Evening star., 1933-11-23
The Political Mil
By C. Could Lincoln.

showed into the background by the
turmoil in Washington over the none
| tary policy Of the administration. The
array Of former supporters of PreSi-
dent Roosevelt who have split with
| the administration because of its ef-
| forts to devalue the American dollar
through its bids for gold at hitherto
unheard-of prices and because Of the
proclaimed purpose to establish n,,. .
chasing power, is becoming impressive.
James P. Warburg, New York banker
and financial adviser to the American
sent to the London Economic Confer
| joint DIR. o. M. w. Sprague, former
special adviser of the Treasury De-
partment on currency matters, and
former Undersecretary Of the Treas
| ury Dean j. Acheson, who was forced
| out-although he had contemplated re-
signing-to make place for the new
Acting Secretary Of the Treasury,
Henry Morgenthau. jr. Mr.. Warburg
| speaking last night in Philadelphia be-
fore the American Academy Of Pcliti-
cal and Social Sciences, declared that
he did not believe there was any such
| thing as controlled imitation" And
\ Ilc duOcu culpldIiCduy tudt iic Olo hOi
believe there could be q dollar OF con-
slant purchasing power. dollar that
would buy just as much material OF
labor or whatnot today and a hundred
years from now or on any day in the
hunred-year interval, for example.
| \ X n
So far the fight over the administra-
tion's monetary policy has been largely
! pr,o hefyuaor the hankerS business YnPr
and some of the economists on the one
side against the President and his infla.
ZIONIST advisers on the other, not tt
mention the infiationists in and out OF
Congress. Just how soon 1t will enter
the field Of politics is another question
As a matter of fact, as Bernard M
Baruch recently stated in New York
there has really been very little cur
rency imitation so far, If any. Tht
President is in a position where he may
continue to tinker with the currency
and to seek to bring about mounting
commodity prices by the devaluation o.
the dollar, or he may kick the whole
thing overheard. It must be said. how.
ever, that up to date he has given n,
indication of abandoning the policies
now sponsored by Morgenthau and b.
Profs. Warren and Rogers.
|
Here and there Republican in po.
litical life has taken a crack at the
administrations monetary policy
among them Senator David A. Reed o.
Pennsylvania. But there has been NJ
concerted Republican attack worthy o.
the name. Rather it has been the pol
icy of the Republicans to wait and SCI
what happens before opening up on tht
money issue. There is not the slightest
doubt, however, that the GO. P. i
looking forward to campaign over th'
money question with some degree o.
relish. if the administration will JUS
indulge in some real imitation. They
think back to the days of 1896 and fret
silver and subsequent campaigns, usher
ing in long series of Republican vic
tories.
Senator Norris of Nebraska, tn
State which gave to the country tn
great advocate of free silver and cur
rency imitation of a generation or tw
ago, has come back to Washington
predicting a hot fight over imitation
A strong supporter of President Roose
welt, the Nebraska Senator is also
supporter Of imitation, Of controlled in
hation. saying that he does not believ
In unlimited imitation" The troubl
about the whole thing is that no on
knows whether initiation can be con
trolled. 1t has run away SO oftel
when tried in other countries in tn
past that there is grave doubt tina
imitation can be managed, once it ha
been given rein. The next six month
should show, provided, Of course, tn
administration extends its inf1ationar
policies. The Nebraska Senator is quit
right in his assertion that fight owe
the money question will not be wage
along Republican and Democrat
partisan lines. There will be man
conservative Democrats who will not g
along with imitation, and, on the othe
hand, numerous so-called progreSsiv
Republicans who will stick to imitation
like burr.
If the country thinks it is hearing
lot about currency and initiation today
would assume If Congress were on tn
job in Washington. The critics Of tn
administrations monetary policies hav
been referred to by the President himsel
as Tories" certain Tories, to be NOR
exact. Money, like liquor, is one Of thos
questions that the people feel prett
strongly about. They have their idea
and their convictions regarding money
some of them inherited and other
gained by personal experience. Callin
some of the people Tories Is not hkel
to pry them loose from their ideas OF
this subject of money.
y X X X
The recent censorship of the pres
order issued by the new Acting Secre
tary of the Treasury, Mr.. Morgenthau
stirred up q hornets nest. Mr.. Nor
genthau's abilities, and he must hav
them to have been selected for hi
present post, did not shine when n
issued the order He created overnigh
an antagonistic spirit among the mel
who write for the newspapers. This a
a time when the policies which he ha
been advocating regarding the currenc.
are coming under severe attack any
gag rule is clapped on news 1t alway
rouses in the mind Of the public tn
idea that there Is something to con
ceal that the Government is trying T.
cover up something. Mr.. Morgentha'
may have been irritated over report
that there was dissension among tn
officials of the Treasury Department
over the money policy and have planne'
to put an end to such reports If pos
sible. But a continuance OF these re
ports would have been much easier II
bear than what seems now In store
Censorship of news and information !
autocratic The impression Is givei
that the Treasury Department Is MI
Morgenthau's Treasury, instead OF tn
Treasury of the people Of the Unite'
States. Already, it is reported, tn
censorship order has been consider
ably modified.
Il X X
The Presidents alma mater, Harvard
or some of the members Of the faculty
at least. of that institution do not q
along with the policies of the admins
tration, Take, for example, Malcolm
p. McNair, professor Of marketing a
the Harvard Graduate School of Bus1
ness Prof. McNair is a self-styled "A
Smith Democrat" who supported Roose
velt in the last campaign because n
believed in him. But in recent ad