The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-20
THE MOUSE Is BORN.

The senate finance committee, ana
It's subcommittee, and the president
and his various political advisory
boards have been in labor for months
over a financial bill which they deem
it necessary to present to congress at
it's approaching session. If the teale e7
graph reports are correct, the noun
tain has brought forth a very ridiculous
mouse.
One item of the programme laid
down is the removal of the restriction
on bank note circu1ltion. permitting
more than $3,000.e00 to be retired in
any one month. This is very likely to
he the committees notion Of elastic
ity:" but the average man will look
at it as consent to contract the natiene
al bank circulation to any extent, and
with the utmost suddenness and sharp-
ness, whenever the banks might desire
it. The effect on interest rates is easily
calculable. The effect on business and
on the treasury, which will be called
upon at once to anticipate interest
payments on the public debt and to
buy bonds not yet due or payable at
enormous premiums, the people can
calculate for themselves.
The only other provision said to be
agreed upon is similar to the bill in=,
troduced in the last congress by Sena-
tor Aldrich This authorizes the de-
post of surplus receipts from the GUS
toms houses and from internal revenue
taxes in national banks on the security
of state, municipal and railway bonds.
This is very generally and, we think.
not unjustly regarded as step toward
securing the substitution of such secu-
rites instead Of government bonds as
a basis for note issues. If that should
come about it would produce an in
fation of the currency beyond the
dreams of any one except the ardent
greenbacker. who thinks that all the
printing presses in the country should
be employed night and day in turning
out paper legal tenders. To such COM
plexion has the Republican party come
at last.
The situation is Illustrative of the
utter decentralization of the party. 1t
is united upon nothing EXCEPT the de-
termination to carry the next election
and keep control of the offices for four
years more. Knowing that the country
demands a revision and reduction of
the tariff, it dare not lay finger on that
sacred institution for fear of revenge
by those whom it has blown big with
wealth and power until they are it's
masters. So the tariff is to go over.
Knowing that the time has come for a
readjustment of our currency system.
it dare not make a move except such
And there, too, most of it's leaders
shrek with terror at the idea Of an
nouncing anything that could be called
financial policy until after Novem-
Der. 1904.
SO limited, hedged, browbeaten and
terrified, it has cast about for some
way out of its difficulties, and this
f1edgeling Of the finance committee is
all that 1t can discover. 1t is not worth
calling financial measure. It will
satisfy nobody except the financial In
terests that concocted it; it will per-
form nothing except to make the f1nan-
cial problem more forbidding and
difficult to salve. Yet it is doubtful if
a majority of the partys vote can be
commanded for even this makeshift.
The Republican organization Is no
longer equal to framing a policy. II
is no longer inspired by faith orsled