INTERNATIONAL: Dollars Attacked

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In Britain, many a moneyed U. S. visitor reads the sizzling Rothermere Daily Mail out of sheer incapacity to read the King's English in the tranquil London Times. Neither the Times (Independent), the Daily Herald (Laborite) the Star (Liberal) nor the Morning Post (Conservative) attacked or aspersed the U. S. dollar last week. But from London many a U. S. visitor cabled anxious questions to his U. S. broker, banker or friends. In Washington these questions were answered officially. Asked to comment on rumors that the U. S. might abandon the gold standard, Treasury officials said: "Ridiculous!," indicated that the U. S. holds 44% of the world's monetary gold.

Grotesque Fact. The only actual run-on-the-dollar was not by Britons last week but by Poles.

Poles have lived and suffered through two tragic inflation periods: that of the old Polish mark in 1923 and that of the new Polish zloty in 1925, the zloty being later stabilized (1927). Poles, deeming dollars the world's safest currency, have bought, and they held last week, some $50,000,000 in safety deposit boxes, socks, tin boxes and stuffed into mattresses. But Poles are excitable. When first repercussions of the Rothermere anti-dollar campaign reached Poland last week, the Pole-in-the-street panicked.

Abruptly Warsaw banks were mobbed by widows, orphans and thrifty Poles generally, all brandishing dollars. What they wanted was something safer. What is safer? Forgetful that the zloty had crashed six years ago, the dollar-brandishers begged the banks to sell them zlotys.

Polish bankers saw that Opportunity had knocked, welcomed the panic, took in dollars and poured out zlotys with alacrity, pocketing the usual exchange commission. Soon they could even charge a premium for zloty, charged it. For $1 the banks paid at first 8.90 zlotys. later only 8.82.