550.S1 Monetary Commission/17: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation (Hull)60
133. Your No. 83, June 30, 10 p.m.61 was transmitted to the Treasury, Reserve Board and Reserve Bank of New York. Acheson today informs me that the Federal Reserve Board adopted the following expression of their views.
“I am returning the telegram from Secretary Hull, together with Section 4 of the letter from B. I. S.62 Governor of May 7, 1933. The Board has considered this matter today and feels that this Section 4 is an academic statement of principles pertinent to the gold standard [Page 711] on a bullion basis as existent in pre-war days, plus the suggestion of an enlargement of central bank cooperation in effectuating the application of this standard. The Board is of the opinion that this academic statement of such principles is not applicable under present conditions in the international monetary field and is especially not applicable to monetary conditions in the United States and feels that such statement of principles subscribed to by our Government would be construed as some pronouncement of intention relative to the gold standard, would be unwise for this reason at this time, and might result in a revival of the distressing situation recently prevalent at the Conference arising out of the question of stabilization.”
The President instructed Acheson to tell me that the foregoing represented his views.