Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-11-13
Sec. MacVeagfl
On the Currency.

MacNeagh, Secretary of the Treasury,
in an address here tonight before the
: Western Economic Society. gave his
endorsement To he plan of currency
reform which has been suggested TO
the National Monetary Commission by
former Senator Nelson w. Aldrich.
MIR. MacVeagh declared, however. that
= he believed the plan would be received
with prejudice in Congress unless it
contained SOME provision to prevent
banks from controlling stocks in 9TH
ers
Il believe the holding of shares in
another bank, by a bank which is Il
member of the National Reserve As
ISOLATION should be prohibited he
said This should be made to apply
not only to the corporate action of the
bank but to action by any substitute
method accomplishing the same pur-
pose feel sure that American con
ditions are permanently opposed to
any semblance of branch banking and
To any concentration of bank owner
ship or control.
Il feel that the proposed new
monetary system will be preiudiced in
| Congress and in the public mind unless
provision is made against this oWher-
ship of bank stock. In my opinion
this should be dealt with in the None
| tary Commissions report. otherwise
| l am sure Congress viii deal with it
| on its own initiative"
Secretary MacVeagh observed that
the work of preparing tentative plan
i had been marked by an absence of
Iquibbing and unanimity of purpose,
but he said he believed Congress must
be impressed with the public demand
| for immediate action.
IF we go to our representatives
without AN uncompromising belief in
the urgency of the legislation, we SIM
ply invite further delay and postpone
ment. This winters session will have |
other important things before it and
! Congress will be seriously engaged |
barring of course, the paralyzing ef-
feet of the shadow of the coming cleo
tion, so that monetary legislation may
not have the right of way" he said
! I'VE have lived without this REFORM |
hut that merely means we have been
strong enough to endure. And we can
still live with the threat of panics
hanging over u.s. but why should We?
Why shouldn't Congress give us re-
lief? AS long as We have the present
banking and currency system we shall
have panics. and no longer. Does not
this alone create a state of emergency?
Why should it take another Wasteful
and degrading panic to impress Con-
gress?
why cannot 1907-from which the
people are still recovering suffice?
There are many other things of prime
importance to be secured through cur
rency reform, hut if nothing more than
emancipation from panics We're Sc
Toured, there would be an abundance of
imperative reasons for Immediate
faction by Congress.
The National Reserve Association
lis proposed fer the benefit of the peo-
iple This is a peoples and not
government measure And it is as
"a peoples movement that it can secure
Legislation of the right sort at once.
This plan as it stands. or will stand
when. presented to Congress, may be
icalled the deliberate, seasoned and ex-
lperienced work not only of the None
ltary Commission but of the Nation it
self Many contributed to it, study
ing all the appropriate knowledge of
the world even before the chairman or
ganized his celebrated tentative pro-
posal And then, Mr.. Aldrich with
remarkable practical wisdom placed
his tentative plan before the people in
yiting consideration and amendment
AS the plan stands today, it is a
wonderfully good one. 1t provides
Ialmost conclusively all the banking
facilities that the business of the coun7
try needs and lacks. and it protects it
self nearly or quite conelusively from
lall the dangers that everyone has so
far apprehended.
| Some think the Reserve Association
a centralizing proposition, and that it
is proposed to organize an institution
for the Capitalization of the banking
| power That is an error. of course.
Neither the purpose nor the effect is
naturalization. The purpose and eff
feet is simply organization for all
sorts of times and against all sorts of
emergencies and exigeneies."
| Mr.. MacVeagh said that despite his
cordial opinion of the Aldrich plan as
lit now stands, there were some impor-
liant features to be considered. one
of those as he explained. was pro-
vision to prevent control by stock
| holding Another, he said, was that
to National banks should be given the
| same advantages to conduct a trust
company business as is enjoyed by
concerns under state charters. He
declared that unless the National
banks had the same money making adj
vantages as state banks enjoy, they
could not hope to survive.
| Secretary MacVeagh closed his add
dress with a plea that the monetary
question to he kept entirely out of
politics. 1t is purely business ques-
| ton, he said, and has no place in
political economies. He declared it
would be unwise politics for any
political party or faction to embarrass
| il by making partisan issue.