The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-11-09
Senator Aldrich Tells Business
Men of st. Louis That the
Currency Cannot Be Re-
formed by Act of One Man.
COMMISSION READY TO
TAKE EXPERT ADVICE
Wants of the Country and
Town as Well as Those of
the Large Cities VIII Be
Giv6r Fullest Consideration,
MERIT OF CREDIT SYSTEM

st. Louis. Nov s.-With emphasis even
stronger than in his Chicago speech. Sena-
tor AldTich made it evident to the BUSH
ness men Of St Louis today and tonight
that 1t is his purpose to devote himself to
the one work Of reforming the currency
system of the United States. He spoke
briefly today before a limited gathering
of bankers at the MONDAY club, and more
extendedly tonight beIore the CONNER
cial club.
Senator Aldrich spoke informally to-
night.
Il don't come to you with any plan Of
monetary reform" he said. Indeed, If
1 should be delegated today individually
and personally 20 prepare a scheme for
a new system of finance for the country,
l should be al q loss to know how TO pro-
coed. 1 should find it necessary to enter
upon a careful Investigation and would
not undertake to formulate anything with
out mucn more study than 1 have
been able to give to this subject Even
in that event, ! should want your advice
and cooperation, and should ask your
aid, Just as I am asking it now for the
commission.
81 realize, as I know all of you do, the
absolute necessity Of reforming the cur
Tency upon the broadcast national lines.
The work to be done cannot be done by
any one man, nor by any set Of men; It
cannot be done by any one party, nor in
the interest of any one section. 1t can
not be done by a commission or by con-
gress without the aid of the country at
large.
All Must Be Considered.
"Our plan must be one that will take
into consideration the wants of the town
and Of the country, as well as those Of
the city We cannot afford and shall
not attempt to legislate alone for New
oil. .-1sra~
but we must legislate for St. Louis, Chi
cago, Denver, Louisville, Atlanta-for
Springfield, Peoria and Little Rock.
Our system must be one that will
satisfy the manufacturers of New Eng
land, the agriculturists Of the Mississippi
sauey, the niiuCrz 81 the Rocky noun
tains and the Pacific cOast and the n1er-
chants Of all sections. Surely, the task
before US is one of gigantic proportions,
and the results Of our efforts, good or
bad, must depend not alone upon our own
wisdom, but upon the assembled good
judgment of the leading banking and COM
mercial men of the entire nation
1T is because 1 have come to realize
the great magnitude of this work. and its
lmitless possibilities, beneficent or other
wise, that I come to you at this early
stage in our proceedings TO tell you, not
only for myself but for the commission,
in so far as 1 can, just what we have
done, and to ask your cooperation in our
future proceedings.
"A portion of the commission has visited
the principal capitals of Europe, and
some of our members have Travelled some
what through the United States in their
investigations Moreover, we have had
published a number Of monographs deal
ing with many phases Of the banking
question. These have been written by
gentlemen who have the confidence OF
the commission, but who are not mem
bers of it. They have been instructed,
however, to guard these pamphlets from
all prejudicial views; and they are in
tended not to shape the thought Of the
country, but simply to supply Informal
ton upon which views may be based.
Suggestions Desired.
From this time forward the commits
sion will give attention largely to con-
ditions in the United States, and We
shall soon begin to call upon men in
whose Judgment we have confidence to
present their views for our benefit We
especially desire suggestions from men of
practical experience. We have enough
already by way of contribution from
cranks and demagOgues.
1.-THE work upon which we are enter
ing is one of the most serious ever under
taken, and it must be the result of prac-
teal suggestions, rather than Of theo-
retical dissertation"
The nearest approach that Mr.. Aldrich
made to any indication of a plan was his
discussion of bank issues. He again said
LllGL european tOultEltS were NleANC dEAN ecu
on that subject, and again referred to the
circumstances that most Of those coun-
tries maintained central banking institu-
tons for the issuance of bank paper
He stated, however, that it could not
be expected that any European banking
system could be transplaEted in its en-
tirety to this country, and he again
pointed out the great necessity Of find
ing a plan that would not disturb estab-
lished banks nor interfere with the prog
ress of business. Whatever system should
be asopted he said, must be one looking
to gradual changes and must have due
regard to vested interests and sectional
usages. Again he assured his hearers OF
his desire to hold the subject entirely
above political bias; and he went into
some detail to convince his audience thai
1t would be possible to adopt a system
that would accomplish this desirable re-
suit.
Again, also, Mr.. AldTich dwelt upon the
necessity of developing a system of credit
that would protect the country against
such disastrous results as were expert
enced during the bankers panic of 1907
He expressed the decided opinion that
with proper safeguards the country need
not again submit to such a general crash
as then was precipitated, with so little
reason.
He was confident that with q SUI
ficiently elastic and q sufficiently effec-
tive credit system, such conditions as
arose previous to that disaster could be
entirely averted or so restricted as to af-
feet only a few plungers and their i'm