The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-11

81 hope and believe that the conserva-
tive eastern bankers will see the danger
and let the money loose to move the
crops, which are like human arteries,
for If these arteries become stagnated
nothing congress can do will help.
''No, there has not been any such
great withdrawal of deposits from south
ern banks, such as has been the case in
the north and west. The re son is that
the southern banks have very small
amount Of deposits from the masses of the
people. For several years they have been
hard pressed. Low priced cotton has de-
pleted the pockets Of the planters; con-
sequently the smaller merchants have
very little money. Besides, our people
have the utmost confidence IN the banks.
They have been liberal, as rule, and.
that liberality has engeneered conn
dence, and there has been no disposition
to run southern banks. Our banks
have not been threatened as the north
ern banks have BEEN"
| next asked Montgomery of Ken
lucky if the Sherman law would be un-
eonditionally repealed. s'Does any one
doubt that?' he responded. 81 certainly
don't see how any thinking man who
notices which way the current is moving
can doubt it. There viii be uncondi-
tional repeal. Oh, no. don't know how
long it will take I don't know how
every individual viii vote, but of the re-
suit there can be no doubt. In the house
I think we will be done with it very
quickly, but in the senate, with it's pres
ent rules, no one can tell how long it
will take. No, I don't know that there
has been SO very much of change on
silver, but every one is in favor of re-
pealing the Sherman law. It has gone
beyond the point where that law can be
used as a lever or prize to force some
thing more for silver. The action of In
dia settled the repeal of the law if
there ever was any doubt about what
this congress would do"
It is a significant fact that both the
two closest friends Of the speaker in the
house, Catchings and Montgomery, are
straight out repeal men. They managed
the speakers canvass two years ago, and
he relies much on THEM judgment.
Montgomery is tall, spare man built
on the same general model as John Sher-
man and equally shrewd in seeing a good
way ahead.
When I asked Speaker Crisp how the
cotton crop was going to be moved, he
said: s'That's the problem. We don't
know just now. Money is awfully tight
with us, as it is everywhere. There is
feeling of uncertainty and doubt. No,
the south is still favorable to silver--be-
heves in b1netallism. We want some
thing to relieve the present trouble, but
no two members with whom I have
talked agree on what would be a rem
edy. Every one in the south wants a
change for the better. We must repeal
the Sherman law, but afterward all that
is known is that we must have some re-
lief.
Unconditional repeal of the Sherman
law? I don't see how that would do.
Restoring confidence would do good, but
would the money come back again?
Would men gain confidence If there
were repeal? Won't this agitation con-
tinue even after bill be passed? Yes,
if the crop shouldn't be moved, and cot
ton should fall much lower, it might
make our people force action. Cotton is
still our dominant factor. When it is
low, everything is depressed, business is
dull, and all of that. The south now is
no worse off than any other part of the
country"
The new senator from California,
George G. Perkins, is an interesting per-
sonality. When asked what he proposed
to do in the senate, he said:
''I shall aim to keep in touch with the
middle classes. They are the great masses
of the people. The senate is called the
aristocratic body, but l shall endeayor