Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-11-03
PROF. SCOTT FAVORS
GENERAL BANK PLAN
Says That is Only Solution of
Financial Troubles.
United States is the Only Great Nation
in the World Not Having Such
System.

System.
The best and only solution for the
financial problems which confront
the country is held by Prof William
A. Scott, school of commerce of the
University of Wisconsin, 70 be a
central bank.
This proposition was advanced by
PIof. Scott at the initial dinner of
the season of the Sunset club in the
Hotel Charlotte Wednesday night.
The best and only solution is a
central bank said the professor.
after a review of financial conditions
from civil war times to the present.
SOne reason is that it is the historical
solution. 1t has been evolved IN
every country OF the world except the
United States. Further than that it
would have been evolved in a perfect
~ normal way in the United States
had it not been for Andrew Jackson
and his friends. -
Prof. Scott said that the financial
problems which confronted the coun
try were the outgrowth of conditions
since the civil war. He traced the
history of the national banks and the
greenback issues saying it was expect
ed that the national banks would
cause the state banks to go out of
existence.
CALLS SYSTEM UNRESPONSIVE.
This expectation at one time looked
as though it would be realized, but of
late years the state banks had 1ncreas-
ed remarkably until now they exceed
ed the national banks in number.
The present currency system, he said,
was 'unresponsive' to the needs of
commerce. He traced the different
reasons, which to his mind made this.
He said one of the difficulties in
discussing this question was the fact
that few people saw the significance
of the connection between conditions
in finance. Inelasticity was only one
of the difficulties or problems to be
met Another was that the ma
chimney of currency issue was in the
hands of people who were interested
In but one branch of commerce, the
branch of securities. The great re-
serve banks in New York were con-
trolled by people interested in big
railroad deals and great industrial
enterprises. so the currency of the
country was uset in the interest of
finance instead of commerce.
One fourth of the property of the
country, he said, was represented by
the negotiable securities of the coun-
try. There was too much currency
tied up in the fixed form of invest
ments. Then the independent treasury
system was also responsible in part
for the present difficulties. Some of
the secretaries of the treasury in
recent years had assumed the position
OF controller of the money market.
HITS TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
The results as shown by statistics
and investigation was that this con-
troi had been absolutely irregular and
sporadic and a great disturbing force
of a violent character, because the
banking world did not know what
was going to be done.
The connection between the treas
ury department and the money market
should be severed. 1t is wholly bad
and ought to be modified" said the
speaker.
Prof. Scott then said that the best
solution was a central bank system
which had been tried In European
countries with success.
1T said" he continued, that
you can not apply foreign conditions
to the United States. l grant that
such anaIogies are dangerous. But
it is we'll to consider that while all
foreign countries differ from one
another as much as they differ from
the United States yet in one thing all
agree and that is ON a central bank.
is not this Significant England
and France are different, yet each has
its central bank. France and Russia
are different, but each has the central
bank. Milwaukee Sentinel.