MONETARY POWERS OF PRESIDENT

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 235, 3 July 1939, Page 9

MONETARY POWERS OF PRESIDENT

Drastically Revoked In

United States

DETERMINED MOVE DEVELOPS

(Received July 2, 7.5 p.m.) WASHINGTON, July 1.

President Roosevelt at midnight last night in the House of Representatives was stripped of his important monetary powers by a Senate coalition of Republicans, advocating a gold dollar, and Conservative Democrats, which successfully stonewalled a Bill to extend these powers. The Bill, which was allowed to lapse with the close of the fiscal year, was the President’s authority to devalue the gold content of the dollar.

The Treasury’s 2,800,000,000 dollars currency stabilization fund, which is the heart of the tripartite monetary agreement with Britain and France, was thus killed, as was the President’s foreign and domestic silver subsidy programmes. An extraordinary situation has been created as a result. '

A measure extending Mr. Roosevelt’s powers was approved by the House earlier in the day by 220 votes to 160, despite Republican obstruction, but it immediately encountered, a stubborn filibuster in the Senate. ’

After the defeat the Administration leaders commented that the powers have merely lapsed and can be renewed as soon as an extension of the measure is adopted, regardless of the date, but Mr. Roosevelt has been advised otherwise. The obstructionists contend that his powers—killed when the old law expired—were interred when the midnight zero hour arrived. Leaders Helpless. The Administration leaders in the House squirmed helplessly while the Republicans made a running succession of speeches. At 11.30 p.m., tall, lan-tern-jawed Mr. Tydings, the Democrat member for Maryland whom Mr. Roosevelt attempted to purge in last summer’s primary elections, rose to deliver the coup-de-grace. Mr. Tydings earlier asked Mr. Vandenberg, the organizer of the filibuster, for the privilege of making the last speech before midnight, thus rubbing salt into the President’s wounds.

Mr. Tydings declared that it was ironic for Congress to be constantly criticizing the foreign dictatorships and simultaneously enacting legislation bestowing dictatorial power on the President. “I think the time has come to restore the time-honoured methods of government and have the powers vested in Congress, to remain in Congress,” he said. "If an emergency arises in the future and the President calls it to the attention of Congress the Congress will devalue the dollar.” The obstructionists abandoned the filibuster at 2.38 a.m. and agreed to take a vote on the Bill at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The Senate is in bitter disagreement as to whether this later vote, if it favoured the Administration, would revive the President’s powers.

Neither side is attempting to forecast the result of the Senate’s votes on the Monetary Bill on Wednesday. The Attorney-General has informed Mr. Roosevelt that adoption of the measure will revive his monetary powers, but the Republican leaders contend that new legislation would be necessary. The fiscal year has ended with a deficit of 3,580,000,009 dollars. The gross National Debt is approximately 40,378,000,000 dollars.