OCR Text |
Show OIIRIIENCY LEGISLATION. It is stated that Representative Carter Car-ter Glass of Virginia, who will bo chair-man chair-man of the Banking and Currency committee com-mittee of the House of Representatives in the next Congress, is determined to nrgo currencj' legislation at tho extra session which President Wilson is expected ex-pected to call. Some of the financial publications in the East affoct dismay at the prospect of currency legislation that may be recommended by Ir. Glass, for ho i3 known as a sturdy opponent of the Aldrich currency plan, and no one seems "to have much idea what Mr. Glass will rocommend. A statoment comes from Washington, however, that President-elect Wilson has agreed with Chairman Glass to hasten the passage of curroncy and banking legislation, and it Is intimated that until tho proposed pro-posed currency moasuro can be fully perfected, a bill will be passed continuing contin-uing in force tho $500,000,000 emergency emer-gency curroncy provision of the law as it now exists. Tho currency for this possiblo emergency has bcou proparod by the Secretary of the Treasury and is on hand ready for issue at any time that it may bo needed. Bcond this forecast, no one pretends to know anything any-thing about what Mr. Glass will recommend, rec-ommend, and no one knows whothcr President-elect Wilson agrees with Mr. Glass upon any proposition further than his agreement with him that the passage pas-sage of adequnto currency nnd banking legislation ought to bo hastened. Because of this uncertainty, tho finan-c.ial finan-c.ial papers of Now York arc generally urging that the special session do not take up tho curroncy question nt all, eavo perhaps, to the ono point of continuing con-tinuing the emergency currency legislation legis-lation as indicatod. It is urged, with a good deal of Burfacp plausibility, that tho next Congress will bo composed in large degree of now mombors, who will not be especially conversant with tin: currency question, and who will, therefore, there-fore, bo rathor diffident about urginir their ideas or ngrccing to any one else's plan. We think, however, that this forecast may be erroneous, for we have no reason to suppose that new members will be moro diflidont than tho older ones, or indeod that new members would know Icsb nbout tho currency question than the oldor members: and we urge this with the more confidence, siuco tho old mombors havo not been able to do anything with regard to currency cur-rency legislation and do not seem to havo any particular idea nbout it. The new members could hardl' be worao in this respect than the old. Wo think, however, that there ir. justice jus-tice in the claim as made that Cbngrnss should not endeavor to hum- Jegipla tion through nor pns nnv measure rhntfHO" without vorv great considera Mrr in caution; and ' is altogether (Ik'V Hia? h ipcnl senior will do nothing further than provide for the continuation of the ."i00,000,'000 cmcr-gcnc3 cmcr-gcnc3 currency proposition, and perhaps receive the bill that Mr. Ghtsy muy framo, nnd refer it back to hi? committee commit-tee for full consideration. |