, 1935-05-13
WASHINGTON
BY Ray Tucker


tient In q crisis An unchecked rise
in living costs might easily prove
the vulnerable spots in whatever re-
covery rmo the New Deal ray
don between now and 1886. Lat
would be initiation which every house
wife could understand.
The price experts say they find
two reasons for rejoicing. The gap
between the production rates OF dur
able and consumption goods indus
tries Is slowly narrowing. Both
are moving up. Durable production
was 50 point TO the bad on the in
dex chart In March Of 1888. Now
the spread Is only IL points, and the
two may be heading for a rendez-
vous.
Farm products are responsible for
the major upthrust In living costs.
OF increases recently noted in %
commodities, 81 are on the agricul-
tural list. The others have dropped
or increased only slightly. The tex
tile industry = which Is parading
It's troubles before a cabinet COM
mittee - leads almost all others In
pay roll and employment gains.
Several cabinet committee members
want m explanation for that before
they recommend higher tariffs and
NRA changes.
Aim - President Roosevelt fix
ed the 1926 price level as his OBJ
jective when he inaugurated his ex-
periments In a managed currency"
You don't hear much about that ar
bitrary goal any more. Talk now
focuses Oh the l923-25 level, which
Is the basis for all governmental
index computations with the excep-
ton OF prices. Those are still tied
TO the 1876 figures.
The unofficial explanation Is that
the ie23-25 level represents q more
normal condition OF production, en-
ployment and prices. In 1926 we
were on the doorstep OF the boom.
Moreover the l923-l925 level Is low
er than that OF 1926 and probably
easier to attain.
Mariner 5 .Eccles, governor Of
the Federal Reserve Board, would
drop the price level theory entirely.
He rates IL an illusory guide to pros
perity. He considers n maximum OF
production and consumption u far
more important aim, especially as
crop failures and exchange varta-
tons bear 20 unpredictably and un-
comfortably on prices. Gov. Eccles'
| philosophy may affect the admins
tration's attitude on this question II
the pending banking bill becomes
law.
Changing - Governor Eccles feels
sure the banking bill viii pass In q
form pleasing to the administration,
despite the bankers opposition 70
Title II. He has already arranged
for q publicity program designed 20
"sell" the measure TO the public and
to prove that fears Of political con-
troll" Of the Federal Reserve System
are unwarranted. Jimmie" War
burg and Lew" Douglas are blan-
ed for raising that suspicion.
For the first time IN its history
the Federal Reserve Board has what
washington calls q press agent"
The innovation probably stuns the
bankers as much as Title III. In the
past the Board has been tomb-like
in its secrecy. But Mr.. Eccles be-
iieves his special aide" car do q
lot to smooth his path In the ad-
m~inistration Of novel financial au-
thority.
Elliott Thurston. the man drafted
10 establish cordial relations with
press and public - and bankers =
has been writing financial articles
foI the Washington Newspapers
owned By Eugene Meyer. When Mr..
Meyer vas reserve board governor,
he saw reporters as infrequently
as he could. mo news u good
news" was his motto.
Times - and bankers - are
changing.
Standard - The much ballyhooed
unemployment census has struck q
mysterious snag. Government sta
tisticians were surprised to discover
quite by accident that no money
had been set aside for the study ard
no authorization given.
Social planners say that no long
time program Of government or
private undertakings can be started
without a knowledge OF the kind
and cause and total OF unemploy-
ment. Ignorance of this problem Is
abysmal. Nobody knows how many
women have entered industry since
the depression, although they have
widely supplanted men in small
machine production. There Is no
estimate OF the number Of jobless
who have come Of employable age
since 1929. Nobody can verify or
disprove the statement that total
employment needed for peak pro-
duction is 20 per cent less than in
1929 because OF chronological ad-
vances.
A. r. Of L. estimates say that
slightly less than III 500. 900 were out
OF work in April and this does not
include. those on PWA, FERA and
CCC rolls. National Industrial
Conference Board figures run about
10 per cent less. An authoritative
estimate Is more essential now than
ever before III the country Is to have
q standard - political as well as
| economic - by which to Judge the
effectiveness OF the $4,000, 1000
work-relief program IN providing
a full dinner pail"
Another - Gold trouble again.
A New York attorney thinks he
has found O scheme for beating dol
lar devaluation despite the supreme
court decision upholding revocation
Of the gold clause. In the gold
bond covenant 1t Ia provided that
the bond shall be accepted IN pay
ment Of federal income taxes. TAX
ing advantage Of this provision, he
has advised certain clients 10 offer
q $1,000 gold bond in payment Of
1880 I'm taxes on June Is.