Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-08-24
Says Speaker Has Voted Wrong on
Every Monetary Measure.
INSIDE HISTORY OF LATER
lUnclc Joe Accused of HOOting a 2
Of Panic in 1907. Z
SPEAKERS POWER IS TOO GRE
dDepOsed Chairman Makes Appeal 70,
New House that VIII Insist
Upon Revision of the
Rules.


ELIZABETH. N. J.. Aug. 2s-The fol-
Moving is in part an open letter addressed
10 Speaker Cannon which given out
there today by Congressman Charles n.
fFowler Of New Jersey former chairman of
the house committee on banking and cur
trency:
ELIZABETH, N. j., Aug. %, 1sOo-Hon.
Joseph @. Cannon, Danville, ILL.,: My Dear
sir-During the last two or three months
y I have observed from time to time in the
spress OF the country certain news items
Bisparaging my ability in certain directions
which have every reason to believe have
lemanated from you.
/ desired the chairmanship of the bank
ing and currency committee and have used
all seIf-respeeting and honorable means to
retain It. simply because It would enable
me TO advance right thought and possibly
prevent the passage Of bad legislation.
| However, chairmanships do not make men,
but men make chairmanships. 1t was
therefore wholly immaterial to me person
ally whether you appointed me TO the
chairmanship or another.
The fact then has been fairly established
! that you knew that 1 would get agree
I lnents, but what you were afraid Of was
that those agreements would not serve
fyour purposes.
Cannon's Financial Record.
Now, what has been your record for the
last thirty-six years upon the financial and
currency questlOn-that you should assume
10 dictate Legislation OF the United
States upon this all important question.
Upon the 18th OF April, ls7A you voted
/ for q bill which Is described by John Sher-
man in these words: 1T provided for an
| expansion OF an irredeemable currency"
When this bill passed both houses. Presi-
Gent Grant vetoed it. 1t was the so-called
''greenback bill"
January II, 1876, the act for the resump-
tion OF specie payments passed by the re-
publican house by q vote Of l36 to IS. but
you did NOT vote for at y.
on october p. 1877. you introduced a
ball ITO repeal the time clause OF the re-
sumption act"
on November 1s. 1877, you made a speeeh
declaring that It was as much reputation
TO pay in gold alone as in irredeemable
paper. You had much TO say about gold
Tepudlationists-"
On November "a 1871. you voted for a bill
TO repeal ali that part of the resumption
act which authorized the secretary OF the
treasury to dispose Of United States bonds
and cancel greenbacks.
On November 5. you voted for a bill for
the demonstration of silver CBland bilD
and on February 2s voted to pass it over
the veto of President Hayes
on August q. lssS you voted against the
repeal OF the silver purchase act and voted
against It, as amended In the senate, on
November l. 1S92
Now. / desire to recur TO the bill to
which 1 have already alluded as having
been prepared by the fifteen bankers, who
were appointed by my urgent request, and
by myself. in the fall Of 1906 After that
bill had been reported by the banking and
currency committee to the house, 1 went
TO you. as was necessary. disgraceful as
the necessity may seem. under the clroum-
( stances, to ask whether l could call up the
bill for consideration. telling you were
then facing a financial crisis, and that
something should be done 10 meet II. and
that this bill had been drawn for that
specific purpose
HOOted at Panic.
You literally hooted the Idea of a panic
and inquired. what in h does this howl
ing in Wall street amount TO. The coun-
try don't care what happens 10 those d.
spectators, Everything Is all right out
west and around Danville. The country
don't need any iegislation. Then. I don't
take any stock in your d-d asset cur.
rsney." AS usual your ignorance and
prejudice were all sufficient then.
But the panie cana every man who
had any intelligence upon this subject
knew Il would
Now. cir. mark thls-the bill prepared by
these representative bankers. which met
only with your sneers and contempt and
known az the bankers bill" provided for
about S25OOO0OOO OF credit currency. called
in that bill national bank guaranteed
credit notes"
II that bill had been upon the statute
books when the pressure came, there would
have been no general suspension Of banks
throughout the country. no general break
ing down Of the exchanges. as All the
banks could have more than met the de-
mand for currency.
4 Again, sir when became chairman OF
the banking and currency committee Of the
sixtieth congress advertised broadly that
the banking and currency committee would
hear any one who wanted to be heard;
and upon closing these general hearings,
/ caused 70 be sent out special invitations
TO many OF the leading banking economists,
bankers and prominent merchants Of the
country to come before us and give their
views Having closed these special hear
E1xs our committee proceeded TO prepare
lSSislation upon all the best information
we could get and reported TO the house
what II now commonly known as the
Fowler blIL'
"AIdrieh Bin or NOthinE."
appealed 70 you. as was necessary for
the privilege OF bringing the bill up before
the house for discussion. only TO reeeiVe
your oontsmptuous refusal with the added