The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1934-06-22
by William Bruckart

Bruckart rE13Tf{f
millions Of dollars, and it is to be as
sumed that 1t will be money paid into
the treasury by taxpayers, supplied the
transferred peoples on long time credit.
have not learned yet how the added
production resulting from these trans
fers will be handled, but 1t certainly
will add to the surplus about which the
Agricultural Adjustment administra-
ton has been complaining.
Now that we have a new law that
provides the federal government with
authority to control
Touches All the exchanges where
n,,. T:,,,. stocks and bonds are
sold, as well as a
law by which the government controls
the issuance and sale of such securi-
ties, it seems to be a good time for
examination of the new agency that
is going to run that show. 1t may
seem far cry from the stock eS-
change of Wall Street to the little
country school house, but this new law
is so far-reaching in its effect and in
it's scope of jurisdiction that it touches
that little country school and the lives
of all of US. l judge from the ex-
pressions l have picked up that pass
age of the exchange control law has
brought us to turning point in the
matter of what We do with the extra
few dollars that we can save and in
vest with expectation of getting re-
turn of interest.
The consensus seems to be that
whether anything is accomplished I'M
der the combination control of security
issues and stock exchange will depend
entirely on administration of the laws.
That is to say, if good is to come,
there must be reasonable interpreta-
ton of the provision of those laws, ac-
cording to the general view of those
directly affected. The stock exchange
control law underwent a major oper-
alton in congress from the manner in
which the professors of the brain trust
had drawn it, originally. Until those
Objectionable features were eliminated,
there was battle royal in house and
senate. Since the features omitted
were deemed too radical by congress,
it is to be assumed there was merit in
the claims of brokers and investors in
stocks that the bill would have
damned up money that otherwise
could have been put to work and used
by commerce and industry which nee
essarily has to operate to a great ex-
tent on borrowed funds, credit.
But hear many expressions around
here that there is still serious prob
lem ahead in the matter of keeping the
channels open for investment funds.
1t is asserted by many that 1.-The pro-
fessorial type of mind" should not be
chosen to serve as members of the five
man commission that is set up to rule
this phase of commerce. l think no
one can deny that there have been
abuses of confidence, trickery and 9TH
err sharp practices extant in stock ex-
change operations. The new laws are
supposed to cure them, and l believe
they will do so. Yet, the thought held
by some of the real authorities is that
radical administration of the laws can
damage the field of finance beyond
measure, Selection of men for the
Jobs who would exercise their author
ity with restraint as well as with in
telligence was imperative from the
start, or else am convinced the whole
country would suffer because there
could be no distribution of the securi-
ties. Bonds on the little country
school house would be difficult to sell,
and mortgage lenders, who sell bonds
against those mortgages, would be
against wall.
Numerous Democrats continued
right up to the dying gasp of the
Seventy-third con
Still Pie gress to seek po-
u,,,, litical pie for their
constituents. Til e y
are still pie hungry now, insofar as
one attempted raid on government jobs
is concerned. A broad jump was at
tempted in the house to place several
hundred extra workers in the general
accounting office for the purpose of
auditing the expenditures Of the sew
eral dozen Roosevelt agencies that are
denominated by their critics as the
alphabetical SOUP" UP to this time,
| ]. R. McCarl, the comptroller general
of the United States, has had little
chance to find out what the alphabet
ical agencies have been doing with the
vast sums appropriated for them or
alIocated them by the President from
the various huge appropriations. He
has to, and does, pass on the expendi-
lures of the regularly established gov
eminent agencies, but none of the new
ones were put under his watchful eye.
Mr.. Roosevelt ordered the audit. To
do the job, however, required addi-
tional help for Mr.. McCarl, and about