Arizona republican., 1908-03-20

the senate today his unfinished speech on the Aldrich currency bill, Senator LaFollette directed himself to the charge made in his remarks on Tues day that the recent financial stringen- cy was started by the great bankers and financiers, declaring that since he spoke on Tuesday he had secured ad- ditiOnal information proving that the charges were correct
 Senator Gere of Oklahoma. inter rupted to ask, whether in view of the charges made by the senator from Wisconsin the president was justified in congratulating the men who brought on the panic. Does the senator think, % he said, that the president and Secre- tary Cortelyou were not the star act ors in the performance, or at least. that they congratulated the chief actors when it was over?" He quoted from a letter sent by President Roosevelt to Secretary Cortelyou.
 LaFollette deprecated the idea of bringing partisan politics into the dis cussion. He said he did not purpose to be drawn into a criticism of the president who had done the best he could to relieve the situation and had not thought it wise at a critical mo- ment to attempt the punishment of the incendiaries. who started the confla- grafton while the president was in the south, until it was put out.
 Whatever agencies were back of the panic" said LaFollette, whatever purposes were behind it. the president and the secretary of the treasury were confronted with the condition that the panic was on declared the senator in tragic tones that rang through the chamber. The panic was on. 1 do not know how the president regarded it. He was sitting there in the White House. He is a man who faced all manner of dangers without flinching. but he was confronted with the sit uatiOn that the panic was on. He saw that legitimate business was put in peril, and his responsibility came to him as the head of the government and to the secretary as the head of the treasury department. Where else could money have been sent to stop the panic, no matter what influence might have been behind this bill?"
 MT. Gere said he justified the presi- dent 'in standing and delivering to these pirates and depositing with them the peoples money when the dagger was at his throat But I cannot he said. excuse him for congratulating these pirates as public spirited bene- factors. I excused the president for helping the incendiaries who lSindled the fire, but I can hardly go so far as to approve his proclamation of them as deliverers of the country
 Gere stated that he heartily agreed with the senator from Wisconsin, that and Morgan brought on the panic which ripened to the point Of failing. but he did not think they ward.
 Referring 10 the bill as originally re- ported LaFollette declared with the suggestion of a sheer that the railroad bonds had been "whisked" out of the measure. We are not through with that proposition" he added. Tt will appear again and again until finally it is overwhelmingly beaten or uneX- pectedly worked in and grafted upon the currency system of the country. He then discussed at some length his resolution for the valuation of railroad property, which he said had been sent to the committee on interstate com merce but was not acted upon. There was quite a large attendance. The democratic senators were in their places there were comparatively few