The Green Forest tribune., 1910-03-04
spread ail through the land, and con gress has felt the effect.
 Preparing Financial Measure.

 of financial legislation which must oc cupy the time and minds of the na- tional legislators. SenatOr Aldrich, who is the chairman of the national monetary commission is in constant conference with the president over the form which the great financial measure is to take. The president be- lieves that Senator Aldrieh, in this matter of reform of the currency, is absolutely sincere and that the Rhode Islander hopes to make constructive financial legislation something like a monument to his legislative memory.
 It can be said that the chances are go in 100 that it is the intention of the administration, on the advice of the majority of the monetary com mission, to recommend to congress next year some plan for a central bank of issue. In all the speeches which Senator Aldrich made in the west and in all the interviews to which he has submitted since congress assembled, he has made no direct statement that he is in favor of a central bank, but it is known that his mind and attention rest upon such an institution as one of the best means, as he views it. to make stable the country's financial system.
 Details Not Worked Out.
 The president has had presented to him number of different plans for central bank, but to none of them hoe ho ,ri, can be said without fear of contradic- tion that MT Aldrich himself has not stated definitely just which plan he thinks should be selected for ultimate approval, MT Taft wants central bank, if the country is to have one, which in a measure will be a mean between two extremes.
 President Taft has let it be known that it Is his earnest desire that legis- lation intended to give stability to the country's currency shall have at tached to it no taint of suspicion of what is generally called Wall street ] influence. The president is telling his 1 friends that he is confident, from what i Senator Aldrich tells him, that the Rhode Islander is no less anxious than he to see to it that Wall street shall in no way be given an entering wedge of influence by means of the iegisla- tion when it is finally enacted.
 Gift for the Kaiser.
 The house of representatives has l just passed bill appropriating l $5000 for a replica of the statue of the Baron von Steuben which is to be erected soon in Lafayette square, 1 Washington. The replica of the statue, if the senate sanctions the house action and the president signs the bill, will be sent to Kaiser Wilhelm and the German people in the name of the people of America as grateful recognition of the services of von Steuben to the American colonies when they were trying to throw off the yoke of Great Britain.
 The movement to present the von Steuben memorial to Germany was in- itiated by Representative Richard Bar tholdt of St. Louis Mir Bartholdt was born in Germany, but he has lived in this country great many years. l It is perhaps possible that the St Louis representative had the German people in mind more than the Ger man emperor when he first thought ! of plan to present the von Steuben memorial to the fatherland. Once on time, if the records are not wrong MT. Bartholdt was in Berlin and de- string to pay his respects to the em peror, he requested an audience and described himself as German-Amer ican. It is said that Emperor Will liam remarked Germans I know and | Americans 1 know, but German-Ameri- cans I do not know" This was the emperor's way of intimating that a man must be one thing or the other and that he did not like hyphenated nationalities.
 Meant as Return Compliment.
 The gift to Germany will be sort of return compliment for the gift which Wilhelm made to the United States eight years ago of the statue of Frederick the Great. It was with l Frederick the Greats permission that Baron von Steuben or Gen. Steuben, as he came to be known in America, was allowed to come to this country to act as sort of drill-master-in- chief to the Continental armies Ger many, it is said, has always felt more or less keenly regret that Ameri- cans should have thought principally about Germany's attitude in the rev olutiOnary war as one made manifest by the dispatch of the Hessian hire ling troops to this country to help the cause of the British.
 The gift of the statue of Frederick the Great, with marked reference to the relation between Frederick and | Gen Steuben, was intended as an off set to the unpleasantness that is con nected with the Hessian hirelings The statue of Frederick the Great stands in front of the American war | college in the city of Washington When the gift was made, there was a great deal of adverse criticism in America Congress was urged not to receive the gift because citizens whose criticism was of the extreme and per haps minimizing kind, declared that we wanted no statues of kings in this country The gift, however, was re- ceived in the spirit in which it was offered.
 The statue had not been long in place before an attempt was made to destroy it. At least it was supposed an attempt was made to destroy it, ] for Q cmo1l-sized hOmh was eynIoded