Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 November 1907 — SOME FINANCIAL HISTORY [ARTICLE]

SOME FINANCIAL HISTORY

Mr. Harriman Bays that his "heart goes oat to those who will suffer" on aocount of the Wall street cataclysm. But that will not pay the damages.

State Treasurer Hadley says that although the law requires him to keep the state’s money in the state’s vaults he does not keep it there, but has deposited it in banks. A little thing like the law doesn’t Beem to bother Hadlvy. But what is that eminent guardian of the public morals, the Hon. J. Frank Hanly, going to do about it?

The Republicans have been in oontrol of every department of the government for more than ten years, For ten years the Dingley high tariff law has been in force and the gold standard has been fixed. In view of these facts no oue, sorely, will try to lay the blame for present business troubles on a “Democratic tariff” or “free silver” agitation. Indeed, the Democratic party can prove a robust alibi.

For a long time it has been known that the railroads and the Chicago meat packers were borrowing money from Indiana and Illinois banks. And now it is said that large dry goods houses like H. B. Claflin & Co., of New York; John Wannamaker & Co., of New York and Philbdelphia, and Marshall Field & Co., of Chicago, have been doing the same thing. It is said that a list of outside borrowers as long as your arm has been going the rounds of the interior banks. Perhaps the New York banks were too busy with their etook gambling operations to keep any loanable cash on hand.

The Indianapolis News thinks that Secretary Cortelyou should not be criticised for taking the publio money and turning it over to Morgan, Harriman, Rockefeller et al. The News wants to know whut better use oould be made of the money than to “put it in circulation.” When people’s money oan be put in circulation among the people good may come of it, But in the present case this was not done. The money was turned over to Morgan and his "pool,” who loaned it to stock gamblers at

10 and 20 per cent in order that they might help to uphold stooks that Morgan and his “poor 1 were interested in. When this was done the money was gathered into the banks and looked np. It did not oi isolate and the people have had u area at it.

It will be notioed that all of the optimistic predictions of a continuance of “prosparty" are based on the country's crops. As they have nothing else to stand on, the Republicans will now be claiming again that they are entitled to credit for producing the crops.

New York banks are found to have put $400,000,000 into stockgambling. These hundreds of millions belonged to innooent and thrifty depositors; to people who oppose stook-gambling; to thousands who bate Wall street and its ways. They banked tljieir money as a measure of safety. The onstodians went adventuring into orazy speculation with the consigned funds. Their offense was doubly damnable and entirely without warrant or excuse. It is right to expose them and to condemn their misconduct. They form the ruinous element. Let ns hear no more railing against honesty from these soamps.—lndianapolis Sun.

The "financial stringency,” about which bo mnoh is’now being said, is not a new thing though little was thought about it until the reoent Wall street npbeavel. For more than two years the United States treasury officials have been helping Wall etreet bankers. As early as July and August, 1905, as they were allowed to deplete their 25 per cent reserves to the extent of $7,000,000. On Dec. 15, 1905, Secretary Shaw anticipated interest due Jan, I, 1906, on government bonds and paid out over 14,000,000 to relieve the stringency. And on Jan. 5, 1906, he anticipated the interest due Feb. 1, and paid oat more than 11, . Late in February $10,000,000 was deposited by him for the same purpose, and in April $12,000,000 more was released by anticipating* interest due May 1, 1906.

In April and May, 1906, $49,870,000 of publio money was turned over to banks to facilitate the importation of gold and gold was imported to this amount. Of the above amount the New York banks got all except a million dollars. The Rockefeller and Morgan banks alone got more than forty.millions. In July, 1897, A. B. Hepburn, then vice president of the National Oity Bank of New York, a Standard Oil institution, wrote to Secretary of the Treasury Gage asking for a continuance of government favors. In his letter Mr. Hepburn said: “If you will take the pains to look at our list of directors you will see that we have very great political claims in view of what was done during the canvass last year.” Hepburn was one of the men that Cortelyou consulted in the late unpleasantness, and among the directors of the National City Bank—likewise consulted by him—may be found the names of E. H. Harriman, William Rockefeller, George W. Perkins, James Stillman, Henry C. Frick and similar “disinterested” patriots, all of whr m were contributors to the fund raised by Cortelyou in 1904 for the Roosevelt campaign.

In September and October, 1906, $46,606,000 qf public money was deposited to secure gold importation. Meet of this money, also, was received by the Rockefeller and Morgan banks, the National City, the big Standard Oil institution, getting $25,078,000. In May, June and September, 1906, Secretary Shaw deposited in national banks over $45,000,000. And late in October, 1906, the banks were authorized to increase their circulation $18,000,000 by depositing oecnrities other than government bonds. Since Cortelyou became secretary of the treasury he has followed Secretary Shaw’s general plan. Bat the stringency kept getting worse. And when the recent oollapee came it was not unexpected by the banks, however it may have been with the public. In this emergency the government’s -favors were bestowed on the Rockefeller-Morgan-Harriman

crowd just as before. In all (bis the Republican party’s "genius for finanoe" is not in evidenoe, but its political favors with government money is.