The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-12-16
THEY'RE FAR APART
DOCTORS DISAGREE MORE AND
MORE WIDELY,
Mr.. Williams Before the Banking and
Currency Committee Represents the
Bankers and Mr.. st. John Appears
as an Eastern Silver Man and Ven
tilates the Carlisle Plan.

Washington, Dec. 15-Great inter.
est was manifested today in the clos.
ing hearing on the currency question
The bankers to be heard represented
TWO widely divergent views. Presi-
Gent e. G. Williams of the Chemical Ma
uonai bank Of New York represented
the prevailing view among bankers,
While ". p. ST. John OF the Mercantile
pank OF New York, represented eastern
views favorable to silver. The presence
OF St John had drawn Senator Teller
10 the hearing, anxious TO hear the
views Of the eastern silver man on the
! currency revision.
! mere was added interest in the state
ment Of AIR. Williams who opened the
hearing, from the fact that the bank of
| which he is president has the largest de-
! posts IN the United States if not in the
| world The solution is one recurring,
iTInness and common sense" said ne,
Inc nrSt problem in our clumsy and
! congiomerate financial system is the
| disposition to be made of our legal ten
DER uotes." He urged that these notes
should be funded, $50 600, 900 at a time
| until they We're eliminated from onr
financial system. Bonds at 3 Der. cent
should be received as security of ma
tlonai bank notes on a basis of par for
bonds, the government to have the
hrSt lien on the asetts Of the bank.
These notes should be redeemabIe in
New York City and when issued in
SUFFICIENT volume and being convertible
would furnish adequate elasticity 10 the
currency. The tax on circulation of
national banks should at once be re-
moved.
AS to the Baltimore plan. William
said it would be safe in large cities. but
II might start many mushroom banks
merely with a view to issue notes and
the failure of such banks would cause
loss 10 the whole system. After fund
ing legal tender notes, and giving the
new national bank issue, Williams said
the next step was to look after sill
Yer certificates and Sherman notes. The
later We're amply protected by 800, 000.-
OUO IN the treasury. AS to silver certfi-
Gates, congress should pass a law re-
deeming them in silver bullion at its
market value at the discretion of the
secretary OF the treasury and il might
be well to similarly redeem the Sher-
man rOteS, With these changes our
currency system would become abso- |
lutely sound and our banking system |
the most perfect ever devised. Presi- |
dent st. John lent much spirit TO the |
hearing by the vigor of his statement |
and its novelty as coming from an /
eastern banker
Under official dictation." began he.
"tutored by one of the most aggressive |
of all our handful of oddities in the /
United States, congress fddleS with !
bank notes while the burning issue is
our primary money, coin. Identically
our chief executive has re-
CURED his secretary to abandon the
option conferred by law upon the Uni
ted States and grant the holders OF
United States notes the right to exact
gold always, silver never, as their re- !
1eeming coin. Had option to redeem in |
silver dollars been exercised boldly at
the time when only 5000, 900 silver dol
airs We're owned by the United States
with an ownership of SIG. 600 900 in
gold, all possible alarm could have
been laughed to scorn. To attempt TO
seize upon and exercise the option now
'r under Immediately prospective con-
iitions of the treasury. would be TO
curt all the perils of disaster"
BROKE THE LAST LINK.
Mr.. St John stated that this same
policy led to the present proposition of
substituting the bank promises of 5
money in place Of the primary and sec I
'ndary money gold and silver. ,
which they promise. Mr.. St John
ook UP the cases Of silver monometaI- /
SIN. He characterized the repeal of
he Sherman act last year and the | ,
losing of the minis of silver as "the
'orld's blind experiment in money" | I
I severed the last link that coupled :
liver TO its crippled right of money in 5
he western world {
Mr.. st. John declared IL was the 61tv {
I congress to stop experimenting and |
. back to the HamiltOn-Jefferson u
1lnaga system to restore binetallism | {
dependent of other nations. He {
BOX up the subject Of what he called {
ne ,'Eoidites:' He cited the record of /
rance in independent bimetallism. 1
he conditions in thes United State Ii
ere much more propitious for such s
cuon. Within ten years there was t,
romlse OF exceeding the population h
Great Britain and France and our
DID and silver could circulate over \
,rrltory seventeen times the area Of
rance E
MI st. John closed with a review Of
.e notable features OF the present
nancial condition. The dollar is eff
cent but prices are ruinously low c
ipltaI lacks investment and MANN =,
curing Is restristed by low prices / =,
ID labor starVeS. %
The enduring fact" said he. of c.
is aspect OF money is TO be preserved | al
mat the rich be made richer and IL
g poor poorer as the one achieve n,
ent OF our statute law" OF
COMBATS THE BANKERS G.
AT the conclusion Of Mr.. ST. Johns VI
alement the committee took a recess. p
king the witness TO return for fur n
er examination. l.
1 want to combat every statement &C
every banker who has appeared ~ te
re- you said Mr.. st. John. as an
iication Of the line OF questions he
sired.
CuIberson. OF Texas Of
esloned Mr.. st. John as to the rem at
ne would propose for the present n
lulJonS- The witness presented 4 n
as a remedy. II provides for ~fI- i
coinage on the same basis as gold. IN
meet money strinGenCy the bill pro IN
des for coin certificates based o. "a
nds Hypothetical by the banks in op
IN quantity as the secretary OF rra II
3Sury may determine Mr.. st John I OF
q the bill would put the country on III
silver basis for a time, and thereaf- OF
both metals would circulate. As
the Carlisle plan Nr. ST John said
would fan fat' Banks would not
,ept II. They would become state n
nks. But the seCrsrary'S bill vas %
ter than the Baltimore plan. "a
hartman SpTinge--Wo1.lF rH.a c---- e
icy under the Carlisle plan be- sac | -
IT. 81 J0hn-ThCre would Ha no ~
'rency issued by them. They urouI9 ~
| accept X Instead Of that vou bT,
uld have the worst panic on rec or.
WOULD TAKE TEN YEARS -.
- pointed out that the safety tie.
{" under the Carlisle plan W. - an.
accumulated IN small percentages II
would not be realized for - hat
-. In the meantime for the next tht
there would Be- no safety fund ~
d the proposed bank notes. Mr.
John said the bankers before tn Z