The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-01
BANKERS COMMITTEE ADDED.

1
ness, and Just treatment would require.
But at least the protests Of the fnan
! cisl men and bankers of the country
are having some effect upon Secretary
| McAdoo and the House committee
/ which has the bill IN charge. The last
amendment reported adds 70 the Fed
| eral Reserve Board an advisory com
mittee. composed of bankers. one from
each of the proposed twelve financial
units into which the country is TO be
| divided by that bill, The Federal Re
serve Board consists Of seven members.
of which one is to be a banker. The
proposed bankers committee, it is
stated, will meet and sit with the Fed
eral Reserve Board. but its members
viii have no vote, which is hardly fair.
since it is the bankers business and
the bankers money that will be af
fected by the decisions of the Reserve
Board; while the politicians who will
decide what is to be done, will have
nothing at stake. 1t is something,
however, to have the six politicians
confronted with thirteen bankers, who
will be able TO instruct these poll
ticians, in some degree at least, in the
ethics and practical methods of bank
ing and of proper financiering.
The managers of this administration
currency bill hold very sturdily to the
provisions in it as originally drafted.
These provisions are clearly designed
to turn over the banking operations Of
the country TO the control of poll
ticians friendly to the administration.
The expectation is that this currency
bill when enacted will act as a sort
of air-cushion to break the fall of any
business disaster which can be plainly
traced to the effect of the revised
tariff bill.
The Republican Senators arc urging.
from an unwarranted analogy as we see
it, TO show that the same or similar
effects will follow the enactment of
this tariff revision as followed the en-
actment of the Wilson German tariff
law Of 1894; but, as a matter Of fact,
no such panicky conditions exist in the
business world at this time as existed
at the corresponding time of the Cleve.
land administration, or when that
tariff bill was being framed. Upon the
coming into effect Of that bill, the
disasters so volubly recited by the Re.
publican Senators in their speeches, as
reported from day to day, followed. but
long prior TO that there was a feeling
of unrest, and business was disturbed,
in many cases almost torn up bv the
roots. The disasters followed, as
stated in the speeches that are being
made. But these disasters followed on
conditions that were greatly different
from present conditions, At that time,
also, there was the anti-silver agita-
tion, which, by restricting the use of
silver, made money pinch throughout
the country that added vehemence to
the financial and industrial storm
which swept over the country by rea~
son OF that agitation, to which evil
conditions the tariff bill then passed
added weight; but these conditions are
not now repeated
Yet whatever strength there may be
in the citations of those old conditions
by the Republican Senators in their
speeches, is given through the Demo
cratic apprehensions, as indicated in
the administration $ anxiety to pass
this currency bill; which is almost
avowedly defending measure against
tariff troubles; which is framed from
partisan standpoint, and which puts
the banks Of this country under polti.
cal supervision which would give the
party in power a tremendous weapon
against business and the finances OF
the country, in case any trouble direct
ly or Indirectly traceable to the
operations of the tariff bill appears.
The aim is 20 give the political
pa-tisans power to compel the banks
TO stand in the breach TO protect the
Democratic tariff legislation by insur.
ing il against disaster,
In all this discussion the administra-
tion forces seem extremely anxious to
disguise the purpose of the currency
bill as partisan measure to help out
on the tariff revision in case trouble
arises therefrom but this is such
plain fact that the two bills cannot
fairly be disconnected. Taking the
tariff bill and the currency bill to-
gether, it is fairly seen that the Demo
cratic purpose is to give partisan con.
troll over the imports of the United
States and TO punish the financial in
terests of the country in case any.
tlln0 pOes wronu with that na narfican
control of our foreign trade. We think
that the Republican Senators would do
better if they devoted more attention
TO this plain political raid upon the in
dustries and finances of the country,
than in deyotlng so much attention to
"reminiscences that do not ct.