Evening star., 1933-11-16
The Political Mill
By C.. Could Lincoln.

Sound money springs up as the
| burning issue of the day. There Is
no doubt that President Roosevelt is
as anxious for sound currency and
| for well-eStablished Government credit
as any one in the country. Yet there
is a growing group antagonistic to
! the policies Of the administration as
they relate to gold and currency. This
group is called the sound money group,
apparently because they stand for the
| policies which have maintained in the
past, for the gold standard and for
the maintenance of the dollar at a
high rate of exchange abroad The
President would probably be the last
man to admit that he was opposed to
sound money. The problem. therefore.
seems to be to determine what is sound
| money"
! The administration has determined.
/ and has been determined for some time
| past, to attempt to cure the economic
ills of the country through tinkering
| with the dollar. In some way, appar-
emily, the value of the dollar was to be
reduced in the effort to raise COM
modify prices. The dollar was held no
| longer to be an honest dollar" Not
| that it was unsound, but apparently be-
cause 1t was too sound. A dollar bought
| too much in material and in labor.
Various plans were tried to reduce the
value of the dollar and the latest has
been the offer Of the Government to
! buy gold, paying for it at new high
! figures in dollars. This certainly has
had tie effect OF making the dollar
! take a nose dive in foreign exchange
| Unfortunately, at the same time the
dollar has been taking this kind of q
drop Government securities have been
on the toboggan. That has been some
what chilling. If the credit of the Gov
ernment falls substantially, then the
| American people necessarily are out of
| luck. Thousands upon thousands hold
| these Government securities; savings
are invested in them.
| It Is obvious that the administration
| II its policies with regard to the dol
| lar turn out badly, is going to come
in for terrific amount Of criticism.
But 1t also seems clear that the admin
going right ahead with its declared ID
| policy ON gold and currency, notwith-
standing the storm clouds gathering
Within two months Congress will again
be In Washington. Then the pulling
and hauling will begin, with the So
| called sound money men attacking the
administration and the inflationists de-
manding that the President 60 to
greater lengths.
The farmers ought to be happy. For
the first time in the memory Of official
| Washington at least a farmer has been
placed in control of the Treasury De-
partment. Henry Morgenthau, jr.. who
| has been appointed Undersecretary of
the Treasury and who will be Acting
Secretary while Mr. Woodin is on in
definite leave from the office of Secre-
tary. has 1,400-acre farm in Dutchess
| County, N. Y, nearby the Presidents S
old home. He is publisher Of the
American Agriculturalist, and took a
| course in agriculture when a student
at Cornell University. Whether Mr..
Morgenthau qualities as a "dirt farmer
is perhaps something that a committee
OF farmers would have to pass on. But
at least he comes nearer to being a
farmer than Mr.. Woodin, Ogden Mills,
and Andrew Mellon. not to mention
Senator Carter Glass of Virginia and
Senator McAdoo of California. Mr.,
Morgenthau was picked by President
| Roosevelt to head the new Farm Credit
Administration and for months he has
been hard at work refinancing farm
mortgages under the terms of the farm
relief measure put through by Congress
in its special session When the Presi-
dent was selecting his Cabinet last
Winter. Morgenthau was mentioned as
a possible choice for Secretary of Agri-
| culture.
| This matter of sound money NAV be-
\ come an issue between the Republicans
ana the Democrats in the congressional
campaign next year Certainly it will
! De SO II the Roosevelt gold and currency
| poilcies do not prove popular and in
nation becomes a menace. However.
the currency question cuts across DO
htlcal lines. There is large group
| OF Democrats, particularly In the East.
VINO are as insistent upon Sound
money" and as strongly against infia-
lion OF the currency as are any of the
| Republicans. On the other hand. there
are Republicans in the West and Mid
die West who demand some measure of
imitation as vehemently as do the in
natlonlst Democrats. Generally speak
ing, however, and by tradition the @.
| y. +. has been known as a sound
money" party. When Senator McNary
OF Oregon the Republican leader of the
! upper House last Summer was dis
cussing the probable issues of the com
ing campaign he mentioned as princi-
/ pal among them the question of sound
| money.
( There are signs that when Congress
meets there will be attacks upon the
/ Roosevelt administration from angles
| in addition to the sound money" ques-
/ tlon. Senators have rolled into Wash
! lngton-Democratie Senators-in the
last few weeks ready to denounce the
Public Works Administration. headed by
| Secretary Ickes of the Interior Depart
ment because, they say, despite all the
! allotmentS OF funds announced there
nave been very very few men actually
put to work. Some of these Senator's
go so far as to charge that the effort
is being made not to spend the money
authorized by Congress, but merely to
go through the motions in order to
| make 1t appear that something along
TINS line Is being done. This, they say,
IS in line with the policy of the Budget
director, Lewis Douglas, who believes
In keeping down Government expendi-
lures The N. r. A. is likely to be
subject of attack also, especially by
those who insist that 1t Is vioIative OF
the provisions of the Constitution
And then the Democratic Senators who
| have not received the patronage in
their States which they expected have
their knives sharpened. Indeed, the
| prospects are for lot Of fireworks
when Congress gets back to Washing
ton. 1t will take a strong hand to
| dominate and strong leadership in both
House and Senate to keep the rebellious
Democrats in line
After letting the investigation Of the
| election of Senator Overton of Iouisi-
ana langtIish for months, including the
| investigation OF the activities of SEN
aHcA IIInnrr L Il IL l.