Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-16
At THE WHITE HOUSE
Bankers Call on the President
This Morning.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Advisory Committee Introduced by
Secretary Walcott.
MR.. TAFT NOT TO RESIGN
He Himself Denies the Truth of
New Story That He Will
Leave the Cabinet.
MR.. TAFT NOT TO RESIGN

Members Of the currency committee OF
ing the Aldrich bill. and who have ap-
peared before the House committee on
banking and currency in opposition to
that measure called on President Roose-
welt today and made known their views to
him. Since getting to Washington the
committee. which came here to fight the
Aldrich bill and nothing else, has run up
against the bill of Representative Vreeland
of New York, which has jumped into more
or less favor and is talked Of as the prob
able adopted child of the republican eau
Gus of the House next week. AS to that
measure the committee is not as strong
in it's protest, there being division OF
opinion among the members. While none
of them favors the Vreeland bill outright.
some of them say that it has good fea-
lures and could be made acceptable to the
bankers by amendments. ut is. at least.
an Improvement over the Aldrich and
Fowler bills" said member of the COM
mittee today the others asserting.
Mr.. Vreeand himself was caller at the
W hite House during the day. he said
that he had talked for two and half
would confer with the members again to-
day. The gist of the objections to the
Vreeland bill, as well as to the Aldrich
bill, is general opposition to bond-se-
cured emergency circulation. Asset cur
rency is what is favored. There is also
objection to the tax on emergency circula-
ton. Both the 4Aidrich and Vreeland bills
provide that the tax shall start at per
cent and go to o per cent. The bankers
committee favorS per cent to begin With.
The President received the members of
the committee and gave considerable time
to listening to their views The commit
tee consisted of Festus ]. Wade. St
Louis; Joseph T. Talbert. Chicago:
Charles H. Huttig. ST. Louis: John Perrin.
Indianapolis; Solomon Wexler. New Or
Reynolds. Kansas City: Joseph \. Nc
Cord. Atlanta: John l.. Hamilton. Heopes-
ton. ILL.,; W. V. Cox, Washington; treder-
lex L., Farnsworth. New York
Mr.. Farnsworth is secretary of the
American Bankers Association. and.
commenting upon the feeling of the COM
mittee, said:F Until we reached Wash
ington we had not heard of Mr.. Vree-
lands bill. but we believe that it would
be a grave mistake to make it a party
measure. While Mr.. Vreeland has eliml-
mated some of the Objectionable features
of the Aldrich bill he has Incorporated
other features that subject his measure
to almost as much adverse criticism as
has been directed against the other bill
BY limiting the note-issuing privilege to
banks 1t seems that the country banker
has been disseminated against. Even
such an important city as ST. Louis, for
example. has not that number of banks
The same is true of cities in my home
state. Michigan. l presume. though, that
banks in different places might go into
associations among themselves. but would
that be effective? If so, would 1t be pos
sible for large banks throughout the
country to control the issuance of emer-
I, ;xxl, sod
upon the currency is also Objectionable
1t would probably defeat the very object
of the bill. Altogether it would seem wise
for Congress to place the entire subject
of currency legislation in the hands of
competent commission composed of mem
bers of Congress. bankers and business
men. To adopt any of these so-calfed
emergency measures now seems very
much like boiling the stable door after
the horse has gone. We have had our
panic. What is needed now is some con-
structive legislation that will prevent a
repetition of the experience of last fall"
The National Gallery of Art.
Charles D. Walcott. secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution. introduced to the
President today the FIVE men composing
the advisory committee of the National
Gallery of Art. which is to compose the
various gifts of splendid art collections to
the President The committee consists of
Edwin H. Blashfield OF New York. select
ed from the National Academy of Design
Frederic Crowninshield from the Fine
Arts Federation of New York: Herbert
Adams. from the National Sculpture So
ciety of New York; Francis D. Millet and
William H. Holmes of the Smithsonian Smiths,
planned to the President that the Old
Smithsonian building is to become the
permanent home of the National Gallery
and that all the curios and scientific OBJ
jects contained in the old building are
to be moved to the new National Museum
building now nearing completion, at the
edge of the Mall at 10th street. The old
museum building will become the museum
If commerce, and next door to the Smlth-
sonian building will be erected $oO.OOo
gallery for housing the magnificent Freer
collection donated to the government. The
board of regents of the Smithsonian IN
stitution will have general supervision
over the National Gallery. ana the al
visory committee will pass upon all ques-
lions relating to sculpture and painting.
Taft and Crane Meet.
Senators Crane and Lodge went to see
the President today on some Massa-
chusetts patronage matters the former
being an earlier arrival at the executive
Offices Representative Gardner Of the
same state. who. single handed, led the
fight for Secretary Taft in Massachusetts,
harpened to be standing en- the steps of
the offices when Senator Crane arrived
and the two were talking as Secretary
Taft walked out Of the Presidents rooms
Secretary Taft cordially greeted Senator
Crane, but for whose attitude the Massa-
chusetts delegation to the national con-
vention would have been instructed for
the Ohioan. After brief chat Secre-
tary Taft walked Off with Representative
Gardner, who was thanked for his hearty
work in Massachusetts.
Secretary Taft is never able to leave the
handshakers. He is easily recognized by
visitors passing through the grounds and
they approach him for a handshake. He
u.s. no matter how much the pressure
upon his time. affable and makes a pleas
ant impression.
Mr.. Taft Not to Resign.
Mr.: Taft is authority forsthe statement
that there is no truth in a new story
that he contemplates leaving the cabinet
to devote more of his time to his cam
paign. 1t has never been his purpose to
retire from the cabinet during the pre-
liminary campaign for the nomination. al
though it is well understood that he will
do SO If he is nominated in June next
1t is pointed out by well Informed
authority that there is no more reason
now for retiring from the cabinet than
there would have been two or three
months ago, at the inception of the cam
paign. One of the principal reasons for
not resigning was the desire of the Secre-
tary to push certain legislation in viii h