Congratulations to Masazumi Wakatabe for tracking down the late 1933 = 
references in which groups of prominent economists criticised FDR's gold = 
policy (in the Washington Post and New York Times). Could Masazumi give = 
us the names of the signatories? 
 
Probably in direct response to these letters, six junior Harvard = 
economists, led by Lauchlin Currie, wrote an open letter to FDR in the = 
New York Times, January 25, 1934, that began:  
    In view of the amount of adverse criticism that has been directed = 
against the policies of your administration by professional economists, = 
we feel it incumbent upon us to express to you our sincere admiration = 
both of your general objectives and the statesmanship with which you = 
have sought to attain these objectives.  While our support extends = 
broadly to all the major efforts of your administration, we wish to = 
single out for special commendation that which has received more = 
criticism perhaps than any other at the hands of our professional = 
colleagues ? namely, your monetary policy. 
    The deliberate departure from the gold standard marked one of the = 
rare occasions since the war when a government both foresaw danger and = 
took action to avoid it... What many authorities did not realize, and = 
what has become increasingly evident, was that the departure from the = 
gold standard was an absolutely indispensable prerequisite to the = 
adoption of your other policies of reform and recovery.  Otherwise, = 
every proposal would have been opposed on the ground that it might = 
endanger the maintenance of the gold standard... 
  
The full text of this letter (signed by Currie, Alan Sweezy, Raymond = 
Walsh, John Crane, John Cassels and Robert Lamb) can be accessed at = 
http://ariel.emeraldinsight.com/vl=3D2580919/cl=3D96/nw=3D1/rpsv/~1103/v3= 
1n3/s7/p261 
 
It appears in the current issue of the Journal of Economic Studies -- a = 
special issue (edited by me) containing about 20 of Lauchlin Currie's = 
hitherto unpublished memoranda on monetary policy that he wrote at = 
Harvard (1931-34), at the Fed (1934-39), and at the White House (as = 
FDR's economic adviser), 1939-45. 
 
- Roger Sandilands 
University of Strathclyde, UK