Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-11-22
ALDRIcH's MONETARY COMMITS.
SION USING A MILLION in
LITERATURE.
BOARDS LITERARY BUREAU
UP IN FRENzIEp FINANCE
Exhaustive Books Being Compiled on
All Phases Of Financial Question
Which No One Will Read-Foreisn
Talent Employed in Commissions
Press Bureau.
Especial Correspondence

| Especial Correspondence
Washington, Nov. "a trif1ing finan-
clal mischance which recently befell
the national monetary commission has
served to call attention to the i'm
mense amount of literature which that
organization is getting prepared at gov
eminent expense, for the purpose of
pushing along the Aldrich propaganda
for currency revision.
The commission, whose head is Sen
ator Aldrich, has started in for great
campaign of education. 1t is prepar-
ing literally to flood the country with
literature from the government printing
office, prepared by a long list of authors,
but all under the general direction of
the commission on financial topics. All
these works. 1t is explained. are be-
ing organized and edited with a view
to supporting the general argument in
favor of central bank of issue. People
who are opposed to that method of
solving the currency question are
charging that the greatest output of
tainted financial literature" ever
dreamed Of. is to be the first product of
the commissions works. On the other
hand the friends and supporters of the
commissions protest that in fact it
has set about the business in hand by
summontng the worlds greatest au-
thor1tles on all aspects of, the subject,
and setting them at work to prepare
discussions on its varied phases.
Whichever view Is correct-and there
is prospect of some critical analytical
discussion Of this very matter-it is
certain that the commission is spending
money with liberality that has caused
some people to wonder where the end
will be.
Expense PiIing Up.
Which recalls the incident of that
financial mischance. 1t is related that
one of the works in this long list Of
financial treatises, which the commits
sion ordered, was on certain features
OF the German currency and banking
system. 1t was turned over to Ger
man professor. high authority, to
produce a brochure. He did so in due
time. sent in the manuscript, and it
was accepted. Later the bill came, and
| 1t was for $4,000.
Now. a bill for $4,000 wouldn't be
very shocking If 1t were the only one
of its kind. But recent list of the
publications which the monetary COM
mission has in preparation or actually
iii press at the government printing
office. contains the titles of fifty-two
works; and this one whose manuscript
brought along bill for $4,000. is only
one of the fifty-two different varieties.
| There appears to be no improperly
in anything the commission has done.
1t was appointed under an authorize
ton which gives it the right to engage
experts, investigate, travel, hold hear
ings, establish all necessary clerical and
editorial force, and publish whatever
matter 1t may deem necessary. But
there is some disposition, especially
among the opponents of a central bank,
| to question whether the commission is
not constituting its grant OF powers with
a rather expensive liberality.
Literary Efforts Enormous.
| A recent estimate declared that at
the rate the commission is now moving.
1T is liable to spend million dollars
before it is ready to make a final re-
port. The ultimate expense will de-
pend largely on the number of copies
| of the various documents that are or
dered printed. The demand for these
promises to be very large and there
will be effort to supply them to every
body who happens to want them. The
purpose is education and DEVELOPMENT
of public opinion, and of course the
most effective way of reaching an audi
ence is thru the use of printers ink in
liberal fashion The measure of liber-
ality with which the commission is hav-
ing library of Its subject prepared is
suggested by a glance at the catalogue
qualifications now in press or in pro-
cess of preparation.
"a Digest of State Banking Laws. /"
by Samuel A. Weldon, will contain
about 500 pages. 1t is now in press
Statistics for the United States"
from 1857 to 1909 is in press and will
include ESQ pages.
1.-The Safety fund Banking System
in New York From 1929 to 1856" will
be history of the New York experience
with the system of mutual guarantee
of bank deposits. 1t is in press. and
cover about ITO pages.
"a History of State Banks Before
the Civil War" is expected to be a
very voluminous document; the num-
Der of pages is not forecasted, and It
is described as in preparation. DR..
Davis r. Dewey is preparing it. The
same author is preparing a History
OF the Second Bank of the United
States" which will cover about $50
pages and is now in press.
| Interviews of the monetary commits
sion with officers of great banks in
England, Germany, France, Italy and
about $50 pages.
DR.. o. w. M. Sprague, of Harvard, is
preparing History of Crises under
the National Banking System" which
is expected to be exhaustive, but whose
probable volume has not been calcu-
lated as yet.
long series Of volumes are coming,
giving the history Of the banks or the
credit systems of England, Canada.
Germany France and other countries.
One Of these for instance, is a trans
lation Of the proceeding of the German
Bank Inquiry of 1908, in 1,140 pages,
now in press.
| Still More to Follow.
| 1t is not understood that the literary
work Of the commission is by any
means completed with the ffty-two
books, of which the foregoing are ran
dom samples. The commission does
&c. expect to have report for CON
J a..