Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-10-16
Elk SEN. ALDRICH At
TACkS CURRENCY BILL
Continued from Page One.)

tied permanently by the elections of
1896. and the following years. If the
House bill should be enacted into a
law, Mr.. Bryan will have achieved the
purpose for which he has been con-
tending for a decade. ~ ~
The speaker characterized, the pro-
visions for government note issue i'll
the administration bill as AN emphat-
ic condemnation of the theories of gov
ernments and the economic teachings of
every great Democratic leader, from
Andrew jackson and Thomas II. Ben
ton to Samuel j. Tilden and Grover
Cleveland.
TT is undoubtedly true" he eontin-
ued. that the support of Mr.. Bryan
and his followers was necessary. to Sc
cure any legislation upon this subject,
hut il is unfortunate that to secure
this support it seemed to be necessary
to sacrifice the cherished principles
and traditions of a great party.
In the proposals to create federal re-
serve board and to provide for the issue
of government notes Mr.. Aldrich said,
the bill follows az plan submitted by
President Taylor to Congress. in 1871,
lofH the GIealiDf 0I tA1iicluti boni''
The plan, lie said, found no substantial
support in either branch of Congress
and went down to oblivion. tz-.
The federal reserve board for which
provision is made in the Glass-Owen bill.
said the speaker, in reality would bring
about the creation of central govern
ment bank Power is conferred upon the
board to determine the rate of discount
each week to be charged by each reserve
bank for each class of paper The fixing
of this miscellaneous collection of rates,
said Mr.. Aldrch, could not possibly be
made effective for any of the purposes
for which bank rates are fixed and
changed in other commercial countries.
He declared that the board was given
autocratie powers over business of the
banks. powers that can be properly exer-
cised only by trained bankers. In emer
geneies. he asserted. the board would be
powerless.
cit might be able to control elections
and insure the success of political par
ty," he said, but in times of stress it
would have no power to preserve public
or private credit. IL would be able to
loan. money to banking friends or to ae-
but it would be unable to assist bank
community in time of serious trouble
Speaking of the possib"'ty T. that ma
tional banks might surrender their char
tiers rather than enter the proposed sys-
tenn Mr.. Aldrich said at is safe to say
that the serious disarrangement of cred
it's, the contraction of circulating me-
dunn and the destruction of confidence
that would, certainly arise from trans
fer of any considerable amount of the
banking business of the country from the
national to the state system would end
in financial panic such as we have new
er seen in any country Mr.. Aldrich
referred to the bill as socialistic.
This is, | think" he said. the first
attempt To give a government board the
right to manage a great business which
is more important in its intimate rela-
tions to all the people than any other.
If the attempt is successful. it will be the
first and most important step toward
changing our form of government from
a democracy to an autoeracy No impe-
rian government in Europe would VEN
ture to suggest much less enact legisla-
Ition of this KIND .,t5sfsH a-a
|fnhe ereationA Of this board is clearly
a1tavorable Iresponse to Socialstic de-
inafIes. .tEaf - -ea t-ti
MIR AidficIf quoted from writings Of
Woodrow Wilson in his earlier days an
extract in which he said:
"Only great commanding bany ev-
erywhere known whose notes really and
always represented in gold could supply
paper worth its face value in all places,
or keep exchanges from chaos"
Mr.. Wilson, he said was an enthusiasts
tic defender of the Second Bank of the
United States. saying that it had not
only served it's purpose a fiscal agent
of the government to the satisfaction of
the treasury but had also steadied and
facilitated every legitimate business
transaction and rid the money market of
it's worst dangers
Mr.. Aldrich also quoted from Mr. Will