The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-12-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.

lative session in the last two decades
is in progress. The senate has adopt
ed as it's slogan "a currency law be-
| fore Christmas" and it is practically
certain that this, the second OF the
great reforms of the present admins
tration, will be written into law by
that time, so that the program of
trust control and farm credit legis-
lation can be taken up.
OF the currency bill Senator Owen,
chairman of the committee which
framed it in the senate, declares it
is "the most important measure that
has been presented to the country
since the civil war" Senator Owen
in arguing for the passage of the bill
in the senator pointed out some de-
fects of the present American bank
ing system and gave some of the
remedies provided in the bill. He
said:
1.-The principal defect of our sys-
tenn has been that the country has
had no adequate protection against
panics, SO that from time to time the
country has been shaken to its foun-
dations by the severest financial pan
les, throwing into chaos our COM
merce, our manufactures and our in
dustries, from which the recovery in
some cases has taken as much as four
or five years. This bill was intended
to correct the chief defects in our
system" Senator Owen showed how
during the 1907 panic interest rates
fiuctuated from 2 to As per cent so
that money commanded as high at
I25 per cent interest. This brought
! tremendous changes in the selling
prices of stocks. He added:
The beneficiaries of this panic
were those who could command cash
and who had prepared themselves for
the cataclysm that engulfed every
body but themselves
To show the fallacy of charges
that the present currency legislation
had been prosecuted with undue
haste Senator Owen recited how the
currency had been continually before
congress since 1907. The five years
debate of the subject was followed
last year by the Pujo money trust
investigation, the report of which
covers several thousand printed
pages, and which Mr.. Owen said,
showed that fraction over 100 men
exercised dominating control over
property amounting to $22,O00,0O0,-
900, or practically third of the ma
tional wealth excluding the land of
the country.
THE Pujo examination, declared
Mr.. Owen, Showed that these men
could carry stringencies of credit to
point of absolute and overwhelm-
ing panic that could close the doors
of all the banks of the country from
! the Atlantic to the Pacific in a single
day.
81 shall not pretend to believe for
one moment that the panic OF 1907
| was an accident, profoundly believe
that the result in October 1907, was
a part of a concerted plan by which
| a few men enriched themselves at
| the expense of the nation, and admin
istered what they conceived to be a
terrifying political rebuke to the ad-
ministration then in power (Roose-
velt's). have always contended that
a drastic congressional investigation
of this panic should have been made
and it's promoters and beneticiarles
exposed to full view
Then, Senator Owen said, Chair
mas Glass of the house banking and
currency committee, began the con-
sideration of the question with a
view of framing a bill to afford ade-
quate remedy to this country against
the exercise of individual unrestrain-
ed and irresponsible power over the
business men of this country. This
committees report, after hearing rep
resentatives of the great commercial
houses and financial experts, was
printed in a volume of over zoe
pages. Il refer to these investiga'
tons because it has been given out
that congress was rushing through
this measure" Senator Owen said
whereas the subject had been under
consideration since 1907. He added
that the bill was debated extensively
in the house and has been before the
senate since September 10, during
which time the senate committee had
taken testimony covering 5000 pages
of printed matter. The purposes OF
the measure he outlined as follows:
First-To insure the stability OF
our commerce, of our manufacturing
enterprises, of our industries, and the
safety of our merchants and manu-
facturers and business men general
ly.
Second-To make available effec-
tive commercial credit for individuals
engaged in manufacture, in COM
merce. in finance, and in business ia
the extent of their just deserts.
Third-To put an end to the pyra-
miding of the bank reserves of the
country and the use of such reserves
for gambling purposes on the stock
exchange. .-.. .s
Fourth-To keep constantly EN-.
ployed the productive energies of the
nation. And this consideration is OF
vital Importance to the laboring men
of the country, who are dependent
for their daily bread upon constant
regular employment. Our crimes
our vices, our chief social evils come
from lack of regular remunerative
employment.
Senator Owen declared that this
measure will cure the condition that
lcompelled men in times of panic to