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 do you.
as chairman OF the committee on bank.
ing and currency, regard what the pres
ident says with reference to the finan-
cial situation, and what does your com
mittee propose to do with reference to
it?" was asked of Representative
Walker Of Massachusetts last evening.
1.-The banking and currency commit
tee said Mr.. Walker. lis fully alive 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 anothe
bond shall be sold to maintain its pay
ments. Tile committee does not under
stand It TO be its duty to propose any
bill 10 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 Inc labor
ing people of the country. Four bills
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
and shown to be fraught with the great
est peril and p~erplexity;' that the gov
eminent currency obligations upon
which gold may be demanded from the
reasury must be Withdrawn from cir
culatlon and cancled.' and again the
day of sensible and sound financial
me will not dawn upon US until the
government a%bandons the banking bus
mess
The embarrassment of the banking
and currency committee arises first be-
cause 1t has no faith that even a law to
allow the selling OF bonds by the treas
ury TO retire the legal lender notes or a
law allowing the secretary 10 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 lone April L.!
1866. to be repealed when only SIS. 000,-
900 was retired, and the second July IA,
1876, to be repealed when only $35. OOO.-
900 was retired. and a like fate would be
sure to meet sue a law IL passed today.
Second, the failure of those best quail
flied To do so to render the committee
any assistance in framing the bill to
accomplish what they are urging the
committee to do. The committee pro-
poses to devote its time to several hear
ings, open 10 all organizations that
have an interest in the matter. 1t does
not propose 10 listen to random talk as
to what ought to be done. The commit
tee is full OF such talk, and TO 10 profit.
What the committee ~solicits Is we'll
thought out schemes, formulated 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 devoiving the task of keeping
all our dollars on a par with gold on
the banks and to doing 1t 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 h 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 1t.
The problem before the committee now
Is anxiously 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 organisations with def
mite plans for currency reform to sub
NIT them to the committee. and re-
questins Comptroller Eckeis TO present
his views to the committee.