Evening journal., 1911-03-31

companies; and ! shall suggest when
acting with the other members of the
Committee on Resolutions OF this
body, that distinct reservation be
made of the trust companies as they
now exist and of the State banks.
After all, gentlemen, public sentl-
ment controls in this country, and IL
is because we are a free people that
il does control | believe that II has
been the aim of the National None
tary Commission. as Il has unques-
been the high purpose Of SEN
ator Aldrich, to crystalize public
sentiment in support OF any change In
cur monetary system that may be fin
ally agreed upon.
81 have been in close touch with the
money question nearly all my life. AS
a boy, in my fathers store. ] remem-
Der the importance of Peterson's Bank
Note Detector; how eagerly II was re-
ceived i'm the counting room; and how
carefully its reports were considered
in relation to the bank notes we had
in hand. TO ascertain whether any OF
them were bad. My recollection goes
back distinctly 10 the days Of State
banking and 10 the great uncertainty
in our finances IN those days. AS I
have gone along in the study of this
question from that time down to the
present, I have become more and
more firmly convinced that any cur
rency that will satisfy the people Of
this country must be a reliable, uni
form currency. guaranteed by the
National Government. Whatever our
theories may be, however beautiful
they may seem, however ably they
may be expressed, whatever attempts
We may make at successful demon
stration of these theories. we must
have uniformity, stability and elias
ticity in our circulating medium, be-
cause no other will be suitable for the
business growing out of the diversified
activities of this great country.
IF / may refer again 10 the Will
mington plan. wish to call attention
to the fact that IL is based upon the
theory that the currency of the coun-
try, though issued by a central bank,
should be. along with the gold and
silver coin, a government guaranteed
currency. q currency that. whether
offered in Maine or I'm California,
would be accepted without a mo-
ments hesitation.
we all know that while we must
have an absolutely sound currency,
money enters 10 only a very small de-
gree into the immense volume of busi-
ness transacted in this country: that
IL is, rather, the s15.0O0,0O0.0O0 of
bank credits upon which the trade
and the commerce Of the nation Is
conducted and that il is, therefore.
more a problem of the conversation of
credit than of the issuance Of bank
notes important and absolutely neces-
sary as a reliable and sufficient cur
rency is to the welfare of the nation.
I'VE have endeavOred. In the Will
mington plan, to look TO the conserva-
ton of the credit of the country and
to its regulation through the opera
tions of a central bank; for, call il
what we may, whether a central re-
serve association or anything else,
we know that It means a concentra-
ton of power and control, in directing
the banking business of the country.
We may as we'll, therefore, adopt at
once the title of The Bank of the
United States, and give the bank full
authority TO issue currency and 20
regulate the national credit. / be-
lieve we can do this without destroy
ing the entity of any purely local In
stitution. Then we shall have gath
cred together and concentrated into
one great force all the banking inter
ests of the country.
I'VE are making progress. We have
made great progress ! feel that We
are almost at the conclusion of the
discussion, and the magnificent work
of the National Monetary Commission
has enlightened the people as never
before on the question of banking and
currency; and In all the commission
has done it is very gratifying to find
a manifestation of the truly American
spirit Of patriotism and fair dealing,
together with a willingness to waive
particular and personal opinions, in
order to arrive at decision intended
to promote the greatest good Of the
whole people,"
II may be stated that while there
was unanimity of opinion at this con-
ference that the proposal of Senator
Aldrich should be made the subject
of careful study there was no dis
position shown to adopt It as a whole.
The Conference proceeded no further
with Senator Aldrich's plan than TO
authorize the organization of Busi-
ness Mems Monetary Reform League.
having for its object a campaign of
education for monetary reform "on
the principles, without endorsing
every detail Of a reserve association. "
as outlined by him.
In the final analysis of the several
resolutions submitted. the New York
and Wilmington proposals were found
to harmonic in general principles
and 10 offer reliable basis for the
reorganization of our entire banking
system. A comparison of some of the
features Of these two plans. with the
general lines of the Aldrich plan, will
show how nearly they agree. and yet
how essentially they differ from the
Aldrich plan IN some particulars. and