New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-15
Confer to Relieve Foreign
Exchange and Ship
ping Conditions.
NEW MARITIME BILL
URGED AT MEETING
Financiers Propose Law TO In.
crease American Bottoms
President Optimistic.
Iron The Tribune Bureau1

merchandise abroad and war risk in
surance were the principal questions
considered by the conference of gov
eminent officials and representatives Of
trade, business, shipping and banking
interests at the Treasury Department
to-day.
Resolutions setting forth the recon-
mendatlons OF the conferrees on the
three subjects were adopted and COM
mittees were named TO cooperate with
the government officials in solving the
problems. Tbs resolutions expressed
appreciation of the prompt. and eff
/ fective action of the President and
/ Congress and the Secretary of the
/ Treasury in afrording a prompt solu-
/ ton of the currency difficulties created
by the sudden outbreak of war in Eu-
rope"
/ Attending the conference, over which
Secretary McAdoo presided, were Sec
rotary Houston, Secretary Redfield, As
sistant Secretaries Newton and NAL
/ burn of the Treasury Department, Con-
troller Williams, Messrs. Hamlin, De-
lano, Harding, Miller and Warburg, of
the Federal Reserve Board; Senator
! Owen, chairman Of the Senate Commit
tee on Banking and Currency; Repre-
I
the House Banking and Currency Com
mittee, and Representative Adamson,
chairman Of the House Interstate and
Foreign Commerce Committee.
President Wilson received the bust
ness representatives this afternoon.
Hold Executive Session.
To insure freedom Of discussion to-
days conference was held behind closed
doors, but the resolutions adopted and
some of the proceedings of the con-
ference were made public in a state
ment issued tonight by Secretary Nc
Adoo.
The statement declared it had been
the consensus of opinion at the confer
ence that with enlarged registry of
American ships and action by the gov
eminent supplementing what private
companies might do in connection with
insurance, the question of exports of
grain and cotton and of foreign eX-
change would rapidly solve them
selves
Many speakers, including J. P. Nor
gan, James J. Hill and other fnan-
ciers, pointed out the fact that Great
Britain, France and Belgium already
had provided for government war in
Against this action, they declared,
the United States would be helpless, as
no ships would pass under the Ameri-
can flag with the passage of the pro-
posed registry law unless their owners
were assured of insurance under the
Stars and Stripes. The result would
be foreign monopoly of sea transport
tation, they predicted, and the fixing
abroad of the price at which American
wheat and cotton would be sold.
Following is the conference resolu-
tion on this point which is the pivot
of the plan of relief offered:
Want Government Bureau.
Resolved, That this conference urge
the United States government to ca
tablish a bureau of war risk insur-
ance. to be administered under the IL
rection of a suitable government de-
psrtment by board of three or five
members which shall assume the risks
of war on American vessels and Ameri-
can cargoes shipped or to be shipped
thereon, whenever in the judgment Of
the board 1t shall appear that Ameri-
can vessels or shippers on American
vessels are unable in any particular
trade to compete on equal terms with
the vessels or shippers Of other ma
tionalities by reason of the protection
offered such other carriers or shippers
by arrangements for war indemnity
through their governments, and that
such board have power to fix rates of
premium subject TO change to each
country or for each class of cargo"
Early discussion showed opinion 70
be unanimous among the business men
and the government officials present
| that the problems to be faced divided
/ themselves naturally into three heads:
Restoration of a market for foreign
exchange bills, the immediate acauisi-
ton Of means of transportation for
American wheat and cotton to Euro
/ pean markets and the war risk insur-
ance.
/ In appointing the following commit
tee the conference sought to provide
the government with expert advice in
each of these branches:
/ Three Committees Named
War risk insurance Hendon Chub5.
New York; J. Parker Kirlin, New York;
Z. II. 0uterbridge, New York, and =.
q. Crowell, Kansas City, Mo.
Transportation--J. A. Farrell. New
York; p. A. S. Franklin, New York:
Robert Dollar, San Francisco, and Ber-
nard n. Baker, Baltimore.
Foreign Exchanged. j. Hemphill,
/ New York; Festus j. Wade, st. Louis,
Henry r. lckelheimer, New York; John
j. Arnold, Chicago
A member of the Federal Reserve
/ Board to aid in the deliberations of
each of these subcommittee was
/ named by Secretary McAdoo as fol-
| lows:
War insurance, A. c. Miller: trans
/ portatlon, F. A. Delano; foreign ex-
/ change, Paul NJ. Warburg.
The committee on war insurance be-
/ gan work tonight on the preparation
/ of a measure it will present to Con-
gress. The discussion at the confer
/ ence left no doubt that the measure
was 10 be purely an emergency matter
and that the government was TO receive
premiums on any insurance il might
! write.
/ The conference interrupted its de-
\ liberations in the afternoon TO 20 in n
body to the White House President
Wilson addressed them briefly.
"lf we get no other benefit out of the
present trying circumstances in the
world at large" said the President, Eve
shall at least get this benefit; We shall
enjoy a period when we meet each
other not as members Of different par
/ ties. all our prejudices fallen away
/ from us, coming together as Americans
/ Tor a common object that IS not
I touched with selfshness or personal
ambition of any sort. Surely handsome
results will come out of the spirit in
which conferences of this kind are
/ held.
Wilson Is Optimistic.
81 believe you will discover. those OF
/ you who did not know il before, that