Evening star., 1933-04-30
DEADL|NE IS TODAY
ON GOLD BOARDING.
RooseveIt's Decree Effective
Tomorrow-S10,000 Fine
or 10 Years Penalty.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
A few short hours stand between gold
hoarders and possible prosecution for
violation of the Presidents executive
order requiring gold to be returned to
the Federal Reserve banks on or before
May /.
Any person found guilty Of boarding
gold after tomorrow will be subject to
a fine of $4,000 or 10 years imprison-
ment, or both.
After yesterday, under the Chief
Executives declaration, no person may
have in his possession more than $lOO
in gold or gold certificates.
Any person now receiving any gold
in the ordinary transaction of business
must turn it over to the Federal Re-
serve banks within three days and re-
ceive other lawful money for it.
The boarding Of gold and currency
first was forbidden by President Roose-
welt in his national bank holiday proc
lamation on March 6. Frightened de-
positors Of the Nations banks had with
drawn more than billion dollars from
the banks in February and in the first
week of March they took out more
than 100000, 900 in gold alone.
LhSA 6ShSy'
The Withdrawals had created ma
tional emergency which resulted in the
closing of the banks, and the Presi-
dents proclamation was followed few
DAYS later by passage by Congress OF
the emergency bank law which re-
affirmed his demand that boarding be
made unlawful.
The Presidents move against hoard
ing was supported Immediately by the
Federal Reserve Board, which called
upon all Federal Reserve banks 10
prepare and forward to Washington
list of all persons who had Withdrawn
large amounts Of gold and had failed
to return it to the banks by Marcn 10.
The date was later extended 10 MaIcn
20 and then to March 27. and the
banks were told the lists could include
the names of persons who wltnoreW
gold over a two-year period.
The frenzied Withdrawals had re.
suited in the gold reserves OF some OF
the IL banks approaching danger
ously low point and became a menace
to the country in that it removed from
the banks the metal that could be USED
to put out two and a half times as
much currency.
The lists of the gold hoarders. pre-
pared by the banks and sent TO WASH
ington showing, the names OF the
hoarders on March 27, now are In tne
care of the Federal Reserve Board ano
Immediately available to Secretary OF
the Treasury Woodin, who has indiA
Gated that the Government will have
no mercy in cases where it is shown
that gold was willfully boarded in VIOLA
ton Of the Presidents order.
$500, 100000 Returned.
During the first three weeks after
Mr.. Roosevelt. had declared hoarolng
was injuring the Nation, $500 ,00o,Ooo
in gold and gold certificates was re-
turned to the banks of the Nation.
Then came slowing down IN the re-
turn flow of the metal.
There still remained outside Of the
Treasury and Federal Reserve banks
approximately billion dollars IN gold
and gold certificates. In the first week
of April ony S3l 100000 in gold was re-
turned and the second week saw only
$50 900, 900 added to the mount.
On April the President acted to
accelerate the return Of gold through
issuance of an executive order requiring
the return of ell gold to the Federal
Reserve banks by May l and all per-
sons receiving gold TO turn it over to
the banks within three days after get
ting it. The order didn't speed up the
return to anything approaching that OF
the first three weeks and something
like $500, 900 900 to s900,000,000 still re-
mains outside of the Treasury.
Prosecutions for violations OF the law
will be conducted by the Department OF
Justice which will act upon regulations
to be drawn up by the Treasury.
While officials do not hope to get all
of the outstanding 5000 900, 900 returned
to the Treasury they do expect that
part of it still held in this country. For
years American gold has been the most
popular coin hCarded in European coun-
tries, and during the years OF the in
dustrial boom the boarding OF Amer
ican double eagles t52o god pieces
grew to amazing proportions in Franco.
Much American gold also has disap-
peared in Russia and other amounts
have been lost.
American Coin Sought.
American gold also has disappeared
through another means-through melt
ing it down for the use in the manufac-
ture of gold articles-a practice quite
common in European countries. In
most of those countries domestic gold
coin could not be used for such pur-
poses or boarded because of the strict
laws forbidding it. In this emergency
the hoarier and user of gold sought
the American coin first because it was
regarded as the most stable money IN
the world and second for its high gold
content, which amounted to nine-tenths
of the coins weight.
TIE order of March 6 forbidding the
paying out of gold or gold certificates
caught the country bv surprise. No
one had expected the time would come
when a gold certificate would not be
readily cashed in for its equivalent in
gold. The certificates were issued by
the Government only upon deposit OF
an equivalent amount of gold with the
Treasury and always have been ware
house receipt for gold held in the Gov
eminent vaults.
Since the first days of the United
States the Nations gold coin has been
one of the worlds most stable monies.
Today it remains just the same coin,
but instead of freely circulating. is held
by the Government. More than three
billion dollars rests in Government
vaults where it furnishes the backing
for enough currency to meet any de-
mand that may be made upon the