Evening star., 1932-03-07
Appealing to Sensible Patriotism.

Appealing to Sensible Patriotism.
The national campaign TO put money
back into circulation and to stimulate
the credit resources of Americas
financial institutions is unique among
the many campaigns and drives that
from time to time have engaged the
attention of our people. In the first
place, the appeal is to the individual
to do something with his money that,
obviously, the individual has not felt
inclined to do, thus trespassing. as It
were. on his personal right to follow the
dictates of his own judgment in the
matter of how he prefers to use his
own money.
In the second place, it is an appeal
that promises no glory or prominence
to the individual who responds. There
will be no honor rolf of hoarders who
have been converted to the principle OF
anti-hoarding.
In the third place, it is an appeal
that invites cynical criticism at time
when, unfortunately, cynicism is the
popular frame of mind.
Yet there have been few appeals in
the history of this country that have
been backed by as many or as tangible
elements of reason and common sense.
There have been few emergencies that
have been as real, or as grave, as that
which has led to this appeal. There
have been few periods in the history OF
the country when so much depends
upon the manner in which the Amer
lean people heed this appeal.
In his address last night the Presi-
dent emphasized the patriotic duty of
the American citizen to join in "a new
offensive rally in the spirit that has
made America great. To join in
this effort and to respond to this appeal
becomes measure of your faith in our
country; it will be the touchstone OF
your loyalty and your sense Of individual
responsibility for the welfare OF the
whole community; it is your opportunity
to prove again that the private citizen
of the United States in the exercise OF
his own independent judgment and his
own free will coerced by no authority
save his conscience and moved only by
his patriotic pride, can be counted upon
to meet every emergency in the Nations
economy, and to rout every foe Of the
Nations security"
Secretary of the Treasury Mills point
ed out that "the real task of recon-
struction must be undertaken by the
people themselves" and that the Gov
ernment, after all, can merely aid in
the creation of conditions favorable to
recovery.
With characteristic earnestness and
succinct bluntness, Gen. Dawes made
his appeal directly to you who have
withdrawn money from bank and now
hold it in the shape of currency
so far as this campaign is con-
cerned," he said, 1T is you whose ac-
ton will count, no one else. The mon
ey is yours. You had the right to draw
it and you have the right ana power
to keep it in any form you please. Un-
der ordinary circumstances what you
have done would be a matter OF your
own concern only and the business OF
nobody else, but because so many other
people at the same time have done the
same thing, you now occupy a new re-
lationship to the existing business de-
pI 11npran1OUpn1nt the
United States, and have incurred new
and individual responsibility. No mat
ter whether you have now in your pos
session ten dollars or ten thousand dol
lars in coin or currency, you, and others
like YOU combined, possess about one
billion dollars of boarded money and
belong to most powerful financial
group upon whose actions, in response
to the Presidents call. largely depends
the return of prosperity to the United
States"
The United States has been enjoy
ing" depression about long enough.
What 1t needs is the spirit and the
fight required to forget about it and
get down to business again There are
plentiful signs all about US that the
turn has been reached and the upgrade
begun. The anti-hoarding campaign
Is intended to put to work, in this
crisis, the billion and more dollars that
temporarily have lost their power through
idleness. 1t is a direct appeal to those
who have accepted and practiced the
erroneous theory that individual safety
and security depend upon some "emer-
gency fund" stored in a convenient
hiding place, such as safety deposit
box In doing this they have de-
stroyed the value of their own money
by withdrawing it from the normal
channels of circulation. And they have
done this on such a scale that the
amount of currency and the credit
that such currency represents have
been impaired.
This appeal is not to spend money
extravagantly. 1t is not a plea to risk
ones savings. 1t is plea to bring
money back into the normal channels
OF circulation-to put it into a good
bank, to invest it in sound securities,
to buy Government bonds, to do any
thing that impresses the individual as
wise, but not to bury it under the
dangerous delusion that it is being set
aside for a rainy day.