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Show AIDRIOII BILL PUNGTUKIJD. By virtuo of tho discussion that has boon had in (.ho Senate upon the Aldrich bill, that ineaauro is getting to be pretty thoroughly discredited, as it ought to bo. Tho laje3t and most furious assault mado upon it was that by Senator La Follctto of Wisconsin, on Tuesday. It appoar.s that Senator Aldrich had claimed that tho billtwas opposed by the bankers of New York; thjls doubtlesB in response to the charge that tho bill subverted tho wholo financial By stem of the country to tho interests of tho Now York bankers. Senator La FoUelte, in reply, called attention to the apparent jubilation of J. Piorpont Morgan in support sup-port of tho bill, aud aoked Mr. Aldrich what Mr. Morgan's altitude toward it was. Mr. Aldrich nnsworod that he did not know, but would bo glad to havo approval for it by such, a great financial authority as Mr. Morgan. It is a curious, curi-ous, situation that, is thus developed. Mr.-Aldrich claims that the banking interests in-terests of tbo country aro generally opposed to his bill, ovon thoso of New York, in whose spocial interest it is drawu; and yet that bill is presumed to be for tho reliof of tho. banks. If it is not that, it is nothing. It would bo interesting in-teresting to havo Mr. Aldrich explain who it 1b that, wants this bill of his if it is not tho banks. So far aB has developed, de-veloped, there is not a particle of support sup-port for it, then, except from politicians and from lickspittles such as Smoot, who hastened to jump into tho arena and talk a lot of meaningless- stuff, professedl- in favor of tho bill,- rucroly to pay his debt to Aldrich for voting to retain him in his seat in tho Senate. The bill being opposed by tho banks, as Mr. Aldrich says it is. and all tho business interests of the country bcin, hostilo to it, it is remarkable, indeed, that it should receive any support at all in the Senate. It is. certainly, a puzzle to find out what it is that brings strength to this Aldrich bill. It Is a measuro of no merit; it is, lijco Ephrairn, "a eako not turned," as ia shown in the constant tampcring.Jvith it and licking it into shape. Tlic latest concession made to this popular demand to get the bill into workable form is tho elimination of rail-way rail-way .securities- from1 thoso that .arc to be usc.d nsjbank credits or collateral in tlic dealings between tho banks and the Government. Thero have boon many other changes in this bill, and probably prob-ably others yet will be offered iu order to meet tho just criticisms that aro being passed upon that crudo draft. It is a measuro that no ono soems to want, but seems to havo groat strength inUhc Senate nevertheless. A'hy it should havqr is one of thoso mysteries that cau only be explained by Senatorial Sena-torial courtesy or deference to a leading lead-ing Senator, when the members of the Sena to tticmsolvcs would prefer not to have to pass upon it at all. The more the financial situation is discussed, the more clearly is- defined tho proposition that the present financial finan-cial and currency system is a makeshift, make-shift, and is a misfit so far aa the present pres-ent needs of tho country aro concerned. It was a splendid proposition in the first place for the marketing of the United States bonds during war times, and also for the security of the currency in circulation,' to provide a National banking system. It enabled tho Government Gov-ernment to sell its bouds, and it provided pro-vided the pcoplo a elablo currency that, was absolutely redeemable and was always al-ways as good iu one place as in another; an-other; both features being sadly lacking: lack-ing: in the old Stato bank currency .which flooded the country beforo tho war. But that war-time sj'stcm is outgrown, out-grown, and it is found that the Nation will have to get more and more in debt in order to meet the commercial needs of the country to provide a banking basis and a bond pledge for bank notes. When the Government, as a matter of fact, should bo .getting out of debt, and should not have to pay $20,000,000 annual an-nual interest out of the public revenues, it in desired to go further into debt, to issue more bonds, in order to provide a basis for banks to issue currency upon. What is wanted is something that will bo one thing or the other. Jl. was a complaint of St. John, the rovclator, that certain churches were neither cold uor hot. And so it is a proper criticism upon our currency sj'slem tpday to say that it is neither oue thing nor tho other. It is neither a Government sya--tem, nor is it a business system, with the Government left out. It is time that this country accepted one principle princi-ple or the other. Either the Government should do it all or ihe Government hould keep its hands off. The Aldrich bill proposes to have the Government stay right along aa a. necessary adjunct to the National banking business. The Fowler bill in tho House, on the other baud, proposes to tako the Government out of the banking business altogether, to have currency issued on bank assets, and to have Government bonds used only as an investment for the guarant3' fund that insures the deposit. This fcaturo in objected to verj- naturally by thoso who have made an analysis of the Fowler bill, because at the very time when the deposits would most need to bo guaranteed there might bo no market mar-ket for the sale of .the Government binds; such sale being necessary to raise Ihe money to mcot the guarantee ihoy were designed to provide. So far I . 1 as tho National bank currency m concerned, con-cerned, tho Govornmcnt and Govern-7iicnt Govern-7iicnt securities nro out of it altogether under the Fowler bill. Tho sponsor of that measure is asked to go a step further fur-ther and require that tho guaranty fund diall bo in money immediately available avail-able in caso of need to call for the guarantee guar-antee to bo made good. To havo it in tho form of security that has to be marketed would lead to immcdiato disaster dis-aster in any erisis. because that is tho very proposition that panics run up against. Thero in always plenty of securities, se-curities, plenty of bonds, plcnt3 of CI" lateral, but no money. It would bo precisely the same thing with tho Fow-lor Fow-lor bill in caso tho guaranty deposit fund wcro in Government bonds or any other form of stockb or securities; thero would-bo no market for them; nobody would put up tho money, and tho guarantee guar-antee would fail precisely whero it was expected to bo sure; evcntuallj it would bo good always, but it time of panics it would .bo useless for tho immcdiato production of monoy. The wholo mattor comes back to tho sinjplo proposition that the Government should cither take hold or lot go. At: present it is doing neither. It is holding hold-ing an open hand aud allowing tho bankers to feed from that hand without with-out any 3d.va.uUg0 to the public; but, on tho contrary, a distinct discrimination discrimina-tion against ' tho public, in that the people havo to furnish tho $20,000,000 annual intorest money on tho bonds that tho banks may uso in their business. busi-ness. Tho present discussion of tho Aldrich bill and of tbo Fowlor bill will leud very strongly to the enlightenment of tho public upon this wholo cuircucy question. And while wo do not cxpoct to soo any financial measure passed at tbo present session of Congess, the discussion dis-cussion had at this session will perhaps open tbo way for tho onactment of a woll-digested curroncy measure at the succeeding session of this present Congress. Con-gress. And it is to bo noted, as wc go along, that tho Aldrich idea, coupled with the idea underlying the present currency system, is iu bad discredit, und that tho Fowlor idea is gaining strength day by day. |