The Washington herald., 1913-04-20
FISCAL
REF0RMDEPENDS
Upon Chairman
New Banking and Currency
Head viii Determine Char
acter Of Legislation.
TWO SYSTEMS INVOLVED
Mississippi and Virginia Candidates
Radically Differ On Funda-
mental Propositions.
ny ROsCO C. MONTAIGNE.

What promises to be the most interest
the Craftsmanship of the House Commit
tee on Banking and Currency. The Sc
lection will be made by the Ways and
Means Committee acting as committee
on committees. One of the contestants
is Representative Carter Glass of Vir-
ginia, who was chairman Of the subcom-
mittee on Banking and Currency Of the
last Congress, which was authorized to
investigate the Aldrich plan and prepare
a banking and currency bill. Mr.. Glass
was selected as the chairman Of that sub
committee by the rule Of seniority. he
having been a member Of the Banking
and Currency Committee for more than
ten years. The other contestant is Rep
|resentative Robert d. Stephens Of Mis-
sissippi, who was vice chairman Of the
money trust investigating committee Of
last Congress, selected for the position
by the unanimous vote of his party CO.
committeeman.
The positions Of the two contestants
| may be summarized thus: Mr.. Glass
proposes to Germanize our banking sys-
TEN. while Mr.. Stephens is in favor Of
Englishizing it, An excellent opportu-
nifty may thus be afforded the Demo-
cratic members of the Ways and Means
Committee to declare the perty's policy
respecting banking principles, because
the contest clearly delineates the two
schools Of economic thought-combina-
ton and monopoly versus competition.
This is shown in the testimony adduced
at the hearings of those two subcom-
mittees of the Banking and Currency
Committee.
In making preparations for his inves-
tigation Mr.. Glass chose r. P. Willis as
his monetary adviser and counselor. Mr..
Willis and Prof. j. Laurence Laughlin.
of the Chicago University. were joint
authors of Banking Reform" published
by the National Citizens League,
league organized by the advocates of the
Aldrich plan to create public sentiment
in it's favor. Banking Reform went
to press April IL, 1912. and Mr.. Glass Sc
lected one OF its authors as his none
tary adviser.
German System Assisted.
1t will be observed that the questions
propounded by Mr.. Glass and Mr.. Willis
at the hearings of the Glass committee
were framed to establish evidence favor
ing the monopolistic plan of the German
banking system, the economic theory
which the money trust committee was
at the same time seeking to discredit.
The salient feature Of Banking Re-
FORM was an exploitation OF combina-
ton and monopoly in banking, SO as to
create public sentiment in favor OF the
Aldrich plan, and the Glass committee
furnished the evidence in support OF that
feature.
There Is no difference in principle be-
tween the Aldrich plan and the plan or
regional or divisional reserve banks
for which Mr.. Glass and Mr.. Willis tried
to create public sentiment. 1t was the
purpose of both to monopolize banking
and bank credit Mr.. Glass plan was
to monopolize it by zones or districts,
while the Aldrich plan monopolized on
a larger scale. If YOU monopolize bank
ing by zones or districts it will be an
easy matter for the banks of the larger
zones to control the banks Of the smaller
zones Wall Street knows this; hence,
it was that no fight was made from
that direction against the Glass investi-
CATION. But Wall Street made the Bit
terest fight Of it's life against the Money
Trust committee. They even charged the
death of J. p Morgan to the fact that
he was forced to testify before that
committee.
Mr.. Morgan was the greatest living ex-
ponent of combination and monopoly in
banking and the use Of bank credit as
capital, two things to which the COM
mittee was opposed. and the investiga-
ton would have been incomplete with
out the production of the testimony of
that witness. On account of his age and
prominence the committee showed Mr..
Morgan every Difference and courtesy,
and at the conclusion of his testimony
Mr. Morgan was profuse in his thanks
to the committee for the manner in
which 1t treated him.
The first witness introduced by Chair
man Glass was A. Barton Hepburn,
chairman of the board of directors of
the Chase National Bank of New York.
This question was propounded and