Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-11-28
WHAT of the FUTURE?
MR.. VANDERBILT. A NEW YORK
BANKER. GIVES WARMING.

Mr.. VANDERBILT. A NEW YORK
BANKER. GIVES WARMING.
The United States Treasury Nay Not Always
Be Able to Save Wall Street From Panic
Congress Should Provide Stable Monetary
System.
While the country is humming with
sounds OF prosperity and most of the
people are talking Of even better days
to come, there are heard here and
there voices OF warning, says the San
Francisco Call. The men who utter
them are not pessimists or calamity
howlers, but conservative business
men, who have seen many boom col.
lapse and have weathered many a
financial storm. They speak with q
wisdom gathered from q large expert.
ence when they urge upon the Ameri'
can people the Importance OF straight
ening out our financial system at once
before coming to the days OF strin'
gency that are inevitably approaching
One Of the latest OF these warning,
comes from Mr.. Vanderlip Of the Ma.
tional City Bank in New York. He
says a danger menaces this country
from the movement to aggregate in
dustrial establishments into single
great corporate units and to conver,
the evidence OF ownership into corpor'
ate securities which have entered ac-
lively into the stream Of financial op.
erations." That is one OF the evils oil
trusts to which but little attention has
been given by any except expert finan.
ciers. Mr.. Vanderlip asserts that to
keep up the prices of these vast quan.
titles OF new stocks that have been
put upon the market it has been al
ready found necessary to make large
borrowings. He then goes on to say /:
" Is it not we'll to ask, What OF the
future? If q hundred-million dollar
importation Of gold can serve as ba.
sis for an expansion of 90 many mil.
lions OF deposits and loans, what will
the expectation Of one hundred mil
lions meant Will not the answer lead
US to ponder on the probable effect ol
future gold movementsi Does our
foreign commerce give promise OF q
trade balance great enough again "a
induce gold to flow in this directionf' p
At the present time our financial
system is such that any sudden pres
sure upon New York can be met only
by relief granted through tho U. g.
treasury. Up to this time that reliel
has been ample and sanguine optimistl
doubtless sincerely believe it will al
ways be 90. Those who are in posi-
ton to know are, however, more than
doubtful on the subject, and some o'
them do not hesitate to assert posi-
lively that should such an emergency
come as Mr.. Vsnderlip forecasts, the
treasury would not be able to saw,
Wall street from . stringency thai
would affect industry all over the
country.
A summary Of the annual report o.
Treasurer Roberts 10 BY no means en-
couraging when the figures are consid'
cred in the light of past experience
and present needs. The report shows
that the available cash balance in the
treasury Was at its highest July /
1902. and has steadily decreased evel
since. At that time it amounted Il
$362, ,187. 1851. By October l it had de.
clined to $22l ,z53, 1894, and. owing ia
the large measures for the relief Of the
money market, it was reduced by No
vember to $206, ,42l.870. OF this
sum $146,885,Ol2 was in national
banks.
It will be noted that all OF the avail
able cash balance on the beginning oi
this month WAS in the hands Of the
banks with the exception. Of about
sec, 900 900. An eastern authority
says that the sum +" is regarded ~ lit
tie il any more than . fair working
balance. On . pinch this balance
might Be reduced with safety to $780,
00O, 900 or 80. .000. 900, but NO Secretary
OF the department likes to see it fall
much below $50 900. II the dc.
pArtment from now on returns to the
market through deposits in the banks
all current surplus revenue collections,
it cannot be fairly asked to do more"
It thus appears that the government
has about reached the limit Of aid it
can be reasonably expected to give to
Wall street, and such being the case it
is certainly high time for Congress to
Get about the task of providing the
country with rational and safe bank
ing and currency system. It would
be foolish to wait for tho storm to
strike us before We prepare for It.
Currency reform will be the chief duty
resting upon Congress at the coming
session.
KIPLING has been left out of the
new edition of the Encyclopedia
Britannica. But that once happened
to Tennyson. And both instances il.
lustrate the difference between q pass
ing popularity and enduring fame.
CONGRESS authorized an expepdi.
ture of s205, 900 for the renovation oil
the White House; $4,000 have been
-