The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-02-19


 grains. Hasn't my contract been broken?
 A.. Yes, but the court found that Congress had the legal power ot do that in order to prevent un- fairness in the readjustment of our monetary system.
 c. How about government bonds? My government bond also promised to pay me back in old style gold dollars. Can the gov- ernment go back on It's word?
 A. The supreme court says that constitutionally the govern ment had no right to break it's promise. But on the other hand, It found that holders of government bonds had shown no real loss, be- cause the present devalued doilufs will buy just as much in this coun- try as did the old gold dollars, and hence 1t threw out of court the suit of a bondholder who had sought $l.69 on the dollar.
 c. We'll, If everything seems to remain just the same as 1t was before these cases arose. what was all the excitement about?
 A. If the cases had gone against the government and for mer gold obligations had been or dered paid at the rate of $1.69 to the dollar, former gold debts of corporations and states and munic- qualities aggregating $75,, O0O,OO0,- 900 would have at once taken on a value of $126,750,000,0OO. This might have thrown away many oi tho country's greatest corporations into bankruptcy, demoralized mar kets and raised general havoc. The governments own debt would have been increased many billions and the federal credit strained or wrecked.
 c. With these apparent dire events avoided, are the courts de- cisions favorable to the govern mcnt likely to have any general effect?5
 A. The uncertainty of the gold cases has been hanging over the mark cts for weeks. Now that 1t IS over, administration officials hope general business and finance can move forward with new confidence and assurance.
 c. Are the decisions likely to affect the New Deals future mone- tary policy?
 A. Administration officials, hail. ing the decisions as a sweeping victory, feel the readjustment of U. $. money is now firmly bull warked by the highest court in the land. Presumably this approval might make the president moro willing to use the authority he holds from Congress to reduce the nf InI nthNr n nor cent if he thought that desirable. But there Is no indication what ever that the New Deal now aims at anything but continued stabtl- ity of American money with no further changes in prospect.
 United Press Correct
 New York, Feb. 19-(UP)-An erroneous dispatch that the su- preme courts gold decision meant in effect that for every $1,0OO gold bond the government must pay $1, ,690 was widely circulated throughout the United States and in foreign countries yesterday af- ternoon.
 This erroneous version (attrib- uted 10 the Associated Press) was printed in many newspapers and announced on the radio, before be- ing corrected.
 The United Press received many inquiries as 10 how 1t handled its story which was accurate through out. In reply the following state ment was issued:
 "The United Press was correct In its report of the gold decision because it's staff in Washington re- fused to take a chance. The su- preme court staff, headed by John Reichmann, was under definite in- structions from Lyle c. Wilson, chief of the United Press Bureau in Washington. to send out In It's first flashes and bulletins exactly what the chief justice said and not to run the risk of cndeavoring to interpret what the effect of the opinion would be. That tehcnique was followed faithfully with the result that the United Press bull letins and flashes were accurate at all times"