Evening journal., 1908-03-20

be made in our currency legislation
until another panic comes upon it,"
1T defers the adoption of the right
knid Of a currency system. The fact
that emergency currency should be is
sued on State and county bonds would
cause some banks to invest part Of
their capital stock in State and county
bonds that the emergency currency
could be obtained. That capital stock
should be used to loan to depositors
on security. 1t means that the banks
would have less to loan during the
period Of depression. That system
would be absolutely wrong. Bank as
sets should be of a liquid character,
and not be tied up in long term invest
ments."
Condemns High Interest Rate.
Mr.. Acker condemned that section Of
the bill which would permit the holder
of bonds to obtain only nine-tenths OF
their value in currency. 1T is absurd
to think of sending a man to bank
with 100000 to purchase s90,O00" he
said. / cannot understand why Mr.
Aldrich insists on per cent. interest
on the loan after losing 10 per cent.
on the bonds. Business men should
not be compelled to pay 6, 10 or 20 per
cent. for money; commerce cannot
stand it. Gamblers may. If other
countries offer it at a lower rate Of
interest, as the Bank Of England has
just done, how can we compete with
those countries We should have
money at the lowest possible cost that
our business interests may not be in
terfered with.
Mr. AcSer said the Aldrich bill was
not only a reflection on the integrity
Of the finance committee Of the United
State Senate. but on the Republican
party as well. "I take Il that the Re
publican party is the party Of pro-
gress. It has made mistakes. we ad-
init, just as enterprises and individuals
have, but the party has shown its will
ingness to grapple with great issues
and 70 give the people the best In
everything. Yet after the loss of $780,
900, 00O, 900 Il has produced something
as a remedy which at its best is only a
makeshift, and a breeder OF panics like
that through which we have just
+ passed" He favored that provision
of the Fowler bill guaranteeing bank
deposits and closed by remarSing that
If the Aldrich bill had any real value
some of the business interests of the
country would have found them before
this day.
Mr.. crozier Condemns Wall Street.
Alfred O. Crozier. who has figured
prominently as an enemy of the Aid
rich bill. followed Mr.. Acl1er. He said
he believed the bill would have passed
| Congress last December if its passage
had been urged. Since that time, how
ever, light has been turned on the
measure. and now the people know
Just what it is.
He made the statement that the bill
had not been drawn in the interest Of
the New York banks. nor in the inter-
est of the national banks, but in the
interest Of "the Wall street gambling
business" What we, as business men.
are interested in. is preventer Of
panics rather than a cause of panics.
The germane question is how can we
! stop them To decide this question
we must ask ourselves what caused
! this panic. The conditions that pre-
vailed then might possibly prevail
now. Then Mr.. Crozler declared that
the panic was prompted by the desire
of the National Bank of Commerce of
New York TO wreck the trust COM
pany's system by embarrassing the
Rnickerbocker Company He referred
to the refusal Of the hank, which was
the clearing house Of the trust COM
pany, to honor SsOOO.O0O of the trust
company's paper, and of the subse-
| quent feeling of distrust among the
trust company depositors. "That feel
ing would wreck any bank" he said
What was the motive? The bank
had it in for the trust companies be-
cause they persisted in paying 4 pei