RIFT IN THE LUTE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 285, 30 October 1933, Page 7

RIFT IN THE LUTE

NATIONAL RECOVERY PLAN, DIFFERENCE OF OPINION. 'EFFECT ON BUSINESS. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) WASHINGTON, Oct. 27. A sharp difference of opinion over the interpretation of the results of the national recovery programme developed within the Administration today, when the Federal Reserve Bank Board issued its monthly statement declaring that business activity had slowed down in the past two months in industries “in which agricultural processing taxes or National Recovery Act codes have become effective recently.” The Administrator of the National Recovery Act, General Hugh Johnson, and the Secretary for Agriculture, Mr Henry Wallace, immediately issued strong protests. General Johnson insisted that “every report received from major industries, excepting steel, shows a definite upward trend.” The Secretary of Agriculture insisted that the apparent slowing down in industries and the processing of farm products was due to their efforts to “anticipate the processing levies, thereby beating the tax.-” Some political observers here interpret the Reserve Bank Board statement as the first open break in the long-standing rift between the fiscal branch of the Government and the National Recovery administration. President Roosevelt’s plan to. stimulate the steel industry has again been brought forward, as the President charged four leading steel corporations with collusion in bidding for contracts. For years, through an extra-legal agreement, the price of rails has been pegged at 40 dollars a ton. President Roosevelt indicated that the companies should bid individually, and at a lower rate in order to get the Government s contemplated order of a million tons. To-day the corporations presented a uniform bid of 37 dollars 75 cents a ton. The Government has issued a virtual ultimatum that either the bids be reduced to 35 dollars or the companies books bo opened for Government inspection, after which President Roose velt would fix a fair price. The Public Works administration announced that 200 million dollars will be allocated to a new Government corporation, which will engage directly in the construction of model homes and tenements in congested city areas. THE GOLD PURCHASE. CONTROL OF THE DOLLAR. NEW YORK, Oct. 28. _ The end of the first week of President Roosevelt’s gold policy has more than ever convinced the New York financial community that the mere announcement of a newly-mined goldbuying policy will not serve to control the course of the dollar or foreign exchange, nor will it affect materially domestic prices. To-day the price of gold was fixed at 31 dollars 82 cents an ounce, an increase of six cents from yesterday, or 1 dollar 25 cents over the London price, which is down. However, the domestic markets sagged and Stock Exchange prices were down fractionally in almost stagnant trading, all speculative interests apparently liav'ng withdrawn pending the further, gold step President Roosevelt outlined in his broadoocf cnAPOli It is felt here that the Government soon will be compelled to undertake the purchase of gold abroad, but this course is regarded as dangerous and likely to cause foreign retaliation. MR FORD’S POSITION. GOVERNMENT BOYCOTT. NEW YORK, Oct. 28. President Roosevelt definitely projected a boycott against Mr Henry Ford to-day when lie let it be known that, barring the contrary legal decision by the Attorney-General, Mr Ford is ineligible to receive Government contracts. Mr Ickes, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, which is perhaps the largest Government purchaser of equipment, definitely announced that no more Ford vehicles would be purchased, and General Hugh Johnson again made a threat of legal action against Mr Ford saying that any “clear-cut violation” of the code by Mr Ford would he communicated to the Department of Justice as a personal gesture against Mr Ford. Tlie Ford Motor Company yesterday described as “an act of injustice” General Hugh Johnson’s statement that he would turn a case over to the Attorney-General if. Mr Ford failed to submit figures on wages, hours, and schedules as requested by the National Automobile Chambers of Commerce under the terms of the National Recovery Act automobile code. The company charged General Johnson with assuming “the airs of a dictator” and claimed that no refusal had been made, and even the original signers of the code had had no time to file their reports. Mr Ford was not a member of the National Automobile Chamber; however, it indicated that Mr Ford would furnish the data if requested by the organisation. NEW YORK MAYORALTY. BLUE EAGLE EMBLEM. NEW YORK, Oct. 29. The N.R.A. Blue Eagle emblem figured in the local Mayoralty campaign to-day. The Independent Democratic “slate,” which is hotly contesting the incumbent Democratic administration and the so-called fusion party, was accused of attempting to make political capital out of Mr Roosevelt’s prestige. It had adopted “recovery” as its slogan and recently had its compaign literature stamped with a Blue Eagle. On a protest from its opponents. General Johnson telegraphed from Washington curtly ordering the removal of the emblem.