The Washington herald., 1913-08-26
CURRENCY BILL
fight IS ENDED
Insurgents Accept Substitute
to the "Corntassel'
Amendment.
~. GLASS IS SARCASTIC
Says Mr.. Henry and His Followers
Surrendered Because They Knew
They Were Beaten.

BY unanimous vote the House
Democrats in caucus yesterday adopted
an amendment to the rediscount section
of the administration banking and cur
rency bill, which insurgents declare
] amounts to an authorization of corntasse
currency, while the conservatives insis
that the amendment does not alter tht
! avOwed purpose of the section In ques
ton in the slightest particular.
The utter decentralization Of the insur.
gent element that set in when they
learned without question that they did
not have the support of William j
Bryan was further evidenced yesterday
when Representative Henry Of Texas
and his associates failed to present the
'corntassel currency" amendment. In.
stead they accepted a substitute, offered
by Chairman Glass, OF the Banking Com.
mittee, who made the statement that
the amendment is lot of language with
out effect so far as the purposes of the
insurgents are concerned
Mr.. Glass insisted sarcastically that the
insurgents accepted the amendment in
the knowledge that they were beaten and
in the hope that they could quote It to
save their faces with the people in their
districts. The fight on the administration
bill among the House Democrats thus
came to an end. The rest of the bill
viii be adopted without much trouble.
Text of Provision.
The provision read into the rediscount
section is as follows:
Upon the Endorsement OF any member
bank any Federal reserve bank may dis
count notes and bills Of exchange arising
out OF commercial transactions; that is,
notes and bills OF exchange issued or
drawn for agricultural, Industrial, or
commercial purposes, the Federal reserve
board to have the right to determine or
define the character of the paper thus
eligible for discount, within the meaning
of this act; but such definition shall not
include notes or bills issued or drawn for
the purpose of carrying or trading in
stocks, bonds, or other investment Sc
curities, nor shall anything herein con-
tanned be construed to prohibit such notes
and bills of exchange, secured by staple
agricultural products, or other goods,
wares, or merchandise from being eligi-
BILE for such discount. Notes and bills
admitted to discount under the terms Of
this paragraph must have q maturity Of
not less than ninety days"
This authorization is far removed from
the one proposed by Representatives
Henry and Ragsdale in their original
amendments. They proposed then that
warehouse certificates representing corn,
cotton, or wheat should be discounted by
the Federal reserve bank There was no
provision for Endorsement by a member
bank.
Comment by Mr.. Glass.
Commenting on the assertions Of Mr..
Henry and other insurgents that they had
forced the Banking Committee to yield
on the question Of agricultural credits,
Mr.. Glass said:
There is not a word in the amendment
offered by me to the rediscount section
which alters in the slightest particular
the plain and avowed intent of the Sec
ton as it originally stood. The section
as amended does not comprehend single
one of the wild and absurd suggestions
which have been proposed. Mr.. Henry
surrendered, and simply because Mr..
Henry was beaten"
An amendment was adopted yesterday
providing that all directors of Federal
reserve bank shall be residents of such
district, also an amendment providing
that not more than one of the four men,
bers OF the Federal reserve board named
by the President shall come from
given district By a vote of to s. the
caucus rejected an amendment by Repre-
sentative Murray of Oklahoma, providing
a plan for government guarantee of bank
deposits.