The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-15
HUNDREDS OF APPEALS
FLOOD THE WHITE HOUSE
Not an Enemy of Railroads, Says the
President-May Issue Statement
After the Conference on
the Situation.

thrty-eght hours the white house and
the treasury department have been flood
ed with appeals for President Roosevelt
and Secretary Cortelyou to take some ac-
ton TO avert the Threatened disaster in
the financial and railroad world. 1t can
be stated authoritatively, however, thai
President Roosevelt will not change his
attitude toward the railroads, though it is
admitted that the administration has no
intention of entering in an extremely rad
ical attack on the railroad corporations
While it is known that the visit of j.
p. Morgan to the white house last Mon
day night to induce the President to issue
a reassuring statement to the country in
oward the railroad corporations and the
i 9Th If the fnancier's appeal,
=" the panlcky con-
Ill street today.
npeatedly said
the railroads
ne laws have
vernment.
o ;initely decid-
mt may Issue a. st;g ;giemcol
outlining ~ alttude aftee has cone
Ier7e' u sigefta Mc's.e, Newmua,
II 81 IL ughsti IN .sn IL raifroud IT.
,sSb ~ sS-s y : 'ss
/ TIE soisisssf05e @hii ii ssiar railroad
lrnagnates Which was granted by tiie
PRESIDENT at the earnest request OF j. r.
! Morgan, viii be held the early part o,
next week. II is generally understood
| by those close to the President that the
i Il folc tt,iII Nfr
| TO take some steps to 'allay the public
| anxiety now threatening to obstruct rail
road investments and construction and
as to the relations between the railroads
| and the government"
Morgan's Trip.
Since Mr.. Morgan's hurried trip to the
white house the President has held
numerous conferences with Chairman
Knapp and members of the interstate
commerce commission in order that he
| may be in a better position to present
the administrations side of the question
when he meets the railroad presidents
next week.
The administration is firmly convinced
that the great unrest in the financial
circles has been brought on by the argu-
ments advanced by the railroad interests
in trying TO prevent hostile legislation"
in the various states. and by the attitude
that the federal government has taken to
enforce the laws regulating the common
carriers. Il. H. Hartman when he was
in this city recently. and President A.
b. Stickney of the Chicago Great West
ern, who called at the White House to-
day, have expressed the same opinion
that in his interviews with the members
of the interstate commerce commission
the President is fortifying himself with
regard to all the facts that body has dis
closed during its various investigations.
In this way he will be able to meet argu-
ment with argument and fact with fact.
The President, It is known, takes the
same position assumed when he sent his
message to Congress last December and
called attention to the fact that dur
ing the last five months" within which
the new laws was operative at that time
"the railroads have shown increased earn
ings and some of them unusual dlvi-
dends."
Cause of Conditions.
This the President believes refutes the
claims of the railroads at the time that
the new law would ruin them and en-
phasizes the fact that rate Legislation
either by federal state governments
is not the cause of the present panicky
conditions.
The President too, has referred sig
nificantly to another part of the message
in which he said:
1T must not be supposed however
that with the passage of these laws it
will be possible TO stop progress along
the line of increasing the power of the
national government over the use of cap
ital in interstate commerce
In pointing out these and other pas
sages from his recent messages to those
with whom he has talked. the President
... ALI IL.
ward steps in his views as to the advis-
ability of making the regulations and
laws still stronger along certain lines
Although believing that the conditions
i'm New York are due to nothing for which
the administration is responsible. the
President believes he has done everything
that consistently can be done TO give
relief to the money market. The order is
ued to Secretary Cortelyou yesterday fol-
lowed by the order of today prevents the
withdra wal of large sums belonging to
the government and provides the way
for the use of additional funds in Wall
street. The first order put quietus on
the rumor that the treasury was to i'm
mediately withdraw the additional de-
posits put in the banks last October
amounting to 100000 900. Today Mr.. Cor
telyou issued AN order that the $ls00O.-
COO of additional currency taken out by
the national banks would be held by them
without substituting federal for the state
and otte ter bonds with which it is now Sc
cured. This. 1t is pointed out. will pre-
vent a sharp demand for government
bonds for deposit security.
Another step which will put about
81 100000 day into circulation is the de-
posit of customs receipts in the deposit
taries as provided under the new cur
rencv act The Secretary also has notified
bondnoders that he will redeem with
interest to July ] when they Will ma
ture, any bonds of the per cent funded
loan of 1901 to an amount not exceeding