The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-16
WHAT sOUTHERNERs ASK.
Resolutions Adopted by the Atlantis
Bankers Convention.


ATLANTA, Ca, Dec. 15.-The Southern
bankers convention met here to-day to
consider currency reform and recommend
measures which will give an elastic cur
rency and take the government out of the
banking business. John A Davis. of AL
bany Ca, was elected president and in a
speech declared himself to be in full SYM
pathy with the movement for an elastic
currency, but he said that the standard
must be that of all nations. Hon. Hoke
Smith, in his address of welcome, dwelt on
the resources of the South needing curren-
cy for their development. He urged that
coin alone was insufficient for any prosper
Gus country, and that the provisions in this
country for paper money were war meas
ures, now entirely inefficient. He advo-
Gated the retirement of greenbacks and
treasury notes and the substitution of
banks of issue under federal control. He
urged that the percentage of charge on the
issue should increase as the percentage of
issue increased. thereby making a cur
rency with elasticity sufficient to meet au-
tomatically the needs of trade. He insisted
that the government regulations should
apply as well to state as national banks
The next speaker was William w. Dods-
WORTH editor of the New York Journal of
Commerce. He condemned the national
banking system as inelastic and unsuited
to the needs of the country, and declared
the greenbacks curse which vitiates the
system. He favored authorizing state and
national banks to issue bills to 70 per cent.
OF their capital secured by first lien upon
their resources and the double liability of
stockholders, under federal supervision,
and redeemable at such centers as will
make them pass all over the country. He
he afFsxvr 101 fA
elastic currency, and this could best be
supplied through the issue of such banks.
After debate the convention adopted reso-
lutions suggesting ''such reformation in our
banking and currency laws as will take the
banking business out of politics.; take the
government out of the banking business;
avoid the expense and danger always at
tendant upon government issues by the re-
tirement and cancellation of the greenbacks
and the treasury notes of 1890 (by the sub
stitution of bank notes.; to demonstrate to
the world that credit of the United States
IS as high as that of any other nation; to
demonstrate that if our measure of value
be definitely determined and permanent
ly established, hundreds of millions of dol
lars from abroad and at home will seek
investment here; to keep every dollar of our
currency good enough to pass current in
every land; to increase the amount of gold
and silver in circulation among our people;
to give smaller towns the advantage of bet
ter banking facilities so that every honest
man will have meted out to him the credit
he is entitled to; to give producers of every
kind and in every section ample currency at
reasonable rates of interest to handle and
hold the crops of manufacturers until they
desire to dispose of them; to give lower and
equalized rates of interest throughout the
United States; to reduce our eight different
kinds of money to only two, viz. specie and
bank notes; to protect note holders and de-
positors under a just and equitable federal
law and supervision; to make all banks
equal under any law of the United States
providing for banks of issue: to prevent
bank panics and currency famine
1t was also resolved that business men OF
every State should come together in a
spirit of harmony and reason, agree upon
such financial and banking system as will
bring prosperity and happiness to the Ma
ton; that we believe this can best be ac-
complished by allowing banks with a capi-
tai of $4,000 and over to issue notes, to cir
culate as money, on commercial assets; that
under any laws of the United States per-
mitting state or national banks to issue
notes to circulate as money based upon
commercial assets the banks should be re-
quired to aid the government in the retire
ment of the greenbacks and Sherman notes
in such manner as may be found practical
and .I to the best interests of the people and
After the resolutions were adopted Mr.. J.
8. Carr, millionaire banker of North Car
olina, was invited to address the body. Mr..
Carr proved to be live wire. He came out
bald headed and bare footed" for free sill
YER II am free-siiver Democrat he de-
clared. When l get among bankers con-
fess that / feel lonesome, but have plenty
of company when / am with the rest of the
people. l am for state banks all right. and
l don't care If the notes don't circulate out
side the state of their issue. We want
money we can keep at home. The trouble
with this good money that circulates every
where is that it circulates away from us.
The gold standard may be all right for the
people up North, where they have plenty
of money, but we want something else.
got my ideas of political economy and
finance by hard knocks. ] tell you that the
alarm has been sounded in the watch tower
of the public, and the people are demand
ing that something be done. We had better
be doing it, too. l am for the dollar of our
daddieS. state banks and free SilYer.'