The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-11-13
BY ellison Gardner.

CHICAGO, Nov. III came to
Chicago to hear what Senator
Aldrich had to say to the Com
mercial club about his central
bank plan. I heard him talk for
an hour and 80 minutes, and
learned:
THAT Senator Aldrich liked
the central banks he saw in Lon
don, Paris and Berlin.
2-That Senator Aldrich favors
a large bank backed by the credit
of the government.
3-That Senator Aldrich wants
"a bank of issue" with authority
to put out paper money, practi
Ieally without limit, based merely
on the credit of the bank.
4-That Senator Aldrich re
CARDS the present law as to ere
serves" as too stringent. He sug.
gests that per cent of cash and
Is per cent of commercial credits
are sufficient reserve for paper
money to be issued.
5-That Senator Aldrich is not
prepared to disclose his plan OF
the text of his proposed law.
6-That the promise of the
monetary commission is for nc
report before 1911.
/ was not surprised. AS long
ago as last February l had learn.
ed all these things. l was told
all about the program which is
now being carried out with preci
sion and with care. The man who
told me said:
There are two main features
in the program program look
ing to the gathering in of all the
great banking institutions of the
country into big government
backed trust. The first feature
is a gentle but persistent knock
ing of the present banking ant
currency law. 1t must be shown
that at present things are bad
The "inelastic currency" and al
that are to be gently agitated
until the ground is ready for the
seed.
1.-THE second feature Of the Aid.
rich program is the vague sugges
|tion of central bank The sena
tor will not come out and avov
his plan with frankness. NJ
member of the so-called commits
sion will say specifically that thi.
is wanted. But there is to be {
continuous repetition of thu
phrase central bank until the
public becomes accustomed to 1t.
sound.
This forestalls the critics. 1
is hard to criticise a phrase. TIL,
real plan and the real text of tn,
bill will be kept back until tn,
time seems opportune for a quicl
Legislative coup. This is tn,
Aldrich method. 1t is what h,
always does. He prefers to legis
late behind the closed doors of f.;
committee room; and I predic
that the real kernel of the Aid
rich central bank law, when 1t Il
finally passed, will find it's wa.
into the law in the mysteriou.
happenings of that subterranear
region known as the conference
committee
Meantime look out for several
hundred pounds of monographs.
These monographs" are specially
prepared articles and books de-
signed to show that what Mr.. Aid
rich will eventually report will be
very wise. Mr.. Aldrich has made
the boast that he will have a shelf
eight feet long full of authority
for mis- proposition. They are now
in course of preparation. Some
are now in course of preparation.
Some are done. Some are being
written. Some are in the press.
They are paid for from the pub
lie funds and the charge goes
against the general expenses OF
The United States senate-that is,
he contingent fund.-" Thous-
ands of dollars have already been
,pent. Professors in colleges,
editors of newspapers.
writer's, bankers at
,ome and abroad, have been lib.
srally subsidized on the pretext
If payment for making mono
graphs on the history Of banking
md finance.
Nobody is expected TO read
.hese publications, but 1t is antici-
pated that they win look very Inn
posing, and help to spread the
Idea that Mr.. Aldrich is a very
learned financier and the COM
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