Evening journal., 1913-02-21
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
A Bankers Advice to the
Secretary Of the
Treasury
By HOLLAND.

Il have sometimes wondered wheth-
or William Pitt Fessenden, had he re-
mained In Lincoln's Cabinet as Secre-
tary Of the Treasury, would have been
able to work out a suggestion Which
was made to him by John M. Forbes
OF Boston. and II he had whether an
important new feature OF investment
IN the United States would have been
demonstrated to the people
This remark was made to me by
the late George S. Coe, who was one
OF the leading bankers OF the United
States at the time of the Civil War
and who was frequently brought into
confidential relations with the Secre-
tary OF the Treasury Salmon +.
Chase and later with Mr.. Fessenden
when he had become Secretary of the
Treasury, aud who was also a close
personal friend Of John NJ. Forbes.
"Mr. Forbes made many valuable
suggestions to the treasury depart
ment of which the public had no
knowledge" said Mr.. Coe. Such
confidence had Secretary Chase in him
that he sent him to England upon a
secret mission, in 1868, to negotiate
loan OF StO.OOO,O00 in gold with
Barring Brothers.
"Mr. Forbes. / remember well, was
confident thats If the people of the
United States had an opportunity TO
lend their money 70 the government
in the form Of investment in govern
ment securities hundreds Of millions
would have poured into the treasury
from that source But at that time
our government did not understand
how a great popular loan could be
negotiated directly between the gov
ernment and the people. We were
making our loans through fiscal
agents and by the machinery Of ma
tional banks. which when organized
bought government bonds. But the
government did not seem TO reach the
people directly excepting through
taxation.
81 think 1t was only few months
after Senator Fcssenden became Sec
retary OF the Treasury. as successor
of Governor Chase, who had been ap-
pointed chief justice of the Supremt
Court by President Lincoln, when
Mr.. Forbes made a suggestion to him
which / have often thought would.
had It been adopted. have proved to
be Of lncalculable value to the Amor
lean people.
"Mr. Forbes said to Secretary Fes-
senden within the last year you
must have seen that the people are
ready to invest in government secur-
tiles. Now | am satisfied that if you
Will only work out plan whereby the
people can easily invest in these Sc
curities, you viii find that they will
buy all the securities you issue and
as rapidly as you could wish them
to-.
TN reply Secretary Fessenden said
that II Mr. Forbes would only sug-
gest plan by which this could be
done. then the Treasury Department
would give It careful consideration
and IL Il were found feasible the plan
would be adopted.
"'Why. you don't need to ask M
for the plan Mr. Forbes replied /
know you don't think much Of Louii
Napoleon. who with his invasion o
Mexico Is giving President Lincoln I
good deal Of trouble, but there is one
thing ne has done which you nigh
adopt, aud | think you would have
the same success which he has me-
With In France
when Secretary Fessenden aske'
for an explanation of this remark
Mr.. Forbes said that Louis Napoleon
had caused the national securities o
France to be issued in very small de-
nominations. Many millions were Is
sued in bonds which were for onl,
twenty francs, or about four dollars
OF American money. These littl'
bonds we're gladly bought by thu
French people They were easil,
bought because the denomination
were so small. Now if you will issu
government bonds in denomination
OF ten. twenty and fifty dollars. yo'
will find that the American peOpl
will buy them as fast as you can issu
them, and it will be a great deal bet
ter TO do that than to go on issuin
irredeemable paper money, vhic
your grcenbacks are
"Fessendon was very much take
with this idea. and ] know that h
gave it a great deal of consideration
But the State OF Maine sent it bac
to the Federal Senate before he ha
time to work out the plan. l hav
never had any doubt that If the goN
ernment had issued large amounts {
these bonds, in denominations of tel
twenty and fifty dollars, the people {
the United States, the plain peopl
as Lincoln called them, would hay
furnished the government all the
needed"
Copyright. 1913. by f. J. Edward
All rights reseryed)
Tomorrow Mr. Edwards will tell
"A Merchants Advice to the Britlf