Evening star., 1936-09-28
BLUM ACTS TO BAR
PRICE INCREASE IN
DEvALUAT|0N STEP
Decides to Ask Power as He
Wins First Test in
Chamber.
"SLIDING SCALE" PLANS
TO BALANCE PAY FOUGHT
Motion to Send Franc Measure
Back to Committee Is
Beaten, 365-248.
BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND
The European gold bloc" main
tanning for years its monetary
policy against the current OF cur
rency deDaluation to ,Uhich most of
the other countries OF the Uorld,
including Great Britain and the
United States, Succumbed, came to
an end Friday 1Uith the announce
n1ent by the Blum government OF
Ndnce that it Uould seek to re-
duce the gold content of the franc,
Under the protection OF tripdrtite
agreement NTH England and
America to prevent market raids
on the franc.
American stnbh.dtion fund OF
$4,000, ,000,n00 made available by
Secretary of Treasury Morgenthau
Saturday for the support of franc,
pound and dollar after he came
to the support OF sterling
: NTH $4,000 900, buying 100000
thrown onto the New York er-
change by the Moscop State
Bank. He charged an attempt
to raid the pound.
tCopyright. 1886. by the Associated Press.
PARIS. September 28.- Premier
Leon Blum. winning the first parlia.
mentary test of his devaluation pro-
gram with comfortable majority. de-
cided tonight to ask the Chamber q
Deputies for full power to preven!
price increases by decree.
The Socialist premier made his de-
cision after a conference with repre-.
sentatives of the Popular Front of So.
cialists, Communists and Radical-So
cialists.
A few hours earlier the government
striding toward currency realignment
under the protection of tri-partite
monetary equilibrium" agreement
had won the initial victory Of its figh!
to save the franc by devaluation.
Sliding Scale opposed.
The newest move was brought about
by increasing parliamentary opposition
to the governments sliding scale
plan for balancing salaries of govern
ment employees and pensionnaires with
the anticipated increase in the cost OF
living.
This plan. the premier promised to
remove from the text Of his devalua-
ton measures.
A new text was submitted to the
powerful General Federation of Labor,
which approved it.
The 'free hand" which Blum is
Reeking, informed sources said, would
mean the Government would use all
its resources to fight rise in prices,
compensations for certain
groups of people with fixed incomes
only if the indices of the cost of living
mount despite official efforts.
Whatever means the government
deems necessary would be used in the
war against climbing price scale, ac-
cording to the new text of the devalua-
ton measure.
The Chamber of Deputies. meeting
in extraordinary session, turned down
q motion by the fiery Rightest leader,
Louis Marin, to send the legislation
back to the Finance Committee.
The vote was 365 to 248.
Then the chamber adjourned to 4
pm. 90 am. Eastern standard time)
Observers predicted final Chamber
approval of devaluation in a night
session, but said the determined op-
position of Rightist deputies indicated
the government might have long,
hard fight to push the measures
through the Conservative Senate.
While the government majority ap-
parently made speedy passage of de-
valuation certain in the chamber, the
sec ZIP ANC paoe A-1I