Yesterday

In the spring months of 1933 a weary and buffeted nation, greatly heartened by the entry into the White House of a man who could act, a man who knew how to smile, turned, and with new hope began to search for a way out of its slough of despond. Now that months have passed and the goal does not yet seem to be near, the advocates of laissez-faire and of ancient conservatism again raise their hoary heads and begin anew their piping complaints. Of late, however, amid the anvil chorus of cheerfully pessimistic second-guessers, an able voice has been raised in support of the Administration.

This voice crying in the wilderness in that of L. L. B. Angas, a British financial prophet and weather-man who has the interesting habit of producing periodical manifestoes, predicting with unfailing accuracy important pending events in the world of international finance and commerce. He predicted, some months in advance of the actual date, the rubber market collapse of 1926, the English boom in the fall of 1931, and the world-wide rise in the price of gold shares. Now he is again gambling his reputation, this time with a booklet entitled "The Coming American Boom."

In this new publication, with the aid of the Dow-Jones share index and other financial legerdemain, incomprehensible to the average man, he proves his point, at least to his own quite apparent satisfaction. The following significant passage is taken from the introduction to the booklet:

"To many observers, the Roosevelt experiment appears to lack a cohesive and easily grasped theme. This is possibly due to the fact that the motif of his reforms is monetary. This subject is little understood even by bankers, whose professional decisions concerning the size of their loans and investments themselves affect the volume of credit currency outstanding and with it raise the price level. On the surface, to an observer who sees from day to day only the disjointed and apparently unpredictable actions of the Administration, the whole experiment is apt to appear as the muddled meddling of a happy-go-lucky opportunist whose disturbing though well meant efforts are proving more a hindrance than a help to recovery.

"It is because I feel that this view is so widespread that I humbly offer this book as an attempt to explain and justify the Roosevelt experiment, and to show how, if steadfastly pursued, it is bound to reach a successful conclusion."

The quotation speaks for itself. For a person of such undoubted financial acumen, to make such a definitely favorable prediction is indeed encouraging, the more so when one realizes that the person is an Englishman, at a period when the English as a whole regard the American experiment as a groping, blundering attempt to follow in their footsteps. It is devoutly to be hoped that this leaflet will prove to be another feather in the already well-bedecked cap of Mr. Angas.