The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-18
Secretary Gage PoOh-Poohs It as a
Figure Of Speech.
TWO G0LDBUGs TESTIFY
BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE
ON CURRENCY.
Gage Appeared as Banker of Forty
Years Experience to Aid the Com
mittee With Ills Profound Knowl-
edge-What He Hopes to See Ac-
complished.

Washington, Jan 17.-Secretary Gage
and ex-Secretary Fairchild were before
the house committee on banking and
currency today. for a further discussion
of the pending plans for currency re-
form. After considerable controversy
among members rs to how they were
TO be questioned, Chairman Walker
made the interrogatories.
In response to questions by Mr..
Walker, Mr.. Gage said he had been in
the banking business for 30 years; for
ten Years was president of the First
National Bank of Chicago, with cap
itaI oe $S,000000, and loans and dis
counts o. Sl6.909,0O0 to $20.0O0,0 00 He
assented to Mr.. Walkers question that
he appeared as banker and financier
of long experience to aid the commit
tee
The chairman asked if it were pos
sible to use paper money and keep it
at an equality with coin in purchasing
power, without the coin on hand. Mr..
Gage answered that he thought not.
Without the specie on hand, there was
a tendency to DISTRICT, if not panic,
and to a demand for specie.
ENDLESS CHAIN.
Referring to the ''endless chain pro-
cess" Mr.. Gage said it was figure of
speech applying to all financial opera
tions where obligations come in and
went ort o. a circle. So long as the
obligations We're met, the operation
was not a horrible thing, but was right
and necessary. Mr.. Fairchild assented
to this, saying this circle, by which re-
demption was accomplished. was essen
tial in banking, but that the evil lay in
the fact that the government had not
60. hi
demption absolutely regular and GER
tain. Lacking these facilities, fear was
inspired and the demands for gold in
creased.
Mr.. Gage made a general statement
Of what he hoped to see ultimately ac-
complished as a permanent financial
system.
1T would be a condition of affairs
with national banks made safe to the
people without specific security there
for. wisely restricted by laws so as to
prevent such evils as might arise. and
with the entire elimination of the Unit
ed States government from paying its
debts by giving other debts in pay
mert-"
WHY NOT NOW?
why not accomplish this now?''
asked Mr.. Walker. Theoretically there
is no reason why it should not be done
now; practically there are many rea-
sons. The predisposition of the people
is in favor of government notes. be-
lieve the economic loss to the people
from this system, although unknown,
outweighs the narrow advantage OF the
mere saving in interest secured by these
government notes. You cannot change
the minds of the people. They are
timid and suspicious of bank note is
sues. They do not believe that any one
can uphold a system such as 1 have
sketched without selfish and sordid mo-
tives. They fear it involves hazard and
loss. They recall the period of wildcat
banks. 1t is desirable, therefore, to
make the first steps so simple as to
show the people il involves no dangers,
SO that in time the full development of
the plan would be responsive to public
sentiment
In the course of the discussion Mr..
of minnesota made the state
ment that every Republican on the
favored the gold standard
of the monetary commits
sion bill, when Mr. Holt of Connecticut
protested that this was not correct. The |
examination Of eX-Secretary Fairchild |
was then resumed.