Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-08-29
THE BANKERS GRAFT"
United States Treasury Run
In Interest of Wall Street.
FINANCIAL LEGISLATION WANTED

Vast Sums Poured Out to the stock
JObbers, Who Still Cry For More,
Further Aid Predicted by a New.
York Banker to Save the Pets OF
the Administration.
Wall street is still in the dumps and
does not seem able to rally. from the
enormous decline Gin the quoted value
of stocks. The NapOleons Of finance
are turning their eyes to congress to
help them and the select members Of
the finance committee of the senate are
preparing Il bill which IS intended to;
be just what the Wall street peoples
want. Very seldom has congress legis-
lated entirely as Wall street has die
ask for is just what the other people, |
who pay the taxes, don't want and
won't have if they can help it. AS long
as times are good in Wall street and
there are plenty of lambs to shear the
financiers make no demand for legisla-'
ton, but when the crop Of lambs has
all been sheared and the bulls and
bears undertake 10 strip the hides fromi
each other then the trouble begins, and
the president is called upon to order
the secretary of the treasury to "aidi
the banks and prevent panic"
Early in the fall of 1902, when the
first big break in the price of stocks.
commenced, the condition of the f1nan-.
cial weather in Wall street was squally,
and the secretary of the treasury, IN
der orders from President Roosevelt,
at once commenced to aid the banks in
every possible way. Bonds were pur-
chased at an enormous premium, the
price being virtually dictated by the
sellers. All the receipts from internali
revenue were deposited in the favored
banks and allowed to remain there.
without interest, and the vast sum OF.
over $1JO,000.O00 is now loaned to the;
banks. on which not l cent of inter
est has ever been paid. All this succOr
not being found enough to stem the
tide of liquidation, the banks We're al
| lowed to withdraw their United States.
bonds. which they had deposited with
the treasury as security for loans, and
| in place thereof deposit city and rail-
road bonds. This allowed the banks to
use the released United States bonds.
! to increase their circulation and thus
to further initiate the currency.
at the last session Of congress the att
tempt was made to pass the Fowler
asset currency bill and the Aldrich bill,
but the proposed legislation was de-
feated.
Then a further cry of distress came.
from the banks and Secretary Shaw,
! ~, ,P init 70 ocs
| bonds, which has just been closed with
an issue of over SS1 100000 of 2 per
cent in exchange for a like amount of
| and 4 per cents, the government pay
/ ing the enormous premium to the banks
and other bondhO!ders of over $780,
/ 600 for the privilege Of doing so. The
! statement is now made by Mr.. Selig-
man, one of the principal Wall street
/ bankers, that the administration is pre-
pared TO take further measures to re-
! Iieve the money stringency, if such
| becomes necessary, to relieve the pres
sure in Wall street.
President Roosevelt is officially quot
ed as favoring the financial legislation
| that the banks ask for and will issue
call for an extraordinary session OF
congress, to commence Nov. 9. for that
! purpose. All this shows that President
Roosevelt has authorized more and
greater favOrs to the banks and Wall
street than any president ever did, and
| all the efforts of Republican newspa-
| pers to make it appear that Wall street
! is opposed to the president is not only.
absurd. but not borne out by facts.
| The spook that worries Wall street is
/ Z 10. OF hnf
at any session just before Il national
election the politicians are on their
| good behavior and do not, as rule,
enact legislation that will be question
| ably received by the voters. That
| President Roosevelt will recommend
| financial legislation to congress is said
to be assured, but whether congress
will dare to legislate further in the in
terest Of the banks and Wall street is
| predetermined.