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M artiea Glare Ba r n e s 345 C e n tra l A ve n u e D u n k ir k , N ew Y ork January £1, 1941 Hon. Marriner Ecoles Chairman fe d e ra l Reserve Board Washington, K. C. Dear Mr* Socles: 1 r e s p e c t fu lly ask you, i f consistent with the important o b lig a tio n s of your very great public se rv ic e , to a lla y some of the propagandized alarm now being so widely c ircu lated under the bogie o f "monetary in fla tio n *'* Mr. E. V. Kaltenborn, the self-p ro claim ed in te rp re te r o f a l l news on the a i r , recently defined monetary i n f la t i o n in v iv id and h o rrify in g terms, and put fo rth a c a r e fu lly worded d e fin it io n th ereof which was, on a n a ly sis o f any i n t e l l i g e n t reasoning, wholly in accurate, f a lla c io u s and untenable on any combination of fact and r e a l i t y . As Mr* Xaltenborn reaches and i s taken s e rio u s ly by m illio n s o f our people everywhere without question and in good f a i t h , I f e l t th is subtle but poisonous inaccuracy o f d e fin it io n he broadcasted could only confuse and confound i n t e lli g e n t and reasoning action on the part of m illio n s of p a t r io t io American l i s t e n e r s . Therefore, X wrote him, c a lli n g h is attention to the s e lf-e v id e n t e rro rs which he defined as economic fa c t s . He rac io u sly r e p li e d , brin gin g you, Mr. Marriner Eocles, hairman of the fe d e r a l Reserve Board, into the picture p erso n ally in the fo llo w in g l e t t e r : g "Ho man has defined i n f la t i o n in such a way that the d e fin it io n i s s a t is fa c t o r y to anyone e ls e . So I am quite w i l l i n g to agree with you that I did not define i n f la t i o n c le a r ly or s a t i s f a c t o r i l y in my broadcast. I f you w i l l get Henry Morgenthau J r ., Secretary of the Treasury, and Chairman Marriner l o c l e s of the Federal Reserve Board to agree upon a d e fin it io n o f i n f l a t i o n , perhaps I could do lik e w ise ." I b e lie v e that mistatements lik e Mr. K alten bo rn 's, even i f made in the good f a it h which I c e rta in ly accord to him, create great n ation al disunity and should be so fa r as i n t e l l i g e n t l y p o ssib le be corrected to whatever extent p o s s ib le . So I join in Mr. Kaltenborn1s request that you give us a j u s t i f i a b l e d e fin it io n of "monetary in fla tio n ." Mr. Marriner Eccles Chairman fe d e r a l Reserve Board January 21, 1941 Page Two However, our la rg e Dunkirk-fredonia (Hew York) Economic Club and associates o f economic associates of B u ffa lo , Hew York, join me in recogn ition o f the great problems you face, and in assurance that no p u b lic it y or news expression to any reply or answer w i l l be given, and that any reply w i l l be held in complete confidence. Ad d i t i o n a l l y , should a rep ly seem properly warranted, and p u b lic w e lfa re be served by i t s announcement, we s h a ll appreciate suggestionsof y o u r s e lf or designees as to a f i t t i n g and commendable re le a s e th ereof to the p u b lic . Thanking you fo r your consideration and awaiting your suggestions, I am, f a i t h f u l l y youra, OB: IJ January 30, 1941*- F çr: C la re B arnes, 345 C e n tr a l Avenue, Dunkirk, New Y ork . A tta ch ed i s a copy o f Chairman E c c le s ' r e c e n t ad d ress b e fo r e th e N a tio n a l I n d u s t r ia l Con fe r e n c e Board which c o n ta in s , b egin n in g on page 2 and running o v e r t o page 4 , th e quest io n o f i n f l a t i o n about which you in q u ir e d in your l e t t e r o f January 21. The Chairman, who i s te m p o r a r ily ab sen t, req u e sted me t o thank you f o r your l e t t e r and t o e n c lo s e t h i s m a t e r ia l. E l l i o t t T h u rston , S p e c ia l A s s is ta n t t o th e Chairman. e n c lo s u re ET:b
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