Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-12-19
WANT A PRACTICAL PLAN.
Chairman Walker Talks Of Currency
REFORM.

Washington, Dec. 11.-"How 90 you
as chairman of the committee on Dahh'
ing and currency, regard what the pres
ident says with reference to the nhah-
cial situation, and what does your COM
mittee propose to do with reference TO
it," was asked of Representative
Walker of Massachusetts, last evening
THE banking and currency commit
tee" said Mr.. Walker, sis fully allVe 10
the fact that the plain people OF the
country are demanding a radical REFORM
of the banking and currency OF the
country, and especially that not another
bond shall be solo to maintain its pay
ments. The committee does not under
stand it to be its duty to propose II
bill to accomplish the desires OF the
people, unless such bill is approved by
the banking and financial sense OF the
country as expressed by boards of trade
and other organizations representing
the manufacturing, trading and labor
ing people of the country. Four dis
are now pending before the committee,
each of them designed to remedy what
President Cleveland well calls the
weakness and vices of our financial
Methods President Cleveland but
voices the popular opinion when he says
that he earnestly presents the neces-
s.ty of the prompt reform of a system
opposed to every rule of sound finance
n shown to be fraught with the great
est peril and perplexity;' that the gov
m currency obligations upon
which gold may be demanded from the
treasury must be withdrawn from cir
culation and cancled,' and again the
day of sensible and sound financial
methods will not dawn upon us until the
government ~abandons the banking bus
mess
The embarrassment of the banking
and currency committee arises first be-
cause ii has no faith that even "a law to
allow the selling of bonds by the treas
ury to retire the legal tender notes or a
law allowing the secretary TO use the
surplus in the treasury, when there Is
one, to cancel such notes would stand
on the statute books over a succeeding
congress-. The first was done April Il!
1866, to be repealed when only $59,OOO,-
900 was retired, n the second July IA,
1875, to be repealed when only $35, OOO,-
600 was retired. and a like fate would be
sure to meet such a law If passed today.
Second, the failure Of those best quail
flied to do so to render the committee
any dSSlSIdnCe III lIdllllIl6 liz III 10
accomplish what they are urging the
committee to do. The committee pro-
poses to devote it's time to several hear
ings, open to all organizations that
have an interest in the matter. 1t does
not propose TO listen to andom talk as
to what ought to be done. The commit
tee is full of such talk, and to no profit.
What the committee ~solicits is well
.l~A,,oAk n,,E anhAnanS tod In the
shape Of bills, that will accomplish the
thing desired without shock to existing
institutions and to business. Most theo-
ries vanish when the putting of them in
practice is attempted.
Having legal tender notes, treasury
notes, silver and gold dollars, no one Of
which the vast majority of the people
are willing to %relinquish, the problem
Is how to keep all of them and still re-
lieve the treasury of the responsibility
Of keeping all of them at a par with
gold, The committee seems to be con
fined to devolving the task of keeping
all our dollars on a par with gold on
the banks and to doing it without injus-
tice to the banks. 1t is practically set
tied that the people will no longer al
low the selling of bonds by the treasury
Of the United States to buy gold. The
banking and currency committee can
see no way of maintaining the purchas-
ing power of all our dollars with that Of
gold other than have the banks do it.
The problem before the committee now
Is a~nxiously awaiting a solution of the
problem from anyone-farmer, wage
Garner, manufacturer, merchant or
banker"
The house committee on banking and
currency adopted resolutions request
Ing commercial organizations with def
mite plans for currency reform to SUBJ
nit them to the committee, and re-
questing Comptroller Eckels to present
his views to the committee.