Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-12-13
MONETARY COMMISSION
Issues Publications Calculated to Give
Clear Understanding of Conditions.

Washington, Dec. 12.-Information of
unique value to the financial world and to
all students of economies, regarding the
monetary and banking systems of all the
civilized nations, including the United
States, will be made available during the
coming year through a score or more of
volumes prepared by the leading author
tiles in America, England, and Europe,
and to be published under the auspices of
the National Monetary Commission. 1t
will constitute library of banking with
out parallel in the literature of any
country, and will supply what is at pres
ent practically an absolute lack of in
formation in the English language re-
garding the development during recent
years of the financial systems Of the
world
The Monetary Commission issued here
tonight a statement outlining the scope
of the forthcoming publications and the
exhaustive investigation which resulted
in the compilation of the material. The
Commission urged all bankers, business
men, and students of finance to avail
themselves of the opportunity thus Of
fered to study the conditions and expert
ences of other countries as well as of our
own. From this statement it appears
that the Commission for year and a
half has been engaged in collecting infor-
nation about the banking and currency
systems of the leading countries of the
world, and list has recently appeared
of the publications which the Commits
sion now has in press or is preparing for
wi a
the public in the near future.
In the summer of 1903. when Senator AL
drich and the Commission set about the
task intrusted to them of informing
themselves as to the best means for mod
flying our banking and creuit system.
they We're surprised to discover the lack
of literature dealing with the modern de-
velopment of banking and the recent
changes made in many foreign banking
systems. With regard to banking in
France and Germany and other European
countries, there was scarcely anything in
English which dealt with the practical
operations and relations of the banks or
which discussed anything more than the
history of banking legislation. Even in
the case of England no work of impor-
lance dealing with the English banking
system had appeared for more than
generation, and the whole modern use of
credit instruments and the evolution of
check and deposit banking, which have
so changed the character of the system
from what it was in the middle of the
nineteenth century, remained undis-
cussed. The only considerable work
upon the English system which had
been published in more than thirty
years was by a Greek professor and
written in French. (This work Of An
dreades has subsequently been translated
into English.)
With regard to banking in the United
States, no coherent and comprehensive
history had been written which covered
more than cursorily the significant de-
velopments in banking during the half
century since the civil war. If the bank
ing problems confronting the United
States today were to ne studied in the
light of the worlds experiences and with
any satisfactory knowledge of existing
conditions in the United States, it was
necessary to enter upon a series of inves-
LEGATIONS much more thorough and far
reaching than had ever been made before
and to postpone any attempt 10 formulate
plan for reorganizing the system until
this investigation had been completed.
The commission has sought to secure the
facts concerning the existing systems of
banking and currency in the leading COM
mercial nations of the world. 1t has Sc
cured comprehensive information from
England, Germany, France, Switzerland,
Sweden, Belgium, and Japan, and has in
addition secured considerable material
with regard to banking in Mexico, Rus
STA, Austria Hungary, and Holland. The
list of publications which has recently
been given to the public conveys an i'm
pressive picture of the substantial way in
which this effort has been carried out
and of the encyclopedia scope of the COM
missions Investigations.
Zachariah Williams, who resides in the