The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-23


old banking law the money was got
ten out of the treasury by men who
had a certain character of bonds TO
deposit therefor, under the preteXt OF
moving the crops a time or two each
year AS a rule, some IL to 20 New
York financiers controlled the secur-
tiles essential to draw the currency
from the treasury, and by this means
they acquired control of the great vol
ume of our circulating medium; HaY-
ing acquired this control, they would
let it out as they chose. 1t was in
their power to either expand on con-
tract the currency as they saw fit and
send the prices up and down at the
expense of the whole people. 1t was
also within their power to start a
panic as they saw fit, and, as every
one knows, they did start the John
Smith panic at the close of the Roose-
welt administration to crush him and
to eliminate him as a possible po1tl-
cal factor of the future.
THE Progressive party declared
against the central bank idea advo-
Gated by Aldrich and the control of
the currency by the few and in favor
of the decentralization plan Presl-
dent Wilson took the matter up I'M
mediately after his election, and thru
strenuous efforts oyer the unbend1ng
opposition of certain New York finan-
ciers, who had heretofore enjoyed the
special privileges, finally induced the
congress to enact and he signed the
federal reserve law.
Great Piece of Legislation.
This, in my judgment, is the great
est piece of legislation in favor of the
business of the country which has
been written on the statute books in
This law provides for the estab-
lishment of IL regional banks thru
out the United States, and provides,
4 tn 6e two TN-Fy
may be let through the medium of
these banks on commercial paper
taken in daily trade, SO as to intro
duce an elasticity into the matter of
the currency, which automatically ex-
pands or contracts it only as the needs
of daily trade may require. The mer-
| chant on the one side of the street,
who may need $1,000 in his business,
steps to his bank on the other side,
makes his note and obtains the loan.
| The bank, in turn, may repleniSh its
| funds by depositing this merchants
note. which it knows to be good, with
| the federal reserve bank and thus re-
peat the transaction, so as to keep
monies constantly on hand gotten out
| of the treasury on these assets taken
| in daily trade, and this operates to
| eliminate the power of the few men
who heretofore acquired the control of
| the whole volume.
Because Mr.. Wilson saw and APP
|
istered the Progressive idea in reliev-
| ing it, 1 give as one of the reasons
why 1 was for his reelection
THE Progressive platform declared
| in favor of a system of rural credits
which Injured to the benefit of the
farmers and those engaged in agricul-
ture. Mr.. Wilson saw the necessity of
this, for his mental attitude was such
as to seize upon and apprehend the
true situation, in that those who are
buying land and endeavoring to estab-
| liSh homes are at the mercy of the
large insurance companies who loan
their money on the farms, say at 6
per cent interest, thru an agent who
exacts a large commission, and then,
too, frequently Expresses the borrow
er or sells out the home in the matter
of the collection of the loan or inter-
est. The president persuaded con-
gress to take up the idea and to enact
it into law, and this accomplishment
is known as the rural credits act. 1t
has but recently become a law.
The Farm Loan Board.
1.-The farm loan board is now or
ganized. The principal features of the
rural credits act provide that the far
mer may borrow from the govern
ment, thru the regional farm loaT
bank and an association nearer hi.
home, not to exceed so per cent OF
| the value of his land and 20 per cen
purpose of paying for his home or &C.
quiring other land or means of utiliz-
ing it, and in no case shall the rate
of interest exceed 6 per cent on such
loans. 1t may be as low as 4, ~ OIL
per cent, but not exceeding pei
cent. A loan may be negotiated fol
an amount as small as 800 and none
shall exceed $4,000, for it is the
spirit of the law that the government
shall yield its benefits in respect tc
this matter only to those of moder-
ate means, who presumptively cannot
acquire loans as easily as men d
larger fortunes Then, too. a loaI
under the rural credits act may b.
had at from five to forty years, as the
borrower may choose, with the privi-
lege of paying it off in installments
as small as 800 at a time. This is {
master stroke along the lines de-
cfared for by the Progressive party
and tends to alleviate the condition:
of humanity and the plain people, a:
conceived by those who framed the
Progressive platform in 1912. 1 cite
this as a second reason why 1 favored
the reelection of President Wilson.
Consideration for Labor.
1.-THE Progressive platform de
c1ared, too, for the amendment of tht
antitrust laws, and the presiden
took up this matter with the con
gress and urged it until the Clayton
trust law was obscure and the big
business men complained that the!
couldn't tell precisely what theN
rights were, the amendments afford
clear definitions and elucidate thu
subject by and large.
Zone of the propositions set forth il
the Progressive platform was to tn