The Washington herald., 1917-11-15
WILSON SEEKS
AID OF BAKER
President Was Following
Example Of Predecessors
= in interviewing Kahn.

When a President Of the United
States invites a Wall Street banker
to visit him at the White House for
the purpose Of holding conference with
him Il Is q reasonable inference that
great financing and financial PROPOSE
tions which the government must con-
slider made it expedient for the Presi-
dent to secure the views of those who
are recognized as experts. both as do
mestic and international bankers.
Many have been the inferences in
the financial district regarding the rea-
son why President Wilson was in con-
ference for some time with Otto n.
Kahn few days ago. The inference
commonly held was that the Presi-
dent feels that there should be some
change in the meehods of financing
the governments war necessities and
perhaps in the relation of the gov
ernment and the Treasury Department
to the general and industrial business
situation. The fact that the course
Of the securities market has been tend
ing downward ever since the war tax
was adopted by Congress, Is regarded
as a symptom of anxiety, apprehen-
sion and perhaps some dissatisfaction
with the manner in which Congress
has made appropriations and then pro-
vided for enormous taxation as well
as for heavy loans with which to meet
the expenditures Of the government.
Kahn Opposes PrussIanism.
Otto H. Kahn is a Prussian by
birth. In his spare moments he has
of late been occupied in translating
into German the address which he
recently delivered at Harrisburg in
which he spoke with vehemence and
the utmost sincerity of his detesta-
tion of the methods and policies and
principles which characterize Prus-
sianized Germany. No American
citizen has spoken with more pro-
found understanding OF the real
issue in this war than Mr.. Kahn did.
This address attracted great atten-
tion, SO that there was a demand for
it in convenient pamphlet form.
There also came intimations that it
would be of much value IL. having
been translated into German, it
could thereby be placed in the hands
OF Germans here and probably Ger
mans in Europe.
Earlier Mr.. Kahn delivered one or
two addresses upon economic and
financial questions that the war has
raised. In one of the addresses he
discussed the tax problem, and also
what he thought was the true pro-
portionate part of incomes which
the government might take for rev.
enue without impairing capital or
industry. Very likely President
Wilson read these addresses. At all
events. he did apparently what no
President since Lincoln felt that it
was expedient to do, excepting in
two instances.
President Lincoln, at a time Of great
embarrassment in the days Of the
civil war. and in the face OF finan-
cial difficulties which were relatively
comparable in magnitude with those
of the present day, thought 1t ex-
pedient to meet a group of leading
American bankers, perhaps fifteen or
twenty in all. By appointment they
met the President at the White
House and spent an evening in dis
cussing some of the financial prob
lens which Lincoln and his Secretary
OF the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase,
were compelled to solve. Lincoln
frankly confessed to these men of
finance that he himself did not un-
derstand much about finance he pro-
nounced the word as though it was
spelled feenance), but he admitted
that he had gained insight into