Evening star., 1898-01-12

ed with Mr. Edmunds the effect of the bill
in contracting the currency, Mr.. Edmupds
did not believe contraction would occur,
or that bank reserves would be injuriously
affected by having the supply of green
backs limited and in part displaced by the
demand for gold.
Mr.. Newlands specified the limited guam
tity of gold in this country, to which Mr..
Edmunds replied that the metal flowed to
the point where it was most needed and
followed a law like that of gravitation.
Pursuing his questions, Mr.. Newlands
asked If the world had a sufficency of gold.
Not sufficicncy of gold or of virtue
| answered Mr.. Edmunds land that Is why
We are struggling for both"
|, was this that led to the rush to the
klondike. Speaking in droll fashion, Mr..
Edmunds said that he thought if Mr.. New
lands and himself looked after themselves
and lived ten years more they might see
such great stores of gold discovered that
1t would be necessary to make silver the
standard of value because of it's becoming
the more precious of the two metals
Ex-Secrctury FnirchfId's Views.
Ex-Secretary Fairchild next spoke on the
banking features of the bill. He prefaced
thls, however, by saying that monetary
standards were no more subject to govern
mental control than the tides and Winds
Il was a natural and economic operation
between individuals, in which each sought
the best. Governments had adopted stand
ards elIeady in existence and thus serving
the convenience of the people but they had
never created a standard. When a govern
nent sought to make standard it merely
Interrupted the natural law and embar-
rassed natural exchanges. The question
was not one of theory, but one of fact the
same as existence of steam or electricity.
IL was no more possible for a law to ignore
this fact of natural standard than to ig-
more the existence OF electricity. Making
titlng legal tender gave it no inherent
value.
Us IL to consider how intelligent private
individuals would conduct banking without
the aid of law, and from that judge what
the government can do. AS to the bank
note, there was no essential need of the
government being a factor.
Inc 1naln ground for government inter-
ference in bank note circulation was to ia
cilitate the rapidity of exchange, by giving
regularity TO an otherwise natural opera
uon between individuals. So as to the gov
ernment stamp on coin. The value in
the metal, and the government entered the
traLsaction by aSSaying and establishing
what the value was.
From this, Mr.. Fairchiid drew the con-
clusion that the government should aid in
the natural operations of exchange by aid
ing the rapidity of money transactions. and
beyond this the people should be left to
themselves. He emphasized the fact that
this government service was not SO much
10 lNe banks aS 10 the great body OF the
people who used the banks The bankers
could place Their capital elsewhere; the
stockholders Were not SO dependent on gov
ernment regula ton.
But the great body of the people used the
banks as d great beneticent instrument of
civilization, and it was the people not the
bankers, who Were helped by wise govern
ment action. This view, he said. removed
narrow preJudices and placed the subject
on broader public plane The design of
the banking feature of the commissions
bill was to facilitate the natural opera tionS
of banking and exchange, by adding the
governments aid toward rapidity, certainty
and safety of these exchanges
AT this point the hearing was adjourned
for an hour.
After the recess. and before continuing
Mr.. Fairchild's hearing, Mr.. Newlands
made motion that the committee on ways
and means and the committee on coinage
be invited to participate in these hearings.
He said the pending financial measures
involved bonds, which were within the
jurisdiction of the ways and means com
mittee and coinage, which was before the
coinage committee, as well as currency, to
which this committee was confined.
Mr.. johnson of Indiana opposed the mo-
ton, saying it would embarrass and delay
the subject, leading off too many inquiries
and bringing about the confusion of town
meeting. This committee should not abb
dicate its authority and invite confusion.
Mr.. Fowler of New Jersey said self-re-
spect should inspire the committee to pro-
The motion was then defeated, Mr.. New
lands casting the only vote for it.
Mr.. Fairchild then went on with his
statement.