Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-18
ENTHUSIASM FOR TAFT
Bank Guarantee Scheme At
tackled by Meyer.
REPUBLICAN RALLY HELD
Postmaster General Advances Need
for Postal Savings.
PREDICTION BY SIMON WOLF
Prophesies Election of Taft-Judge
Hayes Sure Of Intelligence
of Voters.

Elm the last two weeks OF this cam
paign when the people, as they always do.
brush aside the immater.al and fictitious
issues that have been raised on the
hustings and elsewhere. settle down to
business they will ask themselves:
Which party. If placed in power. will do
me the most good? Which party, II
placed in power, will do the country the
most good?' And their answer will settle
the question. And 1 believe the good
common sense of the American people.
which can always be trusted in an emer-
gency Ike this, will return the answer,
Taft and the republican party"
Thus A. B. Hayes ended the meeting,
and this sentiment virtually contained the
philosophy to be deduced from the various
speakers at the grand republican rally
under the auspices of the League of Re-
publican State Clubs Of the District of Co
lumbia, held in the hall of the old Ma
sonic Temple, 9th and F streets, last
night.
A splendid audience taxed the hal. to
its full capacity. Many ladies were intel
ligent listeners to the arguments tending
to show why republican supremacy should
be maintained. A few colored people here
and there were sprinkled through the
hall. The audience. as a whole. was far
above the average of those which usually
attend political meetings 1t was keen.
too. in graSping the points made and in
testifying its approval in applause.
During the evening the Taft and Sher-
man quartet. consisting of Ben A. Leim-
bach, Thomas L. Jones, John r. Purvis
amusing and some stirring in their ap-
peal
Camp Opens Meeting.
The meeting was opened at o'clock by
Henry NJ. Camp. president of the league,
in brief speech.
Mr.. Camp, after welcoming the audience
and thanking them In behalf of the
league, as well as those who had assisted
in the work. including the press for it's
generous treatment, said that 5000 vot
ers in the District of Columbia would go
home to cast their votes for the Taft
electoral ticket at the coming election. His
announcement was greeted with loud ap
plauSe.
He then introduced John G. Capers
commissioner of internal revenue, as the
permanent chairman Of the evening.
Mr.. Capers correcting Mr.. Camps in
troductory speech that he was going to
carry South Carolina for Taft, said South
Carolinians voted the democratic ticket
STILL but always prayed for a republican
administration. He promised that North
Carolina would return Taft majority.
millennium had come when a South Caro-
lima republican should be given the honor
of introducing to republican audience
so distinguished a republican Of the great
state of Massachusetts as Postmaster
General A. Won L. Meyer.
In introducing Mr.. Meyer he referred
to his splendid record as an amba ssado
and one who had the distinguished honor
Of sitting in the cabinet of one OF the
greatest Presidents the country has ever
had.
When the applause had subsidized Mr..
Meyer advanced to the front of the stage
and began his address, which was per-
haps the chief feature of the evening.
Mr.. Meyers Address.
He referred briefly to Bryan's record of
mistakes and makeshifts which in the
past he had used to evade the real issues
of his campaigns. beginning with the tar
if and ending with the bank guarantee
plan. He said the people of the United
States were in much the same position as
the innkeeper in the old colored preach
er's version of the biblical story of the
good Samaritan.
publican who had fallen among thieves;
he had cared for him and given him food
and drink and raiment, but his skeleton
was standing in the doorway to this day
waiting for the good Samaritan to come
back and pay the bill.
So with the American people and Mr..
Bryan. They had been good to the things
he had palmed off on them, but they were
waiting. and 1t is likely their skeletons
might wait till the end of time for Mr..
Bryan to come back and make good
Mr.. Meyer referred to the increase in
wages in the various departments of
trade since the Wilson bill was wiped
from the statute books; to the shorten
ing of hours of labor, and to the general
betterment of the labOring classes under
republican policies.
He reviewed each Of Mr.. Bryan's RENEE
dies for hard times and the good of the
country and what came of them. Now,
he explained, Mr.. Bryan is seeking to
forget these past episodes of his political
career and obscure the situation with
new issues.
Coming down to the bank guarantee
plan and it's effect if adopted. he said
that in the District of Columbia there
had been no bank failures since 1878:
Yet under Bryan's plan the District
banks, in order to make good their share
of the losses resulting from the failure
of New York banks alone in the panic
last fall, would have had to contribute
s2o1, 900 at time when to do SO would
have been ruinOuS to them.
In Maryland. he said. there have been
no failures and not a penny lost In the
national banks there, yet they Wouiu nave
been obliged tot contribute $o9l,ooo. Whlle
in Virginia, with no failures since 1885,
the amount of the contribution to make
good losses for which they were in no wise
responsible would have been $oO6.OOO
more rigid examinations of banks and
a stricter enforcement of the banking
laws so as to prevent improper transac-
tions are crying needs OF the present,
declared the Postmaster General. He con-
tended that postal savings banks would
guarantee the deposits on a sound and
legitimate basis. not compelling any bank
to be responsible for the acts of any other
bank over which it had no control or
vote.
IF the strong national banks" said he,
were compelled to be responsible for the
reckless and in some cases dishonestman-
agement of other banks there would be
no longer any motive for conservative
management. Bryan's scheme would make
the stakeholder liable not only for the
losses in his own bank. but also for his
proportionate share of the deposit liabili-
ties of every other national bank and such
state banks as may be allowed to enter
into the agreement.
The proposition outlined by Mr. Bryan
would remove the incentive to caution
and lower tie standard of banking and
would result finally in greater losses than
ever to depositors by reason of general
ue ,rloraliZatlon.
Concluding he said: