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Show A "GOOD FEATURE." A financial journal of New York discusses dis-cusses the proposed currency legislation legisla-tion urged by President Wilson, in rather a distrustful stylo, but it sees a ray of light in tho proposed increase in interest which tho Government would have to pay by reason of tho retirement re-tirement of the two per cent bonds with a view of substituting three per cent bonds in their place. Thore is now hold in the National bauks undor tho "circulation privilege" some $700,000,000 of two per cent bonds. This now currency bill proposes to re-tiro re-tiro these two per cent bonds and issue three por, cent bonds in their place, without the currency privilege. Tho exchange would cost the United States in interest $7,000,000 a year. This is the price which tho people would have to pay for tho retirement of tho two per cent bonds and the substitution of tho three por cent bonds in their place. The two rer cent bonds are the basis of circulation, in security for notes issued is-sued by tho National banks. The threo per cent bonds which would take their place would not be used as a basis for the securing of notes issued by tho banks, Theso notes would bo secured by the assets of the banks and tho general gen-eral credits of the banking institutions that would be croatcd by tho law. Theso associations would be, in a way, semi-independent of each other, Each would havo a nucleus of reserves and its contral point of exchange, and there would be a sort of detached control con-trol in each association. This would tend to the rigid keeping in tho district dis-trict comprising each association of the assets, reserves, and surplus of the banks comprising that association. The country would bo divided iuto twelve separate financial spheres, zones, or departments, aud neither would bo allowed al-lowed any privilege in tho other and neither would be allowed to havo or to give help, save only that the Secretaries and the four currency governors to bo appointed by tho President, one of tho four to be a banker, would have a centralized, cen-tralized, autocratic control ovor all. The ono banker,- with six politicians in control of tho reserves and surplus of tho banks of all tho different associations, associa-tions, would not havo much of a chance to impose sound banking knowledge or proceduro upon tho six politicians. While it is true that the proposed division of tho country into banking associations would tend to keep the money well distributed throughout tho country, and so uot subject normally to centralized control, this centralized control as proposed in the bill, would be even more rigid thau by any proposition prop-osition that has been heretofore made, by Tcason of tho extraordinary and autocratic au-tocratic authority granted to tho central cen-tral board of control numbering seven, of which but one is required to be a banker, tho other six presumably being be-ing politicians. So that the pretended independence and segregation made into in-to financial associations, primarily created in the bill, is completely overridden over-ridden by the centralized control, whfch is more autocratic, more arbitrary, arbi-trary, and more immediate, than anything any-thing heretofore proposed in this country. coun-try. No singlo central bank could possibly pos-sibly be endowed with the powers that this bill confers upon the six politicians politi-cians and the ono banker, united in a centered autocratic regency. The currency is to be reiu forced by the issue of $500,000,000 of Government Govern-ment notes. There is no provision made for the elasfcicitj supposed to center cen-ter in theso notes, either by retiring them or othorwisc, except at the discretion dis-cretion of tho six politicians and the ono bunker. Tho bill has no provision for tho elasticity of tho currency at all, but it is a straight proposition to turn tho control of the banks and the currency of this country over to the six politicians and the one banker, the whole financial system to be conducted according to the arbitrary will of these seven. Tt is not elasticity, therefore, that is provided, but it is a dilution of tho currency to the amount of $500,-000,000. $500,-000,000. And it is this sort of thing the people peo-ple of the United States are to be asked to pay $7,000,000 a year for, directly out of the pubic treasury in the form of interest in the exchange of two per cent bonds for threo per cent bonds. Jf any corporation, or firm, should undertake financing of this kind it would speedily go into bankruptcy. bank-ruptcy. If any individual should undertake un-dertake to mannge his own business in that way, he would bo a fit subject for inquiry as to his sanity. |