Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-18
THE MINORITY REPORT
Ofthe Banking and Currency Commit
tee on Carlisle's Bill.
Adoption Of Bill Would Precipiiase Panic Far
Worse Than That OF 1898.

Republican members of the House bank
ing and currency committee, ON the Car
Isle banking bill, begins with the state
ment that the signors "moSt heartily
and enthusiastically join with the Dem
ocratic majority of the committee in re-
pudiating the measure.
The report states that the whole action
on the part of the majority Of the COM
mittee is most extraordinary and not APP
proved by its voting majority. Tho bill
was only read in committee in part ON one
occasion, and an opportunity TO consider
or amend it was refused hoth to the Demo
cratic and Republican members. The re
port says it is the opinion of a number of
the most clear headed and eminent finan-
ciers in the country that if the Carlisle
bill is enacted into law, it will within
20 days precipitate n panic far more severe
than that of 1898, as it would compel
the forced sale upon the market of nearly
$500, 600, 900 worth Of United States bonds
within six months.
''This haste to report the bill is all the
more inexplicable,' the report adds,
''when it is remembered that. Sec. Car.
Isle testified that this bill, which the
drafted himself for the relief of the treas
ury, would not in any event relieve it
materially for five years, and might not
for 20 years
The report calls attention TO certain
sections of the bill and sharply criticizos
them. The short comings of the bill, from
the minority stand point, are accounted
for by the probable haste with which the
bill was drawn, as Sec. Carlisle informed
the committee that he dictated it hastily
to stenographer, when it is the opinion
Of many that there is not man in the
country who can draw any bill To accom-
plish what the secretary attempted with
out spending nearer a month than week
in studying the farrcaching effects of its
provisions in order to make it safe TO
enter upon legislation of such magnitude.
Whatever legislation is had with reference
to the finances of the country or banking
in its effects upon national banks, should
be permissive, not mandatory, rs to ma
tional banks while their present charters
continue.
"To provide, as in section T, that every
national banking association heretofore
organized having bonds ON deposit to
secure its circulation, shall on or before
July /, 1895, withdraw such bonds and
deposit with the treasurer Of the United
| States, guaranty fund consisting of
| United States legal tender notes, includ-
| ing treasury notes. cannot be justified
upon any principle of safe legislation.
1t could not fail to produce Il panic, and
the recklcssness of such legislation would
not startle not only the tinanciera in this
country, but .hosc of the world. "
| In the opinion of the minority, the pro
visions of exemptions as to state banks
would drive every existing national bank
that desires to take out circulating notes,
into the state bank system. The taxing
of national banks would amount to So
| 600, 900 annually under the present bill,
which, there is no reason to believe, woulG
| be imposed upon them under the state
system.
Furthermore, the states, even the most
conservative among them, would be far
more liberal than the United States rs re
CARDS bonds, or other security or rcdemp
ton funds, for they may require deposit
of no bonds whatever" The minority
cannot believe it is the intention of the
trainers of the bill to discriminate in favor
of state banks or force national banks to
operate under state charters. Such, in
their opinion, would be the inevitable
effect Of the bill
| The report directs attention to the fact
that many eminent fnancicrs who ap-
peared before the committee objected scri
ously TO the BILL and those who did not
rcpudiatcd many Of it's sections upon cross
examination. 1t asserts that scores of
other eminent financiers would gladly
have appeared and spoken against the bill,
| and says: "The chairman, Mr.. Springer
who presented letter to the committee,
read it and proposed TO put il on record,
approving tie Carlisle bill, from West
ern banker, when asked if nc had other
| letters from bankers concerning the bill,
replied: Yes, many, 80, when asked
if they all approved Of the bill, his reply
was, No, only this one.
Continuing, the minority says The
passage Of the Carlisle bill may meet
some political exigency of which we do
not know, but we do know that its pas
sage will aggrayate rather than relieve the
perplexities of the financial situation, es-
| pecially that of the United States treasury.
| The United States legal tender notes with
drawn from circulation, did all the exist
| ing national banks take out all the circu
lation permitted under the bill, there
would only be s151, 900, 000 leaving $3.50, :,
| O0e, 900 to vex the treasury.
This would not afford substantial relief
to the constant drain Of gold from the treas
ury but would make still more conspicu-
Gus and thus more urgent demand for
| gold upon the treasury, and notes issued
under thesbill would make the confusion
worse confounded in the currency by add
ing of from one to IS more kinds Of money
to those already existing.
Twice within a short time has the
House declared its unalterable opposition
to allowing state banks to issue currency
[Continued on 2d page.