Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-09-11
Opinions and Views
from the Exchanges
The Administration and tho bankers.

The Administration and the Bankers.
From the Springfield Republican.
1t is not singular that an adminis-
tration carrying william j. Bryan as
a prominent member of the cabinet
should have found its relations with
the predominant banking interests of
the country's financial centre some-
what strained. But that is not the
whole story Bryan is not President.
Bryan is not secretary of the treas
ury Bryan has had nothing in par
ticular to do with the governments
finances, and so far as his personal
influence in Congress goes it has been
used only against the more extreme
populistic radicals of his party, in
support of a banking and currency
bill which, in the great essentials,
should command the approval of con-
sentative people. While undoubtedly
much of the hostility prevalent in the
money centre toward the Wilson adj
ministration may be traced to the
hatred with which Bryan has been re-
garded there for many years, it is a
curious fact that the New Yorker who
is secretary of the treasury has him
self been unable to maintain relations
altogether friendly and pleasant with
the financial giants OF Wall Street.
Secretary McAdoo lived in the New
York atmosphere. He built the Hud-
son river tunnels and was familiar
with big things in business and
finance. A Wall Street "magnate" he
knew to be thing of flesh and
blood, an ordinary mortal. He could
have carried to Washington no fan
tastic or legendary notions about "the
money devil" Yet the feud, as some
call it, between him and the National
City Bank of New York began almost
after he had entered
office. Certain alleged privileges in
the treasury department hitherto en-
joyed by the big bank were with
drawn, and President Vanderlip
complained of injustice done
his institution by the new secretary.
Since then there has palpably been
bad feeling between the treasury de-
partment and the National City, and
ii has repeatedly cropped out
The bank suddenly reduced its call
money rate as If it had been individ-
ually struck, after a public state
ment by the secretary of the treas
ury as to his intention to issue emer-
gency currency under the Aldrich-
Vreeland act, in case the money
stringeney should become serious.
When the secretary publicly
charged that certain banking inter-
ests unfriendly to the new banking
and currency bill had conspired to
depress below par the governments
. per cent. bonds, the National City
Bank assumed that the charge was
leveled against itself and publicly
refuted the conspiracy accusation. |
Senator OWENS recent denun citation |
of this particular bank for being the
leader of an effort to kill the admin
currency bill is quite in
line with Secretary McAdoo's appar-
ent feeling toward it. Look where |
you will, everything in the nature. of |
hostility to the Wilson administra- |
tons financial policies seems to be |
ascribed mainly to the stealthy in
trigues of the National City Bank. |
There are probably people who be-
ieve that the New York newspaper |
which has been most conspicuous in |
the currency bill has re-
ceived most of its inspiration from |
that Institutions officers. So much |
for the open hostilities" between the |
Standard Oil bank, as 1t used to be |
called, and this administration