Mexico weekly ledger., 1908-07-16

the power Of the banks to expand and
contract the volume Of currency almost
at Will to the extent Of 500, 600, 900. Every
man should know that a sudden in
crease of the circulating volume to that
extent would tend greatly TO appreciate
and in many instances, to initiate values.
II Is an economic fact known of all In
telligent men hat as the volume OF
money grows the value of property and
wages appreciate. The sudden inhux OF
this vast sum into the circulation Of the
country would give a tremendous Inn
petus TO business activity and to the In
crease OF values. On the other hand, IL
that sum should be systematically and
suddenly Withdrawn from circulation, as
II could be under the provisions OF this
law. the Instant effect would be to cut
the very life out OF business and force
values hurTiedly along a downward scale.
! 90 not assume that bankers who might
guilty Of such misdeeds, but 1 do assert
that II is a dangerous thing to give to
any class of men this great power and
What a commentary on American
statesmanshIp that members of Congress
should stand, as many did, on the floor
OF the House and Senate and solemnly
asseverate that in their opinion the panic
was due more to the contemptuous re-
Iusal OF national banks to observe the
law and to the m~anipulations Of bankers
tnan to all things else, should permit
themselves to be dragooned into voting
TO confer far greater powers upon those
same banks 70 work their will than they
ever possessed before. To my thinking
. exhibits a course Of conduct abso-
lutely inexplicable. There are many Re
publcans In Missouri who believe az
these Senators and Representatives be-
ieved. wonder II they. too, will be
aragooned into voting to endorse this
legislative abomination In November?
IL Is a diverting spectacle to observe
such statesmen as Aldrich and such
~1nanciers as j.. Pierpont Morgan and
John ". Rockefeller clamoring for an
asset currency. Once upon a time these
were the champions OF sound money!"
Ihey were among the leaders who bayed
the loudest on the track OF the silver
~propaeanda; They we're among those
VINO cried In all the tones Of the chase,
against a cheap dollar" a ''ffty-cent
dollar and a deprecated currency. Now
they. stand for an asset currency-thnt
is, for q currency based upen and se-
cured solely by the credit and assets OF
national banks. Do o want to estab-
hzh a bank oligarchy I'm America and
turn, over to It the fiscal affairs of q
hundred million people? Do not deceive
yourselves, my co%untrymen. for that is
the goal toward which We are hasten-
Ing Here is what the Philadelphia North
American, one of the leading independ-
ent Republican papers OF Pennsylvania,
has to say about this law:
This law will mean the turning over
OF the treasury OF the United States
TO the gamblers Of the New York
Stock Exchange for a period of six
years. 1t will mean the making OF
good times and bad times Of bull
markets and bear markets. accord
ing to the pleasure Of Rogers and
Rockefeller of the National City
Bank, and ]. P. Morgan Of the Ma
ttonal Bank of Commerce. II will
mean not only the slow and certain
movement OF contraction and infia-
tion by the natural laws of COM
msrce. but sharp changes forced at
MEAN m,ia oy ~ the M master gamblers Il WIN
OF the nation of the power to issue
or retire a half a billion dollars. ex-
citing speculation or compelling dis
aster, according to whichever best
suits their betting book. We do not
know what measure of punishment
a long-suffering people will infiict
upon their betrayers."
This is from a high Republican source,
i could quote many like statements from
other publications of equal character and
potentiality. 1 appeal to my Republican
feliow-eitizens to ponder this subject
seriously and to look down the path OF
the future, II possible, to the end Of
this tendency.
That our monetary system is imper-
feet there is no doubt. That 1t needs
to be r%e-cast, reformed and revised is
equally certain. 1t is the handiwork OF
republican statecraft, and formerly they
were wont to boast that 1t was as near
perfection as n monetary system that
human ingenuity could devise, but now
coneede that It Is r snssIIy d smong .n sns
Inadeouate. Within the last two months
Senator Dryden Of New Jersey, among
the most distinguished men of his state,
president of the Prudential Life Insur-
ance Company, a multi-millionaire, and
hitherto a high authority in Republican
circles on matters financial, in a public
speech before the Republican conven-
ton of his state, over which he pre-
sided, made this declaration:
THE country's financial system has
passed Its day Of usefulness; 1t is
insufficient n assaulted to present
needs, and has become a menace, and
cannot continue without remedial ac-
ton"
Republicans now. and, of course, has
long been the sentiment among Demo-
Gratis. On this point at least Republi-
cans are coming to an agreement with
the longtime contention Of democracy.
All OF us are fast agreeing that the ex-
listing monetary system is Inadequate
and unsulted to the country. But Sem
ator Dryden went on to say:
"'That whatever action may be
taken should be taken by the party
whose record entities 1t to public con-
fidence."
BY which he meant the Republican
party. That sentiment will, Of course,
be echoed by Republican orators and
organs throughout the country. l shall
echo Il also. but with a different mean
ing. What party has a record emitting
Il to public confidencef Who constructed
this system we have? Who begot II,
present state of lusty imperfection7 1t
is a choice creation of the Republican
party, and IL now its creators confess
their work a failure, is that a record
to inspire confidenee2 Should a record
of failure, demonstrating incompetence,
command confdence2 Are we to permit
the same people to again try their hands
and organize a monetary system which
Will deliver over to the banking corpora
tons the sovereign power of regulating
the fiscal affairs Of the nation? The
Democratic party cannot do worse than
these discounted Republicans have don
may be sure, hat II the responsibility
Of reforming our financial system Is
committed to the Democracy, 1t will be
done in accordance with the theory hat
1t is the constitutional duty of the gov
ernment to supply money based on its
own credit and to control the fiscal af-
fairs Of the people.
A CORRUPT BARGAIN.
Before dismissing this subject l cannot
forbear expressing curiosity as to what
return the Republican party managers
new favors conferred upon them by the
Aldrieh-V reeland law. What eompensa-
ton will be made In the way of cam
paign contributions? In 1896 the national
banks contributed several million dollars
to the Republican campaign fund. They
were caught red-handed in the very act
Of contributing, indeed mad but little
effort to conceal it, Leading bankers in
great centers wrote urgent letters to
banks all over the country, both state
and national. for contributions. ana
many of these letters were given to the
press. / have now in my possession a
letter written by a committee of ma
tional bankers, stating that their own