Evening star., 1946-12-31
BY the Assoeiafed Press

NEW YORK, Dec. 3.-The New
York Times said today that first
details of the voluminous diary OF
former Secretary of the Treasury
Henry Morgenthau, jr., made public
yesterday, disclosed that on one
occasion during the first two years
Of the Roosevelt administration the
President approved rise of 81 cents
in the price Of gold, commenting
"It's lucky number"
In the diary Mr. Morgenthau said,
"If anybody ever knew how we really
set the gold price through a COM
fbination of lucky numbers, ETC.,
think they would really be fright
ened."
The papers also disclosed that
President Roosevelt called Montagu
Norman, Governor of the Bank OF
England, "Old Pink Whiskers." That
he thought Dean Acheson, now
Undersecretary of State and then
Undersecretary of the Treasury,
was a lightweight"
The disclosure of the contents of
the diary was made in a paper by
Jonathan Grossman of City College,
one of the historians preparing the
diary for publication, at meeting
of the American Historical Associa-
ton.
The diary, comprising 900 volumes
each 300 to 400 pages long, de-
scribes in detail programs, disputes
and policies in the early days of the
New Deal Mr.. Grossman's paper
dealt with President Roosevelt's S
grain and gold buying program in
1933-34.
THE diary is candid and honest y
Mr.. GroSSman said. Mr.. Morgenthau
pulls no punches and does not try
to hide his own mistakes. On the
whole, he emerges from the record
as an excellent Secretary of the
Treasury and Mr.. Roosevelt emerges
as a great President. But there is
sufficient in the diary to lessen the
reputation of many important men
and to provide field day for Mr..
Roosevelt's bitter opponents"
Mr.. Grossman quoted parts of the
diary to describe the Presidents ef-
forts to raise prices of farm COM
modities soon after his Inauguration
which showed:
October 16, 1888, the President
called Mr.. Morgenthau. then gov
ernor of the Farm Credit Admins
tration, and said: 1--WE have got to
do something about the price Of
wheat. Can't you buy 25,000,0 900
bushels for Harry Hopkins then
Federal Relief Administrator and
see if you can't put the price up?"
Ordered Squeeze on Shorts"
Mr.. Morgenthau bought 100000
bushels at between 72 and IA cents
and bid for another million at 741a
but the market dropped to 68. He
then placed a standing order for all
wheat offered and the price rose to
747s. The diary said that when the
President heard about 1t he was
elated. Squeeze the life out of the
shorts and put the price up just as
far as you can," he said.
II started in and evidently the
crowd in the wheat pit was laying
for me because I made little head
way" the diary continued. "At
about six minutes before closing I
gave them the gun and bought
everything the bears offered in order
to reach our objective go cents.
When the smoke cleared away we
had bought 100000 bushels. =
I felt literally dizzy while the thing
was going on. went home and
went to bed for two hours after
1unch.'''' -
To make the wheat price increase
stick, the President believed he
would have to raise the price of gold
and began to experiment with gold
manipulation.
Appointed Acheson as Aide.
On June 5, 1888, Congress re-
pealed the gold specie redemption