Omaha daily bee., 1893-09-08
VIEW CuRRENCY ScHEMEs.

luo COitereHCe menu laSJ SATURDAY De-
tween the president, Secretary Carlisle,
Speaker Crisp and two members Of the
house committee on banking and cur
rency in reference to formulating a bill
to reorganize the national banking sys-
TEN so that state banks may be en-
braced, has attracted a good deal of at
IGNITION. 1t is interesting and important
as indicating the solicitude of the adj
ministration to satisfy the popular de-
mand for more currency, and also as
showing a desire on the part
of the president not to entirely
disregard the demand of o very
large element OF his party that the
to issue currency. There is eason to
believe that Mr.. Cleveland does not
favor a repeal Of the tax on state bank
issues by which such banks would be
left free to emit notes subject only to
state regulation, but he is probably
enough in sympathy with the state
rights idea in connection with this mat
ter to desire that the state banks shall
not be left in their present position.
What may be done to give them a bet
ter standing, so far as that is depend
ent upon the privilege of issuing cur
rency, seems to have been the principal
object of last Saturdays conference.
Reports as to what t~ranspired at this
meeting differ somewhat, but all agree
that nothing was decided upon, only the
general outline of a plan for u reorgan-
ization OF the entire banking system so
as to include state banks being con-
sidered. 1t is understood that another
conference will be held, with o larger
number of financiers in attendance, in
GLIDING Mr.. Voorhees, and Mr.. Springer,
chairmen respectively of the senate
finance committee and the house
committee on banking and currency, at
which it is expected a definite plan will
be agreed upon to be formulated into a
bill for submission to congress. Unless
something better is proposed than the
plan which is said to have been out
lined at last weeks conference there is
no probability that the further consid-
Grafton OF the matter by the president
and those whom he may invite to confer
with him will amount to anything. Any
scheme which proposes state bank
issues under federal control must
fail, for obviously the PROPOSE
tion defeats itself. A state bank
under federal supervision would be
a blank contradiction, and it is certain
that no such arrangement would be ac-
cepted or tolerated by the sticklers for
state rights. Does anybody suppose that
the southern states would allow federal
bank examiners to inspect the affairs OF
banking institutions that obtained their
charters from the states? There are
several very weak features of the plan
reported to have beer considered at the
conference, but the one above referred
to is perhaps the weakest. AT any rate,
it is enough alone to defeat the plan.
There can be no compromises or make
shifts so far as the question Of state
bank issues is concerned. Either the
tax which prevents such issues must
be maintained or the states left en-
tirely free to authorize the issue of
notes by state banks under whatever
regulations or conditions the legisla-
lures may provide. The matter does
not admit of any Juggling, and if Mr..
Cleveland wants to please the stale
rights element of his party the only way
he can do it is to favor repeal of the 10
per cent tax. This he will probably
not do.