The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-19
SENATOR STONE
 TALKS ON FINANCE Proposition eff Guaranteeing Bank Deposits Is IndOrSed MANY REFORMS SUGGESTED Missourian Declares That Treasury Department Should Be Controlled By Board of Directors Rather
 Than One Man.
MANY REFORMS SUGGESTED


 currency bill was opposed in the Senate today. by MT. Stone of Missouri During Mir. Stones argument in advocacy of the plan for government guarantees of de- posits in national banks. Senator Bacon of Georgia took occasion to oppose that proposition at some length MT. Bacon declared that if such plan were put into effect, state banks would be put out of business as their deposits would find their way into national banks.
 The bill to revise the criminal code Of the United States was considered during couple of hours in the afternoon. ana at 4:20 D. m. the Senate adjourned.
 MT. Stone declared that while the re- cent financial panic was in part due to Il shortage of available currency, the con- centration of the money at given points had much to do with it. There was, he said, too much of this money in New York. The Aldrich bill he regarded as merely a malSe-shift in meeting the needs of the country.
 T am opposed he said, Ito conferring these great additional favors and powers upon national banks. The idea of a corp
 
 tion of the sovereign has always been ob noxious to me. The power they can ex- \ ercise upon the political and industrial well-being of the nation is enormous. and although it is no doubt entirely true thar the national banker is as patriotic as the average citizen yet money and busi- ness with him, as with others. are gem erally selfish and grasping things and dividends are often regarded as of more importance than patriotism Too Much Power Given. He objected to giving the bank power to regulate in any degree the volume O. the peoples currency by expanding or contracting, 1t as may happen to suit their | whims or their interests, while they now have that power by the issue of bank notes, the pending bill would increase their power along the same line. Prop erty values might be greatly affected by | such expansicl and contraction.
 There is now" he said, "a community of interest between the banks and CO., 1 operation along the whole line to accomp- fish given objects" Mir. Stone declared that he would prefer to curtail the powers 1 os the banks because the government is nov depended on to give stability to the | currency
 T shall vote for the emergency treasury | note instead of the emergency bank note. , said MT. Stone. State banks and trust companies should not, he thought, be de- nied the same privileges as the national banks.
 1 MT. Stone favored law demanding that 1 reserves should be kept in the country banks. If that had been done. he believed the intensity of the recent panic would have been lessened
 | He spoke in favor of a guaranteed fund | to insure the deposits in national banks He also wished to see banks receiving government bonds required to pay interest on them.
 Referring to a suggestion that the treas ury department should be controlled by a board of directors, rather than by single secretary he said too much power was placed in the hands of an individual He denounced stock gambling and de- clared that it took out of the market too much money that might be available for lending for commercial purposes. The recent panic, he said had come to a. republican administration, although that party had always declared that it brought prosperity upon the country. The Silver Issue. MT. Stone referred to the silver issue, saying it's purpose had always been mis- represented, and that it had been expected that the parity of all money would be maintained under that system we recognized the crying necessity for additional money" he said "The conten- tion that adequate increase of the volume of money would revive industries, en- nance property values and labor wages had been demonstrated by the history of the last decade.
 "I prophecy that many moons will wane before they will again point 10 democrats and sing in strident chorus the Song of the soup house. The full dinner pail will not again be blazened as an emblem of triumph on the re- publican shield"
 In reply to a question by Senator Hopkins of Illinois, MT. Stone said that in cases of a money panic he would put the treasury emergency cur rency he favored in circulation by de- posting it in national banks.
 MT. Bacon interrupting during the portion of the speech in which MT. Stone expressed his belief in a govern ment guarantee of deposits in national banks, declared that he would never approve any system for such guaran- tee. Senator Shoot suggested that such a guarantee would increase wild cat" bankers and he believed it would result, in failures in excess of the pres ent rate of one-tenth of l per cent of