El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-08-17
What the Bankers Think of
the Return of Prosperity.
AN INTERESTING SPEECH,
President Lowry, Of the National
Bankers Association, Makes an In
teresting Talk Over the Bright
Outlook for Future Prosperity of
This Country.

DETROIT, Mich, August 17.-Th'
. spacious opera house WAS filled Il
Overlooking this morning at the open
. ing of the twenty third annual conven
. tiOn of the American Bankers assOcia
tion. The retiring president. Hon
: Robert L. Lowry, president of the
. Lowry Banking company of Atlanta
. Ga, called the gathering to order
: promptly at 10 o'clock. In its repre-
. sentative character the convention i:
even more Influential than last year:
; gathering at ST. Louis. every section
of the country being largely represent
ed by the presidents, cashiers or other
officers of national and state banks.
After making eloquent response to
addresses of welcome and paying a
picturesque tribute to Michigan and
Detroit, President Lowry went on to
say:
| ''One year ago we met in annual
convention at ST. Louis. At that time
the country was in the throes of
national election; party spirit ran high,
| and prejudices were aroused as never
before in my experience; the finances
of the country were seriously imper-
| illed and confidence shaken. At that
meeting this association, composed of
a class of business men who were in
| timately connected through business
relations with every branch OF indus
| try, and representing about billion
| of banking capital, declared most en-
phaticaly that gold was the only safe
Standard of value, and that this great
country, ranking as one of the fore
| most com M ercial nations of the world
could not join with other nations of
lower commercial rank in fixing on q
baser metal as the basis on which
sound currency should rest. The re-
cent discoveries of rich deposits of
gold throughout the world, and re-
newed energy given to the gold min
ing interest in Arizona, Colorado,
Georgia and other states of the union,
indicates the approval of our action by
providence. 1t is matter of con-
graduation that after a heated can
vass aud discussion of rearly a year,
the people of the country
through the ballot box, fully and COM
pletely endorsed your position. The
results that were reasonably expected
to follow this action of the people are
being slowly but surely reslized; con-
tidence, the foundation of all CONNER
cial prosperity, is being restored.
This assertion reeds no argument to
FOL hi jSh hn
felt by all who are not blinded by
prejudice, and whose sensibilities are
not calloused by ignorance. No one
will deny that our country, for the
last several years, has been passing
through the deep waters Of depression.
This we all know and fully realize, yet
while we hope and feel that we are
now where the bottom can be touched
and while we earnestly wish to reach
the shore of prosperity, we want that
prosperity to be based on the firm
foundation of confidence. We want
nothing sporadic, nothing sectional,
no prosperity of a class, but general
prosperity, prosperity not only for the
banker, the merchant, the manufac-
tarer, the farmer, the mechanic and
the laborer; in a word we want pros
perity which will reach out and touch
every section, industry and business in
this great country. To this end, gen.
tlemen, we are working, and this end
we will most cert rtainly reach by honest,
united and continued effort. 1t is most
gratifying to be able to say that with
in four months after the adjournment
of our association at ST. Louis, a none
tary convention met in January at In
dianapolis, Composei in membership
of manufacturers, bankers, merchants
and representatives from ne arly every
pursuit and calling, and that this con-
vention endorsed by solemn action the
declarat tion made by this association in
favor of making gold the only unit of
value, and recommending such reform
by congress OF our national
financial system as would bring about a
stability In the value of our currency.
as would make it equal to that of the
most advanced nations of the world.
The action of this monetary convention
in suggesting the creation by law of a
com missiOn to, formulate plan to
carry out the demand of the people, as
| recorded at the recent presidential
election, exerted an influence upon
president Mckinley which resulted in
formal message from him to congress
in which he endorsed the recommends
tion Of the Indianapolis convention.
While this message of the president
was not acted on by congress during
the recent extra session, we confid ently
expect that it will receive the i'm
mediate attention of our statesmen as
soon as congress shall assemble in re-
gular session: for no doubt the majority
of our representatives fully appreciate