The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-09
JOHNSTON'S VOTE
 ON ALDRICH BILL
ALABAMA SENATOR GIVES HIS REASONS FOR VOTING FOR THE RE-EMERGENcY CUR RENcY BEST FEATURE.

Washington, April S.-(special )-The
 following speech upon the Aldrich bank
 ing bill was recently made by Senator
 Joseph F. Johnston in ths Senate, when
 a vote was taken upon the bill:
 MT. President, I wish to explain why
 l shall vote for the bill, and l shall do
 so very briefly. As I understand it. the l bill is not intended to revise the general
 banking laws of the United States It's
 main if not sole, purpose is to provide an emergency currency to prevent the
 danger of and disasters occasioned by
 panies. It offers some defense against
 distrHst IL does not change any prin- : eiple or policy of existing laws. It pre-
 sents no political question. It meets no l constitutional objection. If 1t presented
 an issue as to whether banks should l supply the currency instead of the gov ernment, that would prevent me from
 giving it my support; but no such issue 1 is involved by this bill, as it makes no
 change in existing law as to the method l of issue It enlarges the potential is sue, broadens it's base, and compels the banks enjoying it's privileges as to this issue to pay interest to the government for the use of this temporary currency. Were we to attempt to revise the whole banking system of the United
 States and in doing so, to consider the
 many meritorious amendments that have been suggested on this floor and else where, it would require months of debate,
 with little prospect of agreement and
 certainly with no hope that the views af ba r1ipp
 1 "The Senator from Arkansas (Mr. l Clarke) thinks we should first ascertain
 the cause of the panic before treating the disease. That may be true, but l fear that by the time the Senate reached an | agreement on this question the patient would be dead.
 There are few who do not believe that some bill is necessary. The prostration of our industries, the great decline in l value of all classes of property, the dis 1 tress of the unemployed. the shadow of the empty dinner pail demand some legis- lation to prevent recurrence of these con ditions. The real issue is whether this bia or the Fowler bill shall be enacted.
 l think there are few on this floor who would favor the latter measure, putting in the power of banks to issue a cur reney and to contract or inflate it at their pleasure and profit and on such security as they themselves should se- lect. It seems that the banks generally prefer the Fowler bill. They claim that the rate of interest in this bill would prevent them from making a profit out of the emergency currency They seem to forget that in the great financial cen ters the rate of interest paiu by their customers during the recent panic was anywhere from 20 to 100 per cent. The chairman of the clearing house associa- in1 faxf fhA nt.,Ia,.
 claiming that the interest in this bill is too high, ana yet he says the banks took ou. clearing house loan certificates, paid per cent for the privilege, and loaned them to their customers at the same rate. l If that be so, if they were willing to pay per cent in the crisis for a substi- ute for currency having circulation only in it's immediate locality, why should they not be willing to pay as much for real currency that would circulate all
 over the country? But this bill and the issue of currency therein authorized is not intended for the benefit of the banks, but is intended to be issued for the general good, to preserve confidence, and to enable the banks to pay their depos itors.
 MT. President, the republican party has been in control of this govern
 ment for over 40 years, and, except curing a brief period, it has had the executive and the majority in both Houses of Congress. We have had dur ing that time three disastrous panics, two when that party had complete and unchecked control. It has had the am plest opportunity, if it has the ability, for the past II years to reform the currency and to mitigate or present panics. It claims ability to produce prosperity and to keep the suplpy up to the demand, and it also claims, with out denial, all the masters of finance in the United States. If these things be true why was no measure enacted that would prevent the panic of 1907? The party must really have been de- luded by its oft-repeated declarations into actually believing that such thing was impossible while it was in power. It advised the people to trust in it, and struck off from our coin any trust in 'God.s It charged that the panic of 1893 was brought on by the election of the democratic candidate for President. Possibly next year VIC shall have it explained that the panic of 1907 was caused by the approach ing sh adow of another democratic suc- cess. No one can deny that, so far as Legislation and administration Is con cerned, the panic of 1907 was the off, spring of the republican party; wheth- CT legitimate or illegitimate I shall not now consider, but it cannot be de- nied that it was left on the front steps Of the New York clearing house by it's inh human parents.
 Now, MT. President, when the ma Jority come in here with their bill, confessing their sins, confessing their sin of omission, and attempting some atonement, striking out railroad bonds and emitting many things that they onld like to add and adding some theY