Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-04-27
SOUNDS A WARNING
NOTED correspondent ON GUAR.
ANTEED DEPOSITS Plan.
Discovering the Tremendous POpu.
Iarity of BrYan'S Plan for inSurinq
Bank DepOSifOrS, He Wants to
Know what Republicans Have to
Offer.

Walter Wellman, Washington cor
respondent for the Chicago Record
Herald (rep.) has recently made a
trip through the country and, as a
result, is greatly impressed with the
plan. Following are extracts from
an article written by Mr.. Wellman
and printed in the RecOrdHerald of
Thursday, April 8:
What have the republicans to offer
the country as an offset to this plank
as a means of winning votes? The
Aldrich bill?
In any consideration of the chances
of the parties in the coming struggle
for control of the government these
highly important facts must not be
overlooked At the present time it
is true, the republican leaders have
little conception Of the significance
of this issue. They do not realize the
advantage which advocacy of deposit
guarantee Is sure to give the demo-
cracy. But they will realize it be-
fore the campaign is over. If they
fail to provide an adequate Offset,
either by legislation or by like dec
laration in their own platform, they
will regret it before election day next
November.
Mr.. Bryan never did a shrewder
thing in his life than when he filed
a caveat upon the suggestion of COM
pulsory insurance and guarantee OF
deposits in national banks. The lead
ers of the republican party at Wash
ington may go on with their heads in
the sand; the big bankers who do
not want the little bankers to gain
the advantage of equal security may
pooh-pooh as much as they like; the
historians may point out that the
idea is not original with Mr.. Bryan;
the theorists may sneer at what they
choose to call socialistic PROPOSE
ton. These things do not change
the facts. And the facts are that de-
posit insurance and guarantee under
the supervision of the government
and at the expense of the banks or
their customers has taken deep
hold upon the public--a hold so deep
that if one political party favors it
and the other does not, the first
gains a distinct and possibly decisive
advantage in the coming campaign.
And Mr.. Bryan was clever enough to
make sure that his name was asso-
ciated with the idea.
There are two things the people OF
the country everywhere are talking
about: The recent panic and means
of preventing more panics, and the
making of new president of tie
United States. What statesman, pol
itician, candidate or leader has
brought forth an idea that links the
two things together in the opinion
of the masses of people? Mr.. Bryan
and Mr.. Bryan alone. Call it clever
adaptation of another mans idea, or
imitation, or plagiarism, or what you
choose. The fact remains that Mr..
Bryan has filed a caveat. The peo-
pie are willing to give him a patent.
1t stands before the country as the
Bryan idea. Many other men have
advocated the same thing much more
ably than Mr.. Bryan, conspicuous
among them be Mr.. Revell Of Chi
cago. Some, indeed, advocated it be-
fore Mr.. Bryan did. But it was Bry-
an who gave it life and vogue and
caught the attention Of the country
with it.
That most delightful and lovable
of men, the late John Hay, used to
tell me little story of a farmer
friend of his who put it:
at doesn't make half so much diff
renee what man says as 1t does
whar he set when he says it,"
Mr.. Bryan sat in the right place.
And he said what the majority OF the
people believe is the right thing.
Then the panic came along. 1t
shocked men into thought. 1t filled
the country with thinkers, students
all convinced such disasters were
preventable and that, being prevent
able, they must somehow be prevent
ed. But how? By what means?
Most people thought it was to be
done by some currency tinkering,
more money or an elastic currency
or an emergency currency. But who
put his finger on the right spot? Who
came forward with the suggestion
which struck the hard-headed, every