Evening star., 1932-03-08
.ANT|-HOARD DRIVE
HELD WELL TIMED
Return of Confidence Through
New Banking Laws
Cited in Campaign.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Whatever skepticism may have arisen
as to the wisdom of a direct attack on
boarding, the concensus here TODAY is
that the campaign against idle dollars
comedies with more favorable atmos-
phere for its launching than would have
been the case few weeks ago. when
the idea was first broached.
A divided opinion has existed for
many weeks about the desirability of
discussing boarding. the objection be-
ing that the publicity given would be
far worse than the thing sought to be
cured. 1t had been believed that the
controversy about hoarding would lead
to more boarding.
Now, however, an entirely different
point of view pervails here No better
time, 1t is contended, could Rave been
selected Tor the drive. There has, for
example, been a noticeable return of
confidence due to the enactment of the
Glass-Steagal law and the operations
Of the Reconstruction Finance CORPORA
tion, together with the announcement of
plans to balance the Federal budget.
Depends on Conditions.
Charts showing the upward and
downward curve of boarding in the last
eight months reveal that boarding ap-
parently grows when there is some big
event unsettling confidence Thus,
when Great Britain suspended the gold
standard, the boarding figures grew in
stantly to large proportions. showing
that fear Of uncertain conditions is a
contributing factor
Had the boarding drive been held at
time when public confidence was di-
minishing the campaign would have
been subject to the criticism that 1t was
spreading alarm. Now, however, there
is feeling here that every day adds
something to the return of confidence
and that the publicity given to hoard
ing will be effective at any future time.
As a matter of fact the drop in the
number of bank failures is perhaps the
most significant indication of a return
OF confidence. The fact banks can
borrow at the Federal Reserve Bank on
good collateral and that plenty of Fed
eral Reserve currency can be obtained
by depositing Government bonds for so
per cent Of the collateral. with 40 per
cent gold, is now being construed not
only in America but abroad as con-
elusive answer to those who worried
about the gold standard or credit con-
fidence
DAnh StOppcu.
The prediction is freely made by OFF,
cials here that bank failures have been
successfully stopped and that from now
on the small number of bank cloSings
will be remarked upon more and more
as time goes on and the proportion re-
cedes to the smallest per month in the
history of the depression. With de-
positors bringing their funds back to
banks, the bank officials will tend to
become more liberal in the making OF
loans, and this is expected to stimulate
business, because, without abundant
credit for inventory, retail operations
cannot be carried on.
While there always are officials who
dislike ballyhoo and public campaigns
to restore confidence" and there have
been literally thousands Of plans of this
kind submitted in the last year or so,
there is a tendency to concede that
much good is bound to be derived from
the fact that boarding will have been
outlawed and that it will be viewed
hereafter not only as unsocial. but as
unpatriotic. If boarding ceases, how
ever, it will be difficult to tell which
school of thought prevailed-that which
insisted confidence can come only when
certain fundamentals have been cor
rected as in the past six weeks in the
sterilization of credit through better
rediscount privileges at the Federal Re-
serve Banks, or those who believed that
organized appeal to the heart Of the
people would bring the withdrawn de-
poSits back to the banks.