Evening star., 1936-02-06
KNOX CONDEMNS
INITIATION TALK
Currency Expansion Called
"Dread Disease" With
Ruin Ultimate End.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CINCINNATI Ohio, February g.
Col Frank Knox termed imitation a
''dread disease" today and declared "an
agree we are threatened with it."
Imitation" he said, even at best,
can end only in some degree OF de-
preston and, at worst, it is the load
to riot no less than the road to ruin"
The Chicago publisher, mentioned
among the Republican presidential
possibilities, addressed the Tristate
Insurance Underwriters Convention
here. 1t was his fourth recent speech
in Ohio, where Senator William E.
Borah, Republican, of Idaho has de-
cided to enter the presidential primary
In May.
In his prepared remarks, Col. Knox
made no reference to the Idahoan's
decision.
Approves Security Ideal.
Knox pointed to social security"
as an admirable ideal, and one which
! earnestly indorse" He said:
But long before politics discovered
that there were votes to be had in
talking about social security. millions
of our citizens, on their own initiative,
were taking steps to look after their
own individual security and that of
their families
To-day. am told, more than 65,-
100000 of our people are holders of
life insurance policies"
CfoH lz& u f01 jxI
by a sound currency minimum of
public debt and of taxes, and min
lmum Of unnecessary political inter-
ference with business are vital to
the social security of this Nation"
There must be some regulation and
policing of business to prevent dis
honesty" Knox said, but unfair and
unnecessary interference is an evil
High taxes are evil"
Economic Law Operates.
1T would be a mistake to imagine
that we in America are altogether
immune from the laws of cause and
effect in the field of economics. I
perceive as yet no reason for extreme
alarm. But it is certainly time to
sound the danger signal"
Knox recalled the Democratic plat
FORMS pledge to maintain "a sound
currency" and said:
There was no doubt whatever in
1882 as TO the meaning of the words
a sound currency. A sound currency
was a stable currency, reasonably
backed by gold. and convertible into
gold on demand. Is that what we
have today?
"A 59-cent dollar, unconvertible into
any metal, unconvertible into any
thing save other similar paper dollars;
o dollar, moreover, from which another
3 to 6 or or cents may be cut,
in terms of gold, at any moment if the
President so pleases-is that really
sound currency?"
Spending Policy Hit.
Knox criticized the national ad-
ministration's SPEEDING policies which
he said would have raised the ma
tional debt in the four years between
July l, 1882, and July l, 1886, to
somewhere between s31 ,0OC 900 900.
and S41, ,oOO,OOO0OO.
Il think" said Knox. I'VE can
carry this debt somehow. But there
has got to be halt in the creating
of deficits and it has to be made
soon.
There is as yet no question in this
country, thank God, of a ruinous in
f1ation. Initiation talk flourishes
In Washington. And our leading
economists today all agree that
we are threatened with it."
Knox said the Government had
failed to cure indulgence and unem-
ployment," and declared recovery now
was held back by lack of conf
dence."