WALL STREET STRIKE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 43, 13 November 1937, Page 7

WALL STREET STRIKE

Battle Behind the Scenes ACTION BY PRESIDENT

NEW YOEK, Oct. 30. Xrnquestionably there has been a great battle behind the scenes with Wall Street staging something like a 8it-down strike until the offeusive Government regulations were relaxed. Business men the world over have been watching for several months .the developments in this situation. For political and other reasons, President Roosevelt applied the clamps progressively tighter against big business speculation until traders found themselves badly hamstrung. Two months ago, leaders of the New York Stock Exchange had several angry passages with Washington, as the latter endeavoured to hedge trading around with stricter regulations. Evidently what happened in the unexplained slump early in October was that thfl country 's leading speculators deeided that they would have no peace until a showdown came, and a selling campaign, with terrifie losses in values, was calmly inaugurated. Washington stood it for a while, but when the nation 's commerce began to lag and hundreds of thousands of retailers loudly protested against too much Government interference in business, the President was quick to readjust himsolf to the public demands. Buyers now need post only 40 per cent. of the values of the shares they fcuy as sufficient margin, in place of from 55 to 70 per cent. previously required. At the same time, the regulations make it more costly for short jsellers to operate to knock the market