Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-08-02

The money power, we have been
told pretty often of late. Is trying to
grab control of the government, but
on publication of the new currency
bill. great cry goes up from the
bankers that just the opposite peril is
imminent. Instead of our politics be-
coming the plaything of the banks,
the hanks are to become the toys of pol
itics. Mr.. Untermeyer, the money-trust
hunter. approves the bill, and so does
Mr.. Bryan, who is glad it is written
from the standpoint of the people,
rather than the standpoint of the fin
anciers,' and adds that the only two
classes who can object are those who
dispute the right of the people to is
sue through their government the
money which the people need. and
those who, distrusting the representa-
tives chosen by the people to guard
the public welfare, would deny the
government officials control over the
issuance of emergency notes" But a
number of papers have no hesitation
in coming right out and saying that
they do distrusts "the representatives
chosen by the people to guard the pup
'lic welfare" In fact, they call them
politicians, and frankly aver that
they are not to be trusted with the
financial control of the United States.
They object, in short, to the proposed
absolute Federal control of the region
81 reserve banks by board consisting
of the Secretary of the Treasury. the
Secretary OF Agriculture, the Control
Ter of the Currency, and four other
members to be appointed by the Pres
ident The only specific requirement,
we are told, is that "at least one Of
the members of this board shall have
banking experience" and adverse
opinion of the bill suggests that such
plan for the structure of the Fed
Grail reserve board makes possible,
il il does not actually provide, for
political control of the most concen-
trated form" Even the Democratic
press seems to hesitate to endorse this
feature OF the bill unreservedly.
That the long-hear5 cry against
having the government in the banking
business, in view of the deplorable
intermeddling of successive national
administrations with the money mar
ket," is wholly disregarded by Presi-
dent Wilson's Endorsement of the cur
rency bill is the assertion of the New
York Herald (Ind.J }, which maintains
that the present measure puts not so
much the government, but the presi-
dent himself, into absolute control of
all the country's machinery of bank
ing and currency" and the the Her.
aid adds:
1T is joke on those who objected
to the concentration of authority in
yolved in a central bank-this propos-
al to make the central reserve board
consist OF three governing officials APP
pointed by the president, and four
other members, all to be chosen by
him with the advice and consent of
the senate. The president, moreover,
is to control six of the nine directors
Of every one of the twelve regional re-
serve associations. And the central
board-all of his appointment-may
require any one of these banks
to rediscouHt the paper of another,
regulate the issue of Treasury notes to
them and put any of them into, the
hands of receiver. This is surely
some Capitalization"
Recalling that the country proper
ly refused to tolerate the Aldr.ch
commissions proposal of "a central
bank. or reserve association would
inevitably become Wall Streets Glib
raltar" the New Orleans Times Demo