The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-26
A|drich- -VreeIand Hybrid Is Lat-
 est Plan Of Legislation
,CRATS WILL REJECT II %g
,peaker Cannon Lives In Hope That Agreement May Yet Be Reached Upon Currency Matters, But
 Chances Are Slight.

| Washington, May 25.-Currency legisla- tion was the chief topic between leaders
 of the Senate and House today The
 revival of the discussion came unexpect- edly and led to all sorts of rumors of
 probable agreement between the con- ferees on the Aldrich-Vreeland bill, look ing to the enactment of measure at tue
 present session.
 l Many republican members of the House 1 do not seek to disguise their fear that
 if Congress should adjourn without pass
 ing an emergency currency bill the failure | to take action would be disastrous to | the majority. This fear was emphasized by Representative Bartholdt of Missouri, chairman of the House committee on pub
 lie buildings, who declared that he would not submit his conference report on the 1 omnibus public buildings bill until legis- lation had been assured. His action holds the buildings bill In which 136 members of the House and many senators are interested over the heads of "any recalcit-
 rant group or faction that may be up- posed to an agreement on emergency cur rency. There are many members of both branches of Congress who believe that the impression given out by many leaders that there is no hope for action at the present session is for the purpose
 of arousing the country to demand action before adjournment. Early In the day the
 report was circulated In the House that
 there was a movement on foot to "dove tair' the Aldrich and Vreeland bills, re-
 taining the principal features of each.
 Emergency Currency.
 The effect of this course would be to
 permit individual banks to take out emer-
 gency circulation on government, state,
 county or municipal bonds. or as an all ternative proposition to take out emer- gency circulation on commercial paper
 to be guaranteed by banks of clearing house association as provided by the Vreeland bill. It was the idea in the
 House that this provision could be amend ed so as to be acceptable to the Senate by defining the character, of the se- curities, such as prescribing that they shall have two indorsers and not run for
 more than 90 days. It was suggested further that the emergency circulation measure should not operate for more than three years and that in the mean time there could be a general revision
 of the currency and banking laws.
 No sooner had this scheme for a com
 promise reached the Senate than the dern ocratc leaders served notice on Senator
 Aldrich that they were ready to talk for
 0 month to prevent any feature of the Vreeland bill becoming a law. Although Speaker Cannon was supposed to father the compromise movement 1t met with decided opposition in the House. Repre-
 sentative Burton of Ohio, one of the re-
 publican conferees on the bill, had op posed the Aldrch measure and was pledged to a considerable following to
 Go all he could do to prevent the adoption of any of Its principles.
 Little Chance Left.
 Conceding that the democrats of the Senate will not yield and they are not So likely as the republicans to "be starved out' by the holding up of the public build ings bill and that Representative Burton and his followers in the House cannot be persuaded to accept the AldrIch bill, the
 chance for legislation Is slight It is in
 such a contingency that, according to the
 belief of many, public demand Is expect ed to play a strong part. When the
 Aldrich bill was passed by the Senate
 Speaker Cannon was thought to favor 1t and he may not be wholly averse to ] its adoption at this tune. Public demand, l therefore may be directed at MT Burton and those who believe with him that 1t would be better not to have any legisla- ton than to accept the Aldrich bill.
 | That Speaker Cannon entertains hopes l that there will yet be an agreement is ind tad hxyt ia "a Df- -ar l arms of the House IS admonishing mem- l hers not to leave the city until final ad- journment has been decided upon and in | Eome cases members who have already | gone home have been asked to come back.