Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-02-01
.BONN|F|ELD
ON CURRENCY
OTTUMWA BANKER GIVES HIS
VIEWS ON THE MONEY
QUESTION.

The following paper has been
prepared by w. B. Bonnifeld, one
OF 1owa's leading bankers, rela-
tive to the question of new cur
rency laws, question now before
congress:
Dear Editor: There are variety Of
causes and remedies now being offer
ed, both in and out of congress, for
the financial stress which the whole
country is now passing through.
| know that it is said that too many
cooks spoil the broth, but I will ven
ture to put my ladle in on this occa-
sion of financial mixture.
have a bill before me now, that is
befng offered in congress, by a dis.
tinguished U. S. senator, upon the
merits of which he asks my opinion
and criticism The only criticism
have to make on this bill is to draw
my pen across the whole OF it. The
principal provision of this bill is that
all banks shall pay into the treasury
of the U. S. liquidation fund AMI
upon the failure of any national bank
this fund shall be drawn upon at once.
sufficient to pay all deposits of such
failed banks.
l think that all banks that did not
fall and did not seek shelter in clear
ing house certificates, in our last dis.
turbance, would have had a pretty
lively time to pay all the deposits Of
the failed banks in order that these
banks might keep open, as this bill
provides for. This plan would be a
kind of socialism; a theory Of regeu-
Grating society by a more equal dis
trihution of property; substituting as
ISOLATION for competition. think that
until God has made some amend.
ments to the psychology of human ma
ture. that congress had better not
NEEDLE with that feature of finance.
Mr. Bryan presents his plan of Sc
curing all deposits by taxing the pru-
dent to pay the losses of those gthHt
are less prudent and take less care in
making deposits. His plan would
doubtless meet with more favor, If he
would go further and have his psyco-
logical mind provide for a per cent
profit on all capital engaged in any
business. This would be glorious.
Then we need not care whether
school keeps or not, but just deposit
our money in the first cross roads
bank we come to. Then we have the
plan of central bank strongly advo.
Gated. General Jackson vetoed the
only central bank we ever had and
that veto made General Jackson a
hero and put him into the presiden-
tial chair and we are banqueting him
to this day as the father or democracy
and embodiment Of all that is good
Politicians seem to never learn
anything and they sometimes try to
forget everything they ever did know
and when they attempt to leave the
eternal principle of finance, as laid
down by the Creator in the beginning
and seek for something that will make
us all get rich quick we are lost in
the mazes of Inconsistencies and don't
know where we are.
In the beginning all commerce was
barter and not new principle has,
been added to commerce since the
days Of Adam. Only new methods
have been added. In the fitness Of
time it became necessary to have
measure of values. something
by which one thing can be measured
by another God said to his children
that they would find gold in the land
of Havilah and that this gold was
good; that man should earn his bread
by the sweat of the brow God had
distributed this gold IN the ground so
that it cost great labor to get it. We
all want the gold and the bread but
we don't want to sweat for it. We are
peculiar people. Hero worshippers!
We like heroes in politics, in finance
and in every thing we have to deal
with.
Mr.. Bryan said this gold standard
was Grown Of thorns.' being press
ed on the brow of labor. For this
saying. he is declared a hero and per.
haps it will make him president yet.
Grover Cleveland made financial poi
cies paramount in his management of
the government until the U. S. treas
ury had run dry. He then offered
$200000,000 four per cent 80 year
bonds for sale. ]. p Morgan went to
Europe and sold for future delivery
all of these bonds we did not take
Mr. Morgan was hero. Just at that
time there was a war cloud hanging
on the horizon of Cuba and there were
So million of these bonds left on our
hands The war cloud soon raised
and these bonds went up to IS per
cent premium Now, Mr.. Morgan is
called hero. He came to the rescue
of the Wall street banks with 25 mil
lion TO save them from going to the
wall in the late panic. Because of the
political financial policy of Grover
Cleveland, Mr.. Morgan was enabled
to save up % million to help the New
York banks out of their troubles. Mr..
Morgan is hero! And herein lies
our financial trouble, we are getting
too many millionaires: they are too
easy to make and with mo sweat of
the brow They are getting to be
menace to our republican institutions
and through the training of skilled
lawyers, these millionaires now seem
ingly are beyond the reach of govern
ment, or law, and president that
tries to get back to safety is dubbed
a dangerous man, a disturber of pros