u
1t is said the visit in the summer
of Sir Montagu Norman, governor OF
the Bank Of England, who was accom-
panied by Schacht and Rist of the
German and French banks, respective
ly, was for the express purpose Of in
ducing the federal reserve board to
reduce the rediscount rate and thus
bring about the flow of money to Eu-
rope, where higher rates were main
tanned. Norman succeeded in this and
the immediate result was what he
aimed at. With the American rate /
per cent below that of London funds
began to flow back to the British mar
kst and sterling exchange began to
advance, being now at par. an unpre-
cedented situation at time of year
when there is heavy British buying of
American cotton, grain and other
products.
D EAR ADMIRAL THOMAS P. MA
N GRUDER, commandant of the
PHILADELPHIA navy ward, stirred I'D 4