The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-19
The Problem Discuss
ed by Mr.. Walker.
FINANCIAL SYSTE M.
Reform in Laws Is Impera-
lively Demanded.

Joseph FL. Walker of Worcester, Mass,
tonight delivered an address before the
Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences,
taking as his subject THE currency
problem of the United States" The
president of the institute, A. A. Healy,
introduced Congressman Walker.
Our present financial system, he de-
clared, is the most unscientific and
wasteful Of any devised that attempted
to maintain it's paper money at parity
with gold. He quoted Secretary Gage,
ex-Secretary Fairchild and ex-Comp-
troller Eckels as having admitted in ex-
animation before the banking and cur
rency committee that our financial sys-
TEN is the worst of any in the world,
and said that all financial writers and
experts were now agreed that reform in
currency laws is imperatively demand
ed.
| The greatest currency question, ac-
cording to Mr.. Walker, is to maintain
paper money at a parity with gold
without putting the burden of risk and
expense upon the government. No
other government, excepting ours, he
said. attempts to maintain the parity of
paper money, and he strongly advocated
placing the burden of maintaining par
ity upon the banks.
| The speaker warned the people that
! our present system is insecure and
that We may awake any morning and
find ourselves on the threshold of panic.
| The seeds of doubt, fear and finan-
cial panic" he said, "inhere in and are
inseparable FROM any system of issuing
or redeeming paper money through
government treasury. The seeds may
lie dormant, as they did in 1892, and as
they do now, but we may be sure that
they are terminating. The fury Of each
financial storm will exceed that of the
previous one, even as that of 1898 did
all that went before it. This is neces-
sarily so, because the intricacies Of the
manufacturing, transporting, trading
ana banking interests are increasing
with tremendous rapidity and in far
greater ratio than their volume
Before we can proceed to any correc-
tion OF the evils of our system, it is ne
cessary to ascertain what the people
WI not allow to be done, as we'll as
what ought to be done. In the first
pace, they viii not allow the United
states legal tender notes to be retired
either by selling bonds, using the sur
plus revenues, or by changing them in
10 gold certificates, and congressman
VIII not face defeat in voting for such
propositions.
Secondly, they will not allow law to
be passed that In terms demonetizes the
SILVER dollar by setting aside a gold
fund and thus inviting their presenta
ton to the treasury to be redeemed in
gold. -
Thlrd, the people never will consent
TO allow banks to put in circulation any
currency not obtained of the comptroller
OF the currency and the payment Of
winch is not guaranteed by the United
States.
"Of course" said Mr.. Walker. 1--WE
cannot
Oh state banks But we should incor
porate into our system all the good
tnat was in them The best banking
system the world ever saw was the
old New England Suffolk bank svs-
tenn. The state banks of New England
the Atlantic states and Louisiana were
as sound and well managed in every
way as are banks of today. A few
wildcat banks in the west and south
west cast discredit upon the whole sys-
TEN OF state banks, and the memory
OF the mischief wrought by them is SO
strong In the minds Of the people that
tney VIII not hereafter accept any cur
rency not issued under national super
vision. For this reason we must nro-
vide true bank currency which shall
pc issued to the banks under the direc-
ton of the comptroller of the curren-
cy, who shall exercise the same suner-
ultimate redepmion OF this currency
must be guaranteed by the government.
10 enable IT to make this guarantee
the government should impose upon
the currency in actual circulation
nominal tax Of one-fifth of 1 per cent
per annum. All past experience Of
failed banks shows chat this tax would
be ample to provide redemption fund
to pay four times the losses from all
failed banks"
Mr.. Walker said that five general
bills had been presented to the com
mlttee on banking and currency, no one
of which accomplished the reforms
aimed at He vigorously denounced
the use of bonds in banking, declaring
that bank was robbed of its capital
when 1t was compelled to buy bonds
before 1t was allowed to do business;
and he ridiculed all proposed measures
of reform which offered a little relief
now, and more later on. In answer to
the criticism of those who held So
called conservative views" and pre-
ferred to take but q short step at first
he declared that it would be equally
sensible to build one span of a bridge
across a stream, allowing the people
to use that span for time.
and later on build another span. No
relief can come to travel, he said
without completed bridge and no
relief can come to our financial ills
without thorough and complete reform
from the ground up.
His own bill, Mr.. Walker said. he
had not pressed, and 1t never had been
formally considered by the committee.
but II enacted into law il would re-
lieve the Treasury Of all responsibility
for current redemption Of paper money
by putting it on the banks. would take
bonds out of the banking system and
allow banks to issue true bank curren-
cy, and would save $50, 900 out of
the $4,000 900 needless expense now in
volved in maintaining our present
wasteful treasury system.
To abolish reasonable fear and to
prevent panics like that of 1898" he
said, the United states treasury must
be relieved from the current redemp-
ton of all paper money and from the
responsibility Of maintaining parity.
Restore to the banks the right to
issue currency against their assets a
right the people enjoyed until 1863 by
levying a forced loan on them in or
der to make a market for government
bonds.
This will place our finances on
sound basis and make our currency
cheap, abundant and flexible"