Show AI IV if w t FROM A FINANCIAL pule PA MIGHT HAVE SWEPT AWAY CREDIT senator aldrich discloses how close the country approached to chaos washington feb 10 senator aidrich today addressed the senate in explanation of the currency bill which bears his name the galleries were well filled A large number of bankers were present including J P morgan of 0 now new york who occupied a seat in vice president fairbanks row and came from new york for the purpose senator aldrich sald said in closing a long speech the enactment of the pending bill will furnish evidence that congress is not unmindful of its serious responsibility in this regard there can be no reasonable doubt of the effective ness of the measure the committee firmly believe that through its enactment an atmosphere of confidence confluence and feeling of security will be created which will lie be invaluable in improving business conditions and in giving a new impetus to the work of national development characterizing the financial crisis from which the country has just emerged which culminated in a serious panic in october as the most acute aebie and destructive in its immediate consequences of any which has occurred in the history of the country senator aldrich declared that nothing but heroic measures taken by the representatives of the great business and financial interests of the country acting in operation cooperation co ath the secretary of the ury pr prevented a total collapse coll of private credit and a disastrous destruction ot of all values it is lie he added impossible to conceive much less to measure the losses which would have resulted from such a calamity the country was saved by the narrowest possible margin from an overwhelms catastrophe whose blighting effect would have been felt in every household A total I 1 collapse was aver averted ted but the shrinkage in values in securities and property and the losses from injury to business resulting from this incidental to tile the crisis amounted to thousands of millions of vl lol ollars lars |