Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-10
Financiers Give Their Views to a
Congressional Committee.
EXCHANGE OF GOLD AND SILVER COINS
Secretary Gage Declares the Ques-
ton Involved Simple.
MR.. LEWIS SEN S A T1ON

| inent financiers today appeared before the
House committee on coinage, weights ant
| measures, at the request of the committee
| and gave their views on the Overstreet
Levy and Hill bills to maintain the parity
| of the money of the United States.
| The three bills, although containing diff.
| ferent provisions, each provide for the ex-
| change at the option of the holder of the
gold and silver coins of the United States
| To accomplish this the Overstreet bill au-
| thorized the Secretary of the Treasury tc
| use the gold reserve fund in the treasury
and the Levy bill authorized him to issue :
| per cent bonds.
| Before the hearing Chairman Southard
read letter from John II. Rhoades. the
chairman of the finance committee of the
New York chamber of commerce. heartily
fndorSing the bills and urging the enact
ment of the proposed legislation at this
session of Congress-
Need for Legislation.
1--WE believe" said Mr.. Rhoades, that
the sooner any and all defects in the legls-
lation of the previous session relating to
the maintenance of the gold standard are
removed the better it will be for the coun-
try at large and for business in general,
and also feel that action in this direc-
ton should be taken now at the present
session of Congress rather than be delayed
and acted upon at the next session of Con-
gress when another election is approac ching
The marvellous development of the mercan-
tile interests now in progress demands, in
our judgment, the serious attention of Con-
gress in order that the groundwork may be
laid and the superstructure begun of a
broad and comprehensive banking system
| which will be adequate to the needs of the
coming generation; and the first thing to
be done is to fix beyond cavil and question
he 90
finance shall rest. In the judgment of the
| ma jority of members of Congress the fund
ing Of the government debt was decided upon
in order to give increased facilities for an
increase of the national bank circulation,
but | fear none of us realizes what lies be-
fore in the way of expansion of busi-
ness during the coming twenty-five years
of this centuryS growth and how quickly
the vacuum thus created will be filled up and
we will once more find ourselves face to
face with a need for currency at a time
when a quick expansion of credit is abso-
lutely necessary to prevent financial d1sas-
ter and a monetary panic"
Horace White said he assumed that no
argument was necessary in support OF the
gold standard. The only question a issue
was the means to be placed at the disposal
of the Secretary of the Treasury to secure
its maintenance. He then took up the lam
guage of the bills and gave the Hill bill his
Endorsement.
Effect of the Law.
Mr. Shafroth of Colorado asked whether
to make silver and greenbacks exchange
able in gold did not in fact make them
simply promises to pay in gold.
Certainly" replied Mr.. White.
Then you desire to impound $500, ,OOO, 600
in silver and eventually dump the silver on
the country as bullion?''
Not at once, but gradually" replied Mr..
White. I'VE should do just what Germany
hnc II l,,0lr e
could get back half of what we paid for the
silver"
Questioned further Mr.. White said fail
ure OF crops-anything which would greatly
lessen the demand for money-would send
silver and silver certificates, under the pres
ent law, into the treasury and eventually
cause disparity between the price of gold
and silver because of the governments in
ability to pay gold.
Mr.. Hill of Connecticut said that in his
opinion the two dangers which threatened
the gold standard were the greenbacks and
the silver. OF those two he considered the
former the greater, but the country seemed
to think otherwise. He asked if Mr. White
did not agree that much of the silver could
be recoined into subsidiary coin and the re-
mainder made exchangeable.
Mr.. White agreed to this proposition.
Secretary Cages View.
Secretary Gage said that the question in
volved in the bills before the committee
was simple He agreed with Mr. White
that in times of dullness or business de-
preston the bankers and other holders of
money in the centers Of population would
gradually withhold gold and allow silver
and silver certificates to pile up in the
treasury through the payment of Gus tom
dues and taxes If Congress failed to make
gold and silver exchangeable it implied
doubt to whether they were at parity
AS long as this doubt, no matter how
slight it might be, existed the bankers and
the holders of money refused to take the
risk.
"Why should they take the risk" he
asked, 'if you refuse to remove it? Why
charge them with responsibilities you will
not take?" he asked, striking the table en-
phatically. Secretary Gage said that his
experience had taught him that if ii man
showed the slightest inclination to evade
responsibility for enterprises he had under
taken he was hurt in the community 1t
was the law of life, said he and it was
a pretty good law. He saw no risk in the
government removing every doubt as to its
policy and purpose.
A More Honest Course.
Mr.. Cochran Of Missouri asked the Sec
retary If silver was to be made redeemable
in gold why 1t would not be better from
the standpoint of economy to sell the silver
and place it in the gold fund for redemp-
ton purposes.
disturbing the money markets." replied
Secretary Gage, IT think that course would
be more honest"
At the conclusion of Secretary Cages
statement the committee took a recess
until l o'clock. when Director Roberts of
the mint and Representative Lowering OF
Massachusetts, were heard.
MIR. Levy's Sensation.
Mr.. Levy of New York, who was present
to advocate his bili created something of
a sensation by stating that Mr.. Bryan, the
recent democratic candidate for President,
had told him that II elseted President he
would find way to pay the obligations OF
the government IN silver.
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TO PROTECT WASHINGTON.
Crooks Will Not he Welconae ut the
inauguration.
Rpecisl Dispatch to The Esenfng Star.
CHICAGO. Ill. January 1O.-The board Of
sOvernoEs Of the eentf2l hureau Of taentif-
caffon in session here had faian a<<fo,,