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. 1l.-"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?" vas asked Of Representative
Walker OF Massachusetts, last evening.
"The banking and currency commit.
tee said Mr.. Walker, SIS fully alive To
the fact hat 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 sold to maintain its pay
ments. The committee does not under
stand it to be it's duty to propose N
bill to accomplish the desires of the
people, unless such bill is approved by
the banking mt 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 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
| lndl lie tdilltStlN BtfStlto NV hf'fS-
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 perplexity;' that the gov
eminent currency obligations upon
which gold may be demanded from the
treasury must be Withdrawn from cir
culation and cancled.' n again the
day Of sensible and sound financial
methods will nor Ha Nn pnnn uQ nnfil fhA
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 tho
surplus In the treasury, when there IL
one, to cancel such notes would stand
on the statute books over a succeeding
congress. The first was done April L..
1866, TO be repealed when only $59, 0O0,-
900 was retired. and the second July IA,
1876, TO be repealed when only $35, 0O0.-
600 was retired. and a like fate would be
sure 10 meet such a law IL passed today.
Second, the failure OF those best quail
ified 10 do so 10 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 it's time to several hear
ings, open TO all organizations that
have an interest in the matter. 1t does
not propose 10 listen to random ak as
to what ought to be done. The commit
tee Is full Of such talk. and TO no profit.
What the committee solicits Ia well
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 he 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 or
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 the United States to buy gold. The
anking and currency committee can
see no way OF maintaining the purchas-
Ing power Of all our dollar with that of
gold other than have the banks do Ii.
The problem before the committee now
Is a~nxiously awaiting a solution OF the
problem from a~nyone-farmer. wage
Garner, manufacturer, merchant oil
banker"
The house committee on banking and
currency adopted resolutions request
Ing commercial organizations with def
Mite plans for currency reform to sub
nit them to the committee, and re-
questing Comptroller Eckels to present
his views to the committee.