The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-10-21

| ton in considering all these questions
! OF banking-all these mooted questions.
Men should satisfy themselves of the
| truth of the proposition that lay down
| as to the absolute safety of the thing
| as a whole, otherwise your country is
| nothing-the business of your country
! Is nothing at all. Bear that in mind,
| and then go on from that to consider
| any questions of currency legislation
| that YOU choose. But If you satisfy
| yourselves of that fact which I feel is
| perfectly true, then one can fight in
| telllgently-and more intelligently than
| If he has proceeded with his mind
| filled with the fact Of a failure here
| and there, he can more intelligently If
| he has eliminated those considerations
and taken the whole as n whole-con-
| slider all of these questions to which
| attention has been called in late years.
Another thing that think we need
| to consider, and consider very care
| fully, is the relation of the government
| to all of this business of banks, and,
| through them, of the country. I was
! interested in reading in the newspapers
last evening the speech of Treasurer
| Roberts, and the propositions that he
| made for making more secure the cur
| rency of the United States. That Is,
in my judgment, almost absolutely es-
sential to give an assurance of pros
| perity, continued without disturbance
| from time to time, through the cur
rency Of the United States.
AS A SUGGESTION.
would not state this as my opinion,
but would throw it out as a suggestion
| that great as the usefulness of the
| United States currency has been at
| times, vet in it's present condition be-
ing based for it's redemption unon the
| power of the government at Washing
ton. and, through political changes,
upon the will of the authorities at
Washington, the fear that the promise
expressed or implied of the government
would not be fulfilled has made the
currency of the United States a good
deal of a nuisance at times. In 1895,
about this time in the year, I think
| the currency of the United States at
that time came mighty near wreckinG
the whole of our business and it had
within its possibility the doing then
| within q few weeks of something that
| would have wiped out ten times over
all the service it had ever done to the
business of this country. That possi
! bility and that danger should, of
course, be removed. The propositions
| that have been made and which the
| president is making and which we hope
| will be enacted, will go long way TO
ltIllONC lllG pOoNlJtlllS VI lhC Nul SllbS
| issued by the government, instead of
being a public servant and public
! benefit from becoming public
scourge. 1t does not take us beyond
the safety, but it prevents its being
terrible menace to business.
And another thing that I was very
much impressed with when / was in
the treasury department-which is now
arising again, and 1 am glad to speak
| of it in the presence of the treasurer
of the United States-is our sub-treas-
ury system. This system of taking in
the treasure of the United States into
a vault physically all the revenues of
the government When the revenues
| of the government day by day equal
it's expenditures, or vice-versa, of
course no change is made; but when,
as in my time, our revenues enormous
| ly exceeded our expenditures, and when
as now the revenues are exceeding the
expenditures, and if this condition of
business prosperity goes on that diff
ference will probably increase.
INCREASES REVENUES.
Now at this very time when business is
so large, when so much is needed to carry
| on the business of the country, that
| very condition increases the revenues
| of the United states without corre-
| spondngly increasing it's expenditures,
W
when the business of the country needs
all the money 1t can set, the United
! States. by the very prosperity of that
business and by other circumstances
| that have created the need for the
money. is Withdrawing 1t from the pos
sibility of its use by the community.
| That is what happened in my time
when / was in the treasury, until we
came to a condition that threatened
| serious panic.
know went to New York
at that time, and l met my Old
friend Mr. Vermilye and one or two
| other gentlemen and we were looking
over the situation, and I recollect Mr..
| Vermilye holding up his finger to me
and saying: "Slr, unless you do some-
| thing-and it Is not question Of days,
! but it is a question of hours-you will
| see as bad a nanic here as ever was
| known" Think of the monstrosity Of
a state OF things that made a state
ment of that kind true? I. a young
man who happened to be at the head
of the treasury department to be taken
out to luncheon by half dozen bank
| eTs in New York and having it put into
| my head that there was that prodig-
ious power in my hands as govern
ment officer! And IL was true. For
| tunately II is a power that never has
| been abused, but IL is state of things
| that ought not to exist. This whole
| system of locking up outside of the
| money OF the country that comes in in
| public revenues, Is something that OBJ
tains, think, nowhere else in the
world eXcept in this country, l sup
pose it has its origin rather in fear and
jealousy OF banks. II certainly never
contemplated great revenues. 1t never
contemplated a condition such as we
then had and which we will have again
In this country.
ANOTHER SOMETHING.
Now, there is another something
and II does not make much difference
to you bankers; none Of these questions
make 80 much difference to the bank
ers as to their profits, as mankind Is
led to suppose; you go on I'm business;
you make money with good currency
or bad currency, and perhaps you make
more with bad than with good cur
rency-but the people who are your
constituents, the people whom you have
your charters in order to serve, they
need In their affairs a protection In all
these things, and you are occupying as