The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-17
CURRENCY PROBLEM
REPREsENTAT1xE CHARLES N
 FOWLER GIVES OUT HIS VIEWS.
I'm His Address Before Boston,s Com- mercfai Cimh He Says There is Ne
 Consisteney in American Banking.
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Boston. Jan. is--"The Currencl
 Problem was the subject of an ad.
 dress delivered by Representative
 Charles \. Fowler of New Jersey chairman of the c0mnittee on banking and currency. before the Commercial Club of Boston tonight.
 On Jan. a Mfr. Fowler introduced in Congress bili ITO establish a sim pie and scientific monetary system founded upon gold, guaranteed bank notes and silver. wtth n1iform bank ing and bank reserves in gold coin or tts equivalent; fo guarantee all deposits and note issues. and to fix certain rules and regulations whereby the financial operations of the government shall cease to be a disturbing factor in trade and cofmerce.
 In his address tonight, Congressman Fowler said 1n part:
 There is no consistency or uniform ity in American banking as q whole. Too little is actually known about the condition of our banking business. The situation has already become appalling and demands a uniform banking sys- tenn, with uniform reserves in gold coin. This result will be secured by the bill now under consideration by the committees on banking and cur rency.
 "To economically and adequately provide for the production, transpor- tation and sale of such vast amount of merchandise az we are producing annually, we should have a single and scientific monetary system, consisting of gold for our bank ressrves--having converted our United States notes in- to gold certficates--bank credit cur rencys redeemed in gold, for our lar ger bills, providing the tfue medium of cash exchanges. and silver for our smaller bills and subsidiary coins. Theer is more than enough of both gold and silver in this country in pla. cesswhere they properly belong to meet th@ requirementss of each. This end wifi be accomplished by the measure aov before the House committee and We shall then be upon an equal foot Ing with the rest of the world in this respect.
 We should have system of cur- rency bank credits that will always. with unvarying certainty, come into existence with business transactions, precisely as checks and drafts do, and disappear when they are no longer needed. That this most desired end will be achieved by the adoption of the measure now pending before the House committee no one has yet un- dertakeP to deny.
 "The government should cease to be disturbing factor in the trade and the commerce of tks United States and should deposit it's receipts from all sources every day with the banks of the country precisely ae other gov ernments do. The bill before our com mittee does just this thing.
 The national banks now own about all of the per cent. bonds, including the PanamaE. or about &7D0, ,OOO. 900. Suppose we should have great war, a war calling for an issue of bonds ag- gregating two or three billions, the rate would possibly reach per cent. At such a rate, the 2s- would sell for what?, Seventy, sixtyf five. or possibly ranging from sl56.0Oo. .Ooo to S25o, ,OOo,- 900. How many banks could stand their share of it without failure? The same rnishap might possibly occur on some other bonds.
 "The measure we are now consider ing takes. all these g per cent. bonds off the hands of the banks at the prices paid for them and places them in the fund. All the capital now Invested in these bonds and all the cap- Ital now Invested in bonds to secure Government deposits Is returned to the of, commerce where it legit- lmately belongs. and where the trade of the country can use it.
 The structure of the bill before us is based upon that of our general Gov The autonomy of the indi. vidual bank is preserved absolutely. and also the autonomy of the commer- cial zones of the United States. for in organizing the system the country will be divided into note redemption dis. tricts, and each bank will have single vote in electing @ board of managers, and each board of managers will ex.N ercise governmental control over it's respective districts.
 '"rhe 5 per cent. guarantee fund es- tablished by the ce-operation of the banks in placing an amount equal to Issues in the United States Treasury may be regarded as part of the re- uuired reserves; and thereof there is no additional burden thrown upon the banks.
 "All the annual income going into the guarantee fund except the half per cent. tax upon the present note issue is new revenue; and therefore results in no burden to the Government, The total income for the first year, begin ming January l, 1909, ought to exceed $25, 000, 900 and the fixed charges ought not to be more than $10.00o.0oo.
 ''Is it too much to say that if we have a guaranteed fund of approxi- nately S5O0.O00,O 900 in the Treasury of the United States, with all the tndi- viduality of American banking pre-, serves and local self-government se- cured to our commercial zones, with all our required reserves 'in' gold coin or it's equivalent, currency always to the varying demands of trade and the Government absolutely from our trade and commerce, that our banking system will like our commerce and prestige in all other re- spects lead all the world?
 "wiu 1t be long in that event before this country and not England controls