The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-10-22
Paul MallOn---
NeWS Behind
The NeUS

u here can and will tell you off
the record exactly what hap
pened in the stock market.
The official will explain in
darkest secrecy that it was a job
by market professionals and
that the public did not sell.
A marketeer who knows his
Wall Street will inform you,
strictly confidentially, that the
big professionals were caught
flatfooted and that public SELL
ing was wholly responsible.
The only fact everyone agrees
on, in these confusing efforts to
cover up both responsibility and
ignorance of what happened is
this: insufficient justification
existed for what happened.
THE inside on The Wall Street
= viewpoint is this: We bust
ness people have been kicked
around so much we have defeat
ist. heeby,jeebies. We get to the
middle of a rec very movement
and see rocks ahead. Psyche
logically we are just not fit to
meet them. When we could not
see our way clear, we just got
scared. 1t was not the size of
the rocks that scared us, but
rather our own timidity.
And why not? Tax laws and
the increased labor costs have
diminished the margin of prof
it's, made stocks less valuable,
made business more hazardous.
Then we have war threats,
blockade threats, unclear budget
statements, special sessions of
Congress-noile of them real
immediate troubles in them
selves, perhaps, but accumu-
latively narrowing in view Of
the fact that we felt licked be-
fore we met them. Some Of us
thought we were too far out on
a limb, started selling; lost our
nerve, oversold.
THE inside slant of the Ad-
ministration is: You people
are thinking too much in terms
of 1929. The profits of those
days have gone, ever to return,
but there are still profits avaiA-
able for the energetic business
man who is meeting the new
situation with new methods.
We cannot keep stock prices
up, cannot control the phychol-
ogy of the market. The reasons
for the extent of the drop are
technical, no matter what
caused it in the beginning. Six
or seven waves of margin sales
went out up to Wednesday, O er-
accentuating a bad situation.
The market will naturally right
itself when these situations have
run their course.
THE purpose behind the Ian
l. don speech was almost OBJ
vious. The 1886 nominee de-
sired to inform his 100000
voters that he is the leader Of
the Republican party. He chose
the time considered proritious
for Republicans to assert them
selves in active opposition.
The effect on the country
was difficult to gauge here in
the center of New Dealdom
where most of the backstage
criticism concerned Landon'S
radio voice and presentation.
Within Republican circles, how
ever, unanimity of opinion was
lacking. Some would have said
much more. Others desired that
nothing be said at this time,
believing that the future of the
party lies more in what hap
pens to Roosevelt than in any
thing Republican leaders can
say.
Technically, Landon's political
position was judged by the ex-
pertS to be just about perfect.
he LOOK his stand upon a spot
to catch all the votes to the
right of Roosevelt for the Re
publican party.
X 4
THE Federal Communications
- Commission tried Subtly to
expose the visionary aspects of
televiSion the other day. It was
too subtle. It's exposure was
lost in the middle of an innocu-
GUS handout which contained
this phrase:
There does not appear
to be an immediate outlook for
the recognition of television on