The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-07-27
NEEkLY IEI TER

III S-k-lllsl - IN
Was the Federal Reserve Act Accept
ed Instead Of the Aldricll Bill, Sim
ply in Order to Get Plank III the
Democratic Platform?
Prior to the advent Of the first viii
son ADMINISTRATION the record of the
Democratic Party had been series
$of fights for monetary reform. They
I were pledged to give the people re-
lief from money control centralized
in the hands Of a few bankers. They
had Waged a valiant fight against the
Aldrich Bill and had defeated it. They
{, slnerited the gratitude of the country
for such action. When they came into
power, however, they were charged
with the responsibility of writing into
the law real monetary reform, and
4 had pledged themselves that such re-
form should be in the interests Of all
the people. The people had a right to
expect that they would not be given
such measure as popular indigna-
tion had condemned in the Aldrich
Bill. < <Ss -, .s ~. ssz.. I
IS lion. Carter Glass was then Chair
!. man Of the House Committee on
Banking and Currency. On January z,
1913, he condemned the Hearings on
Banking and currency. Reform by TAX
ing the testimony Of Mr.. A. Barton
Hepburn, then Chairman Of the Board
of Directors of the Chase National
Bank. In opening the Hearings, Mr..
Glass explained the attitude of the
Committee and the Democratic Party
to Mr.. Hepburn. He said: x.
=. This, Mr. Hepburn, is a sub-com-
mittee~ of the House Committee on
Banking and Currency charged with
the specific business of investigating
considering, and reporting some
measure of reform in the banking and
currency laws of the country, and we
have invited you gentlemen here to
give US your advice and opinions as
to the best thing to be done. Perhaps
might say without improperly that,
speaking for the majority members Of
the committee, while we do not pro-
pose to restrict the gentlemen who
appear in anything that they my de-
sire to say, it is nevertheless fact
that we must recognize and deal with
that the party of the majority men,
bers has specifically declared against
what is known as the ,Aldrich Bill.
We would like to find out from you,
though, assuming that you think the
Aldrich Bill so-called, is the best thing
to be had, what is the next best thing
to get"
From this we gather a few 'perti-
nenty facts. 49, -s.,. - 49,,
~ We have the statement that b. the
Democratic Party was Specifically
declared against the Aldrich Bill. The
record of the Party justified that
statement. ..-.
- We have also the fact tht friends of
and believers in, the Aldrich Billwere
called upon to give the brunt Of the
testimony upon which was to be based
monetary reform, and that since the
declarations of the Democratic Party
precluded the Aldrich Bill that it was
desired tha: tney state" wlat, is the
next best thin;--- to get" Th' would
indicate that the difficulty in the way
was a party plank. A. Barton Hep
burn believed in the Aldrich Bill,
that Bill was precluded from consid-
Grafton by this Democratic committee,
it is not very hard to believe that
ssthe next best thing to get" out OF the
mind of A.. Barton Hepburn would
not be very different from the Aldrich
Bill. Such simple little statement
could not be expected to work great
accomplishments in the transforma-
ton Of the. brain and mind of A. Bar
ton Hepburn. This statement upon the
part of the Chairman of the Commit
j tee: also indicates that he, realized
that his party ws bound to give the
I country some real monetary reform
and that the honor of his party was
pledged to give something entirely
different from the principles en-
braced in the Aldrich Bill. These hear
ings were begun with that knowledge
I and that conception of duty, il. view.
! . Let us take the statement of an
other eminent authority, who was
clothed in purple by that same Dem
ocratic administration and set up IN
position Of power, as to what really
happened. tt is none the less outstand-
{ ING authority on the Federal Reserve
I system than Paul M. Warburg him
self, who now speaks: y y
When he appeared before the SEN
I ate Committee in the Hearings upon
his conf firmation as a member OF the
Federal Reserve Board, he was asked
I to state the fundamental differences
4 between the Aldrich Bill and the Fed
eral Reserve plan. He stated:
Well, the Aldrich Bill brings thee
I whole system into one unit, while this
deals with az units, and unites them
again into the Federal Reserve Board
I 1t is q little bit complicated, which OBJ
lection, however, can be overcome il
y al administrative way; and in that
respect freely criticized the bill be
fore il was passed. &
So, we find that the Democrats
gave US the same thing that the Re
publicans proposed 10 give as IN ths
B Aldrich Bill and that the information
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