MONETARY ISSUE A DIFFICULTY

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21807, 12 June 1936, Page 11

MONETARY ISSUE A DIFFICULTY

Drafting Republican Platform BITTER ATTACKS ON MR ROOSEVELT (united frees association copiright.) (Received June 11, 9-40 p.m.) CLEVELAND, June 11. That the platform is particularly difficult and that the contentious monetary issue continues to P^ oduc ® much dissension are seen in the fact that there seemed little likelihood of the presentation of the finished document at the Republican convention last night as was hoped. Mr Landon’s desire to placate all varieties of sentiment has produced the situation of too many cooks. Stabilisation by international agreement, the rejection of bimetallism, the return of the fixed gold content of the dollar as soon as can safely be achieved, and other perplexing aspects of the problem make an easy difficult. It is on this front that the allegedly conservative eastern interests are staging their last stand. It is believed that Mr Landon favours them, thus hoping to secure their wholehearted support with campaign Hoover arrived yesterday. His speech is a closely guarded secret, but is expected to be but another attack on the New Deal and Mr Roosevelt. Its chief importance, however, will probaibly lie in the fact that the former President’s friends may seize the occasion to start to boom ms nomination for the Presidency. Although anything can happen in an American political convention, this is not considered likely. Foreign Trade Policy Apparently all the important convention orators are concentrating their attack on Mr Roosevelts foreign trade policy. Mr Bertrand Snell, the Repub-ican leader of the House of Representatives and permanent chairman of the convention, in opening the address yesterday, was as critical of the New Deal as Senator Steiwer. “Instead of a competitive tariff, we have a bewildering jargon, a series of reciprocal tariff treaties, recklessly throwing open the great American market to the products of lowcost farms and factories of every foreign land, he said. “Instead of restored international trade and stable exchange we see foreign' trade gasping on the gallows, the victim of reciprocal economic lynching, and the wor d exchange of goods fallen into utter chaos.” Against Mr Roosevelt himself, Mr Snell constantly hurled the charge of dictatorship. “The Republicans offer to lead America against an unconstitutional dictatorship,” he said. “Yes, the arrogant individualism of Mr Roosevelt. He runs the true course of a dictator. Having seduced the legislative branch by billions in patronage, he now casts his calculating eye upon the judiciary, and by advice to Congress, and sneer and jibe, seeks to usurp the last bulwark of the citizen against his unbridled autocracy.” Finally, summing up the failures of the New Deal, he said: “Three years of reckless squandering and political boondoggling have not provided jobs for 11,000,000 unemployed, and there are more than 20,000,000 on relief.” How important the foreign trade issue is becoming is indicated by the fact that the platform committee is considering a plank advocating the cancellation of reciprocal treaties and tariff adjustments. At a late hour the committee completed the draft of a platform, ostensibly satisfactory to all sides. It was then transmitted by trunk line telephone to Mr Landon at Topeka, Kansas, for his final approval before submission to the convention, “as he will undoubtedly be candidate,” said a member of the committee.