The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-10-28
His Work in Philippines and
Mexico Entitle Him to be
Ranked as Exeprt
AMERICA TO EXERT
MORE INFLUENCE
New Treaty With Nicaragua viii
Give United States Option on
Canal Route Through
That Country
ny HOLLAND

| New York. October 27.-(Special,) "A
year or more ago Charles A. Conant of
this city and f. c. Harrison of London
Were employed by certain bankers who
| contemplated the financing of Nicaragua
out of her difficulties to perfect plan by
which the republic could be established
upon q gold basis, with the consequent
elimination safely and economically of
the great volume of almost worthless pa
per money with which Nicaragua had
been inflicted
Mr. Conant and his associate COM
pleted their work some time afterward
Upon his return to New York he narrated
in some detail what the difficulties which
were necessary to surmount We're and in
what manner the plan had been per-
fected by which Nicaragua could be placed
upon as sound financial basis as any
country in the world. The substance of
what Mr.. Conant then said was reported
at that time in this column
II was observed while in conversation
with him that he was strongly impressed
with the expediency as well as the fea 81
hiiity of adopting in Nicaragua the identi-
cal methods of protecting bondholders so
and interest and principle in gold which
the United States had adopted In San Do
fningo. Mr.. Conant regretted the federal
senate had seen fit to refuse ratification
ef certain treaties which would make the
financial recuperation under the auspices
Of the United States of the Central Amer
lean republic possible. There was. in his
opinion. no way by which this could be
done excepting through the corporation
finance n ha
behind whom stood the government; for
in order to assure honest collection of
revenues and an equitable disposition Of
them it was vital that the work should
be performed by men behind whom stood
the guarantee of the United States gov
ernment,
Mr.. Conant reported that the reception
of himself and his associate by the rep
resentatives of the Nicaraeuan govern
ment was most cordial and there were
promises freely offered of any kind of as
sistance in the work of refnancing Mica
ragua which the government could give
1t was a very difficult, highly technical
work of readjustment of the currency sit
uation in Nicaragua to gold basis Mr.
Conants experience, however. in organ
iZing the currency system of the Philip
p'nes which has proved to he very sue
cessful and later in placing Mexico upon
an exclusive gold basis furnished him
avail when working out Nicaragua prob
lem.
The work has been done and has been
accepted and put in operation by Nica-
ragua There is a central national bank
and ii is the financial nerve of Nicaragua
II represents the interest of American
ca nitaI in esta hlishing sound financial
conditions in Nicaragua. IT issnes bank
notes for the government. and 1t is the
government depository. The new stand
ard of value in Nicara @lia is coin ev-
actlv equivalent to the United States gold
dollar.
Financing Central America
A dav or two ago information came from
WASHINGTON that the representatives of
the American bankers who will have
CHARGE of the collection of Nicaragua cus-
tom dues and the administration of the
financing of the country through the cen
tral national bank are to have the moral
s';nnort of the United States govern ment
How far this moral support will 90 Is not
vet disclosed. hut the Washirgton dis
patches intimate that the secretary of
state is 10 he authorized to anpoirt ono of
the two directors nominated hv the Mica
ra gilsn minister of finance on the board
of the national hank of Mica ra oua and
will also he rerresented in the admins
tration of the Nicara guam railroad.
No Treaties Needed
1t having been made apparent that
the Senate is not likely to ratify treaty
which would provide for the control hy
the United States of the collection of
customs in the Central American repub-
lies and the establishing of American
banking houses there. Mr.. Conant inti-
rfated last winter that after giving care
full thought to this matter h.. vas per-
suaded that all that was necessary would
be accomplished without treaties. If
only there could be assurance of the
moral support of the government at
Washington that would be guarantee
enough. There are some reasons for pre-
suIning that this view was taken by. the
Secretary of State in President Taft's
administration after he discovered that
the treaties President Taft had .negotiat-
ed could not be ratified by the Senate.
1t is apparently purely moral relation
of this kind that is now to be assured by
the government.
With Nicaragua upon a sound financial
basis and with fairly good chance that