Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-12-20
ST.JOHN'S PLAIN TALK
CONDEMNS cARLlsLE.s PLAN.
The Now York Banker Boldly AdvooatSs
Free Coinage and Prophesies Disaster
II the CarlIsle Bill Ii Passed-Ths Bill
to be Reported BY the Committss.

II the CarlIsle Bill Il Passed-Ths BILL
to be Reported BY the COMMITTEES.
Washington, Dec. 15.-By the close
vote of to the committee on bank
ing and currency of the house decided
tonight to report Secretary Carlisle's
plan for a revision of the currency.
Representative Ellis Of Kentucky,
Democrat. voted with the Republi-
cans against reporting this plan. The
report will be made on Monday; de-
bate will begin ON Tuesday and the
committee ON rules will be asked to hx
the final vote in the house for next Fri
day at p. m.
This conclusion was reached after q
spirited executive session of the COM
mittee. 1t has been in session for q
week, hearing officials and bankers on
the proposed revision. The bearings
closed to-day at o'clock.
Great interest was manifested in tho
closing hearing. Secretary Carlisle
was present at the opening Of the ses-
sion. The bankers to be heard repre-
sented two widely diverging Views.
President G. G. Williams of the Chem
ical National Bank of New York repre-
oohecu thc prevailing view AMONG Iuo
bankers, while w. P. St John of the
Mercantile Bank of New York repre-
sented the Eastern view favorable to
silver. The presence Of Mr.. St John
had drawn Senator Teller to the hear
ing, anxious to hear the views of an
Eastern silver man on currency revis-
Ion.
President st. John lent much spirit
to the hearing by the vigOr of his state
ment and its novelty as coming from
an Eastern banker.
"Under official dictation," said he
"tutored by the one most aggressive
Of all our handful of 'goldites' in the
United State, Congress fiddles with
bank notes while the burning issue is
our primary money, coin. Identically
tutored, our chief executive has re-
quired his secretary to abandon the
option conferred by the law upon the
United States, and grant to holders Of
the United States notes the right to ex-
act gold always, silver never, as their
redeeming coin. Had the option to re-
deem in silver dollars been exercised
boldly at the time when only three
million silver dollars were owned by
the United States with an ownership Of
$116,OOO,OOO gold, any possible alarm
would have been hushed to scorn. Any
attempt to seize upon and exercise the
option now or under prospective con-
dftions Of the treasury would be to
court all the perils Of disaster"
Mr.. St John stated that the same
policy led to the present prospoNtion
of substituting the bank promises of
money in place of the primary and Sec
ondary money gold and silver) which
they promise.
Mr.. st. John took up the cases of sil-
yer monometallism. He characterized
the repeal of the Sherman act last year
and closing of the minis to silver as
"the worlds blind experiment" In mon
ey. 1t severed the last link that coupl-
ed silver to Its crippled right Of money
in the Western world.
Mr.. st. John declared 1t was the duty
of Congress to stop experimenting and
go back to the Hamflton-Jeferson coin
age system to restore bimetalhsm In
dependent Of other nations. He took
up the subject of what he termed the
"goldites." He cited the record of
France in Independent bimetallism.
The conditions in the United States
were much more propitous for such
action. Within ten years there was
promise Of exceeding the population Of
Great Britain and France and our gold
tory seventeen times the area Of
France.
Mr.. st. John closed with a view of
the notable features of the present
financial conditions. The dollar II eff
cient but prices are ruinously low, cap
ital lacks investment and manufactur-
ing is restricted by low prices and Ia
Dor starves.
1.-THE enduring fact" said he, ''if this
aspect Of money is to be preserved, is
that the rich be made richer and the
poor poorer, as the one achievement of
our statute law"
At the conclusion Of Mr.. st. Johns
statement the committee took recess,
er examination.
81 want to combat every statement of
every banker who has appeared before
you," said Mr.. st. John as an indica-
ton Of the line of questions he desired.
Representative Culberson Of Texas
questioned Mr.. St John as Il the remedy
he would propose for the present con-
ditions. The witness presented q bill
as a remedy. 1t provides for silver
ON the same basis as gold. To
meet money stringency the bill pro-
vides for coin certificates based on
bonds hypothecated by the banks in
such quantities as the secretary Of tho
treasury may determine. Mr.. St John
said the bill would put the country on
a silver basis for time; thereafter
both metals would circulate. As to the
Carlisle plan, Mr.. st. John said It
would "fall fat" Banks would not
accept 1t. They would become state
banks. But the secretary's bill was bet
fer than the Baltimore plan.
Chairman Spfinger-Would the cur
rency under the Carlisle plan be safef
Mr.. st. John-There would be no cur
rency issued by them. They would
have the worst panic on record.
He pointed out that the safety fund"
under the Carlisle plan was to be ac-
in small percentagesbAnd
would not be realized for ten years. In
the meantime for the next ten years
there would be no safety fund behind
the proposed bank notes. Mr.. St John
said the bankers before the committee
had weighed the retirement Of green
backs, but he regarded as preposterous
that $346. 100000 of non-interest bear
Ing greenbacks should be retired by the
government, at the very moment that
the government was issuing $50, 600, 900
Of per cent. bonds. The witness said
state banks would be just as objection
able tO-daV as thew UQrn In the mast