Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-07-13
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
CONTINUED from Page ~

In his various statements to the
conference or to the American dele
CATION the president has very plainly
some say, too ACKNOWLEDGMENT
that he, the situation being what it
is, is not interested in any temporary
currency sterilization. His chief de-
mand is for rising commodity prices
and lessening of the general unem-
ployment. Sterilization has its use,
he feels, but right now it is of Sec
ondary Importance, and when it is
effected, it should not be as tenn
porary arrangement, but should be
something that would fix currency
rates for a generation to come.
Criticism.
While the presidents views are en-
dorsed by a great many people-ex-
perts among them, tOO-Others are
not so certain that they are effica-
cious, and feel that the president is,
so to say, putting the cart before the
horse. In many quarters it is felt
that currency sterilization must needs
be the foundation of all further eco
nomic reforms, and that you cannot
raise prices, you cannot expand en-
ployment opportunities, you cannot
regulate tariffs downward unless you
have fixed money value as your
point of departure.
Mr.. Roosevelt, on the other hand,
holds that stabilization-that is, of
the permanent variety-can be eff
oil ofh
things have been done.
Adjournment Threatened.
Under these circumstances the six
| gold countries agreed the other day
that it would be futile to continue
the conference, so a concerted move to
adjourn it was made. All that was
needed, was the almost certain sane
tion of the conference steering COM
mittee.
But before matters came to a head,
new statements emanated from the
White House, in consequence of which
the chief of the American delegation,
Secretary of State Cordell Hull, made
very strong plea for the continual
tion of the conference. He was sue
cessful; for the time being the plan
of adjournment was abandoned and
this meant that the question of stab
ilization would be excluded from fur
Their discussion since the gold cOun-
tries made it sufficiently clear that
they did not care to proceed along the
American line.
Originally, the conference was to
discuss inter-allied war debts; cur
rency sterilization, and the removal
of high tariff walls and other arti-
fetal restrictions of international
trade.
To the war-debts discussion, Amer
lea objected strenuously and effec-
lively; currency sterilization has now
been ruled out because of the con-
flicting views of the French-influ-
enced gold group and those of the
American influenced bloc" and tar
iff problems have been quietly rele-
gated to very hazy background.
Commodity Prices.
This seems to mean that the Or
iginal topics for conference discus
sion have been almost totally elm
mated, and that new problems have
taken their place, for now, appar-
emily, the conference, at the insist
ence of America, will concentrate
most of it's efforts about the question
of raising commodity prices and re-
ducing unemployment.
In domestic matters the president
of the United States has already
shown that a price increase is pos
sible, and that unemployment can be
lessened. But will his scheme work,
from an international viewpoint?
That's the question right now.
And here the weight of informed
opinion at home and abroad is against
him; it is felt that the proper pro-
cedure at this time is to return to a