The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-10-02
SHAW AND THE
CU|RR.EN'C''YS SYSTEM.
Must Have q Panic Before There
Shall BE Any
i Change.
THE PROBLEMS UNs0LvED.
lie Money Market is Behaving
Exceeding Well Under
the Strain.
tspcclal to rho rlmca. DIspat ch.)

b Special to Tho 'rmcs. Dlspatch.) So
NEW YORK, October 1.-The abound
Ing optimism OF Leslie NJ. sluw, sccrc.
thry OF the Treasury, 10 provcrbial, but,
II was never better cxemplliicd than In
hIspaddrcss to the Ohio Bankers Associn-
ton, at Cleveland, on Thursday. After
! stating that In Ills opinion the currency
system Of tho United States WIS tho best
In tho world, he qualified his assertion
by stating that the soistcm was not per-
feet, and 10 cup Tho matter stated that
& The country does no appreciate the dan
gerttiat threatens from, the impcrfcctions
whicl, are Inherent III this best currency
system OF the world" ,,g8
Most Illogical.
no state that IL currency system IS
the best In the world" and In the same
I breath that It brought uB to the verge
or n panic on September 80, 1902, that Its
defects are n constant menace and that
these defects stand little or no change
Il or remedial legislation until tho country
shall have experienced Il panic, due to
&tlc lack or elasticity in the circulating
medium, ia certainly most liberal. One
4 can we'll imagine the contempt with
which flnnnciers at hoeSanmd abroad re-.
gard such nttcrnnccs for f3one thing Is
better known than another It Is that the
a United States has the poorest currency
system OF any Of the worlds leading
nations. M III
IT is IN Secretary Shaw's remarks that
there Will be no further currency log
!slntion until we shall have experienced
panic, occasioned by that want or clas-5
ticlty" that his singular optimism, as
hcrts itself. We had just such panic
In 1893. arising, TO be sure, out OF the
silycr-purchas act, but, during Its
Fpcndcncy md after Its conclusion, out
entire archaic currency system passed
under review, ard the defects, admitted
now by Secretary Shaw, were ventilated
at great length.
For Monetary Reform.
The country had It's panic und the
country had It's agitation, and the Prcsi-
dental campaign OF 1896 was fought out
on the lines OF monetary reform. They
elected their President In Mr.. McKin-;
ley. And what did they get in return
for their panic. with all It's terrible
losses? Well, whatever It was, It was
not SO great remedy or. so great a
change but that the Secretary Of the
Treasury OF tho United States stands UP
II, company OF bankers at this dime,
only nine years after the first sound
money campaign. and not che year since
IL third campaign was Terminated. in
which sound money entered as a factor,
and admits that evils are not corrected
that dangers, OF which the public knows
not OF, thrca ten. and that panic only
can hiring Legislative remedy. h
SG5 Every one knows, OF course, that some
thing beneficial did result from the panic
OF 1893, but the most important OF MI,
and thu act that stopped the panic, oc-
CURED In tho administration OF Pres-H
dent Cleveland. when the Sherman Sill
Ner- purchase act was repealed. BY leg
fslutlvc enactment the country irrcvoc-
ably pledged Itself to the gold standard.
and took no other means to enforce It.
mains a flnt--nothng more-to this day
Problems Unsolved.
The weeks developments have by no
means determined the money market
.rroblen,s. It is admitted that in conse-
qucnce Of the severe strain of tho week
Thai the local money market behaves ex-
cecdngly we'll. But 1t is by no means
determined that the problem Is domes-
tic. On the contrary, the trmer ten-
dency noted everywhere. including in
addition TO the usual European markets,
snch remote centres rs Stockholm, Cal
Sullu, IcIlitu hIlu loueNOS hyIeSs SOcS "
indicate that 1t Is n world problem The
era OF cheap money appears to DO over
ior the tlmo being. the theory OF gold
production permanently altering money
lates appears to be knocked on tho
head, advocates OF the theory OF a new
/ Official economy seem again TO have
proven themselves false prophets.
We have done our part, To what may
turn ont MischeYolls by manufa c ss5syssss
.Kg millions ana millions OF bank notes
md Increasing tho national bank circu-
lation, at a time OF easy money the
world over. Wc have utilized this rs a
pnsIs to enormously expand our credit
obligation, and to initiate stock prices TO
The highest level In tho country's his
tory, using these fictitious prices as n
basis OF credit Imitation Money may
not como back as readily as some per-
cons believe, and If by so doing It cheap
tns rates, with the demand for funds
abroad, tho tide of gold may flow
& gainst US.