The Washington herald., 1913-10-15
REED RESENTS
Willis REPORT
Missouri Senator Denies Sum-
mons Of Editor Reflects
on President.
MEMBERS SEEK FACTS
Authorship Of Bill Is Unimportant.
Newspaper Men Wanted Only to Ex-
plain Features Of Currency Bill.
MEMBERS SEEK FACTS

The publication in a Washington news
paper of a statement to the effect that
II. Parker Willis, editor of the New
York Journal of Commerce and CONNER
cial Bulletin, had been summoned to
Washington by the Senate Committee on
Banking and Currency for the purpose
of giving testimony as to the participa-
ton of President Wilson and Secretary
of State Bryan in the authorship OF the
Glass bill was brought up on the floor
of the Senate yesterday.
Senator Reed of Missouri, acting chair
man. was indignant. He read the para
graph from the newspaper to the COM
mittee, interlarding IT between interroga-
tories propounded to F. S. Larrabee, a
Kansas banker.
That is the sort of irresponsible state
ment that brings discredit upon the COM
mittee, when il should fall upon the
person who wrote it," said Senator Reed.
THE matter Is one which we should
properly discuss in executive session, but
1 want to take occasion to remark that
the statement is without the slightest
foundation in fact"
Il may add" said Senator O'Gorman
OF New York, that the question of the
authorship of that bill has never been
broached in this committee. The purpose
of summoning Prof. Willis before this
committee was for no such purpose, but
in order to get from him. by reason OF
his intimate knowledge OF the measure
and his participation in its preparation.
such Information and Interpretation Of 1t
as the committee may DESIRE
Here the incident closed, but Senator
Reed was still indignant about the para
graph. He expressed, privately, the view
that such insinuations regarding the
Senators should receive fiat contradiction
by the press. THE effect on the public
mind of such statements is very bad" he
said.
Bankers Before Committee.
Representatives of the special Iegisla-
tive committee from the recent bankers
conference at Boston appeared before the
committee today. They came with special
designation from that body to lay before
the committee their views as to correc-
tive measures whereby the bin could be
made satisfactory to the country bankers
agreement of a clearly defined charac-
ter, that as framed the bill would work
them decided hardship.
AS other witnesses have heretofore
been interrogated, Mr.. McLane Tilton, Of
Pill City. Ala. was asked what he
knew about a conspiracy by banks in the
great cities, particularly New York, to
stir up opposition to he pending admins
tration currency bill
There was no such conspiracy" de-
clared MFR. Tilton. TT was not until af
ter we had completed out work in Bos-
ton that We saw in the dispatches from
Washington the allegation that the
bankers in the great cities were en-
deavoring to intimidate and coerce the
country bankers into violent opposition
of the bill.
On behalf of the Associated Bankers
of New York State, James H. Perkins,
of Albany, president of the State Bank
ers' Association, was heard. Mr.. Per-
kins offered similar criticisms to those
heard from leading reserve city bankers
However, he approved of the general
terms OF the bill.
T. S. Larrabee. OF Stafford. Kansas,
and E. r. Moses, of wichita, both of
whom combined mercantile pursuits with
urged upon the committee the
necessity of making the transition from the
present system to the new more attrac-
tive to the national banks. They thought
that in its present form the bill would
discourage banking under the national
system, and encourage the surrender Of
charters Of conversion of a large per-
centage of national interstate banks.