OPINION

November 24, 1953

SVOLOS ON «GOLD HOARDERS:» (From a letter to the editor.) «In yesterday’s editorial (…) you say that nearly all Greeks became ‘gold hoarders’ as a result of the law drafted by Mr Svolos. You attribute the tendency to hoard gold coins to law no.18/1944 (which you associate with my name). I will not take this opportunity (…) to discuss the currency reform of 1944. For over eight years I have been doing nothing else. I applaud your idea of compensating those who were harmed by the inflation during the Occupation, an idea which I first proposed to make law in November 1944. (…). Allow me to correct your assertion regarding gold hoarders. All those Greeks doing so pre-dated law 18, and during the occupation were encouraged by the generous quantities of gold sovereigns channeled into Greece by the Allies to support the Resistance (…). During the occupation the demand for gold sovereigns assumed huge proportions, their value jumping from 1,400 drachmas in April 1941 to 3.8 billion drachmas in October 1944 (before law 18 was passed).» Alexandros Svolos.

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