The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-01-15

finance agree that our currency is
lacking in this essential.
The new law makes provision to
meet this demand. It establishes re-
serve banks with power to issue re-
serve currency. The issue of this
reserve currency supplies the elias
ITCHY now lacking in our system.
But the Administrations scheme
gives the bankers the right to ac-
quire the stock in the reserve banks,
and gives the banks six and the gov
eminent but three Of the nine direc-
tors of each reserve bank. This es-
tablishes a bankers ownership and
a bankers control at the vital point
in the whole plan.
Practically, it will lie with the
bankers to regulate the new clement
of elasticity which the new law sup
plies, All amendments offered to
provide for public ownership of the
stock of these reserve banks and for
investing the public with control by
providing that the government
rectors of each reserve bank, were
defeated by caucus decree.
In general terms, a theoretical
control of reserve boards and reserve
banks is provided by a federal board
appointed by the President. But it's
supervisory power is less direct and
little, If any, more definite or ex-
tended than that now exercised by
the government over national banks
under existing law. In practical
operation the real control under this
legislation will lie with the bankers
through the majority control of the
reserve board of each reserve bank,
which can, as banking interests die
tate, initiate Or refuse to initiate the
new currency issue at each reserve
center of banking activity for the
territory within it's Jurisdiction.
The country suffers today from
precisely such centralized control of
credit by bankers managed through
a community of interest and owner
ship.
Through this same influence the
great center of financial power will
be potential in the selection of the
board of directors for every import
ant reserve bank from New York to
San Francisco, and the Administra-
ton now becomes sponsor for sys-
TEN that 1egalizes this monopoly of
banking power.
I find great difficulty in harmonic
ing the legislation which the Presi-
dent has insisted should be forced
through under caucus rule, with the
declaration in his massage on bank
ing and currency delivered to Con-
gress on the tWenty-third of June,
when he said:
''The control of the system of
banking and of issue which our new
laws are to set up must be public,
not private, must be vested in the
Government itself, so that the banks
may be the instruments, not the mas
ters, of business and of individual
enterprise and initiative"
But there is something more to be
said. In common with millions of
people, I had hoped the President
would have the courage to lay hold
of the Money Power with strong
hands. The Democratic platform
pledged him to this in plain terms.
There is no installing the meaning
of this Baltimore declaration:
eve believe the people of the
country will be largely freed from
panics and consequent unemploy-
ment and business depression by
such systematic revision of cur
banking laws as will render tempo
rary relief in localities where such
relief is needed, with protection from
control or domination by what is
known as the Money Trust"