The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-01-04
BOSTON MERCHANTS,
HAVE A BAsaF EFT AND THEN DIS
CUss CURRENCY.
President Lime Said Every Note
should BE Nation al-Hepburn Says
Our Money system Is III Conceived
and Unrenponidye.


Boston. Jam 2.-The annual Banquet
OF the Boston Merchants association
occurred at the Hotel vendome tonight
with over 200 guests present. At the
head of The table sat the president of
the associations John A. Lane. On his
Immediate right was Hon. \. P. Hep
burn. president of the Third National
bank, of New York; Thomas c. Catch
ingS, congressman from Mississippi,
and Hon. William Dodsworth, of New
York. At his left sat George Z. Leigh
ton, president of the Commercial cub
of ST. Louis; Hon. Roger Wolcott, Lieu
tenant governor eff Massachusetts, and
Hon William K. Barrett, con grsEsman
eject from AAfss.5aefans
Mr. Lame opened TO the cst-prsn5ial
exercises. Turning his attention TO the
banking and currency question OF the
, United States, which was the subject
of the. evening, ne suggested that a new
banking and currency bill should be
constructed.
st Should be strictly national. every
mote issued bearing the stamp OF the
comptroller ard having the added, Sc
curity of a guarantee fund, he said
This means no state banks We can
not part with a national currency upon
any consideration whatever.
President Hepburn began his adj
dress 10y saying that our currency sys-
tenn is wrong, ill-conceiVed, unrespOn-
siVe to the various interests of & great
nation and prejudici9l to renewed and
stable prosperity. He then entered into
g. history of the greenback, the out
| growth of d war eXigen-y, and also
sketched the career Of the national
banking system.
| Under the Bland and Sherman acts
| fixed amounts of currency were put
| into circulation monthly in exchange
! for silver purchased-a fixed arbitrary
amount, which could not be increased,
| however great the need of commerce,
nor diminished, however great the
plethora OF money. Since the govern
ment can only put into clEui2tIon
money in payment for debt or exchange
for value, this criticism of an absolute
want of fiexibility or elasticity must
apply to all government currency. As
| long as revenues exceeded expendi-
lures funds accumulated in the treas
ury, frequently creating a money
stringency until the secretary would
even up matters by purchasing bonds
! in the open markell, sort of STEADY
| by Jerks method of administration.
Now that there are expenditures eX-
| Ceeding incomes we nave the novel
spectacle of the government borrowing
money for the ayowed purpose of
Strengthening its OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
pay up to strengthen their credit. II
a circulation is based on United States
bonds, I can see no reason why state
banks should not 81 allowed to take
out circulation as well Let them de-
post the bonds, maintain the per cent
redemption fund and have circulation
issued by the comptroller on the same
terms as national banks.
He referred to Secretary Carlisle
currency reform scheme as containing
some good features and some decidedly
Objectionable ones. It's provisions for
the safety of circulating notes he con-
sidered ample. Currency should be is
Isued against all the assets of bank
not, any specified portion. The proposal
Ito relieve state banks of all taxation
while levying a tax of half of one pei
cent upon national bank circulation was
Ia discrimination which would place tbs
national banks at a disadvantage
similar to the restriction upon national
banks against notes of less than $40
while no restriction was placed upor
Estate banks,