The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-09-05
Senator Weeks Moves for
a Report in De-
cember
AT REGULAR
SESSION OF CONGRESS
No Emergency to Require
Haste, Says the
Senator

Washington, Sept, 5.A resolution to
direct the Senate banking committee to
withhold final action on the administra-
ton currency bill until the December
session of Congress was introduced yes
terdav by Senator Weeks of Massachu-
sets. Republican. Suggestions by Sena-
tors Reed Owen and other Democratic
members on the committee that they
would like to discuss the resolution re-
suited in Senator Weeks agreeing that it
should 90 over until to- day without ac-
ton. He said he would then endeavor
to force the Senate to decide whether 1t
wants TO proceed now on currency reyi-
sion or to allow the banking commit
tee to conduct hearings until December.
There is no emergency at the present
time that has not existed in an equal
degree for the past two years which
would necessitate banking and currency
legislation" said he.
The action by Senator Weeks will
bring to a head the dissatisfaction, not
to say disgust, with which the prospect
of personally conducted banking legisla-
ton at the present session is viewed by
men who know enough of banking to be
able to ask intelligent questions on the
subject. Three days Of testimony by
the leading bankers Of the country have
demonstrated the complete unprepared-
ness, if not inability, OF the committee
to deal with the great subject entrusted,
and have made it obvious that no bill
the committee is likely to report, with
ats present light could command the
confidence of the country. Even the
present hearings of the committee are
being given under the protest of some
members of it like Bristow, who point
ed out on the first day that many sena-
tors were interested in tariff items that
were coming up in the Senate every day,
and that the committee could not give
proper attention to the subject. Sena-
tor Hitchcock at the same time rebuked
Chairman Owen for calling the hearings
without consulting the committee.
The bankers are hourly growing more
pointed in their testimony, as the amaz-
ing questions of the committee are shot
at them. you see only the hole and
not the doughnut," said Festus ]. Wade,
president of the Mercantile Trust Co. of
St Louis to Senator Hitchcock yester-
day. 'You have taken 36 per cent of
the banking power of the country but
you have failed to deal with those in
situations, the state banks, which have
built up the nation, through their OPP
erations in bonds, railroads. real estate,
agriculture. etc, which national banks
cannot carry on. This terse statements
congresses in nutshell the impressive
criticism of the bankers, less yelled in
yesterdays testimony, that many of the
national banks viii refuse to enter the
proposed system while the state banks
will await the action of the national
banks, thus leaving the whole scheme
to fall down. The statements of the
committee ran so wild yesterday that
Sol WleNler, the fluent New Orleans
banker whom Mr.. Reed found so enter
tanning and instructive, felt impelled to
make q correction.
Mr.. Wade was on the stand and Sena- |
tor Pomerene Dramatically made the
statement that should a stakeholder in |
a national bank sell his stock in good |
faith, he could still be held to double |