Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-19
GIVE SHAW HIS DUE.

2sss Ii every Damn uttered IN a year
time by a comparatively decent man
could be recorded by photograph and
oaths, the author would be condemned
as the most profane man since the
days of the preverbial pirate. Such in
similar degree seems to have been the
experience OF Secretary Shaw. His
democratic friends OF the New York
World have listed in millions all the de-
posits Of government money made by
the secretary in New York banks with
in the past year. From a very formid-
able array OF millions and the fact dina.
Standard Oil and life insurance mag
mates figure on the directorates of most
of the New York banks 1T is argued
that Secretary shaw's principal duties
I in the treasury department have been
to shovel out gold to the Standard Oil
and life insurance banks
This newspaper has never won any
{ federal appointments as rewards for its
zeal in the defense Of Secretary Shaw
as a statesman but it violates no obli-
cation to the secretary in giving him a
square deal in this regard. It Is true
that he has deposited a great many
millions OF dollars Of government mon
ey in the New York banks. Business
has been brisk and he has had the
money to deposit. We have known some
manufacturing institutions in Marsh,all-
town to deposit In the bank five and six
times their capital during the course
of year, and the process is about the
same In each case. The manufacturer
generally checks out the amount OF his
deposit just as quick as 1t is made or
a little quicker and the importer who
pays gold into the treasury takes it out
of the bank when he pays his custom
house duties. II the custom house
were q private enterprise the gold paid
to it would be promptly deposited in
the banks again but being a custom
house its collections must be deposited
by the secretary OF the treasury unless
paid out for government expenses.
The trouble has been that Uncle
Sam is flush just now. His income ex-
ceeds his expenditures. He exacts all
bills in the real gold or silver and
when he begins to accumulate surplus
he drains the New York banks very
heavily. He insists that the banks
must keep a certain amount of this real
money as reserves from which to pay
depositors and it has not seemed con-
sistent to Secretary Shaw for Uncle
Sam to hoard all this gold I'M his treas
ury when he demands that the banks
keep 1t in theirs and when he knows
that the fellow who paid him took it
out OF the pile at the bank, so the sec
rotary has put this gold back into the
banks in the form of a deposit until
such time as Uncle Sam might need it
to pay the bills he knows congress will
run up on him.
II 1t has seemed favoritism or negli-
gence on the part of Secretary Shaw
bot to collect interest on the millions
has deposited the New York World
hid go after congress for a law
giving him authority TO collect interest
bn deposits of government money. The
lcomnrittee of the American Bankers
association has recommended such
law and Secretary Shaw favors it. To
give any bank million dollars with
but interest does seem a benevolence of
the first magnitude, but what would
we have Uncle Sam do with his money?
II dle is good business man he will
deposit it in the banks. 1t would
hardly be fair to insist upon the banks
keeping hard money in their reserves
and then accept nothing but hard mon
ey for customs duties which would be
drawn from the banks and pile it up in
the treasury where the banks could not