The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-06-25

not pass a currency bill or banking
bill? applause on the Democratic
side.) You did not have the power
of initiative, and you have not got il
now. daughter and applause on the
Democratic side.)
l would not fear to rest the Demo
cratic claim entirely on that one bill
applause on the Democratic side.)
1t alone should renew our lease of
power. For 20 years the Republicans
have been tinkering at the currency
question. always promising reform
but never accomplished anything, new
er. Everybody who has half sense
knows the country had outgrown the
national banking BILL 1t is like try
ing to fit a garment of a 10-year-oId
boy on the Kentucky giant; you could
not do it. The old Republican scheme
was a breeder of panics applause on
the Democratic side), an invitation tc
panics. | do not have to enumerate
them, but all of us can remember
most of them. There was no elastici
ty to the currency. Does any man in
this House believe we could have gone
through this colossal war with that
old bill on the statute books without
a panic? (Cries of moi" on the
Democratic side.l If he does, he has
faith that would move mountains. The
Republicans had a system of shreds
and patches, always getting into
trouble with it
Mr.. Tess. Will the gentleman yield
for a question:
Mr.. Clark of Missouri. shall be
very glad to do so.
Mr.. Fess. What is there In the
Federal reserve act as it now stands
that was not. in the Aldrich bill ex
cept first the Aldrich bill provided for
a central bank while the present bill
has regional banks and the AIdrich
bill did not have the present organi-
cation of the board?
Mr.. Clark of Missouri. No.
Mr.. Fess. What is the difference
between the two except those?
Mr.. Clark of Missouri. Well, those
differences are enough to make our
bill immortal and condemn yours for
ever. daughter and applause on the
Demochatic side)
Mr.. Wingo. Will the gentleman
yield?
Mr. Fess. If the gentleman will
permit, would suggest that the pork
barrel system which distributes favors
throughout the State is not an advis-
able thing to do.
Mr.. Clark of Missouri Well, is the
gentleman against the Federal reserve
bank bill?
Mr.. Fess. l voted for it
Mr.. Clark of Missouri. Why did
you do it?
Mr.. Fess. Because the Democrats
accepted the gold standard amend
ment that l wrote.
Mr. Clark of Missouri. The gold
standard had been fixed for years.
Mr.. Fess. | was against it until
that amendment was accepted.
Mr.. Wingo. If the gentleman will
permit, no doubt the gentleman re-
members the debate on the Federal
reserve act, and one objection of one
of the Republican critics, who finally
voted for the bill in spite of his objec-
tion, was that under the Aldrich
scheme the country banks could still
keep their reserves in reserve cities:
and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr.
Prouty) made constitutional argu-
ment that our bill was unconstitutiOn-
al, in that it took control of certain
Va Uduho. anu yet
is the very bedrock of the Federal Re.
serve System and the difference be-
tween that and the Aldrich bill.
Mr.. Clark of Missouri I am very
much obliged to the gentleman from
Arkansas. Here is the situation: For
80 or 40 years the Republicans had
been believing at the top of their
voices that we have no initiative
They admitted that in the spacious
days of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew
Jackson that we had, but they declar.
ed that we had lost it, and if we got
in we could not do anything. You
know you all said that, and by blind.
ing the people with that kind of chan
you stayed in power for rs or 30
years; but In 1912 the scales fell from
their eyes and they put the Democra-
tic party back in power, and they ac-
complished more than you have &C.
complished since the death of Lincoln.
Applause on the Democratic sidel
Charley Lands used to tell a story
that fits you gentlemen exactly. He
said down in the mountains of Penn
sylvania they built a spur out in the
and an old chap who had
never seen a car or an aurino NJ q