The Washington herald., 1913-07-04
GLASS ANSWERS
CRITICS OF BILL
Says that Currency Measure
Is Object Of Systematic At
tack by Enemies.
MAKES STRONG DEFENSE
Takes Exception to Statement that
Refund Clause Was Canse
of Bonds Fall.

Charging that fictitious objections and
inspired criticisms" are beginning to as
sumo the appearance of a systematic at
tack upon the administration currency
bill. Chairman Glass, of the House Bank
ing and Currency Committee, last night
issued a formal statement In defense
of the provision Of the Glass bill, pro-
viding refunding of the present per
cent bonds securing national bank note
circulation. Mr.. Glass issued an ulti-
matum to the bankers of the country
that per cent interest is the limit for
refunding of the present bonds.
Referring to a New York banker
statement that the per cent bonds
sold one-half point below par last Tues
day as a direct result of the refunding
scheme in the Glass bill. Mr.. Glass said
Il only wish 1 could think that this is
not a part of an organized assault on
the proposed banking and currency bill.
The statements were utterly inaccurate
and some of the suggestions made are
preposterous. The sale Of the per cent
bonds at s1-2 was not the first sale of
these bonds below par. nor was 1t a d.
rect result of the proposal in the new
currency bill to refund these bonds for
} per cent bonds over a period of twenty
years. The two per cent bonds sold as
low as IS and fraction in New York
last spring before one sentence of the
currency bill had been written"
Tells Of Endorsement.
Mr.. Glass asserted that George NJ Rey-
nolds, of Chicago; Sol Wexler. and other
prominent bankers had testified before
the committee in favor of the retirement
OF the present bonds. He said they in
dorsed the 3 per cent refunding plan, and
That the country could absorb $4,000 900
annually of the refunded bonds by tn,
Glass bill proposed refunding of less than
k9oco.ooo annually. That the American
BANKERS Association has Endorsed the re-
funding scheme was also asserted by Mr..
Glass. He recited how a committee of
bankers recently asked President Wilson
to reincorporate the refunding clause I'm
the administration bill.
Some Of these gentlemen said the res
toration of this provision of the bill was
even of more importance than granting
representation to bankers upon the Fed
eral reserve board said Mr.. Glass. Zone
OF them went so far as to say that unless
the restoration of this provision was
made their would be panic
Mr.. Glass ire was aroused by a recent
attack upon the Glass bill by Plat An
drew, of Boston, formerly Assistant Sec
1etary of the Treasury. He denounced
Mr. Andrews attack as an ''insincere
end discreditable attempt to prejudice
country banks against the new currency
bill
Mr. Andrew makes the deliberate mis-
statement that country banks are permit
ted to keep only / per cent of their re-
serves with the Federal reserve bank,
whereas he must have known that the
bill provides that every national bank
shall keep at least per cent of its re-
serve with the Federal reserve bank"
said Mr.. Glass Replying to a statement
of Andrews that the new bill represents
the most dangerous and extreme form of
Ereenbackism, Mr.. Glass asserted that
Mr. Andrew knew that a gold reserve
of 90 is per cent is required behind the
note issue