The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-07-03
A "GooD FEATURE. ;

cusses the proposed currency leglSla-
tion urged by President Wilson, in
rather distrustful style, but it sees a
ray of light in the proposed increase
in interest which the Government
would have to pay by reason of the re-
tirement of the two per cent bonds
with a view Of substituting three per
cent bonds in their place. There is
now held in the National banks under
the circulation privilege" some
s7oo,000,0o0 Of two per cent bonds.
This new currency bill proposes to re-
tire these two per cent bonds and issue
three per, cent bonds in their place,
without the currency privilege. The
exchange would cost the United States
in interest $7,000,000 a year. This is
the price which the people would have
to pay for the retirement of the two
per cent bonds and the substitution of
the three per cent bonds in their place
The two ner cent bonds are the basis
Of circulation, in security for notes is
sued by the National banks. The three
per cent bonds which would take their
place would not be used as basis for
the securing of notes issued by the
banks. These notes would be secured
by the assets Of the banks and the gen
eral credits Of the banking institutions
that would be created by the law,
These associations would be, in a
way, semiindependent of each other.
Each would have nucleus of reserves
and its central point of exchange, and
there would be sort of detached CON
troll in each association, This would
tend to the rigid keeping in the dis
trlct comprising each association of the
assets, reserves, and surplus of the
banks comprising that association, The
country would be divided into twelve
departments, and neither would be al.
lowed any privilege in the other and
neither would be allowed to have or to
give help, save only that the Secretaries
and the four currency governors to be
appointed by the President, one Of the
four to be banker, would have a cen
tralized, autocratic control over all
The one banker, with SIX politicians in
control of the reserves and surplus of
the banks Of all the different associa-
tions, would not have much Of chance
to impose sound banking knowledge or
procedure upon the six politicians.
While it is true that the proposed
division of the country into banking
associations would tend to keep the
money we'll distributed throughout the
country, and so not subject normally
to centralized control, this centralized
control as proposed in the bill, would
be even more rigid than by any prop
osition that has been heretofore made,
tocratic authority granted to the cen
trail board of control numbering seven
of which but one is required to be
banker, the other six presumably be-
ing politicians. So that the pretended
independence and segregation made in
to financial associations, primarily
created in the bill, is completely over
ridden by the centralized control
which is more autocratic, more arbi-
trary, and more immediate, than any
thing heretofore proposed in this coun-
try. No single central bank could pos
sibly be endowed with the powers that
this bill confers upon the six polItl-
clans and the one banker, united in a
centered autocratic regency.
The currency is to be reinforced by
ment notes There is no provision
made for the elasticity supposed to cen
ter in these notes, either by retiring
them or otherwise, except at the dis
cretion of the six politicians and the
one banker. The bill has no provision
for the elasticity Of the currency at
all, but it is straight proposition to
turn the control of the banks and the
currency of this country over to the
six politicians and the one banker, the
whole financial system to be conducted
according to the arbitrary will of these
seven. 1t is not elasticity, therefore,
that is provided, but it is diIution of
the currency TO the amount Of $780,
100000
And it is this sort of thing the peo-
pie Of the United States are to be
asked to pay s7,000,0O0 year for.
directly out Of the pubic treasury in
the form of interest in the exchange Of
two per cent bonds for three per cent
bonds. If any corporation, or firm,
should undertake financing of this
ruptcy. If any individual should uu-
dertake to manage his own business in
that way, he would be fit subject for
inquiry as to his sanity.