Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-12-31
His Visit at This Time Conclu-
sive Evidence That He is
Presidential Aspirant
WRITES A PECULIAR LETTER
Says Candidate Will Be Selected For
What He Stands For and Not Be-
cause of LocaIity-Queston Arises,
What Does Shaw Stand For ?-He
Has Currency Plan.
Special to Times-Republlcan.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Dec. 31-Leslie NJ. Shaw,
governor of Iowa, eX-secretary OF
the treasury in Roosevelts cabinet,
and now a banker, will be in Iowa this
week and will make two speeches In
this city. He comes from the east to
launch his presidential boom, 1t hav-
ing been given out some days ago that
if he came to this city at this time to
speak 1t would mean that he had de-
cided to become candidate for pres
ident.
The information that Shaw Is u
presidential candidate and wishes the
support of the Iowa delegation, is also
contained in letter received by Hon.
Lafe Young, of this city. The letter
is very peculiar and is being read and
reread by politicians. The letter is in
answer to an editorial which appeared
in the Des Moines Capital in which
1t was claimed that Iowa would not
furnish a president now or at any 9TH
er time because Of the geography of
the state and that the presidential can
didate would be picked from some
doubtful state.
Secretary Shaw takes the opposite
view. He argues that candidates are
selected for what they stand for and
then after indicating strongly that he
would like to enter the race says he
hopes that each state will be reason
ably loyal to it's own. The letter is
considered by politicians as peculiarly
characteristic of Secretary Shaw and
while arguing that presidential candi-
siates are selected for what they stand
for suggests that every state should
stand by its own candidates, evident
ally whether they represent the pre-
vailing sentiment of the state or not.
In one sentence Secretary Shaw
says: Lincoln, Blaine, Grant, McKin-
ley and Roosevelt We're nominated
solely because they stood for some
thing in which the party believed"
In another sentence he says: "New
York has two candidates, both able and
worthy, and she ought to send dele
cation that will fight hard for either,
possible to secure the nomination of it's
first choice, will fight equally hard for
the other brother"
In the light of Secretary Shaw's let
ter politicians are asking what he
stands for and whether or not Iowa
is ready to endorse the things that
Shaw stands for. The supposition is
that when he addresses the bankers
here Friday evening he will talk Of the
financial situation and the need of an
elastic currency. Does Iowa know
what Shaw advocates in the way of
currency legislation?
In one of his recent speeches Secre-
tary Shaw outlined his plan for cur
rency legislation. He said:
"Among the many. remedies suggest
ed none appeals to me as strongly as
theN authorization of additional ma
tional bank circulation. This method
involves the right of national banks to
increase their circulation in an
amount perhaps equal to SO per cent
of their outstanding volume of govern
ment bond secured circulation, on
or 6 per cent during the time it is
maintained, and the government, in
consideration of this tax, should guar
antee it's redemption.
"You call this an emergency pro-
vision So it is, but it injects/into our
circulation no new form of money
as an element of alarm. BY eliminat-
ing the one statement on the present
bank note: "This note is secured by
bonds of the United States" the addi-
tional currency could be made iden-
tical with that based on government
bonds. The comptroller of the cur
rency and the bank issuing the cur
rency would alone know of its ex-
istence."
In other words Secretary Shaw ad-
yocates that national banks be allowed
to issue notes whenever they are
short of money that will look like ma
tional bank notes but will not be.
They will look like money secured
by government bonds and only the
comptroller of the currency and the
bank issuing it win know that the
words secured by government bonds
are left off Whenever bank cashier
wanted to run away with his stenog-
rapher and lot of money he could.
issue q lot of this currency with the
words: "This note is secured by bonds
of the United States" left off.
The question with politicians is does
Iowa want this kind of money and if
it objects to it is it still willing to
support Shaw for president.