Henderson daily dispatch., 1940-01-25
Gold Heard of u.
S. Is Dangerous
Continued From Page One)

Continued From Page One)
want to buy from us. This makes our
dollar SO mighty that more "timid"
gold is sent to us, thus weakening
other currencies still further. This
automaticG " boosts our prices in
world markets in terms of foreign
currencieS and hence cuts down our
exports, increases our unemployment.
Under normal conditions, the Situa-
ton would correct itself, but the dol
lar occupies its exalted position not
because of United States economic
strength but because of world eco
uomic weakness. While there, is COM
plete disagreement as to how to solve
this riddle, there is unanimous agree
ment on the existence of this gold
danger.
Readers will remember that we cut
the gold content of the dollar by AZ
per cent in 1888. We thereby hiked
the price of gold from $50 To S35 pei
ounce. We forbade any citizen to own
or transfer gold. We bought gold
from all Corners. This started the
most gigantic mass movement Of the
precious metal in the worlds his
tory. Since 1884, SlO.5O0,OOO, 900
worth of bullion has been sucked in
to the United States. Like tabled
King Midas, we were happy to have
it come; but, like King Midas, We
now want to get rid Of it. Every day
more millions stream here from other
nations anxious to get dollars 10
spend on war supplies. from busy
miners. from individuals who want
American dollars rather than hoard
ed gold. And this has been going on
for years.
A Pan American Dollar?
When the Wal came last Septem-
Der. American was holding S17,000,-
100000 of the worlds S26,000,000,-
900 gold supply The British decided
the odds were too big, abandoned
the pound sterling, sounded its death
knell as the worlds greatest cur
rency Immediately the countries
which had formerly based their cur
rencieS on the pound shifted to the
dollar. Swcden'S krone, Canada's
dollar, and Argentina'S peso have Ill
tied up with the dollar. So has the
japanese yen. Moreover, new Pam
American dollar may we'll emerge as
the official currency of the entire
Western Hemisphere. It's difficult to
overemphaSize the importance of this
in terms of our trade relations with
Latin America.
In the meantime. the supremacy
of the dollar" is a hindrance, not a
help to us. We do not want the high
cst-priced currency IN the world We
do not want the price Of our goods
to be too high in competitive mar
ketS. We do not need all the worlds
gold. What we do need is free eX-
change Of the surplus products Of one
nation with another Furthermore. :
all other nations should suddenly de-
eide to mOnetize some other metal
copper, tin, mercury. platinum. or
radium-~We may again take our bis
toric place as the worlds Number
Ore Bagman. Then our Colds only
value would be for commercial pllr-
poscS-and $1,000, 000OOO worth of
bullion would gid lot of picture
frames, world illl u lot Of teen.
Suckers Again?
We may find that Just as in the
tWenties we exchanged our hard
earned cash Tor EurOpc'S worthless
I. O. US, so now VIC may be en-
changing our airplancS, shoes, and
cotton for Europc's useless GOLD
Some day, after peace comes in ELL
rope, this gold could be used both to
slash our debts and to serve as the
basis of some new International crr-
rcncy. But ii is now too carly to dis
clISS what is to be done after the
war. | can say, however, that VIC
must get out Of our present SNUG
and selfish attitude. In the long run,
America can prosper only as the
world prosDers. This is both good
religion and good economics.
Growth Of Golden Hoard,