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Show GOVERNMENT PAWNEROKING. The Treasury proposition under the Aldrich-Vrecland law amounts simply to what, in another phase, the Eastern financiers call pawnbroking. Whenever When-ever there is a scarcity of currency tho banks i hat have formed thomt'olves into tho associations provided for by this law may forward public securities of various kind- and get currency for them at tho ruto of ninety cents on the dollar. They may also deposit such other securities, private and commercial, com-mercial, as tho Treasury will approve, and on such securities thoy -'ill gel an advance of currency to the amount of seventy'fivo per cent." of the oar value of such securities. On tho evening of Wednesday, De-comber De-comber -1. 1907, thero was a meeting held in the Commercial Club of this eit3', at" which a resolution was unanimously passed advocating precisely precise-ly this same form of obtaining relief in case of currency panics, but in more extended form. Tho proposition, as passed by this meeting, was that where-, as, "somo $3-10,000,000 in Government interest-bearing bonds is now tied up iu privnto hands and unavailablo for uso either as money or security for money," individuals, firms, or corporations corpora-tions having Government securities of various kinds should be able to deposit them with the Treasurer, or some, public pub-lic depository, and get on them advances ad-vances of currency. Tho resolution as passod war. as follows? Whereas, some S3 10,000.000 in Government Govern-ment Interest-bearing' bonds Is now tied up iu piivato hands and unavailable for use either as money or security for money. Now, In the Judgment of, this committee. Congress should at once pass a law for permanent relief and present solution, making It Incumbent on the Secretary Sec-retary of the Treasury to exchange at par currency for bonds, with National depositories, de-positories, National banks .Mnd Individuals, Indi-viduals, and that National depositories and National banks be empowered and directed to e.xchango with the individual, currency for National bonds upon demand, de-mand, and that tho National Treasury, the Government depositories and National banks holding such bonds, upon tho return- of the currency, with a reasonable tax or Interest, on sufficient notice, must return to tho Individual, corporation or Institution, the bonds pledged for such currency. And in cases where the National treasury treas-ury lias not a sufficient supply of currency cur-rency on hand for exchange, tho National Na-tional Treasurer, through the proper officers, of-ficers, shall supply the National depositories deposi-tories and the National banks with blank bills and permit them to Issue National bank notes of different denominations up to' the amount of the United States bonds that they may deposit, regnrdless of their Incorporation. The paying back of the currency and the return of tho bonds as provided for therein, is the prcciso equivalent of tho retirement of the emergency currency cur-rency on tho release of tho securities pledged on its issue, as provided in the Aldrich-Vreeland bill. But this was scouted .by the Eastern press as "pawn-broking," "pawn-broking," a ridiculous proposition altogether, alto-gether, something that ought not lo be entertained for a moment, and thut could not bo entertained upon aivy sound principle of financiering. And yet we have- in this Aldrich-Vrecland Aldrich-Vrecland currency bill precisely the same principle, introduced and carried out in precisely tho same way. Only under that act the banks are given tho sole privilege of obtaining this Governmental Gov-ernmental favor. But if the Government, Govern-ment, is- going into the "pawnbroking" business, accepting its own securities and such other securities as it may approve, and advancing money upon the same, why should the banks be specialty favored? "Why is it necessary for an individual to put his money into a banking concern and then that banking bank-ing concern go into an association with other like banking coueorns, before he cau ' obtain this issuo of Government-prepared money on securities deposited? de-posited? M13" should not an' citizen of the Republic offering just as good security, in fact" precisely the same security, se-curity, obtain a like advance of money 1 Wc do not sec the least propriety in the Government making distinctions of this kind. If it is going into tho "pnwabrokiug" business, why should it not treat all alike 1 And if it is pawnbroking to advance money to individuals on their deposit of Government Gov-ernment bonds or private securities, why is it not pawnbroking also for the Government to advance currency on deposits de-posits made .by banks that combine und form themselves into banking associations? associa-tions? Wc do not see the least difference, differ-ence, either in principle or detail, between be-tween the procedure under the Aldrich-Vreeland Aldrich-Vreeland act with respect to banks, and the proposition advanced b' tho Commercial Club meeting in this city. In fact, wo should be glad to have the difference pointed out, if anyone can sec airy. The banks, to be sure, have currency issues aside from the emergency emer-gency currency provided for in this law, and they have deposits and securities se-curities and arc doing a banking business. busi-ness. But all of this is aside from tho emergency currency proposition. That emergency currency stands on its owu footing entirely aside from the general business of the bank, and has nothing noth-ing at all to do with it. That business is closed on its various accounts, ac-counts, assets, and liabilities, as stated. These are not. to be infringed upon in any respect by the emergency currency; and since tho emergency currency stands out by itself, entirely alone and separate from tho general business which the bank conducts, we do not sec how that general banking business affects the proposition in any way that ought to give the bank priority over the private citizen, firm, or corporation so far as the emergency currency issues nro concerned. If tho Salt Lako proposition propo-sition is pawnbroking," as it was loudly proclaimed to bo, then' the advance ad-vance of this currency to the banks on securities deposited is also pawnbroking. pawnbrok-ing. There is no escnpo from the proposition, any way it can bo looked upon. And if the Salt Lake proposition is to be scouted, the other is also to be scouted. v Tho noteworthy thing in all of this is that the Government, in these latei yenrs, i veering round moro and more ro tho propositions advanced by tho sil ver men in former days. Then it was urgod that tho Government must keep out of tho banking business, must leave tho currency for the banks to provide, pro-vide, and must allow tho banks complete com-plete control of tho banking business. Now, however, tho Government goes into tho savings bank business through its postofliccs, it provides emergency currency on securities deposited, a thing which was formerly decried as pawnbroking; it moro and moro goes into competition with various forms of business by way of regulating, supervision, super-vision, and supply. Wo note tho shift of public opinion on this matter, and simply make a record of it in. order to keep the ancient land marks in sight. |