The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-27
One of Largest Gatherings in History of Civic Cham
 Der Hears Speech
OUTLOOK ROSEATE
 FOR FUTURE, HE SAYS
Return of Confidence in Business World Is Steady and Sure, He Says. Tells How Greatest Crisis in the
 Worlds History Was Met

Explaining the operation of the fed eral reserve system and the develop ment of the system since its inaugur- ation several months ago, w. P. G. Harding of the federal reserve board yesterday addressed one of the larg- est gatherings ever assembled in the Chamber of Commerce auditorium.
 Mr Harding is stopping al the Tutwier He arrived in Birmingham late Thursday y night and spent yesterday morning re- newng aequaintances and revisiting ia miliar scenes. He went around the High lands during the morning and declared that he had seen nothing so pretty since he left Birmingham.
 Last night MT. Harding was guest of honor at a dinner given al the Tntwiler by Webb w Crawford. Those present, in addition to MT. Harding and Mir. Craw- ford, included Oscar Wells. John L. Kaul, E, w. Barrett, ErslSine Ramsay, ]. II. Barr, E. B. Crawford L. sevier, W. IT. Kettig, Robert Jemison. Jr.. and McLane Triton.
 MT. Harding, in his afternoon address, told in detail how the greatest crisis in the world S history last summer was met by the federaN government and the new national currency system, reviewed cond- tions existing today and made some prophecies of rosy hue for the future.
 Yesterday afternoon he gave his opinion that the return of confidence in the business world is steady and sure.'
 Cotton Advance Stimulates
 He said that the advance of cotton prices and the increase in the move ment of cotton was proving a wonder ful stimulus to the business conditions of the south. In his address he strong 1y indorsed crop diversification for the farmers of Alabama.
 feature of his remarks was gen eral outline of a state rural credits bank which the legislature could es- tablish and which would be of won derful aid to the farmers of Alabama, !" he said
 '1'm glad to he back home was the opening sentence of MT. Harding s Chamber of Commerce speech. For I do consider this my home" he continued and always shall.
 "When l left here last August none of us had any idea of the wonderful world wide emergency that was about to come upon us. And the way the United States, Alabama and Birmins- ham have passed through that crisis undoubtedly the greatest in the his tory of the world is a wonderful dem- onstration of sound fundamental con ditions Of American life"
 He described the breaking out oi the European war few days after some of the things which happened in New York and Washington in the memorable days following.
 C~u.o U..:J. u:.to...
 'The day after the New York
 stock exchange closed" he said a
 party of New York bankers and
 flnanciers came to Washington
 and asked that the Secretary of
 the Treasury and members of the
 federal reserve board and other
 officials come to New York at once
 for a conference. As many of you
 believe. I too had Always thought
 of these great financiers of New
 York as men approaching the su-
 perhuman, living in rarified at
 mosphere and different entirely
 from the common citizen. But I
 had the honor of accompanying
 the Secretary of the Treasury to
 New York to confer with them
 and when we were all assembled in
 New York hotel I felt perfectly
 at home. ] had been to meetings
 Dl tndl ki1u DtlOTt III DlTiiinE
 ham. They were scared and scared
 bad. And there wasn't a man
 among them who appeared any
 bigger than Tom Smith Webb
 Crawford or Jack Barr. The Sec
 retary of the Treasury was the
 coolest man there"
 MT. Harding then reviewed how the Secretary of the Treasury offered and sent to these New York banks gold f,o, faAa t,ao a1tr of ha Ia n to issue new currency and the oper- ation of the branch office of the treas ury4 at New York night, day and Sun day, simply turning out wagon loads of currency. He described what he said would be known to history as the gold pool" which was formed soon after to take care of the large amount Of money owed to foreign countries by United States importers. for which purpose S1o0, 000,0 was subscribed but only about one-fifth of 1t ever called for and placed in use.
 Taking up the buy bale movement. he declared it a great mistake although it was started and carried on with the best of intentions. Its chief harm was that it gave the farmer the im- pression that he had some sort of di- vine right to dispose of his cotton at not less than 10 cents" he said.
 Price Was EStaDnsne0
 "The spinners of the north and east and the cotton buyers of other coun- tries then thought that cotton would go as low as 3 cents.' he said, "and they kept out of the market. But finally the plan was evolved and put in operation by which the cotton farmers of the south were permitted to borrow money on their warehouse receipts and the effect was immediate, as it had been believed. "A price for cotton was established, the commodity began to move and since that time there has been a steady strengthening of the cotton market until today in some places it is selling as high as g cents on the open market
 Mir. Harding declared that the Amer ican system of national currency had often been called patchwork and that 1t had no elasticity. He then explained how the operation of the federal re- serve banks gave it elasticity. The note of the federal reserve banks has already proven he said that 1t will circulate where and when money Is needed and that it will not circulate when money is not needed and that has provided the country with the elastic currency system that will ex pand to take care of any emergency which can confront the country or any part of It."
 He told of the important position held in the south by the state banks and stated that early next week, prob ably, the federal reserve board would make public regulations 1t had been preparing for sometime by which state banks will be brought into the federal