THE PRESIDENCY: The Dollar's Week

President Roosevelt knows many ways of spending Sunday evening more pleasantly than conferring with monetary experts. Yet such conferences have become almost a habit for the reason that Sunday is convenient for considering the past week's money moves, planning the next week's moves. Last Sunday evening Secretary Woodin, long an absentee because of illness, was on hand again. So was Eugene R. Black, Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, George L. Harrison, Governor of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Henry Morgenthau Jr. of the Farm Credit Administration, Chairman Jesse Jones of R. F. C., Henry Bruere (president of Bowery Savings Bank), the President's financial liaison man, Fred I. Kent, foreign exchange expert, and two theorists: Professors James H. Rogers and George F. Warren. Such serious things had they to consider that the nine guests spent three hours in deep conference at the White House.

Professor Warren was the guest least known to the public and the one whose ideas were the chief subject of debate. Newshawks can keep no track of his daily comings and goings. Most of last week Ithaca newshawks had the impression that he was in Washington and Washington newshawks thought he was at home teaching at Cornell. Not a member of the original Brain Trust, he kept even his Washington office a secret and by habitually slipping into the White House through the garden he avoided letting any one keep tab on him while he kept tab on the way his theories were being put in practice.

The President's Sunday evening was centred in Professor Warren. The second week of R. F. C gold buying abroad (to reduce the gold value of the dollar) had brought noteworthy results. It had driven the value of the dollar down, the price of sterling up from $4.78 to over $5 (to $5.16 at one time). This success was almost more than bargained for. It started a flight from the depreciating dollar. Foreigners called home their dollar balances, Americans rushed to exchange dollars for foreign money. At one time the exchange value of the dollar actually fell below the domestic value (set by the R. F. C. gold price). What was more, fear of inflation for the first time seriously pressed down the price of U. S. bonds. Last week most important U. S. issues sold below par. People who had subscribed for new 4¼-3¼% bonds on Nov.1 at101½ found them selling at 99—an ill omen for future Government financing. With the new bonds selling at a discount conversions of 4th Liberties practically ceased, thereby threatening failure of the refunding operation.