Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-07
BANKERS EXPECT
SOME CONCESSION
Grant of Requests by Senators
Means Support of Cur
rency Measure.
RESERVE SECTION OF BILL
LIKELY TO BE CHANGED
Many Recommendations Of Finan.
ciers, However, Are Sure
Of Disapproval.

Va ASAO0 PAVv0As
Bankers who have appeared before
the Senate banking and currency COM
mittee during the past week feel that
the Senate may accede to some of their
requests and therefore they are willing
to lend the administration a measure
Of support and urge immediate con-
sideration of the bill. It is without
doubt true that much Of the hostility
to immediate legislation which devel-
oped in Congress during the past week
was due to the opposition of bankers
to the pending measure.
When the hearings before the Senate
committee began the first of the past
week the bankers were very antag-
onistic to the measure. 1t was partly
this feeling that prompted the intro
duction of the Weeks resolution direct
ing the committee to report on the
bill December 2. 1t was feared that
not only would the bankers be turned
down in their requests. but that the
radicals would go even further ana
make the measure more extreme than
the House bill. Bankers were con-
fessedly afraid of certain members OF
the committee who, they believed.
would act diametrically opposite to the
interests of the banking fraternity and
devise a populistic measure.
Ready for Concessions.
The hearings during the week have de-
yeloped the fact that the committee Is
about ready to make certain concessions
This is not due to a conversion OF the
radical members of the committee SO
much as it Is due to the fact that these
same radical members now realize that
some concessions must be made or the
opponents of immediate legislation will
not consent to take the bill up at the
present time. The witnesses who have
appeared before the committee have real
ized this change of sentiment and are
not as antagonistfc to the measure as
formerly.
II is intimated that upon three inn
portant points the Senate committee Is
apt to make some concession to the
bankers, thereby winning their support
for the measure.
In the first place it is thought proba-
BILE that the Senate will revise the re-
serve section of the bill to agree with the
recommendation made by the Chicago
convention. This refers to the amount
of reserve which banks are to be re-
quired to carry under the new system.
Secondly, it Is possible that the Senate
will alter the bill SO az to permit the re-
serve banks to issue the currency, instead
Of having this currency issued solely by
portion of the currency will be issued by
the reserve banks
Fewer Reserve Banks.
Finally, it is possible that further
reduction will be made in the number OF
reserve banks. The House bill provides
for the establishment of twelve reserve
banks. The bankers do not desire that
there shall be more than five. While the
Senate committee may not meet the
recommendation of the bankers entirely
in this respect, the number OF reserve
banks is likely to be fixed by COM
promise.
Many of the other recommendations
made by the bankers will be rejected.
This, it is believed, will have no final ef-
feet on the support of the measure. With
further assurances that the three Inn
portant concessions will be Incorporated
IN the measure, it is very likely that the
opposition to the bill will SO diminish
during the next week as to make certain
currency legislation before the extra
session Is adjourned.
Take Positive Stand.
Bankers before the Senate committee
yesterday took a positive stand against
the feasibility of any issue of any gov
ernment notes secured only by partial
gold reserve and put out as the direct
obligations Of the government. They re-
ferred with emphasis to the days Of
fiat money" These bankers were George
NJ. Reynolds of Chicago Prof. o. NJ
Sprague of Harvard, Sol. Wexler, New
Orleans, and James 3. Forgan of Chicago
In a general discussion of the admin
istration bill, Prof Sprague said he be-
lieved the system of regional reserve
banks to be established by the bill, with
some notifications" would be fairly
satisfactory.
Publicity the Guardian.
Prof. Sprague said publicity such as
would center about the operation OF the
federal reserve board would prevent that
board from ''going very far wrong"
whether or not it had representatives OF
the banking interests upon it.
Il don't care what kind of a central
bank we might have, l do not believe its
powers could be much abused" he said.
Members of the federal reserve board
should be chosen primarily for their
bumps of caution" ne said.
His chief objection to plan for the
direct issue of currency by the govern
ment was that it would set up an institu-
ton that would have a larger power
toward the overeXtension of credits.
II see no way in which a purely gov
ernmental institution could exercise the
necessary restraint over credit expap-
sion,'' he said.
Views of Progressives.
While the bill is ready to be launched
in the House Of Representatives for the
verbal onslaught which will be made
upon it, the views of the progressive
party on the subject of the bill were
made public yesterday by Representative
the single progressive on the
banking and currency committee. He
sees grave danger in the shifting of
made necessary by the organization of
the federal reserve banks authorized oy
the Glass bill
Hundreds and hundreds OF banks, he
said, would be required to pay out, in
sixty days after the organization COM
all the cash in their vaults. and
many OF them would have barely enough.
A scramble would take place among the
banks to meet their obligations. Natural
ly they would demand payment Of their
borrowers. A stringency would result,
and possibly a panic
E. N. Brooks, Actor, Takes Own Life.
pAITMORE Senteynl,ecr q -Esaw,r NJ