The Seward gateway daily edition, and the Alaska weekly post., 1919-07-24
BIG FINANCIAL MERGER

One of the biggest financial drive in the history of the world is ahou, to be inauguratcd in congress. accord ing to a Washington special to tho Christian Science Monitor, The "in' tcrnational bankers" have Succ eded in having thoir plan for a merger "f an the financial commercial and in- duStrial resources of the United States ador,cd bv members of the senate. and a bin providing for this gigantic me- ~cr will bc introduced within the nCyt few days by Walter F.. Edge Repu'- lican senator from New Jersey.
 Details of the huge undCrtakin'' which involves two billion dollar So have been given out by Senator Edg 70 who says that the proposed pool mf have to have "thc moral backing ar material support" of the United Stat government for financing of foreie ? trade. The bankers diSapproved strongly of the original rlan' which proposed a federal corporation n which the government would Contr ] half the stock.
 Owing to this diSapproval of gov ormcntal share in the proposed plan If Wall street. the bill drawn up W Robert l.. Owens, Democratic ScnatoT from Oklahoma, k being rewritten " Senator Edge, who insists that tHe management of the pool shall bc in private hands.
 Following the protcstationS of Well street that the proposed rool was con rcivcd in the interest of war-StriCl,'n Europe and the necessary, "rehabilita- tioN." surprise was caused by the ad- mission of Senator Edge that the plan lis not regarded aS an altruiStic move ment by those behind it." This ad- mission from a sponsor may shed new light on tho undertaking.
 The proposed legislation, said S"r' ,-o, Edge, would provide channel ,or the release Cf flood of American manufactures and coincidcntally built mn ard maintain the American mcr- chant marine. Senator Edge said that in nrcparing the bill he had been n close conference with the leading men in tho financial and industrial world,
 "Fvcrv one is agreed on the neceH- ~itv for such foreign financing" sa'd Senator Edge, "and the general met hod of providing it may not be diffl- cult to determine. But in getting down 70 details we are confronted with the nroblcm as to the advisability of gov crnmcnt participation and the two cot- laterial problems: If government pm- ticipation is advisable, will the gov crnmcnt he willing to participate and if SO, to what extent is such particlpa- ton advisablc?" Of course, there must be government cooperation.
 "The sentiment is general l be- lfcvc, that the government should no" be relieved from participation in pr vatc business and be kept out of p"i- vate business, but this is financial undertaking of such tremendous vol ume. involving perhaps a couple Of b'l- lion dollars. that it may be necessary Co enlist the moral backing and ma tcrial support of the government to assure the necessary confidence ot the commercial. industrial and finan- cial interests and of the investing public and of the people at large"
 Senator Edge said that his tenta- tive plan for legislation is that a group of financial. commercial and in dustnal interests should be formed t1 conduct the foreign financing "as a distinctly business enterprise" Subsl- diary groups of particular interests might be formed he said to handle