The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-24
Monetary Reform the Text of the Secretary of
the Treasury.
Notab1es
Present..
Van WyCk
Lamont, Eckels, Alger and Other Prominent
Men Among the Guests.

NEW YORK, Nov. 23-The 129th an
| nual dinner of the New York chamber
| of commerce was given at Delmonico's
new restaurant, Fifth avenue and For
| ty-fourth street, tonight. Men distin-
| guished in professional and commercial
| life were present, and the beautiful
banquet hall was taxed to it's utmost
capacity. Secretary Of the Treasury
Lyman J. Gage was the guest Of honor
and the chief speaker. Alex E. Orr,
president of the chamber, presided.
Among the other guests were Secretary
of War Russell A. Alger, Gov. Frank
J S. Black, Comptroller of the Currency
J. H. Eckels, Mayor William L. Strong,
President Daniel c. Gilman, of Johns
Hopkins university; Maj. Gen. Wesley
| Merritt Commodore Francis M. Bunce,
U. S. N; Carl SchurZ and Whitelaw
Reid. Seth Low, who is an honorary
member of the chamber, was not pres
ent. Neither was Mayor-elect Robert
! A. Van Wyck. In fact, it can be au-
thoritatively stated that the latter was
not invited. Prominent among the
! chambers members present were John
Jacob Astor. August Belmont, Calvin
S. Brice, John Claflin, Henry Clews, S.
| V. r. Cruger, Chauncey NJ. Depew, w.
! T. Eckert, H. M. Flagler, Charles M.
Flint. E. NJ. Hepburn. Brayton ives.
! M K Jessup, Jordan L. Mott John H.
Rhodes, Gustave H. Schwab, James
| Speyer, John H. Starin, A. P. Stokes,
Henry Willard, H. w. Cannon, ]. S.
Crimmins, Daniel S. Lamont, George
Gould, Herman Ridder, Charles A.
| Schieren, Isidore Straus and Nathan
Straus.
1t was long past the appointed time
when President Orr arose and made
the Introductory speech. The health
of "The President of the United States
was then drunk standing, with three
rousing cheers, while the orchestra
played THE Land of the Free
Secretary Gage was flatteringly re-
ceiyed when he rose to speak to the
toast Currency Reform, Now or
When?'' The secretary read his speech
from manuscript. He said:
Our fathers had grave problems TO solve
Our own are equally serious. They are even
more complex. The fidelity shown by I'm, the
That is the price through which tne g9oa g9Od
we enjoy may be honorably possessed, ADDED
| TO and passed on to those VINO IOilOW US.
We are met just now with one of those
| problems which must be bravely FACED ana
| wisely solved. 1t is a question fundamental
in material sense to the weIfarG ot eoeTS very
stitutes our national life. 1t touches the
humble and dependent more closely than II IT
does the strong and powerful, although IN IN
its final determination the rar-reachlhe ues-
TIMES Of ali are involved
For four years its injurious shadow has de-
pressed industry and enterprise TnanKs 10
= Of
declaratory voice uttered IN November iast
assurances have come to lift doubts, to pan
ish fears, to brace hope, and to lend courage
This happy reaction in enterprise now WI
| nessed-the stimulation to industry-Whlch
has followed this new assurance Is cono
frmatory evidence of the blghtlng lhhuence
of that fierce propaganda for tree Silver
and semi-repudiation that met its Just re-
buke from the freeman's ballot in 1876.
Speaking broadly, 1 believe that the shape
and destiny of our national life as 1t may
he affected by financial legislation, II is TO
be determined within the next four years
Four years is period SO short IN Reop1g anS
to require in substitution the more imme-
date. omnipresent now.
The forces and energies which found vic
tor;ous expression in the last election are
as Significant now as they were then. Are
we intelligent and courageous enough 10 tahe
the action their present warrant Jusunes
| and secure the future against the dangers
which have been for the present overcome?
| II is said that under present conditions 1t
| is impossible that Obstructontsts can hlnoer
and defeat the popular will; that agitauon
on so delicate a subject the money stand
ard is disturbing; that we have the best OF
guarantees that for four years the present
status will be maintained; that the revival
of business will be best assured by the
policy of inaction. Covered in one sentence
ali this is summed up in the much abused
maxim LET we'll enough alone. me maXlIll l
we'll arolied is indeed wise One but the
wisdom of it lies in the application of it:
When ultra conservatism applies it to Jus,
h.,1,t gINad nT1n1I 1Icyh'
of well enough it is fatally mlsappi@lea; @
That the condition of our currency and
banking system is "bad enough" is certihed
to by the deliberate Judgment OF the great
body of economic students and by general
consensus of opinion among business men.
II certainly is not well enough with
banking system utterly inelastc and cor
responding;y irresponsible to the domestic
reouirements Of trade and industry TO which,
in its proper relation, the banking system
would be the faithful and efi1cient hanu-
If is not well enough with the national
treasury awkwardly performing an once
which is entirely foreign 10 us props 1hsontaiv
had when the result is a public treasury so
expanded in it's demand liabilities In a tune
of profound peace as to threaten lts soiVemcs cs
in case of war. The text to which L was
called to speak is thus stated: currency
Reform-Now or When!
Bv implication l am absolved from all opll-
cation to discuss the how" or to go into
details to achieve currency reform This Is
a great relief to me for two reasons;
First-It might be injudicious to anticipate
here and now what it will be my Official DUTY
to set forth little later on.
Second-It would be to enter at once the
field of greatest controversy, where doubts
and fears are most numerous and where
passions and prejudices have their freest
Everyone favors reform-his kind of re-
form. Many are willing to have reform,
anybody's kind, if it can be had without
: | struggle and free of cost Others, seeing that
the path of virtue leads to serene and restful
planes, are willing to walk in the way of it,
even at the cost of present pain and sacri-
flee.
faddsts of every kind who will tolerate no
method not individually their own. The sec
ond group, the Indifferent many, prate re-
form but are fruitful only in objections.
The third group, convinced of the wisdom
| of reform-and reform now-and perceiying
that in natures order every good acquired
involves some sacrifice made, must stand
together in patient persstency and work
along the line of least resistance (for this,