The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.

lal correspondence IA IeNlSlOll "
the currency laws to supplement- the
tariff legislation at the present SEES
sion of congress is assured. President
| Wilson has won his point in pressing
for completion of the legislative
| program, and the most astute politi-
cal observers agree that the presl-
Ndents earnestnesS, as evidenced by
This mastertul personal appeal to con-
gress, will insure legislative action
even though, as now seems probable
congress will be in session until fall
| before the tariff and currency bills
are passed.
I'VE are about to set them (the
business men of the country free
by removing the trammels Of the pro
tective tariff" said the president in
his address to congress. 1T is abso-
lutely imperative that we should give
| the business men Of the country a
banking and currency system by
means of which they can make use
of the freedom Of enterprise and of
individual initiative which we are
about to bestoW upon them. Con-
tiuuing the president said:
1--WE must have currency, not rig
id as now, but readily elastically re-
sponsiye to sound credit, the eX-
panding and contracting credits OF
everyday transactions, the normal
ebb and flow of personal and corpor-
ate dealings. Our banking laws must
mobilize reserves, must not permit
the concentration anywhere in a few
hands of the monetary resources OF
the country or their use for specula-
,,,1, ,-rl,, to
hinder or impede or stand in the
way of other more legitimate, more
fruitful uses. And the control Of the
system of banking and OF issue which
our new laws are to set up must be
public, not private, must be vested
in the government itself, so that the
banks may be the instruments, not
the masters, Of business and of in
dividual enterprise and initiative.
The administration law which has
been introduced in both houses of
congress provides for this govern
ment control Efforts to obtain rep
resentation on the federal reserve
board by banking interests failed, be-
cause administration leaders held
that that would admit Of bank DOM
ination which would defeat the aims
sought. The Objectionable features
of the Aldrich bill which were calcu-
lated to put control of the financial
system under the allied banking in
terests have been removed. The bills
now pending in congress provide for
governmental supervision of the
banking and currency system, and
adm inistration leaders are confident
that not only will this be beneficial
to the country at large by prevent
ing the mobilization of money in the
financial centers, but that the ma
jority of bankers, especially the
small interior bankers, will find gov
ernmental supervision their greatest
safeguard, and that in time the
banks will invoke further regulation
by the government in the interests
of square deal, just as the railroads
today are favoring a further extern
sion of the jurisdiction of the inter-
state commerce commission which is
the governmental agency regulating
their affairs.
The discussion of the currency
question has detracted from the in
terest in the progress of the tariff
lobby investigation, but not until the
country was brought to realization
of the truth of President Wilson's
charge that a lobby, backed by un-
limited money, was at work in WASH
ington using every means in it's pow
er to defeat certain provisions Of the
tariff bill. And the presidents ac-
ton in driving the lobbyists out into
the open halted the attempts to de-
feat the provisions of the tariff bill
providing free sugar in three years.
The revelations in connection with
the attempts of the sugar interests to
prevent the removal of the tariff on
this commodity by corrupting the
news channels and creating false
public opinion by the use of the un-
limited funds at the command of the
lobbyists completely upset the plans
of the sugar interests. A correction
of the abuses brought about by this
investigation is certain to follow. The
circulation of misinfOrmation by
government frank is one of the
things that will no longer be tolerat-
ed
Secretary of State Bryan, who is
necessarily discreet in his public ut
terances, but who Utilities his paper
The CommOner, to express his views
on legislative matters, calls atten-
ton in the current issue to one in
stance of the wrongful use Of the
government Thanking privilege. He
was reviewing the evidence which
showed that Truman G. Palmer, the
sugar lobbyist had prepared a series
of charts presenting an argument
against free sugar, which was pub
lished as a senate document under
Senator Lodges frank, attaining a
circulation of 100000 copies. Sen
ator Reed in questioning Palmer
said.
The mailing of this document, |
find, would cost five cents, and you,
therefore, saved $4,000 for your
I'm very glad to know it" repli-
ed Palmer.
But what about Senator Lodges
asks Secretary Bryan
1.-The saving of this $4,000 to this
beet sugar concern shifted the ex-
pense to the government of the Unit
ed States. Mr.. ralmer rejoices over
the saving to his employers. Is there