The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-06-30
PRESIDENT TALKS TO
BANKERS
SOUND CURRENCY BASIS MOST
IMPORTANT OF ALL
ISSUES.
Importance Of Putting Into Effect
Plans Of National Monetary Com
mission Urged-eelieves It Would
Be Conducive to Welfare Of Farm
ers, Wage-Earners, Bankers, Rail
roads and All Concerned.

roads and All Concerned.
New York, June 24.-'There is no
legisaltion-I care not what 1t is
tariff, railroad, corporation or OF a
general political character-that at all
equals in importance the putting of
our banking and currency system on
the sound basis proposed in the ma
tional monetary commission plan"
So declared President Taft to big
gathering of bankers and men of
prominence in the financial and bust
ness world at the banquet of the New
York State Bankers Association.
His address was mainly devoted to
a careful elucidation of the Aldrich
national reserve association plan,
which he warmly commended as pro-
viding for the establishment of the
1000 national banks of this country
on a representative republican basis.
Plan Well Drawn.
He declared it careful and we'll
drawn plan, devised by a non-partisan
commission" to avoid the concentra-
ton OF controlling influence, either in
Wall street or in Washington, and ex-
pressed his belief that the plan in it's
general features ought to commend
itself to "the whole business COM
r,rp;ty IF tho country tho formorc
and wage-earners, as well as the
banking, railroad, commercial and
manufacturing interests.
"In all well-regulated banking and
currency systems of the old world y
he said, ''the power to control cash
reserves, and the issue of bank notes
to be used as currency, is placed un-
der the control of central bank, rec
ognized by the government and given
the necessary authority.
Central Bank Needed.
"In this way monetary exigencies
are promptly met The necessity, in
any satisfactory system to be adopted
by us, for some agency like that of a
central bank generally has been &C.
quiesced in by all who have given
careful, candid and intelligent con-
sideration to the currency systems of
other countries, where they do not
have monetary panics, and to the
causes for the currency panics which
we do have to our cost in this coun-
try.
AFTER the last money panic in 1907
| legislation was made known as the
Northumberland bill, which offers
an instrument for temporary relief
against the actual cash stringency
due to boarding and to panic, but of
a very clumsy and unsatisfactory
character. 1t was adopted as the best
thing that could be devised under the
circumstances, which would have any
chance of passing the House and the
Senate, but no one who was respon-
sible for it considered it satisfactory
solution.
Commission Non-Partisan.
| "a monetary commission was ap-
pointed, of which then Senator AL
drich was made chairman. 1t was a
non-partisan commission. l dwell with
great emphasis on the fact that it
was non-partisan because if we are to
work out this problem scientifically
the hope lies in our securing support
for it from both political parties.
at will inure greatly to the benefit
of the people of this country if the
recommendations of the national mon
etary commission "a non-partisan
body-can be treated in this wise
and l am very hopeful that they may
be.
"The plan which has been worked
out proposes the establishment of 9
government of the 1000 national
banks of this country on repre-
sentative republican basis. It pro
vides that the National Reserve Asso
citation shall have fifteen different di
visions distributed geographically tt
include the entire country; that any
ten national banks within the fifteeI
geographical divisions having an ag
gregate capital of 100000 may es
tablish a local association; that this
association shall be governed by gov
ernors to be selected e-fifths by
Ia vote of the representatives of the
banks, one from each bank, and cast
ing only one vote, and two-fifths BY
representatives of the same banks
each representative to cast votes pro
portionate to the capital of the banl
he represents.
District Directorates.
"The branch OF the association II
one each of the fifteen geographical
districts Is to be controlled by boart
of directors, to consist of three group.
Iof directors; one group, equal to tn,
number Of associations in the district
Ito be elected by the directors of tn,
local association, each director hav
, ing one vote; second. group of di
/ Irectors equal to two-thirds of the mum
, Thor 0f local associations who Shal