St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-15
MINNEAPOLIS.
TWIN CITY BANKERS.
They Meet to Feast and Talk
Together at the West
Hotel.
H.. NJ. Knox Gives Some I'm
poPtant Statistics From
the EankS.
CleaPances, He Says, Are Not
an Infallible Pulse Of
Trade.
interesting Addresses by j.
G. Pyle, DR.. Shaw and
Others.

third annual hauQuet III the l0ule> oruiliaFS
OF the West hotel last evening. There were
present about o of the prominent bankers
of the two cities. and the event WAS another
Of the series that is constantly drawing the
business interests of Minneapolis and 81.
Paul into unity. The occasion was not
BANQUET alone. but was an intellectual feast
as we'll and the topIe discussed was
s-The Silver Question The party Of mon
eyed men gathered early. Danz' band made
InuSfe while they fsasted in the handsome
roc ms the banquet boards of which were
richly decorated with palms. Smiiax and
oriental plaut-. :. A Harris. the vice preSI-
dent of the organization. presided over the
session which followed the feast. He called
first upon II. VI. Knox, prominent member
OF me cluh, who gave a brief address upon
the banks Of the twin cities considering the
two cities Il one. Mr.. Knox opened MS
address with the interesting statement that
Il was his opinion that Minneapolis ana
ST Paul would be united as one
city al q date murh earlier Than was new
thought He thought that the bankers of the
Two cities should act in unison at present,
lust as they would if the TWO cities were now
one and held il 10 be adNiSal lie 70 pun llSh
financial statements of the Dual city even II
the cities were not under one municipal gov
CruInent. MIR. Knox gave some important
statistics. he present total resources u the
Two cities was 500 Ol.Otf- The bank clear
ings in 1855 were S243.O0 1000; in 1856,
SSI9. O0O.tSa; in 1857. $500. d.
q q. in -, STA. 500, 90 and in Sd, S4I7.-
OGo.0OO. In forty corporate banks of The
two cities the car itaI stock was Sl4, 20 t0O1.
with q suplus fund of TWO ami half mill
ions aud m undivided profit OF S2,uU 1000,
aud q suplus of Slz.75o,GJO. The total de-
posts amounted TO 81 > on g.. On this
was based q loan of $500 30 and total
resources Of S6ao00.U0U. In closing MIR.
Knox said:
Now let me say q word regarding the
cleaIingS. Cls arings are not lntaIllbie as
criterioniof the work done during the year.
but IS other cities use them we may do so
also. Instead of standing fifteenth or six
teenth or seventeenth. We do stand by official
statements tenth in the list as a usual thing.
AID sometimes ninth. so we stand above
many prominent cities of the Cniied states.
The increase of This year over loSJ-IS } 4
900. 0O,I. ana the increase of this year over
- Is St 500. O. a..
The second speaker was j. Gilpin Pyle. In
opening he gentleman SAID: Mr.. President
and Gentlemen: You have offered no sine
cure 10 those whom you have honored with
Rn invitation to address yen This evening.
You have uot seeleeJed q subject til for pleas
ing daliianee after the feast. Your topic is
mighty with the weight of history behind IL
buTdened with the life studies ana life
thoughts Of earnest and able men. freighied
with the fate of nations. living with
the urgency of the times. For the
silver question i, in reality, tie money QUeS-
ton. II i the question now 10 ally primitive
custom with modern science. 1t j. the queS-
lion of banking aud finance. 1t is the ques-
ton Of work and wages. 1t is pTe-eminently,
the question of prices and credits. You can
get no adequate view Of ii, YOU can reach no
EerVjcSable conclusion. unless you run the
gamdt0f history and listen 10 the faT-rearh-
ing suggestions ot past ana pres
ent. The mere Interrogation, hat
shall We do with our silver? rests,
like the wtirid of fable. upon The backs of
9TH d. nd rhax 9TH
until question linked to question forms an
Rlmpst endless chain, And the view of the
practical man and the theories of the phi
losOpheT must temper each other and blend
IN harmony etOre satisfactory and per
manent answer can be had. a little further
on he said: Il viii state briefly. al the out
set, that one difficulty with our modes OF
thought and reasoning on subjects allied
20 the currency seems 10 ne TO he that we
are constantly INSISTING on the application ar
the strict scientific method TO an unSeIeu-
tife subject. Il is as If We were to cry to re-
Vamp the trial by oidsal according t. Kent
and Cooler. OF to justify the selection or
public officers by lot. by applying to Il the
incest scheme Of prot abilities that mathe-
maticians have evolved. We are wonder
ing why the electric motor dTags the old
fashioned stage cuaeh so little to our satls
faction. The money OF to-day. that IS the
thing which passes current as money every
where. Is wholly uuscienti6c in its origin. It
Is an accident. Human ingenuity has col
lated fOTm dai lie list of reasons why gold
audsilver were, but must have been selected
by the sncIentS rs money metals; and these
reflections are. ike The arguments that show
US why Napoleon Won his victories, and why
he could not possibly have done otherwise
worth lust as much as any other reflections
after the event and no more.
long and learned dissertation then fol-
lowed, which was closed as follows: 1t is at
least q possibility that the end of the silver
question viii De found in the bullion certifi-
cate, based upon both the great money met
ais bUtiSsued upon and redeemable al gold
values. and gold values only. And it will
help US more. doubt MOTTO follow the lesser
light of common sense and common eX-
peTienee than The beWildering igniS fatuUs OF
interminable and often dishonest debate and
legislation To this end it is your office and
your privilege. As men active and influential
in the world of finance, TO contribute by
study and suggestion. To assist ever so
undcStly in the final determinatl III OF q
question so closely related to the prosperity
and henor of the nation is patriotic
endeaVor. II IS in these fields OF mental
conflict in the selection. among the warning
factions of interested parties. or the true
thing and The right thing, that there is to he
found service u country and to humanity
euual to any of the klIigbtly deeds by which
men live forever in the stored annals OF the
past.
The address of Dr. Albert Shaw followed
He said i'll opening: Until a hundred years
etary matters were concerned. Modern
trade cOndid ms were not developed. Bust
ness transactions were comparatively Few,
and simple circulating medium suffieed. Ii
is MISTAKE for rs to lot in 0 the past to
fnd ideal monetary systems. or to find con
elusive arguments for our theories Of what
should be in the present and future.
The progress from the stage coach
TO the rdil.Odd Is a small matter
when compared with the magnitude of The
development of modern business. The trans
actions Of year in our lines are equal in vol
ume to the transactions OF the century be-
fore Columbus. In this great expansion Ut
trade, the sufheieney OF volume, the eveiness
of value and the accountability with the en-
tire community of the money effects all ex-
changes, are Vi al conditions vast pro-
portion of this business is done with credit
based UPON faitn in the practical perMa
hence of the relation between the value of
the money commodity and the average value
of the principal staples
Again. i'll his. address, he said: But others
believe that before the UIOpian age dawns
we shall go through period OF ideal money,
8 purely representative affair, based upon the
average productive EDlue OF days work. or
some other general and permanent consider
alton However this may be this principle
embodies the cordial priucil lie of good
money, namely. that it shall perform its
functions safely and invariably.
After a learned dissertation on the subject,
he smoke OH q live question as follows; 'Mr.
WINDOW. as S6C1elHFf VI lue treasury has
now presented ut,sthe country very impOr.
taut project by which be would put an end
TO the compulsory purchase and coinage OF
silver. and would. instead, have the treasury
issue silver bullion certificates at the current
market rate for silver. upon voluntary de-
posts. These certificates would be redeem
able il silver bullion at the current rate upon
the date Of presentation. or in coined silver
dollars, at the optiun of the holder of the
certificate. or, finally in gold, al
the option Of the government. The
plan has many advantages. II
ties the two metals together and makes both
available as a basis for circulation. NeceSsa-
rfly, it measures silver in terms OF gold, and
leaves us upon gold basis; but we cannot
have more than the STANDARD until other na-
tons Join us in agreeing upon a ratio for
open coinage: and this plan has at least the
advantage OF promising to lessen tiuetua-
lions and gradually to improve the position
of silver Dr.. shaw closed his address Ia
comment upon this topic.
GOV. Merriam was next called upon Tor
speech and was greeted with hearty applause
He made brief address, stating that ne COZ
sidered gold the center about which all else
reVofyes He was opposed 10 the government
cheating the people by giving 20 cents for