Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-07-03
TIE BAD BANKING BILL
Serious Danger in the Proposed
Reforms
Recent Changes Have Not Affected Oh
jectionnble Fcntures--New England
Especially Is Injured by the
Plan,

INC bankers OF the country do not wan
currency reform which they sincerely
believe to be a dangerous menace &c
business prosperity. they would do wei
speak up a little louder Members OF
Congress are being flooded with letters
rom prominent Observation-Disclosures
pointing out in detail the dangerous, no;
10 say fatal, provisions OF the Glass
owen bill but they arc apparently giving
no other voice to their criticisms Most
of the men TO whom they freely I'M
bosom themselves are republicans and
can hardly oppose the bin without Great
ing the suspicion that they are doing So
for party reasons. AS a matter of eact
tho republicans always have been deter
mined to treat currency reform as a non
partisan affair and they are greatly sur
priscd that President Wiison should be
80 insistent upon making the pending bill
a democratic measure
The changes in the bill recently an
nounced in the press have not relieved
it Of the TEXTURES which honest critics
believe to be most dangerous. The bill
does not mobilize reserves in the scnGe
that 1t makes them nationally available
for use In emergency. The federal re-
serve board remains with greater power
over banking operations than Senator
Aldrich himself ever dreamed OF and
the reserve requirements of the banks
are slnh that many Of the country banks
would be seriously hampered by the OPP
Grafton of the law.
AIMED LARGELY AT NEW ENG
LAND.
new provisions more heavily than any
other section. The measure IS devised to
wrest from the East its supposed control
of credits and of currency, notwithstand-
ing that no such control ever has existed
part of the banking system. The dem
ocrats deliberately recognize the bank
wreckers who are the outca4s Of the
banking world as It's representatives and
proceed to legislate accordingly. They
overlook the fact that every time a
banker has attempted crooked methods
he has been disciplined by his own class
and his power to do harm has been
taken away
BGDDLE'S FIGHT AGAINST POLITICS.
The troubles of the Second Bank Of the
United States were due to politicians at
Washington and not to any operations of
the bank-which was central bank in
the most concentrated use OF the phrase.
The lifelong struggle of George Biddle,
its most famous president, was 10 keep
the bank out OF politics Andrew Jack
son at one time discontinued his oppos-
ton to the bank. but was stirred UP to
renew it by his kitchen cabinet, with the
result that the only institution which had
the power of contributing the element of
steadinpss to the commerce and industry
OF it's time was destroyed. It was the
sagacity Of the managers of the old Suf-
folk Bank of Massachusetts. which rem
dered that section measurably free from
currency troubles at a time when the
sections OF the country which are now
attempting to dictate banking legislation
were in hopeless straits owing to their
refusal to adopt an intelligent currency
system. That the party whose slogan has
been for two generations mo central
bank" should now propose n centraliZa-
ton unheard Of in the history of the re-
public is one of the anomalies Of lcgis-
lation. The fact should not be lost sight
Of, at this time, that the Democratic
party always has been an enemy of the
iational banking system, Notwithstanding
That the United States as a whole never
vas able to carry on business systemat-
ically until the national banking system
was established
AS TO BANK EXAMINATIONS
A curious example of the distrust of
the Democratic party of every feature Of
the national banking system is seen in
a provision OF the Glass-Owen bin which
so far has received little or no attention.
This is IN the section relating to bank
examinations. which contains the Won
derful provision that 1.-THE comptroller
of the currency shall so arrange the
duties Of national bank examiners that
no two successive examinations Of any
association shall be made by the same
examiner" This provision implie, re-
fect'on upon the national examiners
which IL wholly uuwarranted by the his
tory Of the office of the comptroller of
the currency, when ably administered
Under the present system ever "xam-
iner is givan charge of a certain district
and Is held responsible for the condition
OF banks in that district No bank can
go wrong without exciting grave sus-
oicions against himself, nor can the ex-
anime: keep lunpelf Informed as to the
interior conditions Of IL bank except by
nominations. Yet the new bin
proposes 10 divide the re-
sponeibility OF the examiners and to make |
II twice az difficult for an examiner to
leep IN touch with the working conG.- |
lions Of the bank as =. was before
SERIOUS CONDITIONS IN NEW ENG
LAND
II the criticisms or the new oil by men
like A. pfatt Andrew and John w. Weeks |
arc we'll grounded, the passage OF the bill |
IL certain to be followed by more or less |
disastrous results, It may not generally |
he known. but 1T is n fact, that bankers
already are beginning to curtail credit In !
certain lines for fear of the operation OF |
the new tariff law Except for violation
o: confidence, examples of this could be |
cited which would cauae serious thinking |
in New England Many lines of indus |
try will be directly affected by the new
tariff act. and in these lines the bankers |
are unwilling 10 take too great chances !
until the law has been tried out. Euro
pean conditions are disturbing not to |
say alarming, and American bankers are
noting them with uneasiness The stu
alton in Mexico Is not reassuring, while
trade reprisals from Russia and Germany
nre not impossible In the future The
State department has deliberately estab- |
Iished the policy of leaving Americans |
abroad to shift for themselves, and this
means also that American investments
must he reStrlcted az far as tho Stata