The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-29
SOME MEASUREMENTS CORRECTED

The New York Suns opposition to cur
rency reform leads it to make some very
erroneous statements in an editorial on
Hugh Hanna's Hopefulness AS a start
er the first sentence says: Mr.. Hugh H
Hanna. the brother of Senator Marcus A.
Hanna, of Ohio, shows a talent for being
jolly under difficulties which rivals that of
Mark Tapley in Dickens's Martin Chuzzle-
wit" Both of the gentlemen named might
be excused for showing some signs of jollity
at this statement, since they are no more
related than the editor of the Sun and
Admiral Cervera. The spirit of this state
ment, partly malicious and partly blunder-
ing, pervades the entire article in the SUM-
which is attempt to show that Mr.
Hanna is trying to foist upon Congress and
the country scheme Of currency reform
which has no intrinsic merit, no responsible
origin and no respectable support. The truth
is that Mr.. Hanna, instead of being the
self-appointed engineer of what the Sun
calls "a pet scheme of supplanting govern
ment paper money by bank notes." is the
authorized spokesman and officially desig-
mated executive head of the strongest and
most representative movement of business
bodies and business men that has ever oc-
Cured in this country. The Indianapolis
monetary conference, which the Sun says
Mr.. Hanna got together" was called by
the boards of trade of twelve cities of the
middle West and was attended by about
three hundred delegates from more than
one hundred cities in twenty-six States
Among the delegates were many of the most
prominent business men of the country-not
bank officers, bank stockholders and bank
borrowers as the Sun says, but leading
and prominent men in every branch of bust
ness. This was the origin of the movement
which eliminated in a plan of currency re-
form intended to supplement the sound
money campaign of 1896 and remove from
our currency system anomalies and dangers
which all financiers and business men agree
are continuing menace to the credit of
the government and the prosperity of the
country. The bill embodying these ideas.
which was finally introduced in Congress,
was Endorsed by a majority of the members
of the House committee on banking and
currency, and $50 members of the House
signed petition to the committee on rules
asking that it be considered at the recent
session 1t would have been considered but
for the pressure of war matters and the late
ness of the season. The Sun says 1.-THE bill
was summarily consigned by the House to
the waste basket On the contrary, it is
on the calendar and will be called up for
consideration at the next session. Mr..
Hanna said in a recent statement that there
is every reason 30 believe that the Presi-
dent favors the general principles of the
committees bill. The Sun says:
1t is true that in moment of weakness
President Mckinley put into his inaugural
address of March 4, 1897, passage recon-
mending in substance the retirement of the
government notes and the issue in their
place of the notes of banks. but he very
soon saw that in so doing he had made a
blunder, and has not since repeated the
recommendation
The Presidents inaugural message did not
contain any passage of the kind indicated,
nor any allusion whatever to the retirement
of greenbacks. In his annual message of
Dec. 6, 1897, he said;
I earnestly recommend as soon as the re-
ceipts of the government are quite sufficient
to pay all the expenses of the government,
that when any of the United States notes
are presented for redemption in gold and
are redeemed in gold such notes shall be
kept and set apart, and only paid out in
exchange for gold.
In his latest public utterance on the sub
ject, speech in New York on Jan. rs, 1898.