Evening star., 1943-04-06
BY the Associated Press,

FOLLOWING is the tert of the
statement on international sta
bilisdtion of currencieS 1Dhich
Secretary OF the Treasury Nor
genthau presented yesterday to
Senate committees:
For some time we in the Treasury
have been deeply concerned with
the threat of international none
tary chaos at the end of this war.
We feel that international cur
rency stability is essential to recon-
struction in the postwar period and
to the resumption of private trade
and finance. It is generally held
that this formidable task can be
successfully handled only through
international cooperation.
I think further that most of us
would agree that the establishment
of program adequate to deal with
the inevitable postwar monetary
problems should not be postponed
until the end of hostilities. 1t
would be ill-advised, if not dan
gerous, to be unprepared for the
difficult task of international CO.
operation when the war ends No
one knows how long or how short
the war will be. We therefore be-
lieve it is desirable to begin now to
devise an international monetary
agency adequate to cope with the
problems with which we shall be
confronted when the war does end.
To Take Many Months.
The completion of such a task is
certain to take many months at the
least. Specific and practical pro-
posals must be formulated and must
be carefully considered by the
policy shaping officials Of the va
rious countries. In each country
acceptance of a definite plan can
follow only upon legislation or execu-
tive action. And even when plan
is finally adopted much time will
be consumed in establishing an Or
ganization capable of beginning ef-
fective work.
There is another important rea-
son for dealing with this problem
now. A plan for international none
tary cooperation can be factor in
winning the war. 1t has been sug-
gested, and with much cogency, that
the task of assuring the defeat of
the Axis powers would be made
easier if the victims of aggression,
actual and potential, could have
greater assurance that a victory of
the United Nations will not mean
in the economic sphere a repetition
of the exchange instability and
monetary collapse that followed the
last war.
The assurance should be given
now. The people in all of the Unit
ed Nations must be encouraged to
feel themselves on solid ground.
They must be given to understand
that a victory of the United Nations
will not usher in another two dec
AIDES of widespread economic disrup-
ton. The people must know that
we at least recognize the fundamen-
tai truth that prosperity, like peace,
is indivisible.
Methods Under Study.
With these points in mind, the
technical experts of the Treasury
and other agencies of the Govern
ment for some time have been
studying methods by which postwar
monetary stability can be achieved.
No specific plan has yet been con-
sidered by this Government, but
suggestions of our tech
nical experts have been formulated
and have been made available for
study of the experts of
other interested governments.
The technical men of other gov
ernments have likewise been study
ing the problem.
Our own thinking along the lines
of currency stability has not been
addressed to concocting some pana-
cea that will automatically cure all