The Washington times., 1913-07-04
GLASS ASSA|LSF FOE
OF CURRENCY BILL
Congressman, in Statement,
Gives Caustic Reply to At
tack by A. Piatt Andrew.

Congressman Carter Glass, who has
the troublesome job of plotting the cur
rency bill through the House, is out In
another statement today in answer to
critics of the Administration measure
Mr.. Glass vigorously denies that the
currency bill provisions has caused the
Government per cent bonds to sell
below par in New York, and he Incl
dentally upbraids A. Piatt Andrew, for
mer Assistant Secretary Of the Treas
ury. for certain "misrepresentations' Of
the bill
reply to Mr.. Andrew, whom he promises
to answer more fully later. He says
some Of the Andrew statements are al
most "mendacious"
Replying to a newspaper article con-
corning the fall-off in the price OF the
2 per cent bonds, Mr.. Glass says he
wishes he could believe that this arti-
on the banking and currency biz"
"As matter OF fact" continues Mr..
Glass. "the sale OF Government per
cent bonds on Tuesday at 9s1z was not
the first sale of these bonds below par,
nor was this sale a direct result of the
proposal in the currency bill to refund
these bonds for per cent bonds for a
period Of twenty years. l have direct
Information that the Government bonds
sold as low as IS and fraction in Nsss-
York last spring. before one sentence of
the tentative draft of the currency bill
had been written. 1t Is simply astound-
ing, inview of all the circumstances for
any national banker to assert, as this
paper alleges, that the national banks
Of the country are alarmed at the bond
provision of the currency bill"
Cites Other Bankers.
Mr.. Glass says that such noted bank
ers as George NJ Reynolds. of Chica-
go; Sol wexler. Of New Orleans, and
Festus ]. Wade, of ST. Louis. were
before his committee and advocated
the gradual retirement of the per
cent bonds and pronounced as fair
the plan of converting the per cent
bonds with the circulating privilege
into 3 per cents without such priv
iiege.
ting tired of the inspired criticisms Of
the currency bill These methods
are not going to frighten anybody
at this end of the line" he adds. Be
somebody at the other ends"
After celebrating upon the errone-
GUS reports concerning the reason
for the low prices of the 2 per cent
xas Mr. e.Setsa Ssts hSy fsa, fS. 5eM
rency bill woull encounter difficulties
and provoke criticisms: but IL was not
expected that 1t would have to endure
such trivial and manifestly insincere
certain quarters in New York In
this connection ] notice that Mr.. A. Piatt
Andrew has emitted a commentary
upon the bill which closely verges
proyokes the suspicion that Il is not
a purely disinterested examination Of
the bill. In a Boston newspaper Mr..
Andrew makes the statement that un-
der this new currency bill only az
per cent of reserves may be deposited
with the new Federal reserve banks
in the reserve cities. whereas he is
obliged to have known that the re-
serve section of the bill specifically
requires that al least per cent shall
be kept " ith the Federal reserve bank
and that an additional 5 per cent may
be kept with the Federal reserve
bank, 5 per cent being mandatory and
5 per cent being permissible.
Wrong On Country Banks.
Tn the same review Mr. Andrew
makes the deliberate misstatement
that country banks are permitted to
keep only / per cent with the Federal
reserve bank, whereas he must have
known that section 21 of the bill pro-
vides that every national bank shall
keep at least per cent of Its reserves
with the Federal reserve bank. He
says the note issue of the new bill
represents the most dangerous and
extreme form Of greenbackism,
whereas he must have known and did
know that gold reserve OF 33 l. 3 per
cent is required behind the note Issue.
which Is exactly s la per cent greater
than the gold reserve required be-
hind the notes OF the Aldrich scheme
in which Mr.. Andrew had hand. Mr..
Andrew also knew, but he carefully
and deliberately concealed the TACT.
that in addition to a 33 1-3 per cent
gold reserve, the entire assets, to-
gether with the double liability of
of reserve banks. are be-
hind the note issue provided by the
new currency bill. and that these
notes are made q first and paramount
lien on the assets of the regional re-
serve bank.
These and other statements made
by Mr.. Andrew concerning the pro-
visions of this bill are so fiagrantly
untrue as to render them a little
short of being shameless. His com
misrepresentation are so gross that
hey may be easily detected by any
one who takes the pains to read the
bill. / have not time for newspaper
discussion right, now, but a little later
shall make II my business 20 COM
ment more in detail upon the appar-
entity inspired article of Mr.. Piatt
Andrew.
Meanwhile / may state that the
views expressed by Mr.. Andrew are
not held by some of the most eminent
bankers and currency experts in this
country who thoroughly understand
the BILL.