The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-22
DRESSES THE HOUSE COMMIT
TEE ON BANKING.
HIS VIEWS IN WRITING.
MAJORITY CRITICISED FOR NOT
GIVING THE FREE COINAGE
SIDE A CHANCE.
AT WORK ON THE BILLS NOW.
No Prospect That Any Pending
Measure VIII He Reported in
Its Present Form

| WASHINGTON, Jan. 21-Chairman
IoWne, OF the silver Republican COM
| mlttee, and A. J. Warner, of the BIZ
metallic league. have sent reply to
| the banking and currency committee
relative to the application of Messrs.
| Warner and Towne for a hearing be-
| fore the committee The committee
said it would hear the gentlemen in
support of any bill for which they
| might assume the authorship and re-
| sponsibility. The reply says:
| We think it proper to advise Won and
! the committee of the circumstances
under which the application was made
| on our behalf for a hearing. At a
meeting of the executive committee of
| the american Bimetallic union held in
| TINS city on the 18th inst, some infor-
| mai discussion was had respecting GER
tain propositions of currency legisla-
| ton now pending before your commit
| tee, viz: That of the administration
| commonly referred to as the Gage"
| plan, and that of the so-called none
| tary commission, constituted by the
indianapolis sound money convention
| or year ago, and recommended in adj
! vance by the president in his special
| message of July "a last.
The opinion prevailed that the wide
! publicity of an ex parte exposition of
| those measures by the present SUD-
| pcrters. such as results from the policy
governing the hearings thus far. was
| calculated to create a wrong impress
sion, and, from our standpoint. to do
| harm by giving general circulation TO
| views on banking and currency both
unscientiffc in theory, and ruinous in
| operation. Therefore, a resolution was
| passed, providing that an application
| be made to your honorable committee
Tor a hearing in behalf of representa-
| tIves of the American Bimetallic union.
| and we were designated as such repre-
| sentatives. Having for many years
been somewhat familiar with the pro-
! ceedure of committees of congress in
| similar cases, we could not anticipate
| the refusal of such a request. SO far
! as we are aware, this is the first time
| that, in matter of SO much impor-
| lance, congressional committee, en-
| gagged in giving hearings on a PROPOSE
| ton before it, has refused a full and
| fair hearing to both sides.
AT all events, the important commit
| tees OF ways and means, and coinage
| weights and measures, have uniformly,
! under such circumstances opened their
| hearings to representatives of every
! shade of opinion. Not to our knowl-
edge has it before been required, as a
condition precedent to being heard,
| that each witness should have had his
! own individual bill introduced and re-
| ferred to the committee. 1t seems clear
! to US that such requirement is Who'll
! ly Illogical and unreasonable. Under
it the affirmative would always have
| monopoly of the testimony, and no
| person satisfied with existing law on
| any subject could be heard against any
| proposition to change it, unless he
| should first have introduced a bill to
| keep the law as it is
In conclusion, we beg to assure your
| honorable committee that it was not
| the intention Of the American BimetaI-
| lie union to cause them any embarrass-
ment. The sole purpose of the appIi-
! cation was to furnish a way whereby
| the country at large might learn in
| their appropriate connection, the views
held by that numerous body of citi-
| zens who oppose any and all plans to
| substitute bank paper for government
| currency, and to commit the country
more thoroughly to the gold standard.
The committee on banking and cur
| rency, having concluded it's hearings
extending over many days, on the ques-
| tiCn of revising the currency, will begin
next Wednesday to consider the ques-
| ton - of a report of some one of the
numerous propositions submitted The
members of the committee differ widely
as to the outlook for affirmative action,
| some of those in leading positions de-
| clarlng that the hearings have demon
| strated that it will be impossible to Sc
| cure majority for any one proposition.
| Others are more hopeful and say that
| composite measure embodying the es-
| sential features of the Gage bill and
| monetary commission bill is likely to
| command sufficient votes to be report
! ed There is a general agreement that
| no one of the bills before the committee
! will be reported in its present form.
| There are seventeen members of the
| committee, five of them Democrats.
| Members favorable to the monetary
| commission bill say they hope to get
seven votes at the outset and later to
secure the additional votes necessary.
Some of the members counted in this
| seven, say, however, that they will not
| vote for the bill The situation within
| the committee is conceded to be very
| compiled ted. In view of this condition,
| a number of the members hope to have
| the general question of currency revi-
| sion put aside for the present and bill
| restricted to the three recommendations
| of the president reported. This also
| aroused counter objections, so that there
| is little on which to base predictions of
| the outcome.