The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-14
ITS ANNUAL BANQUET
Marquette Club Entertains It's
Members and Guests.
PROMINENT MEN PRESENT
Whitelaw Reid Speaks On american
Diplomacy" Currency Reform"
Subject of C. G. Dawes Ad-
dress-One by Charlton.

Chicago, Feb. 13.-The annual BAN
quet of the Marquette club was held
this evening in the Auditorium. Many
prominent men from all parts of the
United States were present. Members
of the club and other invited guests
sWelled the total number at the banquet
to nearly 1000. The chief speaker of
the evening was Whitelaw Reid, men,
Der of the Spanish American peace
commission, who responded to the toast
American Diplomacy"
The Hon. Charles G. Dawes, comp
troller of the currency, spoke about
Currency Reform" He said:
The question of the changes in our
present law which should be made in
order to carry out the will of the people,
as expressed in 1896. in favor of sound
| governmental money and the gold
| standard. is one which confronts the
country and which, now that the clouds
of war have lifted is again receiving
careful and general consideration. The
year 1898 had demonstrated that our
| present monetary system, when sub
| Jected to the severe test of commercial
panic and deficiency in governmental
| revenues, had an inherent weakess
| winch, before that time had not been
| generally recognized.
| This weakness resulted chiefly from
two causes. The first cause was the dis
proportion existing between demand
| governmental currency liabilities and
the gold in the treasury with which to
| redeem them. The second cause was
| the fact that when these demand LA
bilities We're once redeemed In gold they
could be paid out again for government
| tai expenses. This enabled the public,
| coming again into their possession. to
| again present them for redemption, and
thus was created what was known as
| the endless chain.'
This defect in the system was one of
the principal subjects of discussion in
the campaign of 1896; and the success
ful party pledged itself to maintain
the soundness of our currency and the
| safety of the gold standard. which
this defect had so recently endangered.
Recognizing the duty of action i'll
| cumbent upon him, and his party, the
president of the United States, in his
| lrst annual message to congress made
the following recommendation: That
when any of the United States notes
are presented for redemption in gold,
| and are redeemed in gold. such notes
snail be kept and set apart. and only
paid out in exchange for gold This is
| an obvious duty
In his last annual message to con-
gress he repeats the recommendation
in the following words: In my judg-
ment the present condition of the treas
ury amply justifies the immediate
enactment of the legislation recon-
mended one year ago, under which a
portion of the gold holdings should be
| placed in a trust fund, from which
greenbacks should be redeemed upon
| presentation, but when once redeemed
| should thnrp9ftnr ha
| cept for gold
AT the time the first recommendation
of the president was made, other more
radical plans, involving complex
changes in our whole monetary and
| banking systems, were being earnestly
pressed upon the attention of the public
! by men whose abilities and sincerity
are alike unquestioned. None Of these
| plans then SO prominent, stood the test
| of matured discussion, and they have
been abandoned by their former sup
porters for still another set of plans,
which involve, in a general way, the
same principles, but which differ so
mental particulars that common agree
ment upon any one of them, even by
those who believe in the principles I'M
DERIVING them, seems impossible.
These later plans provide in effect
for the assumption of outstanding gov
turn for the privilege of issuing their
own notes to fill the vacuum caused by
the eventual retirement of these cur
rency obligations. These bank notes
are to depend for their chief security
upon first lien upon the commercial
assets of the issuing banks: and are
not to be protected by a trust deposit
of government bonds as security as
under the present system. I maintain
that this proposed preference of the
note holder over the depositor. differing
so radically in its practical effects from
the qualified preference provided by the
present bank note system would be
unnecessarily unjust to the depositor
class, and most injurious to the general
business community.
Inherent Injustice.
Gas fundamental principle of inher-
ent justice, the rights of a note holder
and depositor against the common as
sets of the bank, to which their money
was alike contributed should be equally
sacred. If grounds Of public policy and
the common good justify the infraction
of this principle, which Is recognized in
all of the older bank currency of the
world the public necessity must be real
and unquestioned. Such public necessity
existed when our present system Of ma
tional bank notes was inaugurated, and
conference was provided for, which,
however, is not at all similar to- the
preference proposed by these plans. No
argument is sound, though it may be
confusing, which is based upon the pro-
position that the present preference of
the note holder upon the United States
bonds deposited in trust from the first,
and then upon the assets of the bank
only in case of deficiency. is similar
in practical effect to the unqualified and
general lien given the note holder over
the depositor by these proposed plans.
Experience shows that loss is Incl
dent to the investment of the funds of
some banks in commercial assets,
which. under the operation of the law
OF average, results in a certain per-
centage of insolvency among banks.
The trainers of the present law pro-
vided in effect that the national bank
notes issued under the present system
should not be invested in commercial
assets but should be invested in gov
eminent bonds upon which there could
be no appreciate loss.
1T is reasonable to suppose that any
given bank would, upon insolvency,