Evening star., 1933-11-08

Meet the man who keeps President
Roosevelt up to date on the ebb and
flow of the tide of recovery. Hitherto
anonymous and referred to simply as
"the interpreting economist" his iden-
tity has Just been revealed. He is
Winfield w. Riefier. attached to the
Executive Council, or so-called super
cabinet" which co-ordinates the far
flung activities Of the various emer-
geney relief administrations. Mr..
Refers job is to analyze all facts, fig
ures and trends in the economic situa-
ton, as they develop from day to day,
and indicate to the President exactly
what they show with respect to restora-
tion of prosperity. "The interpreting
economist" was born in Buffalo and is
36 years old. He joined the American
ambulance service in the French Army
while student at Amherst, where he
took his A. B. in 1921. After gradua-
and Domestic Commerce and for two
years was with the United States trade
commissioner in Buenos Aires. Even
tually he went to the Federal Reserve
Board, whence he was drafted for his
present service with the Executive
Council Author Of q book entitled
Money Rates and Money Markets., %
friends describe him as modest, pleas
ant, capable and level-headed. Mr..
Riefler is laying the foundations for
the Central Statistical Board the
first Government attempt to maintain
systematic check-up on economic
trends.
1t looked for while this week as If
"the interpreting economist" might be
called upon by his chief, Frank c.
Walker, executive secretary of the Ex-
ecutive Council, to do some interpreting
of the recent Navy-Notre Dame foot
ball game. Mr.. Walker happens to be
Notre Dame man and hasn't been
able to figure out how the Irish" came
to lose, with all the statistics for yard
age gained in running and passing
plays overwhelmingly in Notre Dame S
favor. R0ckne'S heirs mOpped up close
to 400 yards for 81 first downs, as
against the Navy's 80 yards and four
! Z; Notre Dame, o.
4 X +, X
Simon Michelet, president of the Ma
| tional-Get- -Out-the-V -Vote-Club at Wash
ington, and the country's foremost
analyst of election returns, is the
author OF little volume entitled "Se-
curities Act, 1885," which consists oi
legislative history Of the let-the-
| seller-beware law. a realistic statement
of its purpose and an analysis of its ad-
ministration. An important chapter is
devoted to one Of its least understood
features, the Corporation Of Foreign
Securities Holders, Mr.. Michelet Is now
at work on volume to be called "The
Banking Act of 1888"
| X X
Ray Atherton, counselor of the United
States Embassy in London, is spending
brief leave Of absence in Washington
| On duty in England since 1924, it fell
to his lot to break in" during the sue
ceeding nine years a whole dynasty OF
new American ambassadors to the
Court of st. James. Among them
were Frank B. Kellogg, Alanson B
Houghton, Charles @. Dawes, Andrew
| W. Mellon and the present envoy
Robert w. Bingham. Atherton is one
Of the outstanding career men OF the
| foreign service. He was an under
graduate at Harvard while Franklin d
Roosevelt was there, graduating IN
1905, a year after the President left
college. Prior TO going to London
| Atherton was on duty in China, the
Philippines. the State Department and
Greece.
| n
Once a year Washington newspaper
men quit writing politics. and play II
themselves. The occasion Is the annual
campaign for election of officers OF the
| National Press Club The invariably
spirited contest, now in full blast, ends
this year on December 16, and is ex-
pected to bring 500 voting members to
the polls in the clubs lounge, where
balloting is supervised by the two Bills
who superintend the Capitol press gal