The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-30
Replies TO Nashville Letter Ques-
tioning Treasury Methods
WRITER'S NAME NOT GIVEN
Secretary's Answer to Enemies That
Treasury Comes to the Aid of the
Stock Gamblers, the Real
Cause of High Money.

Washington, December 29.-In a letter
to a correspondent residing in Nashville,
/ Secretary Shaw repudiates the suggestion
that the United States treasury ever has
come to the relief of stock gamblers. The
correspondent in question whose name is
withheld insists that such relief has been
given gamblers and money sharks the
real cause of high money in New York."
and inquiries how long WIN the practice
continue. The correspondence was made
public at the treasury department today.
The letter to the secretary reads:
Relief to Stock Gamblers.
Pardon this letter. l hope 1t viii re-
ceive due consideration if not an answer.
: | have often noticed the relief given the
stock gamblers In New York by the gov
| ernment. | do not see what right the gov-
ernment has to do this. How much longer
will the treasury come to the relief Of
/ gamblers and money sharks, the real
/ cause of high money in New York? You
! know it is like this: The big game sell
stocks call loans make tight money,
stocks go down. suckers lose big game
mon, everyday man, and may be wrong
in my conclusions, but | think not. l see
by the papers they are after you again.
Some people are hard to please
I To which the secretary made the follow
ing reply:
Shaw Replies.
Your letter of December % is
ceved and | note your sentiments with
,l.Io lstfa i-
| so courteous and voices accurately
| the view of many well-intentioned people,
| that | am constrained to answer it some
what at length.
| you seem to proceed upon the theory
that the existing monetary strlngency is
caused solely by stock gambling. In this
you are in error. Some people gamble IN
! stocks, some in cotton, others in wheat,
corn pork and la d, and some in land.
When times are good, people will specu-
late liz nything and everything that pos
scsses a market value. The proportion OF
speculation as compared with necessary
and legitimate business is very small,
| however and is probably no larger in
/ New York than In Nashville. where YOU
reside, or in Denison, Iowa, where | live.
| The best estimates | can get place the
amount of speculative transactions in
| New York City at from 2A to per cent
Of the aggregate.
Harmful to Bears.
THE treasury has never come to the
relief of stock gamblers, and probably
never Will. though the relief which the
! treasury grants frequently aids those who
| gamble on the bull side Of the stock mar
| ket and the bull side of the wheat market,
| the cotton market. the corn market, and
! every other market, but 1t is equally
harmful to those who gamble on the bear
! side of the respective markets. Both bulls
| nd of ba
| treasury, but the nature of the advice
! usually indicates the side of the market
on which they are operating. Naturally
| these communications have no influence
whatever The real business situation is
| the sole consideration.
| "If you will stop to consider, you Will
realize that more money is needed when
| the crops are being marketed, when fac
! tories are filing their warehouses with
cotton and wool, hemp, ssal lumber and
| every other material than during the
summer when the crops are growing and
when business men are enjoying their va
cations.
Legitimate Business.
There are over 1900 banks in the
| United States doing a commercial bus-
ness. These are independent one of the
| other, and each Is trying to make divi-
| dends Few of them in midsummer make
| ample provision for the fall. They time
| the loans they make to meet their obl-
| cations and take their chances During
| the dull season of 1906 the secretary of
the treasury withdrew sixty millions of
| the peoples money and locked it up. This
| would have been a crime If he We're not
| willing to release 1t now when Ii is need
| ed. By appropriate use of the money in
! the vaults of the treasury | have facill-
| tated the Importation Of Il hundred mill
| lions of gold within the last nine months,
and have released over fifty millions
purpose Of aiding the legitimate business.
| 1t has helped the bull side of the mar
ket as much as 1t damaged the bear
side. care as little for either of these
considerations as do you, but l am in
| tensely interested in the business interests
| of the country.
Money Is Scarce.
Money Is scarce. Some of the very
| best business houses in the United States
| with international credit are now paying
| 7 per cent interest for money with which
to do their appropriate business. If money
could be secured anywhere beneath the
sky for less they would loan and borrow
the treasury has restored to the chan
nes OF trade the money which 1t with
| drew when the people had no use for It,
| except for purposes of speculation. It was
| then wanted for speculation. and with
| drew IL. 1t is now needed for business
| and restore il. The last $40 900 deposit
! went almost exclusively to the cotton
producing states, and the exceptions went
TO cotton buying cities
RAH EY WINNER nv