The Fund Kicks Off

The International Monetary Fund last week took its first solid step toward providing a stabilized basis for world trade. It fixed the currency values of 32 member nations at existing exchange rates (in terms of U.S. dollars or gold). Notably, this step was taken with no fuss; cutthroat currency manipulations, which many economists had feared as a preliminary, did not happen.

Seven* of the 39 member nations were granted delays in valuing their currencies because they are still too insecure. But initial rates on some of these are expected to be fixed before the Fund begins actual exchange operations, March 1.

No Takers. But the other Bretton Woods twin, the World Bank, was not growing up to be such a credit to its founders. It was beginning to be regarded as almost a wayward child. There was still no taker for the $30,000-a-year job (tax free) which President Eugene Meyer resigned. And the Bank itself, with an assist from Treasury Secretary John W. Snyder, bungled the announcement of another resignation. As a matter of courtesy, Vice President Harold D. Smith thought he ought to hand in his resignation, let the new president keep him or name a new vice president. But the bungling announcements did not mention that Smith actually wanted to stay on.

By week's end, the Bank's prestige had fallen so low that its directors supposedly called on Harry Truman to draft a man for the president's job. Their latest choice: Allan Sproul, 50, who heads the Federal Reserve Bank of New York but is not the kind of "name" the bank needed. While Sproul (rhymes with owl) was mulling over the offer, another name was dropped in the hat: Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

* Brazil, China, the Dominican Republic, Greece, Poland, Uruguay, Yugoslavia. France also asked delay for French Indo-China, and The Netherlands for the Netherlands Indies.

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