Evening star., 1933-01-23
MONEY INITIATION
SCARE DISCOUNTED
Enactment at This or Next
Congress Is Declared Ex-
tremeIy Unlikely.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

BY MARK SULLIVAN. -
In New York one learns that a no,
tnconsiderable number of persons in the
financial community have persuaded
themselves that the phase of the de
preston just ahead Of us is likely te
express itself in imitation of the cur.
rency. A few have put their investment.
in such form as to get the advantage
OF imitation II 1t takes place. A con.
siderable number are waiting to see /.
currency imitation occurs and mean.
while keeping their funds liquid, OF
otherwise mobilizing their affairs 81
as to move when imitation becomes i'm.
minent. The financial community, ovel
the week end, was rather marked by
the flavor of expecting imitation.
Well informed Washington does moi
share this view. 1t is true many infia.
tionary measures have been introduced
scores Of them. The distance, however
between the introduction of a bill anC
the enscrollment of it on the statute
books Is suggested by the fact that ir
an ordinary Congress the ratio between
bills introduced and laws enacted /.
as thousand to one.
That no currency imitation measure
will be enacted before March 4 is abso.
lutely sure. President Hoover would
veto 1t and the certainty of the veto
diScourages promotion of such meas.
ures from becoming serious. After
March 4 everything depends on Presi-
dent-to-be Roosevelt It may be said
at once that hardly any responsible
Democrat believes Roosevelt as party
leader would encourage imitation, or as
President would fail to veto 1t. Mr.
Roosevelt is on record again and yet
again in the most convincing manner.
Strong Stand in Platform.
The Democratic platform in last
years campaign contained the strongest
Endorsement Of sound currency ever
written In platform of either party,
even IN normal times when it was easy
TO 1ndorse sound money. On top Of this
are repeated campaign declarations of
MIR. Roosevelt to the effect that, as he
said at st. Louis October 81, the obli-
cations of the Federal Government" in
cluding. of course, its currency, "are
paramount" No one, not even those
who lack certainty about the continuity
OF Mr.. RoOSevelt's convictions in some
other respects, believe he would ever
countenance currency imitation.
About Mr.. Roosevelt's point of view on
sound currency, there is indirect but
convincing evidence in a detail of his
action on Friday about foreign debts
1t became known that Mr.. Roosevelt
wishes these debts to be handled in such
a manner that as one of the conse-
quences Great Britain may get back on
the gold standard because that would
be to the interest of the United States.
A President-to-be who wants Great
al 70 honk RI tho GOLD efard-
ard does not want the United States to
get of 1t.
There Is further indirect evidence in
the well founded rumors that Mr..
Roosevelt would like to have Senator
Carter Glass of Virginia to be his Sec
retary of the Treasury. A President
with any expectation of bringing about
imitation would never want Senator Glass
in charge of the Treasury. Senator
Glass may not be Secretary Of the
Treasury. He knows by experience in
the Wilson administration the onerous-
ness of that Office, and realizes that the
burdens which were heavy enough
when he was 62 would be close to in
tolerable from rs to 79, as he will be
during the next four years.
Assurance Against Imitation.
Incidentally, Senator Glass present
occupancy Of the post Of chairman OF
the Senate Committee on Finance and
Currency Is itself an assurance against
imitation. The Germans had much
greater chance to pass at Verdun tnan
an imitation bill to get by Senator Glass
committee door.
Altogether, it may be taken as ex-
tremely unlikely that any currency IN
fiation measure will be enacted IN
either this Congress or the next. Other
agencies may bring about higher prices
including credit imitation which is or
thodox and desired, and including also
the operation of natural forces. But
currency imitation will hardly take
place in America.
It is true there will be legislation for
the relief of debtors, but 1t will not
take the form of imitation. The more
probable type seems headed to take
the form of action which will faclh-
tate reduction of debt and compro-
misses on debt. Some measures having
this purpose which are completely
orthodox and sound, including one
which has the urgent Endorsement OF
President Hoover, are under way with
such momentum as to make enactment
before March probable.
A very important one, probably the
most useful one act that could be
passed at this session. would permit
debtors unable to meet their debts as
they mature" to take sanctuary in the
Federal courts. The Federal courts.
acting through trustees, would facili-
tate and legalize, and to a degree in
sist upon, compromises between debtor
and creditor. Among other potent
provisions, q compromise made by q
majority Of the creditors to one debtor,
having a majority of the claims, would
be binding on the minority. How
greatly this would promote the COM
position of debts, and the saving OF
farms and homes to the debtors, as well
as the quick reorganization of embar-
rassed corporations, is realized by every
lawyer.
(Copyright, 1880