The Washington times., 1937-10-21
Paul MallOn---
NeUS Behind
The NeWS


u concerning the recent pains
in the pit of the stock market
as you did.
These officials are supposed to
be on top of every market situa-
ton, but actually their relation
ship to it is a good deal like that
of doctor and patient. They can
see symptoms, but a lot of bad
gueSses die on their hands.
For whatever it is worth, their
latest private guess is that this
is a good time to buy stocks. Ap-
parently 3 lot Of them followed
their own guesses as Washing
ton brokers reported much of
what they call good buying" for
cash by authorities here since
the big break Monday. OF
course no authority bought on
borrowed money They are too
wise fo< that.
But their reasoning about buy
ing-for-cash investment went
something like this:
If we are not to be forced
into deflation, then peSSimiSm
has gone too far. If we are to be
forced into initiation, cash is
not a good thing to have on
hand.
ONE inner group here has been
" trying to get Mr.. R. to do
something" They even wanted
him to rush out with state
ment that Everything is funda-
mentally sound" either at his
Federal Reserve Board dedica-
ton speech or sooner.
This group did not include
the experienced financial advis-
ers in Federal Reserve and the
Treasury. They counseled hands
off. There were only few good
things which could be done,
such as (a) releasing more gold,
and CD starting heavy open
market operations. The gold
move could easily have been
made at any time.
1t is only a bookkeeping trans
action. The open market opera
tions would do the same thing,
in a harder way, i. e. give the
banks more money to lend. But
these things would not force
the banks to lend. Either move
would only be a gesture.
Wisest of Wall Streeters did
not call for any Government
action. They thought their main
trouble was that there has been
too much of it already.
THE Arkansas senatorial elec-
l. ton was advertised as New
Deal defeat, and it was. But it
held a deeper and different les
son than that.
The victor, John Miller, is q
man very much like Senator
Joe Robinson whom he now re-
places, for Roosevelt on some
things, against him on others.
He was elected by the old Rob
inson organization, plus Mrs.
Caraway, plus his own personal
popularity as a levelheaded fel-
low.
Against him was a TORTOISE
velt-on-everything governor who
had complimentary letters from
Farley, Madame Secretary Perk-
ins, Wallace and Harry Hopkins.
The governor (Carl Bailey OBJ
tanned the nomination through
the State organization, and not
by a party primary. He adver-
tised his proximity to the presi-
Dental coattailS.
So the Miller candidacy was
a rebellion against the Demo
cratic machine ticket nomina-
tion of Bailey and, for the first
time since anyone can remem-
ber, the ticket was unsucceSS-
full in a Southern State.
The decision upheld the hand
of Representatives who have
been resisting the Roosevelt-on-
everything theory; it repudiated
a handmade national-machine
ticket for the first time in the
South.
But if anyone thinks it means
Roosevelt would not carry Ar.
kansas today he is welcome to
go down there to try it. No
one here will.
X \ y
MIR. r. himself, in person, had
AVA at least a little undetected
hand in building up the backfire
in labor ranks which is bringing