Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-11-08
no nrsronE coNrrDnNcll.

no RESrORE CONFIDENCE.
Congressman Fowler. ehairman %
the banking and currency committee
Of the House Of Representative, out
lines an elaborate scheme cf remedid
and preventative legislation, to relieve
What ~ mistakenly called the mone-
ar, stringency." He fortihes mis- sug'
g,rtions by arguments basel On sta'
ilstics which are authoritative, ane
his reasoning seems sound. That our
currency system must have grcaicf
elasticity will hardly be denied That
congress VIII be urged to enact hnan-
clti legislation goes without saying
and that the present so-cnlled none
tary strlngency will operate as a spur
10 the consideration of the various
plans that have already reached the
congressional committees may be
taken for granted. There Is every
reason 90 believe that some relief Viii
result from the adoption Of legislnti IN
which viii embody the best iudgmert
af the business world
IN an article reviewing the forego-
ing facts the Kansas City Journal a. =
clares that IN the very nature Of
things such relief can only be tenn
porary so long as the evil Itself re-
mains unremoved, and says the coun-
Try is not suffering 50 much from a
monetary stringency as from a conf
dence stringeney, The assaults %
vested capital, the herding OF all big
business enterprises into the bulircn
or presidential and Legislative punish
ment, must cease before any lasting
relief can be secured Instead OF mesa
acts az congress. the country needs
more than anything else the cessa'
lion Of demagogic ciamor against men
with money men who have capitai
and the courage and brains to employ.
u In useful ways, II needs a curb
upon the vindictivc legislation by leg
islatures and governors throughout
the Union.
Confidence Is moro remedial than al
the laws that could be enacted, con-
tinues the Journal Investors must
have confidence that they viii secure
fair returns on their Investment. Capt.
talists must have confidence that their
money viii be safe In business. Cred
itors everywhere, of every class. must
have confidence that their debtors vil
repay what they owe. That is the
whole situation in a nutshell, and un-
less confidence Is established any
measures viii be only Temporal '
their effect The "hig stick must 10
laid aside or employed In other direc-
lions. To-day II is brandished yer the
heads OF innocent and guilty alike. ard
therein lies the danger, FOR the inno-
cent vastly outnumbcr the guilty.
ia double, treble or q%uadruple tho
available supply of cash. in the alb
scnce Of confidence. would be simply
To double. treble or quadruple tho
amount Of money that would be drawn
from the banks and boarded. 40
debtor could. under the operation OF
ordinary conditions, discharge his
debts out Of hand on demand. II the
banks held a reserve of 100 per cent
of their deposits. those people who did
not have confidence would demand
their 100 ler cent. II is absurd. oi
course. to predicate anything upon q
basis 81 Too per ccnt reserve, and cone
ndcnce remains the vital essential
factor.
Legislation along he lines altvat>
suggested doubtless will relicv, mlie-
tary |stringency. and the cNpauding
business of the country requires it
But. says IA contemporary, the coun-
try needs most of an a stringency in
h~ot-headed ana fatuous batting Of bus-
lness Interests. Confidence without
money g. safer than money withou
confidence. When the present anXie.y
b. ailayed. what guaranty D. there
that DC will not be revived 90 a frW
months by another outbreak Of official
tlruience9 Tine country cannot feast
ln peace. even in the midst ofahuud-
ance while the big stick. uke the
sword Of Damoeles, hangs suspended
by The %prccarious thread Of either
well meaning or malignant whims