to all its member banks that they should not borrow from the Fed “for the purpose of making speculative loans or for the purpose of maintaining speculative loans.” Four days later, it made the directive public. The Dow fell 20 points over the next three days, but quickly recovered and by the end of the week was back at the highs. The market’s attitude was best summarized by an editorial in the Hearst newspapers. “If buying and selling stocks is wrong, the Government should close the Stock Exchange. If not, the Federal Reserve Board should mind its own business.”
