The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-15
NATIONAL BOARD OF TRADE.
TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL SESSION
OPENED AT WASHINGTON,

The Annual Report of the Executive
Committee Adopted without IA Dis
senting VOte-A Considerable POr-
ton of the Report Devoted TO the
Currency QuestIOn-The Predic-
ton Made That silver VIII AgnIn
BE the Issue in 1900.
Washington. Dec. 14-The national
board of trade met here to-day for its
twenty-fourth annual session. ex-Gov.
Stannard of St. Louis presiding in the
absence of Frederick Fraley of Philadel-
phia, who has been president'of the board
since its organization in 1865.
The executive committee made its an
nual report, which was adopted without
a dissenting vote. on the subject of the
currency the report says: probably
there Is no subject which is still of such
importance as that OF the currency While
the great uprising in favor Of sound mon
ey in 1896 was not without it's good effect
there is still much to be desired in the
way of permanent prosperity which con-
dition is mainly due to the fact that the
future of our monetary system is still
largely in doubt Over-confidence In the
of free silver at the last election is a Sc
rious mistake.
While hard times are undoubtedly slim
uIus to unsound system of finance 1t is a
mistake to suppose that the numerous
friends of such systems win be entirely
satisfied by return of prosperity. Hard
times, which did not originate the silver
question, have undoubtedly been used by
interested parties to install false ideas in
to the minds of many of our working men
and farmers. which have become a part
of their political belief. A spirit of unrest
and dissatisfaction stlll exists among such
classes and there is no evidence that
among such any great conversion from the
free silver doctrine has taken place any
where in the country. In New York or
Nebraska the opinions of the dissatisfied
are now practically The same as before
the election. The form may have changed
As free silver was but form and natural
sequence of the greenback heresy, so now
the tendency is to become fiat money
rather than a silver fallacy; but in what
soeYer form IL shows itself, il has be-
come a general theory of pub
lie policy and conspicuous tenet In the
doctrine of a national political party. To
such the free silver or fiat money dues-
tion, and all considerations of currency
reform will be made subservent thereto.
! The only way to meet it Is by persistent
| education, for which purpose some Of the
sound money organizations have been con-
tinued and national one formed, though
without very much POPULAR interest or
support, and by the addition of a sound
financial policy including not only coin
age but banking and currency. While
our present system exists there is the
ever-impending danger of a repetition of
our late financial difficulties, when the
country would be at the mercy of those
who do not have its best interests al heart.
10 the absence Of careful attention In the
meantime-unless by some very unexpect-
ed contingency-we shall have an unpre-
cedented degree of national prosperity at
the time of the next general and presiden-
tial elections-we may expect to see the
fiat money issue the issue of the cam
paign.'
A report by Jonathan A. Lane of Boston
was adopted which advocates extension
of the civil service rules to cover the con-
sular service TO the end Of securing pract-
cal business men in the service, rather
than purely political appointees.
Another important recommendation was
that hereafter importers be compelled TO
attest their invoices before a magistrate
of the country from which the goods were
shipped in addition to their oath before
the United States consul. It is alleged
that several millions dollars are lost to
the government annually by upder-yalu-
alton in goods paying an ad valorem duty,
the oath before United States consul not
being binding in the country of export.
A report was adopted from the commit
tee on uniformity Of stale laws. This es
pecially looks to the unifying Of CONNER
ca laws in the various states. There Is
at present so great a variety among the
banking laws and laws relating to com
mercial paper that much confusion results
in the conduct of interstate business.
Several of the states have abrogated the
laws relating to laws of grace on CONNER
cal paper un1 there are many other va
riations which make II almost impossible
for business men to carry On transactions
outside their own states without the aid
of a lawyer at the other end of the line.
Somewhat in the same line, is the OBJ
ject of the Torrey bill, which received the
endorsement Of the meeting. This meas
ure relates to the unifying of the land laws
Of the several states 50 as to make the
methods of land transfer and the clearing
of titles the same throughout the country,
simplifying the various existing processes
reducing the expense to the minimum.
The recommendations of Surgeon Gener-
al Wyman for national quarantine law
were discussed at length and heartily en-
dorsed.
The New Orleans Board Of Trade and the
Atlanta Chamber Of Commerce were ad-
mitted to membership.