The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-05-10

CUMMINGS
eral Reserve Act, if it had been the
only thing accomplished by President
Wilson, would in itself be sufficient to
give him enduring fame. Resisting
pressure from all quarters with that
patience and courage characteristic of
ihinn, he adhered to his purpose
Now, there is not a disinteresteds
statesman in America not a respon-a
tsib1e banker who is heard to friticise
that law. On the contrary, its APP
lprova1 has been almost unanimous
Senator Mclean suggests that there
fought to have been one central bank
Tor five central banks instead of twelve
/ He forgets that the Instincts Of the
/ American people are against one great
central bank and the fame of Andrew
jackson rests largely upon the courage
with which he met the demands of
Iconcentrated capital in the early days
Iof the Republic. We are not, how
lever, concerted with technical critic
isrns of inInateriat details. The Fed
IeraI Reserve Act was passed over the
1.-The Republican Party, backed by the
wall Street banks and all their power
land supported by f1Iibuster conduct
ed by Senator Root, the intellectual
Header of the Republican Party. And
/ yet, from the moment of its passage,
that act has been an unqualified and
hcompIete success.
Two days after Senator NIcLean's
3 speech there was. published ankofhcial
report of the Comptroller of the Cur
Erency. This report discIoses that the
resources of the National banks of the
lamounted to i ,S32 million dollars, ex-
8 ceeding By se7 million dollars the
lgreatest resources ever known in the
81 history of the National banking sys-
item, and exceeded by 2,271 million
IdoIars the resources of the National
banks as shown by a statement of the
Eyear before. 1T also showed that the
aggregate resources of the National
banks of the United States exceed by
Iabout three thousand million dollars
1.-THE aggregate resources of the bank
of England, the Bank of France, the
IGermany, the Bank of the Neither
LANDS, the Swiss National Bank and
1.-THE Bank Of Japan.
ut also discloses that the increase
in deposits in the past twelve months
81 anacunted to more than the sum total
Banks twenty years ago. These fig
ures show the stupendous resources of
this country, its amazing prosperity
land the successful mobilization of its
finances under the leadership of Wood
ROW Wilson.
Until the present Administration
came to the lfuI1ness of its power there
has not been any real prosperity in this
tcountry since the Republican panic of
I190T. And that panic was one of-the
was primarily due to the archaic con-
dition of our financial system under
Republican rule
s'The passage Of the Federal Reserve
Act saved this country from an indus
trial and financial catac1ysn.
When the war in Europe began it
disturbed the finances of the world.
Trade and commerce were impaired,
Insecure institutions were endangered
; land, in many instances destroyed. This
was a world condition.
Every nation of South America
suffered from panics, values were de-
lstroyed and bank holidays were a con
Eatant necessity. America alone sur
fvived the shock and has had the f1nan-
) ciaI ability to loan hundreds of mil
lions of dollars abroad during the war.
, HSuch is the financial condition of
, America. and any critic whose mind
!, is not distorted by partisanship and
whose soul is not dwarfed by envy, will
, give full credit to- the wise statesman
ship of WOODROW Wilson.
Income Tax
'sThe Democratic Party placed upon
the statute books an income tax. The
primary purpose contemplated by this
legislation was to reduce taxation at
: the Custom House to make room in
our system for tax on wealth. Taxa
Z ton at the Custom House is per capita,
:. and the man who tolls for his daily
bread bears approximately the same
{ burden as the man who counts his
E wealth in millions. An income tax is
based upon the doctrine of Equality
, L of sacrifice and was necessary to re-
fIieve our system from the reproach
} of being unjustly burdensome to the
poor.
sHThe passage of this law was a be-
lated recognition by America of a prin-
: cipIe which had found a place in the
systems of practically all of the civil
. lied nations of the world Only re-
dictionaries of the most hopeless char
acter would suggest a repeal of this
!. law ana the Republican Party makes
: no such demand.
Direct Election of U. S. Senators.
cit must not be forgotten that it
> was the Democratic Party which
5 forced the passage of the Constitu-
: tionaI Amendment providing for the
: direct election Of United States Sena-
: tors by popular vote. The nation has