Evening star., 1939-07-06

to deprive the President OF the de-
valuation authority.
1t was an odd coalition anyway,
one founded on political maneuver-
ing rather than fundamental prin-
ciple, and marks the defeat of the
conservatives in one of the strong
est pieces of vote trading that has
been seen here in long, long while.
Briefly. the conservatives were so
anxious to remove from the PreSl-
dent the power to devalue the dol
lar that they we're willing to aid the
silver Senators in order to get the
benefit of their alliance. The con-
servatives do not believe in subsidies
and yet they voted for a n cents
an ounce silver purchase authority.
They were helped in turn by the
silver Senators who voted against
the devaluation power, so that the
effect of the alliance was to remove
the devaluation provisions from the
bill and yet give the silverltes high
price for their constituents IN the
silver mining States.
But the administration showed
that it could play the same game.
The silverites were offered II cents
an ounce as compromise and the
effect was to induce the Senators
from Silver States, Republicans and
Democrats, to line up behind the
conference report which contained
powers for the President to bring
about devaluation of the dollar, II
he wished, from SO to so cents as in
existing law.
The strategy worked. The silver
Senators finally lined up behind the
administration on the 7l-cents-an-
ounce idea and also supported the
devaluation provisions, while the
conservative Republicans could only
be content with a negative vote
against the whole conference report.
Conservatives Inconsistent.
The vote OF the Is conservative
Republicans and 10 conservative
Democrats was cast, to be sure,
against the conference report, but
the record of last week shows most
of these conservatives voting for
silver subsidy whereby the taxpayers
of the United States are asked to
pay bonus to mining industry.
The New Dealers have consistently
defended bonuses and subsidies, but
the conservatives have argued for
economy and against subsidies.
The vote which the conservatives
cast for the silver subsidy failed
of its objective-the defeat of the de-
valuation poWer-and about the only
thing that the whole episode does
is to emphasize that conservative
Republicans and Democrats, despite
their vehement attacks on the New
Dealers for tinkering with the dollar.
were ready to tinker with silver and
to approve the subsidy idea.
1t will be a long time before the
memory of this remarkable piece of
trading will be erased from legisla-
tive history. Had the Republicans
and conservative Democrats stood
their ground and fought against the
devaluation provisions and the silver
subsidy, too, their record would have
been better than it is today. For
even though a coalition of admins
tration supporters and silver Sena-
tors restored the devaluation pro-
visions to the bill, the conservatives
would have been able to wage
more consistent fight in the court
of public opinion against what they
consider improper delegation of con-
gressional power over the currency
No Way to Test Legality.
1t has been suggested that the
conference report just adopted does
not really extend the Presidents
authority to devalue, that new legis-
latiOn is required, and that the con-
ference report when enacted into
law will be questioned in the courts
But how can it ever be tested? In
the first place, Majority Leader
Barkley said he hoped the devalua-
ton power would never be exercised
In the second place, some one must
have basis for suit and this is
difficult to introduce into court un-
less a citizen can prove his loss due
to the changed situation. Expert
ence with the famous gold clause
cases in the Supreme Court shows
how hard it is for a citizen to prove
that he has suffered a loss in pur-
chasing power, even when devalua-
ton has occurred, so it seems al
most impossible for anybody to
prove that he has suffered a loss
when devaluation has not yet oc-
Cured.
On the whole, the legal test may
never be made and for all practi-
cal purposes the administration has
won out. Again minorities and ma
jorities have proved that they are
more interested in political bicker-
ings, trades and maneuvers than
In fundamental principles.
Meanwhile, the Treasury goes on
buying silver it shouldn't be buy
ing, both at home and abroad: the
President has his devaluation pow
er, and one wonders just how and
when political tactics and trading
will be summarily repudiated by the
American people in favor of men
who really vote their convictions.