The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-07
Merchants Want Something to
 Prevent PanicS
FAMILY OF BRYAN VOTERS
Illinois Has 17 Bryan Voters In One Bunch-Position of Gompers Has
 Been Mlsrepresented By
 Republican Papers.
By THOMAS J. PENCE.

l Chicago September 6 - (Speclal.)- George M. Coffin, former deputy comp troller of the currency, has come forward as a defender of the democratic declara- tion in favor of the guaranteeing of bank deposits In a statement dated New York | MT. Coffin takes issue with an editorial in the New York Times on the subject of guaranteeing bank deposits MT. Coffin shows the advantages to be derived by | bank deposltors in big cities from the democratic plan of bank protection. lie | says in his article:
 Your editorial on Government Guar l antees' is very interesting, and l trust 1t l will start serious discussion of two is | sues which are bound to lead in the | presidential campaign, namely, the re- | vision of the tariff and the guarantee of national bank deposits by the federal gov- ernment. Because MT. Bryan advocates the latter there is no reason why it should not be discussed fairly and squarely.
 | And MT. Bryan is not the only advo- cate, for, at the last session of Congress 1 MT. Fowler, republican chairman Of the l committee on banking and currency, ln- troduced bill 12,677, which provided for the guarantee of all individual deposits, l all bank notes, all bank deposits, and all | government deposits without discrimina- ton or preference This bill was re- 1 ferred to the banking and currency com mittee with its republican majority, and | by 1t favoraby reported to the House 1 on February B. 1908. So MT. Bryan is not unique in his advocacy of this bank de- posit guarantee idea.
 l What MT. Bryan. MT. Fowler, mer- chants and depositors generally want is something which will prevent a repetition 1 of the financial catastrophe of last Octo- l ber when the business of the whole eoun- try was prostrated. You say that not a single depositor in any New York bank | lost anything by the "embarrassment' | of last October, but how long did these l depositors have their funds tied up where 1 they could not use them? And who can measure the suffering and bardships 1 caused by the huge bank failures in New York city last fall?
 "As matter of fact, in New York city some 15 national banks, state banks and trust companies, with aggregate of l $250, 900 900 of deposits, either failed or | had serious runs on them. And it is a strange fact that while this was hap 1 pening in New York city there was only one little bank failure in the great city l of Chicago.
 "Your statement that not a single de- | positor in any New York bank lost any thing, and that no depositor ever lost 1 dollar in any New York trust company 1 since the establishment of the system l is the severest arraignment yet made Of | the management of financial affairs in | New York last fall. If these banks and trust companies were all so good that the | depositors will all get their money. why were they permitted to close their doors? | Was it because the financial magnates did not know what to do, or was it because some of them wanted things that could only be had by bank failures or the threat | of it?
 "Whatever may be the merits or the de- , merits of the guarantee of bank deposits, | 1t ought to be and will be thoroughly dis | cussed."
 Announcement Is made by Chairman Norman E. Mack that John B. Lamb of | Indiana, chairman of the text book com- | mittee, and member of the advisory committee. has been appointed vice chair l man of the executive committee. MT. 1 Lamb has been in the city for several
 weeks, engaged in the work of preparing the campaign text book, and Is in charge of the democratic headquarters, and will
 represent Chairman Mack until his re- l turn from New York Monday. At the
 request of Chairman Mack, MT. Lamb
 will be on duty in an advisory capacity at the Chicago headquarters during the cam-
 paign. The reports that Vice Chairman
 Lamb has received at headquarters from all sections of the country are fine. He has been in frequent communication with I haf ha
 eastern situation looks good for the na- tional democracy.
 Advance copies of the democratic text
 book have been received at democratic | headouarters. The first edition of 10000
 copies will be placed in circulation next
 week. The text book will be available
 for the public at 25 cents copy, which Is about the cost of printing and post
 age.
 Senator Thomas P. Gore of Oklahoma
 was a caller at democratic headquarters
 today. Speaking of the political situa-
 ton he said: q have been In Oklahoma
 most of the time since the Denver con-
 yention. Of course. Oklahoma Is all right,
 being one of the banner democratic
 states. For the past 10 days.f have trav- eled in Ohio and Indiana. The situa-
 ton looks good for the democrats in both
 those states I spent three days in Ohio
 and was much impressed with the fact
 that a great many republicans are openly
 proclaiming their allegance to Bryan and
 Kern. From all that I have heard and observed Ohio is certainly good fighting
 ground I was in Toledo on the occasion
 of the reunion of the c. A. R. l met old
 veterans who will vote the democratic
 ticket this year for the first time l
 could not help but think that it afforded
 A sense of satisfaction to the patriots who | followed Grant and his valiant fighters
 through the struggles of the civil war that Judge Taft, in his Toledo speech,
 refrained from discussing the morals and
 personal habits of the great federal com
 mander Tn that conflict"
 Senator Gore spoke at Rennsalaer.
 Ind. yesterday with John H. Atwood,
 chairman of the speakers bureau. They
 had the biggest audience in the politi-
 cal history of Rennsalaer, and according
 to all newspaper reports it was most | enthusiastic crowd that greeted them.
 "In the course of my speech" con-
 tinued the blind senator, T dwelt at
 some length on the subject of the guar
 anteeing of bank deposits. This is a
 question that came home with particu- lar force to the people of Rennsalaer for ] the reason that there have been two