St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-27
THE FINANCIAL CRISIS.
Gen. Francis A. Walker Touches
Briefly Upon 1t.

WASHINGTON. Dec. 26.-Tho fourth
annual meeting of the American Eco
nomic association was begun this after
noon in the hall of the Columbian uni
versIty. In the absence Of the presi-
dent, Gen. Francis A. Walker, the
meeting was called to order by Prof. j.
B. Clark. The first paper read was on
THE Concepts of Utility, Value and
Cost" by Prof. F. Fl. Giddings, of Bryn
Mawr college. Prof. Charles A. Tuttle,
of Amherst college, Mass. then read
paper OH THE Term Wealth in Eco
nomic Science, Study in Economic
Theory" He was followed by Miss Mar
ietta kies. with a paper on "rhe ETH
cal Principle in Industrial Relations
Prof. j. b. Clark, chairman Of the COM
mittee Oh economic theory, presented
the report of that COMMITTEES. At the
evening session Prof. Francis A.
Walker, the president of the association,
made an address. This address surveyed
at length the most important economic
developments within the United States
during the two years since the associa-
ton last met in Philadelphia. The eX-
traordinary growth of pseud0-sOcialism,
under the local name of natiOnaliSm, he
attributed to the fact that the masses
of the people, alike among the
more fortunate and the less fort
innate classes. had at last come
to appreciate the supreme importance
of industrial relations, but had not yet
learned. by careful study of history
ana of the material conditions of human
existence, within what narrow limits
eXertionS for the ameliOraton of man.
kind must necessarily be confined. All
these refOrmers. now SO defiant of eS-
tablished economic principles, would.
sooner or later, become recruits OF the
economic army. Regarding the appar-
ent growth of the single tax party. the
speaker expressed the opinion that
economists were coming to take the
view that something more of the theory
of rent than the state had been
accustomed to exact could adj
vantaseously be brought into the
treasury, while on the other hand, the
practical politicians, the more they
studied the subject, were more and
more impressed with the hOpelesshess
of the project in view of the opposition
of the farmer class and of the holder of
ESmali village and town building lots to
an incl ease of direct taxes. Mt. Walker
: referred to what he termed the ''re-,
markable weakening" III the present
financial crisis Of many.of those who,
alike through the greenback and the
silver contests, stood most stitfiy up
against every measure Of possible inf1a-
ingly ceased their resistance to
the further coinage of silver. if
they did not actually desire 1t. lie at
tributed this largely to the dlscrediting
OF the views of the orthodox American
economist on the subject of money, and
especially of the Indifference to the
money supply. These views, he said,
had not been sustained by the best Eu-
rOpean opinion, or by the common sense
of our own people. He continued:
''lf, of an irredeemable and tiuctuat-
ing currency. that alcohol of commerce,
it may he truely said, 1T biteth like a
with equal truth may it be added that
stranguation and suffocatlOn are W r
not too strong to express the agohy OF
the industrial body when embraced in
the fast tightening folds of contract
Ing money supply"
? In the lack of natural leadership, he
said. we could only hope that prudence
may rule the hour and that the indis-
tinctive conservatism of the American
people may enable them to pass through
this. perhaps the most perilous crisis in
their financial career. without wreck.
The last topic touched upon by the
american people were now loudly called
upon to decide whether there was any
limit to the extent to which they would
snare their birthright with strangers.
Not only the enormous increase of immi-
grafton, but the manifestly lower char
acter of the recent comers, especially
those from Eastern Europe, made the
I question one of urgency. Our first
duty. he said, was to ourselves and our
own descendants. Our next duty was
to help, SO far as we could. in raising
the condition of the oppressed masses
OF Europe. We were not necessarily to
do this by receiving their overflow in
dIscrlninately; but, most of all, we
should endeavor to make this expert
ment of a free commonwealth of edu-
Gated labor the greatest possible sue
cess. Ii the continued admission of de-
graded peasants from the old world
would interfere with this great work,
we were called upon, not less as phil
anthropists than as patriots. to put
tCfnn tn if