Evening star., 1937-01-31
Presidential Task
Is Changing.
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

Ol y 4CW o0yo, WC4S a0AAAPC&A AASO0 PASS-
lens, labor problems. power problems
the usual quota Of ordinary problems.
Mr. Roosevelt tackled them all In the
regular course Of business. In the midst
Of maneuvers to find . way out Of the
automobile strike, he was forced to take
time to devise and direct vast plan OF
food relief. Then the President made
up his mind on Federal power policy.
undertook to straighten out tangle in
Congress on q broad tenant aid program,
and devoted long hours to consideration
OF vital world problems OF trade, finance
| and peace.
Yet, q few years ago, the White House
would hardly have seemed the place Tor
|. action on any but the more routine OF
these problems.
Presidents have intervened in strikes
before, but only as q last resort and then
| to force settlement, and not as party,
directly or indirectly, to negotiations.
Now, the attitude Of Mr.. Roosevelt to-
ward John L. Lewis or to the oncials
Of General Motors Co. plays vital part
in the course Of the dispute.
- 4
When the Mississippi went on
rampage in 1927, the task Of rescue,
relief and rehabilitation was left to pri-
vate agencies Congress debated whether
| the Nation should tackle Hood control
as q national problem, inasmuch as
rivers flowed through relatively few
| States. Today, when q major disaster
occurs-nood or drought-people turn
instinctively to the White House, and
vast resources Of men and money are
| thrown into action.
Not long ago, the issue was whether
or not the Federal Government should
have anything to do with electric power
development and distribution. Now the
issue is whether or not the Government
will attempt to dislodge private utilities
with Government generated power.
Recent experience shows that the Ma
ton and the world now take their
troubles and their plans to the White
House at the first opportunity.
All Of which makes 1t increasingly i'm.
portant that q President, who is to be
called upon to deal with the most COM
plicated policies and problems, shall be
provided with every facility required to
enable sound decisions and effective ad-
ministration Of policies once determined.
Mr.. Roosevelt was provided by events
of the past week with powerful argu-
ments to support his request for . re-
organization Of the Federal Government
administrative machinery.
One argument-the most powerful
probably will not be offered by the Presi-
dent. Yet it could be used to show the
imperative need for a White House ad-
visory stan of the highest intelligence
and the broadest sort Of background.
The story is this: Back in the Fall OF
1888, acting on an idea that had been
planted in his mind without first being
tested, President Roosevelt decided to
take this country on a flyer in gold.
Just at that time, his Blue Eagle had
begun to moult and Henry Wallaces A.
A. A. had not yet been able to pump up
farm prices. People were getting rest
less again.
So when Henry Morgenthau, jr, intro
duced his old teacher. Prof. George F.
Warren, an agricultural economist from
Cornell University, the President found
it easy to sell himself on the professors
theory that the country's troubles could
be overcome by the simple expedient Of
paying more dollars for an ounce Of gold.
q = =
Very soon thereafter, Prof. Warren was
provided with . hideaway in the De-
partment of Commerce Building. His
slide-rule started to work, and the Treas
ury, on the basis Of statistical hocus-
pocus, set about buying gold ut steadily
rising prices in dollars.
The idea was that, rs more dollars
were paid for each ounce Of gold, there
would be q reaction on commodity mar
kets so that more dollars likewise would
be required to buy q bushel OF wheat,
pound Of pork, bale of cotton or units
of other raw materials. In other words,
it was q scheme for pulling up COM
modify prices by their bootstraps.
When, finally, the President called q
halt. the price Of gold. instead Of being
$2067 an ounce, was $35 an ounce, where
1t has stayed.
But gold troubles have been accumu.
lating ever since, and today are acute.
with repercussions all over the world.
The result Is that. in the midst Of flood
problems and strike problems and legis-
lative problems, Mr.. Roosevelt must deal
with some vital gold problems.
How so? Because, as q consequence
of the hasty decision in October, 1888
based on uncertain reasoning-this coun.
try has been attracting the bulk Of the
worlds gold. Every ounce Of that metal
now sells for $35 and that $35 buy 50
much in the way of stocks and bonds and
real estate and commodities and safety
that gold is being attracted from the
corners Of the world.
This gold is desperately needed by
some countries. For the United States,
it represents an acute pain in the finan-
cial neck.
Where this country possessed about
81, SOC, 900 600 worth Of gold in 1888, 1t
now possesses nearly $11 soc, 900 600
worth, and still the total rises. The at
traction has been SUFFICIENT to pull
France and other countries from their
former gold standard perch. Now 1t has
them in trouble again, accounting for
some of the past weeks important White
House and Treasury conferences.
Not only that, but gold is 50 plentiful
that 1t cutters up the country's banking
system. President Roosevelt has felt
impelled to warn foreigners that the
capital they are sending here might be
subjected to penalties. The Treasury
and Federal Reserve Board are forced
to build projections against the imitation
Of credit that could be q result Of the
steady gold inflow.
Gold was one of the important points
of rljcc,,ssio,, hefuaap the President and