Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-08-04


Republican politicians in Congress,
aided by Theodore Roosevelt, are con-
tininuing their efforts to reap political
advantage by plunging the business
world into a panic. Comparison of
the business and politics of 1907 un-
der Roosevelt with the business and
politics of 1914 under Wilson, there
fore, becomes timely and pertinent.
In the present year, numerous and
convincing evidences are at hand, in
dicating that period of unprece-
dented prosperity has begun. This is
true, Notwithstanding the campaign to
destroy confidence and paralyze busi-
ness jointly waged for the last few
months by the Republican partisans
and their Wall street allies.
There are many reasons for the
encouraging outlook now. Not the
least of them lies in the fact that the
new currency law was put onto the
statute books by the Wilson admins
tration. This law was enacted with
in a year after President Wilson
took office. After the panic Of 1907,
what was done to fortify against
panics during the six years that the
Republicans remained in power?
Scarcely a calamity speech is made
in Congress which does not assert
that Republican rule signifies pros
perity and Democratic rule the re-
verse. They make loud ado in com
pairing 1914 with 1894. Not a word
do they say, however, about 1907.
AIdrich Describes Panic
The foremost RSpublican authority
upon matters financial in 1907 was
the then Senator Nelson w. Aldrich
of Rhode Island. Aldrich was high
priest of Republican tariff and finan'
cial doctrine Not only that, he was
the leader of his party in Congress.
On February 10, 1908, delivering a
set speech in the Senate, Aldrich
described the panic of 1907, as the
most acute and disastrous in the his
tory of the country. He said:
"Mr President, the financial crisis
from which the country has just
emerged, which eliminated in seri.
GUS panic in October, was the most
acute and disastrous in it's immediate
consequences of any that has occur
red in the history of the country.
Nothing but the heroic measures TAX
en- by the representatives of the great
business and financial interests OF the
country, acting In cooperation with
the secretary of the treasury, pre-
vented total collapse of private cred
it and q disastrous destruction Of all
values. It is impossible to conceive,
much less to measure, the losses
which would have resulted from such
a calamity. The country was saved
by the narrowest possible margin from
an overwhelming catastrophe, whose
blighting effect would have been felt
in every household.
"A total collapse was avoided, but
the shrinkage in values Of securities
and property and the losses from in
jury to business, resulting from and
incidental to the crisis, amounted to
thousands Of millions of dollars"
Prior panics in the United States,
he continued, had been panics in
which serious distrust existed in the
public mind as to the security of the
whole or some portion of the country's
currency.
1.-THE panic of 1907" he went on,
"was not, either in its inception or
its progress. a currency panic. in the
sense to which have alluded. Our
currency. in character was beyond
question
Neither the strength Of the none.
tary system nor the extraordinary ef
forts which were made to avoid the
serious result prevented q general sus
pension Of payments by national
banks, with most deplorable and far
reaching results. This suspense com
menced in New York on October 2f
and was followed promptly by sus
pension Of banks in Chicago and 9th
or localities. The issue Of clearing
house certificates followed in most o1
the principal cities.
"A complete disruption Of ex
changes between cities and commun
tiles throughout the country tool