The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-10-10
BANKERS OPPOSE THE BILL.

The bankers Of the United States
earnestly and strongly oppose the ad.
ministration currency bill. They af.
firm, with but one dissenting voice, the
position taken by the bankers in their
meeting in Chicago; which the Presi-
dent discounted because he had re.
ceived private letters from some bank
ers there expressing dissent from the
action Of the body in meeting assem-
bled. But this reaiffirmation of the Do
sition taken by the bankers in Chicago
should certainly open the eyes of the
President TO the actual opinion of the
bankers on his currency bill.
The bankers in their National ses-
sion IN Boston commend the efforts of
the President TO create in this country
an elastic currency, and pledge their
hearty support in the enactment Of leg
islation to that end; but they point out
that the currency bill as drawn does
not promise to give the results ex-
pected. On the contrary, they consider
the bill to be Socialistic, and to impose
"unwise hardships upon the banks and
equally unwise hardships on the gen.
eral public"
The disposition to inject politics into
the deliberations Of the bankers con-
7ention is repudiated with unanimity,
and the declarations were held down
strictly on business basis. The en-
phatic endorsement Of the amendments
recommended by the Chicago confer
ence was accordingly made unanimous
in this great bankers convention,
which, as so justly stated by its presi-
dent, is the greatest assembly of bank
ers ever held IN this country; and, he
might have added also, in any other
country.
The bankers oppose the compulsory
features of the bill. They justly de-
mand that if the bankers are to be re-
sponsible for the issue of currency that
they should issue it: and they deny
the constitutionality of those parts of
the proposed currency measure which
require them to yield up large portions
Of their reserves and surrender all con-
troll over the money thus distributed
for the creation of the twelve reserve
associations provided for the country.
Surely the influence Of body Of
bankers like this ought to be impress
i've upon the Senate, and we believe
that it will be. Evidently Senator
O'Gorman was right when he emphati.
cally stated in the Senate Committee.
~ do not exaggerate when ] say that
no member Of this committee is in IA
vor Of enacting this bill as it stands
today And in this Senator O'Gor-
man is emphatically supported by the
opinion Of the bankers.
President Frank A. Vanderlip, of the
National City Bank Of New York, who
| appeared before the Senate Banking
Committee On Wednesday, c-,7c-eed \
number of features of the bill, but his
| objections TO it in its present form were
overwhelming. He criticised adversely
the independence of the regional re.
serve banks, the character Of the note
issue plan, and the compelling of the
| National banks to become members OF
! the proposed system But since these
points are the Foundation basis Of the
currency measure now pending. Mr.
Vanderlip's approval Of the measure is
very much like the approval by Mr.
Button, the great naturalist, Of the
definition given by a would-be scien
tist of the crab, that the crab is 6
small red fish that moves backward
Button endorsed this opinion, subject
to his criticism that the crab is not
necessarily small, is not a fish, is not
red. and does not move backward
This utterly destroyed the definition as
! given. In like manner, Mr.. VanderliT
in criticising the points in this currency
bill which he did, would utterly destroy
the fbill. After removing these pro
visions there would he little left of it