As a prelude to the World Economic Conference, President Roosevelt's foreign economic policy was recited in outline for 300 of Britain's best citizens last week by Col. Robert Worth Bingham at the customary Pilgrims Dinner welcoming the new U. S. Ambassador to his post. For weeks in Washington Ambassador Bingham had soaked up the President's ideas on international economics until now he was able to wring them out like water from a sponge. More than the customary "hands-across-the-sea," the Ambassador's speech was authoritative advance notice of what the President's delegates would offer at the London Conference. The U. S., he cried, was "at last prepared, through proper agreement, to lower tariff barriers so that international trade may begin to move again.'' To Republican protectionists in the U. S. he sounded almost like a free trader. But even Edward of Wales uprose to take his side against "the vice of economic nationalism."
Day after Ambassador Bingham's open-ing-wedge speech, Secretary of State Hull sailed for London determined to negotiate a program of reduced tariffs, stabilized currencies and a general increase in world prices. Other conference delegates aboard the "President Roosevelt" with him were Nevada's Senator Pittman, Tennessee's Representative McReynolds and Texas' Ralph Morrison. Later in the week Delegate James Middleton Cox departed on the Olympic, declaring: "If the world is sick enough to have gained any sense, the Conference will be a success."
Bringing up the delegation's rear was Michigan's Senator James Couzens, the only Republican the President could get to serve. To silence its sideline coaching, the President still hoped to send Congress home before the W. E. C. opens June 12. But he had not yet submitted legislation empowering him to juggle tariff rates to conform with any bargains struck at London.
That no bargain would be struck at London, that the Conference would fall far short of its aims was a view widely held outside of Washington last week. In that event, it was predicted, President Roosevelt would utterly reverse his foreign policy, launch boldly on a program of extreme economic nationalism to achieve domestic recovery.
The Washington school of thought that the U. S. can prosper only if the whole world does is headed by Secretary of State Hull. At London he is being given his innings to prove his point. If he does not succeed, the economic isolationists, captained by Assistant Secretary of State Moley, will go to bat. Their objective will be a national economy of self-contain-ment. At hand for their innings they will have plenty of brand new heavy bats—the farm relief act, inflation, tariff uppings, embargoes.
¶Completed last week was the White House swimming pool, built by popular subscriptions of $15,000. Tiled in colors, 50 by 15 ft., it stands in the west wing connecting the executive offices with the main building. In accepting it, President Roosevelt revealed that he had once tried to build a similar pool but it caved in. He took a 30-min. swim before dinner — his first exercise since entering the White House.