The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-07
Breadth of the Proposed Currency
Reform.
MUST BE N0N-PARTlSAN
A NOTABLE EVENT IN THE HIS
TORY OF THE COUNTRY.
1t Must Not Be Made II Bankers Con-
yentiOn Bankers Commits
sion, Though 1t Is Proposed That
Their Interests Shall BE Protected
in Conjunction With Others.

Indianapolis, Ind. Dec. 6.-The move
ment of the business interests of the
country toward national currency re-
form, upon wholly non-partisan lines,
which has resulted in a call by the
commercial organizations of the cen
trail west for convention in this city
in January, promises to become one of
the notable things in the history of the
country.
1t is doubtful whether any of the
delegates to the conference last week
have any idea of the breadth of the
plan Mr.. Hugh H. Hanna, chairman
of the executive committee, has in mind
for accomplishing this reform. During
the conference, there developed a sharp
line of difference between those favor
ing the adoption of a currency plan by
the convention, which is to meet on
Jan. II, and those who believe that
that convention should simply discuss
the various plans presented and refer
the whole matter to a commission.
This difference of opinion did not crop
out until the closing hour of the session,
and then it was too late to go into the
subject intelligently. NJ. Z. ingalls,, of
Cincinnati, was the most forceful ad
vocate of the idea that the convention
should endorse a plan. He did this
upon the very reasonable theory that
congress would pay more attention to a
large and representative commission,
even though the commission repre-
scented the convention.
Mr.. Hanna led that portion of the
conference, believing that a commits
sion should be appointed Nothing,
however, is further from his mind than
that this commission, after completing
it's work of devising a currency plan,
cb fn 70 hi
hearing before committees, and ask
this member and that member to favor
the bill.
Il am convinced that we should have
a commission" said he in conversing
with reporter for the United Associ-
ated Presses today. This is not
question upon which a large convention
can make an intelligent decision in
day, or in a week. This is a matter
that will require two or three months,
possibly six months, continuous work
and thought. Every plan presented
should be carefully weighed, and out of
all that comes before the commission
1 believe it will be able to evolve some
thing that every intelligent business
man can heartily endorse. 1 think a
long step in this direction will be made
if this convention should select COM
mission composed of the very greatest
and best men we have in the country.
We could afford TO pay well for the
services of those who could not other
wise afford to devote the necessary
time to the work. Then when the COM
mission has finished its work, the larg-
est part of our duty remains to be done
in the thorough organization and con-
centration of the business of the coun-
try behind the measure. This is a mat
ter of so much Importance that we can
afford TO DO this, great as the under
taking is. Instead of sending a COM
mittee to Washington 10 ask a con-
gressional committee for a hearing, we
should. when a bill that we can all
indorse is evolved, ask our representa-
tive to come home for consultation with
his constituents. If the members
of congress with large business con-
stituencies can be thus thoroughly in
formed as TO the desires OF the men
who were potential in their election,
do not believe there would be any
doubt about the enactment of the meas
ure into law. l do not want to see
it made a bankers convention or
bankers commission, though I want to
see their interests as well as other
business interests represented. We
want to solve this problem for the
whole people, not for any particular
class OF people or for any particular
line of business.