The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1902-01-18
FINANCIAL VIEWS OF SHAW.
The New Secretary Of the Treasury
| IL Sound In His Financial
Policy.


Propriety estops Gov. Shaw, our
next secretary Of the treasury, from
answering the natural questions Of
eager reporters as to his financial
policy" or from indicating how far
he agrees with Mr.. Gage and where
in he differs. Certain questions re-
lating to the great subject of ma
tional finance are justly regarded as
settled, at least so far as the sound
money elements of the country are
concerned. The gold standard is es-
tablished, the legal tenders are lin
pounded" and the independence Of
the treasury is safe. But certain inn
portant questions are outstanding,
and Mr.. Shaw's position with refer
ence to- them is matter Of legiti-
mate interest, says the Chicago Even
ing Post.
1t has been intimated that the new
secretary will suspend the purchase
of bonds and thus arrest the pres
ent tendency to withdraw bank cir
culation. He will probably do moth
ing of the kind. The provisions OF
the sinking fund sections are ex-
plicit and mandatory, and the new
secretary will no more disregard or
evade them than Secretary Gage has
done. 1t is equally safe to say that
the deposits of government funds IN
the national banks will not be re-
duced. The now familiar steps for
the relief of the market will be
taken when the situation shall i'm
pose such action.
An examination of Mr.. Shaw's pub
lie addresses on the financial and
banking questions will furnish an
swers to other and larger questions.
He will undoubtedly support the Hill
and Overstreet propositions for the
redemption of silver dollars in gold
coin. In one of his speeches he rec
ognized the danger of the metallic
green backs" and added:
"All / cantend for is that every note
signed by a solvent debtor, every cratt on
a solvent merchant, every deposit Win
solvent bank every piece of paper that CIR
culates as money and every coin shall ultl-
mately be payable, redeemable or ex-
changeabe in the standard coin OF TINS
country limo other way can II beprotected
from discount. Safeguard X as you may,
under conditions easily conceivable, the
silver certificate or the silver coin may be
at a discount, and so long as there Is the
element of danger, however remote, so long
there will exist on ever-present cause Of
panic"
With regard to our paper currency
Mr.. Shaw holds that its volume should
i ha of
country. and that it should be issued
exclusively by the banks. The time
he said once, sis past when the govern
ment should issue a part of the paper
currency and the banks part" Only
fiatists and paternaIsts believe that
the government ought to monopolize
the issue of currency, but the consen-
sus of progressive opinion certainly IA
vors the retirement of the legal tenders
and the withdrawal of the government
from the note-issuing business.
This logically leads to the question
of asset banking. Is Mr.. Shaw an adyo-
cate of that reform? Certain express
sions indicate that he is, yet his eau
ton and reserve show that he is by
no means radical on the question.
Here is what he said in one of his
speeches.:
"I repeat that currency based on assets
contains. in my judgment, no element OF
danger, except popular prejudice. This Will
vanish as the question Is discussed and ex-
planned by those who make study OF 1t.
The depositor would be in no worse con-
dition than now"
But in the same speech he declared
that elasticity could be secured with
out resorting to asset banking, and
that he recognized "a public prejudice,
akin to fear, against currency based
on assets, and prejudice, so long as it
exists, constitutes an element of dan
ger, even when the thing itself against
which the prejudice lies contains no
element of danger" Asset banking is
not a question of practical politics."
1t will come gradually and as the re-
suit of evolution. There will first be
provision for emergency circulation
and for branch neutrality-suspicious. de-
manded even by the most conservative.