Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-09

LOWERING CURRENCY BILL

The Inter Mountain has heretofore re-
ferred br! fly . the Lowering nil, re-
Gently agreed upon by the COMMITTEES on
banking and currency of the house. Mr..
Lowering in discussing the measure, pre-
sents the features Of it in the attractive
way. The purpose of the act. he says Is
to provide for a currency when shai
have some degree of flexihiity, expand
ing to meet the demand wherever and
whenever business requires more money,
and contracting wherever and whenever
business falls off and requires less mon
ey 1t is expected that the operation OF
this law will afford relief to all parts of
the country. and especially to those see
tons where a large volume of currency is
necessary to move the crops during the
harvesting and smaller volume at 9th
er seasons OF the year, after the crops
have gone forward. Under the present
law at these periods currency is drawn
from the great money centers to meet
these urgent demands. and when it cam
not be thus profitably employed. finds it's
way directly back to the great money
c5nters. Unt,er the bill reported by the
committee in such time of need the banks
throu shout the country will issue their
own cur~encv. an it is expected that this
currency will. when not needed in any
gwen Locality. find its way back to the
banks that issued it, and avoid its con-
gestion in the great cities
Such is Nh Coverings claim. and he
declares that the power to issue credit
notes would be useful in time of panic TO
the banks of the great cities. The de-
mand Cor currency at such times is In
creased by the collapse of other forms of
credit Mr.. Lowering refers to the sus-
ne on of curr ncy payments by the
New York banks n 1898 and says that if
NOES could have been issued as provided
under his bill such suspension might
have been prevented. He continues that
such issues would have greatly 6imin-
ished. if they had not rendered unneces-
sary the issues of Gearing house loan
certificates by thu New York banks ana
use of the not would have tecn a va ua :
be expedient for meeting the temporary
pressure for money. There can be no
doubt of their ready acceptance by the
public. if the safeguards provided by the
! bill operate in accordance with all bank
| ing experience. The fact that the public
did not discriminate against even the
most doubtful form of money was sNowr
in 1898 by their Willingness to accept sill
Yer certificates. in spite Of the fact that
i the causes of the panic lay largely in the
eastern dis rust of the silver do,.ars and
of the ability of the government to sus-
tain them at par with god. What i
needs on such occasions is some form o
! currency Which is used as money. tn,
fact that bank notes do not excite dis
trust, but tend rather to diminish tn
pressure for coin, was shown in strik
ing degree in England, where the SUI pen
SION of the limit imposed upon the issue
of the Bank of England in 1S47, 1857 an
1866 almosl Immediately allayed the pres
sure for currency.
The chief claim of Mr.. Lowering is tina
this bill enters upon the system of a
elastic currency in a modest and tenta
tive way, in order that it's operation ma
be thoroughly tested in practice befoI
: the demand becomes imperative for
) large increase in the currency supply c
the country. The capital of the nation:
: banks reporting to the comptroller of tn
currency on Dec. IS, 1900, was $685., 355s
, 405. The maximum circulation attainab
under the bill reported during the fir.
r three years of its operation would be ont
e tenth of this amount. or 500, 90, $40 Tt