ROOSEVELT’S POLICY

Hokitika Guardian, 27 November 1933, Page 5

ROOSEVELT’S POLICY

FURTHER ATTACKED

DENOUNCED BY AL SMITH. 1 United Press Association—By Electrio Telegraph—(Jo py righ c ) WASHINGTON, November 24. With the price of gold unchanged j for th e fourth consecutive day, and J the dollar as well as stocks, bonds I and commodities going up, easily the most important- news of the day i bearing on the financial situation • was Mr A 1 Smith’s surprising and pungent statement expressing disbelief that the "Democrat party is fated j to be always a party of greenback- ; ers, paper money printers, free silverI ites, currency managers, rubber dollar j manufacturers and crackpots.” j He added: "The latest'fiscal move . of the Administration lias underminj ed public confidence, has created un~ | i certainty and paralysis of business, | ! discourages private initiative, drives i money into hiding and places the en- j tire burden of sustaining the popula- j

• j ti-on o n tbe Central Government. We I 'are told that there is a new theory j • jof government on the road. It is the j theory that the executive are the < I -quarterbacks of a footbal team, who do not know one minute in advance what signal they will call next. There < -is nothing now in it. It has never j pulled a great modern nation out of i a depression. What the people need • to-day is what the Bible centuries < ago described as the shadow of a < great rock in a weary land.” t 1 Mr A 1 Smith continued: "In tbe t j absence of anything definitely known i to be better, I am for the return of , t the gold standard. I am for gold dol- j I la,rs as against boloney dollars. I am ! s j for experience as against experiment, i c If I must choose between private A management of business and man- ! o agement by a Government bureau- ; v | eracy, I am for private management. j a { I am ready to go through a certain 1 a amount of deflation if the- choice is t. between this and outright money inI flation. If I must choose between : the leaders of the past with all the errors they made and all the selfishness they have been guilty of, and the inexperienced young college pro- j * lessors who bold ho responsible pub- <

lie office, but are perfectly ready to turn 130 million Americans into guinea pigs for experimentation, T am going to be for the people who made -this country wlnit it is, and I say this with, a full knowledge of the fact that there are many things in the ■ old order of society which I should like changed, and which I . will not applaud of even condone.” A flood of attacks against Mf Alfred Smith's statement has develop- , ed, mainly from Democrats and from < Progressive Republicans. !

•Senator Bomb demnmUvl that Mr Smith and the other so-called hard money advooates should present an alternative plan other than a return to .gold on the old parity. Conservative financial circles there, among whom there is little desire to return to such old parity, desire in the majority of cases, the stabilisation of tlie dollar somewhere near the present level, with a modified gold standard and limited currency convertibifty.

ROOSEVELT’S POLICY TO STAND

NO CHANGE IS CONTEMPLATED

NEW YORK, November 24.

A Warm Springs message states that President Roosevelt divided last evening by conferences with General Johnson and Mr Morenthau, who were called to Warm Springs by the President to discuss the N.R.A. policy and the monetary policy respectively, in the face of an attack on the gold policy of tile Government by Mr Alfred Smith, ex-Governor of New York State, and attacks by others. There is an authoritative confirmation from sources close to the President that no change in the gold buying policy whatever is contemplated.

General Johnson brought a score more of the completed codes to be signed by the President. He said that he considered that Mr Henry Ford is obeying the N.R.A. provision, and indicated that the Government was prepared to drop its case against him. He hinted that Mr Ford might soon sign tlie automobile code.

Although it lias repeatedly been insisted that the N.R.A. has nothing to do with the monetary, agriculture, or other parts of the Recovery programme, General Johnson lias issued a spirited defence of the gold buyng policy. He said that the- talk about an impairment of credit is silly. He remarked: “If President Roosevelt did out the gold content of the dollar in two, it would still remain the host money in the'world.” General Johnson scorned the critics. He said Mr Roosevelt “is not going to plunge over any abyss.”

GOLD' PRICE UNCHANGED

NEW YORK, November 25. With the Govern input’s gold price

again remaining uucha”ged, the dollar to-day gained strength in terms of the .franc, ! ei n g quoted at G 3 dollars 42 cents, and being then up .08 of a ivrt, let it depreciated as against paper currencies, sidling (Iosco; at 5 dollars 22 cook, being up !•} cents,

’Security prices were Irregular, though only in small tmling, and commodity prices were weaker.