The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-02-01
THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES
COUCHLIN'S AID
is SOUGHT BY
INFLATI0NISTS
Radio Priest Is Now Central
Figure in Senate'S
Expansion Drive.
Copyright. 1885 BY United Press


Copyright. 1885. BY United Press
WASHINGTON, Feb. Father
Charles E. Coughlin's devastating
campaign against the World Court
made him a central figure today in
congressional currency expansion
strategy.
Seasoned observers believe the De-
troit priest in a radio sermon last
Sunday night gave court opposition
in the United States Senate the i'm
petus necessary to defeat adherence.
Currency expansion plans as out
lined to the United Press depend IN
part upon Father Coughlin's assist
ance. Senators are in constant
touch with him. The immediate
objective of Senate eXpansionistS is
to win the South to freer use of sill
yer. That is the purpose behind the
Senate Agriculture Committees ap-
parently aimleSs discussion Of ex-
port trade.
Wheeler Bill First
There is informal agreement to
test strength first on the Wheeler
bill which is an unqualified 16-to-1
free silver coinage measure mas
querading as farm relief legisla-
ton. The bill was deliberately
drafted as a farm relief bill so it
could be referred to Chairman Eli
son D. Smiths agriculture commit
tee rather than to the Senate Bank
ing and Currency Committee which
would have buried it among waste
paper.
Two cabinet members, Henry A.
Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture,
and Daniel Roper, Secretary of
Commerce, have appeared before the
committee. Committeeman contend
they did not agree on methods to
increase farm commodity exports,
Cordell Hull, Secretary of State, tes-
titled yesterday.
The strategy of the committee is
to give every willing Administration
spokesman a chance to talk in the
expectation that the record ulti-
mately will show President RoOse-
velt's advisers in disagreement on
methods to sell American produce
particularly cotton-in foreign lands.
Cotton States Target
The plan is aimed solely for the
time being at cotton states and
statesmen. Wheeler bill advocates
count on the support of most of the
% Senators from silver producing
areas. They expect to break even
or better among the agrarian Sem
ators of the Midwest and Northwest.
But the usually conservative South
must be shown.
On the word of interested SEN
ators, the South is to be shown that
all the competing cotton producing
nations are on cheap paper or sill
yer Standardization, Chile, Argen-
tina, India, Egypt and China. In an
effort to win cotton states votes for
silver legislation it will be argued
that these foreign nations produce
cotton cheaply in terms of gold as
compared with the United States.
One Senator said Mexican cotton
growers received 36 cents a pound,
Mexican money, for the staple which
brings American planters II cents,
American style.
Roosevelt Veto Certain
"The whole purpose of the So
called export clinic before the ag-
riculture committee" the United
Press was told, lis to convince the
cotton men they must go out of
business as cotton exporters or per-
nit their people to fall to the living
standards of MeXicanS unless our
money is further Cheapened to per-
NIT our exports to find wider for
eign markets"
But so involved has the politics of
currency become that there is other
strategy back of that. Currency ex-
pansionists do not believe they could
overcome a veto. And, Mr.. Roose-
welt certainly would veto the Wheel
er bill. What they hope to do is
make a show of force which would
compel the Treasury to speed up the
silver buying program announced by
Mr.. Roosevelt last August at Green
Bay, Wis.
He said then that the Treasury
would buy silver until its stocks of
that metal represented Is per cent
of the gold stocks held by the Gov
eminent. Complaint is made that
the program is tagging, although
Henry Morgenthau Jr., Secretary of
Treasury, insists it is being effected
with dispatch.