The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-02-13
RAYNER ON ALDRICH BILL
Condemns Present system Of Cure ncy.
md Snyn President intensified pnnin

pph Says President Intensified Panic
WASHINGTON, February I2.-Sent
tor Rayner. of Maryland, spoke 4
length in the Senate ON the currenc
bill. Conforming the present svste,
of banking In the United States. an
incidentally declaring that the Presi
dent by his methods OF fighting til
encroachments of predatory wealth ha
unconsciously done much to intensif,
the panic through which the oountr,
has recently passed. The Senate de
voted two hours to considering th
criminal code.
The truth about the situation" sal,
Mr.. Rayner, lis that the. money 4,
this country is not equally and fairl,
divided, and that it Is concentrated al
points that dominate the banking In.
terests of the land, and the people
who need the money, and the agri-
cultural sections of the country are all
unable to procure 1t when the neces-
sity arises for its use"
MIR. Rayner Went on record as
against credit currency. an asset cur.
rency and central bank of issue. The
great trouble with the pending bill 10
with the reserves, he said. and he
declared that the law regulating them
is simply an undisguised and stupcn-
dous deception and fraud" He said
that the reserve scheme now operated
works dishonesty and disastrously
upon the rights of the American peo-
pie
And now / say. with great Difference
and respect, both for the office and for
its occupant. that the President OF
the United States has also, with the
best intentions, unconsciously con-
trtbuted to the misfortunes that have
overtaken US. Malefactors should re-
ceive penal punishment, and whole
generation of innocent people ought
not to suffer for the sins Of their OBJ
pressors. One day OF imprisonment
would do the work better than all the
heaviest fines that can be levied upon
the Institutions they represent. / diff
fer with the President in his remedies,
because he has suggested one after an
other utterly impossible Of accomplish /
ment by the Federal government
From the violent fervor of the
Presidents utterances there is an idea
running thr"isgn the pubic mind that
h. has oonic to the conclusion that
every man engaged IN large business
enterprise is matof; otol and that
every good citizen of the land ought
to spend at least one term in the peni- /
Tertiary"
Mr.. Rayner closed with a declare.
not be regarded as a party issue.
Money in Country banks.
speech Mr.. .Aldrich recalled what he /
stated was i'll favor of a revision OF
the banking reserve law. but explained
that he did not mean TO say the present
law or the practice under 1t was re-
sporsibie in any sense for the crisis /
through which the country has recent !
1y passed. He said that on December !
Sd the country banks had in their
vaults as reserve $24S.000,000 and II
they had held the amount Senator
Rayner argued they should have the
amount would have been 100000
in gold ami legal tender notes. That
was in their vaults without REGARD o
what they had in reserve cities or the
bank currency they held.
Mr.. Bailey suggested that that was
not a fair statement, because for two
months prior TO December Sd, the coun-
try banks, being unable to get money
II ON the reserve banks, had beenl
boarding their money. Admitting the
truth of this statement, Mr. Aldrich
said he believed the same reserve was
in their vaults in the preceding Au-
gust.
Mr.. Culberson explained that his bill,
now before the Finance Committee, to |
prevent banks from keeping their re-
serves IN other banks, was for the pur- |
pose of keeping the money in the
vaults of country banks, where 1t |
could be used for loans and for NOV
ing crops.
A controversy arose as to whether
such reserve could be used for any
purpose even If kept in the vaults Of |
the banks, MIR. Aldrich maintaining that
1l could not be taken out Senator Hey
burn, as well as Mr.. Culberson, declar-
gency