ANXIETY IN AMERICA

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 106, 1 November 1933, Page 11

ANXIETY IN AMERICA

TO AVOID MONETARY WAR

CONSULTING BRITISH EXPERTS

WASHINGTON, October 30. Anxious to avoid an unrestrained monetary war, the Administration sought an understanding with Britain on the application of President Eooseyelt.'s plan to steady exchanges and increase prices by buying foreign gold. Sir Frederick Leith-Eoss, chief British delegate to the War Debt Conference, interrupted the debt discussions to talk with the fovernor of the Federal Eeservo Bank Board (Mr. Black) and the Acting Secretary of the Treasury (Mr. Acheson). While none of the three would disJ close what was taking place, most observers regarded it as self-evident that Britain would not sit idly by and watch the dollar ' further depreciated. If an agreement could be reached whereby the two nations could work in co-operation, many economists held that ' advantages'" would accrue, though France might be a potential sufferer, possibly'• to the extent of relaxing her already precarious hold upon the gold standard. Some economists contended that if Paris abandoned gold the world situation would become more conductive to a stabilisation agreement, since all the important nations would be on the same footing. Meanwhile exponents of varied schools of economic thought predicted disappointing .results from the President's new gold purchasing plan. Nevertheless, President Eoosevelt's assistants are prepared to make purchases of gold in European markets by Wednesday at the latest. Commodities and stocks reacted on Monday after a, rally early in the day.