New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-11-17
THE TREASURYS PLAN.
M4NY, RUMORS AFLOAT.
Panama Bond Issue PrObabIe-No
Official Statement.
[From The Tribune Bur. .

| garding the alleged financial statement which
/ 1t rumored that the Secretary of the Treas
| ury would make public to-day. Some wild
| rumors have reached here, being to the
| effect that. in addition TO placing 00t
| Panama bonds on the market, Secretary Cor
| telyou would issue Treasury certificates pure
| asset currency. to tide the present short
| age, Most of these rumors, when traced To
| their source, appeared TO have come over the
| ticker from New York as did yesterday the
| first intimation that Panama bonds might be
1 issued.
There are. however no indications of any
statement tonight The President has been
| IN conference with the Attorney General, the
Secretary of the Interior and Secretary Loeb.
and ii was explained beforehand by Mr.. Loeb
that the conference would have nothing to do
with finances. II is assumed to relate to GER
| tain alleged irregularities in New Mexico.
Secretary Cortelyou has denied himself to cor
| respondents to-day, as he did yesterday. II is
known that he still has the Panama bond issue
under contemplation. but beyond that there APP
pears to be little but surmise a basis for the
assumption that he is about 10 issue state
ment. Secretary Root denied himself to news
paper men this afternoon, and IL was explained
by his secretary that he was debating a some
what extended paper. It was assumed by some
correspondents that this was the anxiously
AOOhSu AOt uHdASAdl otdlctticuis puI tucfo dp-
peared to be no good ground for the assump-
ton.
II has been suggested that Secretary Cor
telyou sounding the bond market with
view to ascertaining just what the Panama
bonds would bring in so far as that could be
done by private conversations with bankers.
and while this suggestion seems reasonable il,
too. is only a surnise. Secretary Loeb said late
this afternoon that no statement would be given
out at the White House. and by 10 o'clock all
the Treasury officials had gone to their homes.
1t was learned tonight that three PROPOSE
tions in connection with the Panama bond issue
under consideration. The first is that the
entire issue be offered to the syndicate which
submits the highest bid. 1t is assumed that
n syndicate of bankers would be promptly
formed and that in this way the bonds would
bring the highest price on the other hand.
this might fail Of one purpose of the issue, the
bringing out OF the money now boarded in safe
deposit vaults and safes by private parties
The second proposition is, as announced IN
these dispatches this morning to make the issue
open to popular bids. The difficulty with that
however, is the time which it would be necessary
to allow before the opening of bids in order that
investors from all parts of the country might
have knowledge OF the issue and an opportunity
TO bid. Should crisis arise in the mean time
moreover the bottom might drop out OF the
bond market. and the issue to prove a
failure for lack OF takers at good prices the
effect would be worse than useless
The third suggestion is to advertise for bids
under specifications which would enable the
government TO make special concessions to bank
bidders who offered Immediately TO utilize the
bonds basis for increased circulation. 1t is
suggested for instance that not only might it
be provided that the bids of bankers making
this offer might be accepted, even though not
the highest submitted. but that such bidders
would have twenty or thirty days in which to |
pay for the bonds, the payment 10 be made !
with the delivery OF the new |
circulation All OF these propositions are re- |
ceiving the most careful consideration from |
the Secretary of the Treasury.
A well defined rumor is in circulation this
evening to the effect that the President will send
to Congress a special message on the financial |
separate and distinct from his regular |
annual message. II is known that ne has been |
urged to adopt this course the ground that |
1t would promote action by Congress. which. as
rule. fails to do anything OF Importance before
he holiday recess Whether the President has
actually decided upon this course, however. or
has merely taken the suggestion under consider
alton cannot be ascertained, although the
bort comes from usually well informed
From various sources information has reached
|
Congress are not only widely at variance as to
what measures should be adopted to relieve the
financial situation, but that some Of them do not
believe the time for legislation is ripe. They
maintain that widely at variance are the |
views entertained that nothing be done
within sufficiently short time to relieve the
existing situation which must take care OF itself
without help from Congress. while they assert
hat 1t would be unwise TO attempt to legislate
IN so vital a subject under the pressure of an
emergency. 1t is not known to what extent
of this attitue of the leaders of Con-
;ress. and especially of the Senate. has reached
he President.
Since Controller Ridgely issued his circular
Irging national banks to take out additional
circulation the total increase from November l
Up to date has amounted to S23.4S0, 800. The
'ficials are much encouraged at the response
# the banks to the Controllers circular. and
very effort has been made to expedite the ship
nent of the currency from Washington.