Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-31
Washington Ticker
BY CLINTON COFFIN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.


States, which has so far during Deem
Der removed better than 100000, 900
from American monetary metal stocks to
place it in European money centers,
will rapidly reduce the discretionary
powers the Federal Reserve Board
has enjoyed for some years over national
and international monetary rates and
financial trends. That is the prediction
made by Benjamin M. Anderson, econo-
mist for the Chase National Bank of
New York, who outlined the grounds for
1t before the American Economic AsSo-
citation now meeting in Washington.
incidentally Mr.. Anderson, like several
other of the experts who discussed the
great American speculative era Of 1928
29 before the association, clearly indi-
Gated the opinion that the remarkable
expansion Of security values really got
under way when the Reserve Board
using the discretionary powers conferred
upon 1t by a surplus of gold In 1927
brought about cheap money.
AS Mr.. Anderson outlined his theory,
the gradual piling up of gold in the
United States after 1920 relieved the
Federal Reserve Board from the ordi-
nary restraints which automatically
limit the action of central banks. Since
there was more gold in its reserves by
far than the legally required cover for
its currency note issues, and more than
required against its rediscountS for
banks, the board and its regional banks
could vary rediScount rates almost as
they pleased. Under ordinary condi-
tons, in central banking theory, any
undue lowering of the rediscount rate
in the United States, by lowering the
interest return available on gold in this
country, would force its export. The
outward movement in turn would quick
ly force the raising of rediScount rates
here, because the Reserve system and
its regional banks would wish to MAIN
tain their gold cover. But from 1924
on, Mr.. Anderson said, the American
gold surplus was such that the board
rate policies could be laid out almost at
will
Now we are approaching the end of
the gold surplus in the United States"
Mr.. Anderson declared. There will be
possibly loss of 5000 O00, 900 more from
this country's free gold stock before the
outward movement slows down. There
will be plenty of gold here for all nor
NAL banking purposes, but not enough
to let the Reserve system fix the return
on money at will. 1t does appear that
world gold distribution is beginning
that will so limit the discretion of CEN
trail banking authorities in the United
States and elsewhere that they can't
easily make mistakes"
1t seemed to be the general view of
the economists who discussed views for
the association that the Reserve sys-
tenn administration might have checked
the late speculation by hard and sharp
rediscount rate increases during its
height. Nevertheless, there was no
challenge to the view of Mr.. Anderson
expressed that the more or less auto
matte working of the gold standard
during the future, rather than the poll
icies of central banks, would fix the dis
tribution of international gold stocks
and the approximate levels of interna-
tional money rates.
New equipment buying by railroads
continues to make one of the remark
able business showings of the present
period. AS the totals are summarized
by the American Railway Association,
the country's carriers this month have
under construction in car plants 3d.
$50 freight cars of various classes and
descriptions. This is more than twice
the total of 1875 cars they had under
constructor in the same month last
year and three times the $3.50 cars on
order with builders in December, 1927.
Since modern freight cars average in
cost about $4,000 the rail equipment
expenditures under this head now in
progress run to $60,0000o0
AS to locomotives, the showing is
nearly as good. The engine builders this
month had orders for 299 new loco
motives, against 223 in the same month
last year and SO in December 1927.
The cost of the motive power on
order for roads this month is about
$24 900 900.
This is by no means complete show
ing of the new equipment situation,
since several of the more important
trunk lines, have announced purchases
to be made in 1890 which considerably
exceed the outlay made in 1929. While
conditions vary among carriers. it APP
pears to be generally true that the
steady maintenance of heavy freight
traffic volume during the last two years
has entailed increase in equipment re-
newals all over the country.
Modern industry is continually in
novating, continually changing the
character of work and the classification
OF workers, and Uncle Sans census TAX
ers this year will have to make some
unusual allowances for its trend. Leon
E. Truesdell, chief Statistician for the
Census Bureau, told the American Sta
tistical Society in Washington meeting
this week about some of It's require
mentS.
I'VE find that new kinds and types of
industries are continually springing up"
he said, creating absolutely new occu-
pations, but also taking in old occupa-
tons and changing their character.
There was day when the census could
! list up 200 occupations and find that
practically all of the working population
OF the country could be fltted into that
number of categories.
In 1880, however, our advance es-
innate is that at least $4,000 different
occupations must be recognized and
compilations based on schedules OF that
size. 1t promises to be a problem for
every census taker to classify the occu-
patton OF workers as the law demands"
or all world industries that based
on the production and cutting of
diamonds has been most adversely af-
fected by the collapse of the American
security markets this Fall, the United
States Chamber of Commerce foreign
survey reports.
THE Wall Street decline fastened
the organization of a central produce
ton and sales control bureau for dia-
monds by the South African govern
ment, and forced out of EMPLOYMENT
| 1000 workers in the diamond-cutting
industry of Belgium and the Neither
lands" the chamber review says. RE
cent diamond industry history records
series Of dangerous disturbances re-
curing vigorous action. The discovery
of alluvial diamonds in Namauualand,
Africa, in 1928 is typical of the re-
current threat of potential diamond
overproduction that would swamp the
| market"
Possibly 80 per cent Of the world
diamond production is marketed Gus
tomarily in the United States, the
| raviavEy odSc xxyIioIa ,..oIro.