Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. MONDAY, MARCH 13th., 1933. U.S.A’s TROUBLES

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 March 1933, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. MONDAY, MARCH 13th., 1933. U.S.A’s TROUBLES

PRESIDENT Roosevelt is soon experiencing the truth of the adage that troubles never come singly, his first week of office being sensational in this respect. The crisis in the national banking and financial circles has been followed by a disastrous earthquake in California, and 1 he President must be wondering what is going to happen next. There will be world-tvide sympalhy forthcoming 1o the sufferers Ihroiigh Ihe Californian quakes, especially from those countries, like our own, which have 1 hemselves suffered from similar upheavals. Both coasts of the North Pacific have recently been visited by ’quakes, heavy loss of life being recorded in each ease. Japan really suffered Ihe more, in this rasped, although less was heard of it, but the property-dam-age in California, was the greater. The only consolation the Americans have is lhat considering the seriousness of the many shocks, and the wide area affected, the damage might haw been much heavier. 'Those accustomed to seeing filmstars perform wonderful foals of heroism—on the pictures—facing death and injury' with indifference, will note' that in real. life, when the ’quakes came, they displayed no

more fortitude than the average person. That was the touch of nervousness making the whole world kin. The ’quakes were semi-expect-ed by district authorities, and naval plans and other measures enabled relief work to be early started. Lessons will be available to other lands. The fact that most buildings in Los Angeles and the richer areas withstood the shocks proves that profit has been obtained from past experience, and that even the most serious quakes can be made to lose most of their peril, if precautions are taken.

The financial crisis is being ( capably handled by the new Ad- < ministration, and within, a few ' days, business should more approach the normal in the main banking establishments. Hundreds oC others, however, should not be permitted to re-open. This will mean heavy losses to their depositors, but these people’s money has already disappeared, so, in fact, they will be 110 worse off. Restriction of credit is unavoidable, adding to bankruptcies and unemployment, but that penalty was inevitable. Too much credence should not be placed, yet awhile, in. the alleged surrender of Wall Street magnates, but their powers for mischief may be curbed for the time being. The American people are too fond of speculation in stocks to make a clean-up easy, and there are too many wheels within wheels io permit adequate investigation of the tactics of “big finance.” Republican Wall Street is no worse than Democratic Tammany Hall. Mr. Roosevelt, for the time being, has his nation almost feeding out of his hand; but this submission may not be so general, when he puts his retrenchment policy into practice. Already, there is opposition in his own camp, to proposed cuts in pensions, and it is safe to predict that every other suggestion of national economy

will be denounced by those affected. There is adequate scope for national economy but each class wants itself to escape. That attitude is not peculiar to the United States. It is in world-wide interests that the American crisis should be eased as early as possible, because there is little hope of war-debts compromise and success of the World Economic Conference whilst U.S.A, conditions are more or less chaotic, particularly, as the European outlook, generally, has taken a turn for the worse. This may prove to be the darkest hour before the dawn.