The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-10-17

one or the most important meetings
1t has held in years.
A movement was projected to have
anthracite made the fuel Of the navy
through congressional action; an in
vestigation was directed into the cheap
fuel possibilities of combining ]. Gard
ner Sanderson's culm gas scheme and
the newly invented gas engine: the Cs-
tablishing of a new industry employ
ing 225 hands was reported and many
other matters of an unusually impor-
tant nature dealt with.
For years it has been a fondly cher
ished idea of the board Of trade here
and of anthracite coal men through
out the whole region to have anthra-
cite substituted for bituminous as the
fuel for ships. The special commit
tee appointed to draft resolutions for
presentation to the national board of
trade hit upon what is considered an
entering wedge to the solution of the
problem of realizing this idea. The
scheme is outlined in the following:
THE ENTERING WEDGE.
To the President and Members OF the
Scranton Board of Trade.
Gentlemen Your committee appointed
to present, for the consideration of the
board, topics for submission to the Ma
tional board. for it's action at the next
annual meeting, would respectfully report
that after careful consideration they re.
port the following:
1.-BankinE and Currency.
Whereas, The government, not being a
a party in trade, cannot rightfully as
sumo or exercise the functions of a bank,
and that the true basis of all money cir
Culation should be positive value given
for its issue, and v hich value should all
ways be kept as fund for It's redemp-
| ton; therefore, the National board of
| trade declares THAI it has become abso
| lutely necessary that consistent and de-
lliberately-planned national monetary sys-
| TEN shall be mat gurated, the funda-
| mental basis of which should be:
First-That the standard money of the
commercial world is gold coin, and that
our country cannot and should not sepa-
| rate itself from other LGtions. 1t, there
| fore, is and must remain upon gold
basis, and its obligations should be paid
In gold.
| Second-That STEPS should be taken to
insure the ultimate retirement of all
classes of United States notes by grad
ual and steady process SO as to avoid in
| furious contraction of the currency or dis
| turbance of the business, industrial or
| agricultural, interests OF tne country. AS
a means to that end, we deClore in favor
of permitting the national banks to issua
currency to the par value of their bonds,
and we favor a reduction of the tax on
| their circulation.
| And further we favor the repeal OF SC
much of the present law as compels ma
tional banks retiring a portion of their
currency to wait six months before they
can again increase the same
| MI ctot to I
Whereas, BY reason of various decisions
of the United States Supreme court many
of the most important provisions of the
interstate commerce law are imperative
and fail to afford that relief to the busi-
ness interests of the country which the
law was eracted to secure; therefore, be
1T
Resolved, That the National board OF
trade recommends that congress imme
diately enact such amendments to the
interstate commerce law as will give Il
the commerce of the United States eqult
able, stable ard uniform rates of freight
or failing TO secure these, that the in
tersate comm cree law he repealed.
3.-Nicarauga Canal.
Resolved, By the National board o.
trade, that reaffirming its utterances fol
the past five years, it respectfully, bu
earnestly, urges upon congress such ac
ton as will secure the immediate com
pletion of the Nicarauga canal under III,
absolute control OF the United States
That the building of this canal is not onl,
a commercial and military necessity, II
view of our interests in the middle Pa
cifc and the far east but Is demanded
by every consideration of common pru
dence for the protection of our vast coas
lines upon both the Atlantic and Pacih
oceans.
4.-Department of Commerce and In
| dustlies.
| Resolved, That the National board o
trade respectfully urges upon congress
the creation of an additional executive
department of the government, to b
known as the department of commerc
and industries.
5.-That he National board of trade re
spectfully urges upon the navy depart
ment the necessity of construction an,
equipping all our ships of war, for tn
exclusive use of American COAL for tn
following reason:
First-Its smokeless quality, the alb
surdity of using a coal the combustion O
which advertises the presence of the shi
for miles beyond the ordinary vision o
the ship is too patent for argument. |
the use of smOkeless powder has becom
an absolute necessity, equally so is tn
use of smokeless coal.
Second-Its absolute safety from spon
taneous combustion.
All Of which is respectfully submitted.
+. L. Hitchcock, w. II. Peck, ]. A
Lansing, Committee.
CHEAPER POWER.
The cheaper power scheme was sug
gested by Secretary Atherton in hi
report on the commercial congress a
the National Export exposition in Phil
adelphia, which he attended as a dele
gate Of the Scranton board of trade