The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-05-16

not at liberty to discuss fully, and I,
ask the house. upon its faith in hin
and his associates Of the committee
acting as a unit, to accept the bill
but that is precisely the situation. Up,
on my return to Washington on Sat
urday, l found that the committee or
banking and currency had had 6
meeting and such hearings as were
possible. In addition / personally
made inquiry in every responsible
quarter and satisfied myself that there
was nothing else to do but to pass the
senate bill If we would avert trouble
To reassure the house even more fully
II can, l present this letter, sent to
me by the president under date OF
April 81:
THE White House,
Washington, April 81, 1918.
Hon. Carter Glass,
Washington, D. c.
MY Dear Mr.. Glass: | am taking
the liberty of writing you to ask if
the early report and passage of the
silver bill will be possible. Circum-
stances have arisen which make the
passage of this bill a genuine war
emergency; otherwise l would not
suggest so immediate action upon it.
The circumstances, however, are
pressing, and l beg you to believe,
justify me in making this request. |
believe that you have been informed
from the treasury department just
what the exigency is.
Cordially and sincerely yours,
WOODROW WILSON"
Mr.. Hayes: Mr.. Speaker, under or
binary circumstances. ! should be OPP
posing this bill very strenuously on
several grounds. If the country were
not in this war, and the present en-
Urgency were not upon us, l should
regard this bill as a piece of econom-
ic and financial folly. There are sew
eral things in it that, If it were in
my power, l would change. / would
amend it radically, but from the infor-
nation that has been conveyed to the
members of the committee by the
president, the secretary of the treas
ury, and the federal reserve board,
some of which information has been
stated already by the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr GLASS;, l conclude that
this is not only an emergency measure
but a matter of the greatest urgency.
| therefore feel it to be my bounden
duty to support it as 1t is since under
the rules just adopted, it can not be
amended.
Mr. Wood, of Indiana: 1t comes to
us rather suddenly here. / want to
inquire if there is any evidence be-
fore your committee as to whether or
not England knew of this exigency for
some time, and considered it before
this was sprung on the United States.
Mr. Hayes: England has known for
some time that she had out obliga-
tions, of course, but she was not ia
miliar, and is not now familiar, and
it is not desirable that it should be-
come familiar with the dangers that
Turk in the immediate future.
Mr.. Wood, of Indiana: Did England
take any steps to relieve this situa-
ton?
Mr.. Hayes: Certainly; all the steps
that were possible. AS the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr Glass; has stated,
the United States has the only great
supply of silver that is in the world.
Mr.. Wood. of Indiana: l saw a
statement in the paper this morning,
and / think it would be fair thai the
gentlemen should know of it, to the
effect that in this transaction there
Is speculation of over $7O,OOO,OOO
by bankers of England. Does the
gentleman know anything about that?
Mr.. Hayes: ! know nothing about
that. l want to say that under ord
mary circumstances l should insist
upon acting upon my own judgment
and experience, after many years of
study of financial questions; but under
the present circumstances, when the
commander in chief of the army and
navy of the United States comes TO
me and says, "the passage of this bill
is a most vital war necessity" l sink
my own judgment and my own feeling
in the matter and yield to his urgent
request as If it were a command. AL
though the circumstances surround
ing this emergency have been quite
fully explained to the members of the
committee, many other things are
doubtless known to the president that
he is not at liberty to explain to the
members Of the committee; necessar-
| lily information must be open to him
that he could not disclose to us.
Il