REICHSBANK PRESIDENT

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4349, 25 January 1938, Page 7

REICHSBANK PRESIDENT

OR SCHACHT'S PERSONALITY Shortly after the German crash of 1923 some tactless American bankers advised Dr Schacht, then newly appointed President of the Reichsbank, to come and study finance in New York, writes “ Floodlight,” in ‘ World Review.’ Europe’s currency juggler No. I had his answer pat. “ Any fool,” he said, “ can be a successful banker when he has more millions to handle than the rest of the world put together. If you want to know what banking is, come to Berlin, where we have to bank on nothing. But ex mhilo nihil fit, and there is no cash to be got out of bartering Huu-o-arian pigs for German machinery; hence Dr Schacht’s recent visit to Brussels and his more receptive attitude towards the idea of lowering trade barriers. Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht, son of a Danish mother and of a father who admired the great American democrats, has always been a close student of British financial methods. His university doctorate was obtained for a thesis''on English mercantilism. Later, when he became head of the Reichsbank, one of his first steps was to consult the Director of the Bank of England. Mr Montagu Norman, who helped jiini over his proposal to set up a gold bank in Berlin. At that time the mark stood at 150,000,000,000 to the £. it took 1,783 printing presses, running in 133 offices, and some 30 paper mills, working day and night, to keep pace with the currency collapse. By inventing the Rentenmark, Dr Schacht succeeded at last in crossing off the noughts. In spite of his bizarre appearance, Dr Schacht has a highly developed sense of humour. He would be far less ugly if he did not always wear ill-fitting pince-nez and a ludicrously high collar, which he generally puts on the wrong way out. Yet, when, as often happens, the funny side of walking on the financial tightrope strikes him, he can chuckle as merrily as any of his critics. But. although Dr Schacht can see a joke, has has little tact. For instance, while talking to an English banker, he has been known to quote the mark ex■*lloll go iii terms of dollars or to usk him when he is returning to Wall Street. In other words, if his mind happens to be focussed on New \ork, London doesn’t come into the picture, and he sees no need for differentiating between the English-speaking peoples. Besides, in the old pre-crisis days, it was only natural for Schacht to be preoccupied with America. As he once told a friend then, “ I cannot walk past the Action Hotel without an American running out and offering me a loan-” Dr Scliacht is the one person who can safely criticise the Nazi regime, but he is bv no means out of sympathy with it. If the four-year plan for self-sufficiency can be worked, he will work it; nor is he likely to favour any economic concessions to other countries without a political quid pro quo. He has always advocated the return to Germany of her former colonies. Over 30 years ago he was a member of a Colonial Club in Berlin, which, although not attended by colonials, held regular meetings. The members sat round a table, over which hung an illuminated sign with the following inscription : “ Es muss was geschehen ” (something must be done about it). Dr Schacht’s attitude has not changed.