Evening star., 1933-02-19
Roosevelt's Character Analysed as the
Time of His Inauguration Approaches

to exist as copiously among the wit
nesses as they were already known to
exist among Senators and Representa-
uveS Some of the "unsound' rem
edies, 1t Is to be noted, are gaining ex-
tremely respectable adherents. Par
ticularly IS this true Of governmental
guarantee (of some sort) for bank de-
posits- Senator Vandenberg of Michi-
gan, who Is far from being a radical"
is earnestly pressing his bill for setting
up within the Federal Reserve System
a guarantee fund for insuring the safety
OF rs per cent of bank deposits in so far
as they are time deposits"
Meanwhile one Of the most dis
tinguished directors of the Federal Re
serve Bank OF New York has informed
friends of his in the Senate that he has
reluctantly been driven to a belief in a
governmental guarantee of bank de-
posits to q limited" extent. The con-
dition of the smaller banks throughout
the country is turning many "conserva-
tives" 1to "progressives" in this matter.
Sirlarly there is growing strength
In respectable" quarters for a carefully
controlled imitation of the currency
through a broader use of silver. The
proposition thus favored by "conserva-
ttveS" or "ex-conservatives" does not go
SO far as Senator Wheeler's bill for
silver free coinage. 1t does, however
tend toward open support for SEN
ator Pittman's bill which would cause
the United States Government to buy
silver at the gold market price and Is
sue paper silver certificates" against IT..
This course was advocated before the
Senate Finance Committee this week by
Rene Leon Of New York City. Mr..
Leon also startled the committee by ad-
vocating what would amount to an en-
barge on the export of gold from this
country to foreign parts Mr. Leon
would abandon, for us, the "interna-
tional" gold standard, He would thus,
he claims retain all the more strongly
the full effect Of the gold standard in
national domestic values Of commodities.
He sees prices in the United States 60
ing up rapidly If once the danger is re-
moved of all Withdrawals of gold from
here to Europe. He further and finally
informs the incoming President that the
laying OF an embargo upon exports of
gold Is already within the presidential
power by the terms of the United
states code without further legislation
Such suggestions, of drastic quality.
are coming no longer from merely the
extreme edges of economic thought but
also from its most settled centers. The
old distinctions between conservative"
and progressive" between reaction
ary" and radical" are getting blurred,
II not effaced.
The incoming President cannot sim
ply side with the right wing against
the cleft wing" or with the 'left wing
against the fright wing" The feathers
OF the two wings are getting all inter-
twined into new motley national
plumage.
The consequence thereupon IS that
the task of sorting out these feathers
and of selecting some for retention and
others for rejection is less and less a
task that can be accomplished by a
party or a group and more and more a
task that can be accomplished only by
an individual. Mr. Roosevelt, along with
everybody else, will see that fact per-
fectly clearly ON March T.
But then there will also emerge In
him his own passion for discussion
rather than for solitary dictatorship
Some people say that he will dictate
without Congress through arbitrary
powers confided to him by Congress
Putting the situation and his own char
ly to be surmised that Mr.. Roosevelt
will dictate, but that he will oblige
Congress, step by step, through legal
enactment, to share the responsibility
with him and to dictate IN accompani-
ment to his dictation.
(Copyright, 1933.)