The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-12
THE MONETARY COMMISSION.

|
we see by the dispatches that the so.
called monetary commission has e.rc.
sumed its work" Precisely what that
work is, nobody seems to know. When
senator AIdrlcb, chairman of that com.
mission, visited the Middle West last
year speaking in Cincinnati. st. Lonis,
and Chicago, it was rcputcd in the East
that he was advocating the establish
ment OF A Central National Bank, as
the cure for our currency troubles. This,
however. was not the fact Mr.. Aldrich
himself, in making his speeches in the
cities named, professed that he was not
there 10 instruct. but to learn; and he
invited conferences with the bankers
and business men so that he might get
from them their views, first. as to
what the trouble is with our currency,
and second, the best means to do away
with that trouble,
| The members of this commission
visited Europe soon after their appoint
ment. but did not seem to get much
further along by reason of any infor.
nation received while abroad. In fact
1t was given out, apparently by the con-
sent of a majority, if not all, of the
members who went abroad, that they
found no monetary system in Europe
that would he Of any advantage to us;
that the systems there were not adapt
TO the United States. and, in short, that
we have nothing to learn from Europe
on this account. This conclusion was
sharply challenged at the time, but still
1t was apparently the conclusion of
the commission. Therefore, we get moth
ing from Europe through them, by way
of instruction or formulas TO amend
our currency troubles
Tho members of the commission have
not agreed among themselves as to
the desirability of having Central
National Bank II has never been
stated authoritatirely, so far as we
know, that even Senator Aldrlch him.
self is in favor Of such bank II is
indeed impossible to point out any,
thing specific that this commission has
agreed upon. There has been no gen
eral or intelligent discussion Of the eur.
rcncy question. The people have not
been enlightened through the arguments |
or presentations of financial mcu and
students Of finance, and least OF all |
from anything received from this com
mission; nor arc they likely to be- There
remains of the present Congress but
the brief period between the first Mon.
day in December and March dth, of |
active life. In fact, VIC may say that |
only about sixty days remain, because
it is not usual to do much before the holi-
days, and 1T is usual to take recess
for sufficient length of time to en-
able the members to 90 home to spend
Christmas and New Year, day.
About all that the short session Of
Congress ever does is to pass the neces.
sarv and regular appropriation bills,
counting the deficiency bill among The
regulars, because this bill comes for.
ward about as regularly as any of them.
The prospect Of currency lcgisla ton
under these circumstances is so remote
that il seems hardly worth while for
the members of this commission TO busy
themselves in meeting or troubling
themselves any further on this account.
since they do not seem TO be
agreed upon even the first principles in.
volvcd, and since The commits ssion itself
will expire with the present Congress.
Some of The commission do not believe
that any change is needful, others be
lievc that Il Central National Bank is
indispensable; still others reject that as
a horror, and want less Capitalization
of the currency than there is now. Mr.,
the head of the House part
Of the commission. is known to favor
a number of Central National Banks in
different parts of the country. He
wants half dozen Central National
Banks at least, and not merely one /;
Others want the National banking sys {
tenn done away with altogether. and {
The return to State banks under strict
regulation
1t would appear, therefore, that the
abors Of the monetary commission are
absolutely futile and fruitless. 1t is
not even TO be expected that any re
port will come from this commission.
ma jority. minority, or individual, that
will be Of any service TO the country.
Why. then, keep up the farce of meet
ng and pretending that they are doing
when it is practically impos
;iblc that anything should come of their t
abors? l
l..