Evening star., 1934-10-24

American bankers. assembled in con-
vention at Washington, are far from
cutting the figures of penitents in
white sheets. AS for their part in the
recovery program, they consider them
selves much more sinned against than
SHINING. Their emotions are expressed
in hotel and convention lobbies rather
than in prepared public addresses.
though these have by no means been
7 lacking in plain speaking. The bank
erS are particularly resentful OF Mr..
RooSevelt's criticism that they have
not been as cooperative as British
bankers. In rebuttal, they point to the
| so to 60 per cent of Government Sc
curities in their portfolios. compared to
| the mere 10 per cent of government
paper British banks are carrying.
Bankers bitterness is conspicuous on
three other scores-1) ruinouS Gov
ernment competition with private
| banking, through the R. F. c., H. o.
L. c., F. c. A. and other Federal agen-
cies; (2) the menace of a central bank
to nationalize all banking in the
United States, and 90 the adminis-
tration'S persistent refusal to commit
itself on budget balancing. dollar de-
valuation and imitation. The conven-
ton is full of fight, and the President
has his work cut out for him tonight
| to calm the fraternity's ruft1ed feelings
and send it home in cordial New Deal
mood.
* X *
Francis Marion Law, president OF
the bankers association. in his private
capacity is president Of the First Ma
tional Bank of Houston, Tex. and a
fellow -townsman and business COM
petitor of Jesse H. Jones, chairman OF
the Reconstruction Finance Corpora
ton. Mr.. Law climbed to the top OF
the profession from the lowest ranks.
He began as a country bank book
keeper in his native place of Bryan,
Tex. A graduate of the State Agricul-
tural and Mechanics College, he is now
| president of its board of directors.
X X X X
According to news now current IN
| the American coffee trade, Brazil will
spend 81 100000 in the United States
next year on advertising the merits OF
Brazilian coffee. The project will be
handled by the National Department
of Coffee at Rio Janeiro, which was
| formerly under the direction OF Senior
Oswaldo Aranha, newly accred1ted
Brazilian Ambassador to the United
States. 1t was while Senior Aranha
was the cabinet minister in charge
of N. D. c., as the department at Rio
is known In Washington alphabet
soup parlance, that drastic measures
were invoked to get rid OF surplus
| of 10000. 900 bags of unmarketable
coffee. On the recapture of the once
rich American market for their great
staple Brazilians are pinning their
main hope of economic recovery.
* y +
Attorney General Cummings Is end
lessly proud of the magnificent new
premises of the Department of Justice.
which he calls the worlds biggest law
Office" Thanks to the vast expansion
of. ]. Edgar Hoover's division of in
vestigation. Uncle Sans new palace
| of justice also houses the worlds big
gest detective bureau. Not everybody
knows that Justice" is the fourth
ranking executive department, yield
ing precedence in the cabinet only to
State. Treasury and War. in the order
named. Those three departments.
Justice and the Post ONCE constituted
the only five cabinet Offices that ex-
listed during President Washington's S
administration G789-l797. The Navy
Department was created under Presi-
dent Adams in 1898. Interior under
President Taylor in 1849. Agriculture
under President Cleveland in 1889
and Commerce and Labor under Pres
and Labor became separate depart
ments under President Wilson in 1918.