The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-07-05
Roosevelt and the Dollar
minneapolis Tribune)

whether the world conference will
survive the emphatic message deliy-
cred 1t by President Roosevelt YES.
terday can only be guessed at. In
Its positive rejection Of the vague
proposals to anchor the dollar for
the time being, the Presidents mes
sage made no effort to concede any,
thing to the harrassed gold standard
countries. They are left no ground
on which to work out of their isolated
position without abandoning definite
~ all efforts to strike any kind of a
temporary balance between the dol
lar, the pound and the franc. Wheth-
er they are willing to pay the price
President Roosevelt has set for STAY
ing In the conference depends entire
~ on how important they consider
the conference to be in furthering
their own national plans.
II the previous statements made by
these gold nations mean anything. it
Is difficult to understand how they
will justify yielding to President
Roosevelt's demands. But by means
Of his message President Roosevelt
has virtually succeeded in making the
gold bloc seem the villain by accusing
the nations which comprise 1t Of at
tempting to divert the conference
from its real detectives In so doing
he has, perhaps, jeopardized the pos
sibilities OF international agreement
but that IS an eventuality which he
must have considered before he spoke.
He has stated his position and it is
now for the conference to either take
1t or leave it.
Without attempting for the mo-
ment to pass Judgment on the validity
OF that position, its emphatic nature
Ii an indication of the manner In
which our official attitude toward the
conference has been shifting under
the pressure of circumstances. Not
more than six weeks ago the Presi-
dent was not loath 10 suggest that
some agreement between the major
nations Of the world at the London
conference was imperative to the well
being OF the peoples of the world. To-
day, however, We are apparently will
ing to gamble whatever the confer
ence may mean to MAINTAIN inviolate
our own national plans. President
Roosevelt must be satisfied that
America can go forward to prosperity
whether Europe likes the way we pro-
pose to get there or not. Once do.
nestle plans between several nation.
conflicted as sharply as they have ir
the last few days, 1t was inevitable
that the vague claims of interna.
tionalism would be abandoned. That
Is the inconsistency that inheres in 9
world congress which attempts to leg
islate plans for sovereign states.
Since the domestic plans now tax.
ing shape at Washington had almos
nothing to gain from immediate sta,
bilization Of the dollar, it was almos
impossibl for the President to hav'
spoken otherwise. Immediate sta
bltzation, In fact. might have givel
those plans a setback since the ad
ministration program presuppose
currency fluctuation for its success
AS far as public opinion In this coun
try is concerned, the bulk Of it vii
undoubtedly uphold the President
TO America, President Roosevelt
message will not appear as an INVITA-
ton to adjourn but rather a challeng
to the conference to return to con
sideration Of those fundamental eco
nonlic ills Of which unstable curren
cies are only an outward sign and TO
the mending Of which the conferenc
was called. Whether the objectin
nations are able to see that challeng
IS something which immediate cir
cumstances should lead one to doubt
II they do not, the President is read
to watch them stew in their owl
broth.