The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-01-18
IN DELAY
REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATION
Is HURTING COUNTRY.
No Measures In Prospect In Congress
to Meet the Needs Of the Finan-
cial Situation-Democrats
Would Act.

The Republican doctors are all
NAKED up on what ails the financial
patient, and are advising all kinds of
treatment, hardly any two of which
approach agreement. Under the rules
Of the house Of repr esentatives the
Democrats have no power to prescribe
Tor the disease the country Is suffering
from. 1t may be said that the Re-
publican doctors have left the patient
IN such a rundown condition that it
will require careful treatment and a
long period for recuperation before 1t
will be safe to put the patient under
the knife for a radical cure. But
something should be done forthwith
or a second collapse will result in a
more dangerous condition than the
present one.
Congress met on December 2, and
on the following day the president
recommended 1.-The need Of immedi-
ate attention" to the necessity Of an
elastic currency. Over two weeks be-
fore congress met the president said
In a letter to Secretary Cortelyou that
assurances had been given him that
leaders IN congress are considering
q currency bill which will permanent
ly meet the needs of the situation.
Did the Republican leaders deceive the
president, or have they decided upon
another course? Senator CulbersOn
offered in the senate a resolution d.
recting investigation as to the causes
of the panic, but by the unanimous
vote of the Republican members the
resolution was referred to the COM
mittee on finance instead of acting
upon it. IN speaking to that question,
Senator Culberson said: Il want the
American people to know that there
are some men-the Democrats-in this
chamber who believe immediate action
Is necessary" The Republican lead
ers, however, took no notice Of the
presidents recommendations, or, ap-
~parently, of the panicky condition Of
the country, with the banks refusing
to pay their depOsitors on demand, ex-
cept that the speaker appointed the
committee on currency and banking.
On December 81 congress adjourned
for 16 days, leaving the country to suf-
fer without relief, and when 1t reas-
sembled on January 6 it did not have
a bill perfected to act upon. Such de-
lay is cruel to those bankers and their
depositors who are suffering, and
shows the hardness of heart of the Re-
publican leaders. Not that any legis-
lation the congress is likely to accom-
plish will cure the disease. But If, for
instance, a bill providing for a secured
elastic currency, drawing seven per
cent. interest, was enacted, it would
relieve the tension in the larger none
tary centers, such as New York and
Chicago, and that would give relief to
the country banks by allowing the
withdrawal of their deposits at those
centers. 1t would also help to force
boarded money from its hiding places,
and thus give confidence where but
little, If any, now exists. Such pallia-
tive measures will not cure the finan-
cial disease, for Republican policies
have caused too deep-seated roubles
to be cured off hand. There is great
danger that when cash payments are
resumed there will be a quiet u on
the banks by many people, and when
cash is paid for cotton and wheat it
will be boarded instead of finding Its
way into the country banks. 1t is i'm
possible to calculate the amount OF
none that will thus be taken out of
the usual avenues Of business, but it
will surely be enough to make trouble
for the country banks unless their per-
centage of cash deposits far exceeds
the usual limits. A further drain on
the country banks will be caused by
the s~torekeepers being compelled to
pay for goods bought in the fall, for
further extension of credit can hardly
be expected from the jobbers and
wholesale men when cash payments
by the banks is resumed. These pay
ments will relieve the tension in the
east, but may increase the panic in the
south and west.
It is not a pleasant future to face,
but to delay much longer will be more
dangerous, for every day the present
conditions prevail will cause more de-
preston at the manufacturing and
wholesale centers.
Instead Of taking a holiday for neal
y three weeks. the Republican leaders
in congress should have forced the
work day and night until a remedial
measure of relief had been passed.