The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-01-27
PEOPLE MUST BE TAUGHT
TO LIVE WITHIN THEIR
INCOMES, SAYSMURRAY

money abroad, without strings
to 1t.
The big national bankers loaned
some $4,000. 100000 to s15.0O0.-
600, 900 to foreign enterprises, &C
cepting foreign securities, the
larger part of which proved to be
worthless or fraudulent. In turn,
they sold these securities to the
smaller banks and to investors
who had saved their resources.
Pay day came and the foreigner
could not pay, except in goods,
and to make payment in goods
would throw our labor out of en-
ployment; nor could they pay in
gold because they didn't have the
gold.
The result was: Those who had
saved and who had proved thrifty
in the time of prosperity found
themselves with inSolvent, worth
less securities; and the banks
were also loaded down with them,
resulting in freezing" their as
sets.
The next erroneous policy was
when the Government permitted
these banks in the first instance
to loan to foreigners with a view
of rehabilitating their factories
and private enterprises; for it but
enabled the foreigners the better
to compete with America; in fact,
we had given them a knife, as 1t
were, to cut our Threats.
lad the Government insisted
that all loans abroad should be
used for public works, such as
railroads, ships, ports, public
buildings, with a provision that
all Of the supplies should be pur-
chased in the United States,
and wherever practical that the
contract should be let to an
American with such strings
on the loans, there had been q
constant demand for American
supplies, without competing in
our own field.
These are the things that re-
quired the refinancing Of the rail-
roads, the banks and other finan-
cial institutions.
1t must be recognized by every
intelligent man that when urban
labor is unreaSonably higher than
farm labor, or when one class of
labor is out of equitable parity
with any other class of labor, that
it's an injury not only to society
in general but also to their fellow
laborer.
This was shown in the building
trades; with a carpenters wage
at 81 an hour, the cost of con-
Struction was too great to permit
a reasonable charge for rental.
The Result
The result was the croWding
into small apartment rooms and
the lowering demand for housing;
and, consequently, for labor and
other materials with which to
construct houses, until the build
ing trades broke down completely,
and as yet, slowest in recovering.
3. The encouragement by the
Treasury Department that bankers
invest in bonds and stocks which
augmented speculation and gam
bling on the stock exchange. to
the detriment Of producers and
investment borrowers.
In my opinion, a government
ought never to foster speculation,
but lend all encouragement pos
sible for investments.
The little banks here in Okla
homa were told by the bank ex-
sminer: Throw out that farm
paper, that oil paper, and invest
in stocks and bonds" encouraging
even investment in those foreign
securities, resulting in their assets
becoming worthless.
This was the worst policy Of all
and the most potent cause Of the
economic breakdown.
4. The rising taxes on property,
particularly the ad valorem tax
which increased even in the face
of loss of incomes, resulting in
foreclosures of valuable property
the incomes from which could not
meet the tax duplicate.
S. The lack Of leadership in
every line.
The banker, who should have
been a financial leader, was but
a financial speculator with a
grab and-get-for-the- present, with
out regard for the future; who
continued to urge bond issues
after the war closed, the proper
time to check back and stop the
issuance of bonds.
Leadership in education de
generated and became "ball
bearing" with the shibboleth and
applause for baseball, basketball
leading too often to highballs.
The preacher substituted for re
ligion, true and undefiled," polit
ical scrit and sociology.
Bring Home The Bacon"
Statecraft degenerated into bar
ter and trade and into Bring
Home the Bacon" in the form OF
a Federal appropriation for some
useless or unnecessary local de
mand.
These, together with the in