Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-02-28


ducing masses of this country. (Ap-l
plause).
No Explanation Required.
1t is not my business to explain this
panic. | have not felt as much of it as
some of you have. In fact, my cCnnec-
| ton with it has not been embarrass-
| ing. Uaughter). And, politically, my
connection with it has been anything
but embarrassing for it has at least
robbed the country of the argument |
that my party was the only party I'M
der whose administration a panic could |
come. Great laughter and applause) |
If | were a financier and my word |
was good on finance, l would say that |
INSTEAD of locating the blame on too |
large an issue of stocks it ought to be |
located on the issue of paper money, |
and bonds that do not represent value
or even honesty in business. Great
lapplause) The gentleman (EX-Secre- |
tary Gage) did me the honor to quote
something that | said last night. | am
glad that he quoted; | was afraid it
would not get into the papers. The
: appeared in print and l am gratified
And, my friends, l do not overstate
it. In fact, knowing that | was where
, language was carefully examined |
was especially cautious as to the use
of language, and | shall not put this
government, which bought silver at GO
cents and coined it into a dollar i'll the
same category or company with those
who fioated the billions of dollars of
stocks and bonds that represented
nothing but the expectation that those
who issued them would unmolested,
reach their hands into the pockets of
the people and draw from them divi-
| dends to which they were not en-
: titled. The government did buy silver
D at 60 cents and coin it into a dollar
D and no man who took the dollar ever
: lost one cent, and that can not be
: said of the men who took the secur-
2 tiles and suffered a shrinkage of one
S half. So much for the cause of the
t panic.
Must Suggest Remedies.
But, my friends, the study of causes
= does not help us unless it suggests
remedies, and it seems to me it is
time to suggest remedies. | have
, heard that elastic currency was nee
. essary. | am led TO the conclusion
to night that we have overestimated
= the need for elasticity, for if We can
= postpone for a year the getting of
> that elasticity merely because the cam
II.
as | had been led to think. Great
:, applause and laughter.) | had been
, losing sleep at night. (Cries: You
:, don't look like it'll wondering how
:, long it would be before we could re-
; spond to the urgent need for elastic
) currency. | had been anxious that as
= little time should intervene as pos
sible, and have been much disturbed
q by the failure of our advisers to agree
= upon some plan which would at once
relieve the stringency We have two
~ bills in congress, one known as the
- Aldrich bill attempts to provide an
- emergency currency by the issue OF
bank notes upon certain securities de
- posted with the government. The
- Fowler bill contemplates an entire
n change in our bank currency. 1t is
- even more radical than that proposed
"a by the Aldrich bill. At present the
NJ bank notes rest on government bonds
\ and | do not think it is so absurd
90 as Mr.. Gage seems to, that the gov
- eminent should make its bonds tht
basis of notes, if we are to have banl
~ notes or that the government should
40 guarantee the notes that rest upon it,
=. own bonds. And the stringency is no
= now as great as it would have beef
-. if there had been doubt as to the abil
-, ity of the banks to redeem their notes
~ The best feature of the bank note il
- the government guarantee; when mel
take it, they do not ask whether tn,
bank is a good one, they take it be
cause the government is back of il
IL Here is the difficulty about the emer
gency currency proposed. 1t mus
10 either be bank currency or a govern
nv ment currency, and those who want
" bank currency seem to be so deter
=. mined that it shall be a bank cul
u rency that they are not willing tina
~ the distress shall be relieved by a gov
NC eminent currency In other words
" the principle involved is to them NOR
&c than the need to be supplied Gel
u tainly, the emergency is not great i
no if it can be postponed or defeate
nc merely because you have to accept
%. government note instead of a ban
IN note. The first thing to be consdere
IL is whether this should be a govern
les ment note or bank note. If | wer
'nn discussing the Aldrich bill. there ar
Vi several features which l would crit
iCe CHE. one of them the Use of the raj
ui road bond as a security. If | wer
hu discussing the Fowler bill, there are
number of features of that bill tn;
iot | would criticize. The Aldrich bi
er- proposes a bank note resting on va
Sill ious kinds of bonds, and the Fowlt
en- bill proposes a bank note resting upo
~ no bonds, but upon the assets of tt