Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-06-27
A TREMENDOUS POWER
Currency Bill Would Give President
Enormous Business and Political
Control
New York World.)

New York World.)
1t cannot be denied that the new
banking and currency bill centralizes
a tremendous financial power in the
President of the United States.
o The President is to appoint the Fed
eral reserve board. The Federal re-
serve board is vested with authority
to control the issue of Treasury notes,
to remove officials OF. Federal reserve
banks, to close banks and install re-
ceivers, to establish and regulate the
rate of discount for the country AT
large, and to suspend at it's discretion
all reserve requirements.
1t would be folly to retend thai
grave political dangers are not in
volved in this Capitalization, Under
the existing system, the President,
through the Secretary of the Treasury
and the comptroller of the currency,
holds practically the power of life and
death over the national banks, but
the great scope of the proposed meas
ure extends this power over the whole
! financial system of the country. 1t is
the greatest single power in its posi-
bilities for good or evil that Congress
has ever undertaken to confer upon
, the executive.
| Yet in the matter of currency re-
! form is there no middle ground be-
tween such official Capitalization in
Washington and private Capitalization
in Wall street? Somebody must bt
supreme. Somebody must direct
Either the government is to control OF
the BAN ers mast control. But must
either be in absolute and unrestraint-
ed control.
President Wilson thinks the country
can more safely trust it's chief eXecu-
tive than it can. trust its bankers, and
that is what most people think. That
is what the World thinks. too. but al
the same time the bill makes the Pres
idency a financial prize such as AM
erican institutions have never YET
known This is unfortunate. With
the President in complete authority
over banking and finance, the banks
have the strongest possible induce
ment to control the Presidency This
should not be so if it can be helped
Thanks to publicity laws and corrupt
practice legislation, the obstacle in
the way of such control are much
greater than they were even four years
ago but they are by no means insur-
mountable.
Possibly the strongest safeguards
against abuse are to be found in the
very scope of the measure. Every fin
ancial. banking, commercial, industri-
al, and agricultural interest is bound
to be affected directly by the admins
tration of such law as the one pro-
posed Everybody else is indirectly
affected Therefore the extent and
variety of these interests may help to
prevent the administration of the law
for the profit of few. No abuse OF
power for private gain can long be
concealed.
Nevertheless, such unprecedented
Capitalization of power over every
body's bread and butter must inevitab-
ly bring about for-reaching political
changes. These changes in time may
affect the tenure of office OF the Pres
ident and result in radical legislation
controlling the process of nomination
and election. Thus the currency ques-
ton becomes political question as
well. and a political question in It's
lbroadest sense