The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1935-01-31


that an individual who has prom
ised to pay in gold must observe
the terms of that agreement, the
administration is again in a hole.
Since contracts, agreements or
bonds containing the promise to
pay in gold are in general use and
have been written since time imme-
mortal the amount of such pay
ments is virtually incalculabie. /
have heard many estimates of the
total amount of money involved by
the so-called gold clause but / hes
itate to use any of them because it
is patent on the face of things that
an accurate figure is impossible.
One can get down to grass tacks
ON the effect of affirmation of the
gold clause, however, by the SIM
pie application of the ratio of gold
to the present dollar. When those
gold contracts We're written dol
lar in currency was redeemable for
dollar in gold. At that time gold
was valued at around $21 an ounce.
The Roosevelt administration ar
bitrarily increased that value to a
few cents over $35 an ounce. With
out going into all of the details it
means that to gain the same
amount of gold now which dol
lar would have bought prior to the
Roosevelt administration action one
will have to pay Sligo. To state it
another way, if the gold contracts
involve $1,000,000,00O, those who
are obligated to pay in gold will
have to pay $1,690, 100000, at the
present rate. Obviously, debtors un-
der that circumstance will find
themselves between the upper and
neither millstones, well squashed,
if the court rules adversely to the
governments policy.
Attorney General Cummings in
his plea to the Supreme court made
the argument that an adverse de-
cision would mean chaos to the
country. / believe there can be no
doubt about that. But the point is
deeper. Roosevelt administration
policies were hammered through
congress and received the legisla-
tive body's rubber stamp by direc-
tion of the President.
What's to Be Done?
What is going to be done about
it? I don't know. Further I don't
believe the administration knows
what it is going to do in event the
court rules against the government |
in these cases. There has been
numerous conferences, frequent |
speculations by subordinate offic-
ials and many guesses by individ-
uals. The President himself said
in press conference the other day
that he would not discuss the gold
question while the matter was
pending before the Supreme court.
It was a simple way to avoid ex-
his hopes or his fears.
It is to be noted, however, that
during the ten days in which the
court heard arguments in the gold
cases, a considerable number of
senator's and representatives sat
glued in their seats in the gloomy
old Supreme court chamber under
the dome of the Capitol. They
were obviously wondering. None
If them thus far has offered pub
licly a suggestion as to what he
will do in event the monetary pol
icies are overturned. After all, if
the Roosevelt program is upset,
congress simply will have to enact
some new laws and that was the
chief reason why so many of the
congressional leaders were seen in
at court.
The court will rush its decision.
Of that there can be no doubt. AL |
ways it has put cases of paramount
to the nation ahead
of those that affect private liti-
giants. Everyone believes, therefore,
that in this instance the Supreme
court has laid aside most of it's
other work in order to devote It's
attention to a thorough-golng ex-
animation Of the present problem.
Lawyers tell me that if the court
rejects the Roosevelt policies AZ
untenabla under the Constitution,
congress will have to put through
some new saws on the subject at
break-neck speed in order to avoid
a hiatus that would flood the courts
with an unprecedented number of
suits.
To Restrict Cotton Outpl.
The agricultural adjustment. adj
ministration has fixed the cot.nn
crop for tic coming season at 10,
100000 ha est ne same a last
year. At the same tim :, we have