The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-25

Congressman Hayes Says That Is Pur-
pose Of Aldrich Bill.


Washington. Feb. 25.-Representative
Hayes, of California, today addressed
the house on the financial question. He
held up the currency system of the Unit
ed States as the worst used today by
any country; denounced the Aldrich bill
and ridfculed the proposition for a CEN
trail bank
The trouble with the currency OF the
United States. he declared, was it's in
elasticity. The so-called currency sys-
tenn. he characterized as patchwork.
He further said that under the present
system I'VE can but wonder that we
have been able to accomplish such
wonders with SO few financial up
heavals." Only the ability and ingenui-
ty OF American bankers and business
men, he said. had made that possible.
Mr.. Hayes characterized as "a fallac-
ious public conception" the idea that 1t
was the United States bond behind the
national bank note that made it as good
as gold the world over. Those notes,
he said, would be as good as gold any
where as long as the government and
the banks expressed willingness and
the ability to redeem them on demand
in gold or its equivalent, land you can
not change this" he said, mo matter
how many or what kind of bonds you
put behind them" The bonds. he said,
may help protect the government from
loss. but they have no influence in keep
Ing the notes at par. He considered
any bond secured currency las not only
inelastic, but unscientifio bungling, I'M
natural, dangerous and undesirable
from every point of view"
Coming to the question of central
bank of issue, Mr.. Hayes declared that
the proverbial SNOWFALL has just as
much change to live in Hades as a GEN.
trail bank has to be established at this
L., ha ITrif A6 ndrox
Jackson, he said, did q great and glor-
ious thing when he destroyed the Unit
ed States bank"
Congress. he declared. ought to legis-
late to change the bond secured notes
into more desirable currency instead
OF planning to perpetuate them indef1n-
itely and possibly greatly enlarge their
volume"
AS regards the Aldrich bill, Mr..
Hayes said it has all the evils and
weaknesses of a bond secured curren-
cy and many others that our present
bond secured currency had not. I'm
the face Of this well known fact" he
inquired, shall we, while in the pos
session of our senses and with our eyes
wide open, vote to tie up the currency
of the country still closer to Wall
street?' The Aldrich bill, he declared,
should be entitled "A bill for the relief
Of Wall street. and the people par
ticularly Of the west and south, would
without the proposed law. The Aldrich
bill, he said further. would make the
people more dependent than ever upon
Wall street and he never would vote
for such proposition. He said there
was vague suspicion in the minds Of
some that one of the large motives be-
hind the proposition to allow banks
to issue circulation on state, municipal
and railroad bonds, SIS to find a mar
ket for these bonds, at fictitious price,"
xxyit NJ TInaIa 60
them. The bill. he declared, If it should
become lawful, would make certain the
use of the United States treasury to
further the schemes Of the stock gamb-
lers of Wall street. He predicted that
the proposed Aldrich plan, instead OF
preventing panics or mitigating their
severity would have a tendency to
bring them on land continue them
when they had once come upon U.s."
The plan, he said, unless violently
amended, was vicious, dangerous and
ineffectual
While favoring in many particulars
the issuance Of clearing house certif1-
Gates in times of emergency, Mr.. Hayes
said, that If it only was an emergency
currency that at this time was demand
ed then congress could go further and
embody the principles underlying the
clearing house certificates in measure
that would give to the country an asset
currency with many additional safe
would be very much more satisfactory
to the people than clearing house GER
tificates because they would feel that
it was safer"
One of his greatest objections to the
Aldrich bill, said Mr.. Hayes, was that
it provided no reserve, nothing any
where. in the banks or in the treasury
for the redemption of the notes for the
issuance of which it provides and there
fore leaves them, should they be issued
in any quantity as an additional bur-
den upon the treasury of the United
States at the time when the treasury
should be strengthened"
In the main, he said, he favored the
emergency currency plan favored by
the currency commission of the Ameri-
can Bankers association. 1t was in
his opinion, much superior to the Aid
rich bill, but he thought it should go
further and put the currency system of
the United States on thor
oughly sound and correct basis.
So that, he said, the national
banks everywhere could issue
currency at any time when they and
the comptroller agreed that there was
a necessity for It to meet the needs OF
their customers and the pressing neces-
stiles of the business men, laborers and
farmers of the community, in which
they were located, than to make a cur
rency for the relief of the men who are
the owners of the speculative municipal
and railroad bonds of the country"
Crawford Case Appealed.