The Sunday Oregonian., November 01, 1908, SECTION THREE, Page 8, Image 32

TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, FORTXAXp, 'AU JtiJlBETK 1. I9QS.
POLITICAL TOPICS DISCUSSED BY VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS
Importance of the Election of William H. Taft
The Main Issue Is Maintaining the Roosevelt-Taft Policies Regarding Corporations, Trusts
and Predatory Wealth; Epitomized Record of Both Parties.
ruii"A' v-v ' ---- -
-a v mi D....K1Aan nartT tlAA
ior.; iufl xcpuuwvB"
wy successfully grappled with great
. - - ,1,-., In l
problems, never mure ... -
Roosevelt - Taft policies concerning
buses growing: out 01 mi-s
wealth and growth of combination. The
fact that our present ills are products
. i ., alD-nlflnntlv distin-
V 1 UP'V1 I I " O -
guishcs Republican policies, and times.
from Deroocraiic x no
tween capital and labor Js largely for
ths spoils of Republican prosperity. In
the days of Cleveland It was a strug
gle for existence. The great material
progress and remarkable wealth ad
vancement in the last 12 years are un
paralleled in this or any other country
since McKinley first defeated Bryanlsm
and 'the Republican party resumed
power. A country of great things and
of vast aggregations of capital, the
problem has been to punish or elimi
nate abuses of wealth without extin
guishing benefits arising from great
material progress. To make our- won
derful advancement subservient to the
public good .and general welfare of
capital and people, to control evils but
not to destroy what is benefictal. has
been the great question for solution in
recent Republican administrations.
It Is too late to question advantages
of industrial combinations. They are
a necessity of modern economy and ef
fectiveness. It has long been too late
to argue against corporations or great
railroads. They are a necessity. yke
prarllral tklaa? Is mot to rail at them
or attempt to destroy them, bat to
preveat or mimimlse their abase of
power. Regulate them and render them
subservient to the Interests of all.
Our growing combinations of capital
designed to manufacture with greater
economy are legitimate, and when In
telligently controlled are the natural
products of , modern .enterprise, and
beneficial to the people, and -In their
competitive benefit the public has the
advantage of saving operations. In
creased production and ultimate cheap
ening of prices-
When, however, they are not based
on economic principles, or organised
along purely . selfish lines to restrict
output, drive out competition and raise
prices, public service is perverted and
duo benefit to all does not accrue. We
do not wish to destroy . corporations
or economic aggregations along busi
ness principles, but to make them sub
serve useful purposes, and the publio
welfare, ft Is the rauetlom of matloaal
aad state law to define aad paalah air
fcoalaeaa wroasjs wlthoat thsMtllag
baalaeas Itself.
Lines of progress lis not In arbitrary
action proposed by Mr. Bryan, but in
securing suitable publicity and strong
supervision; the Infliction of proper
punishment and assured government
regulation. These things certain, have
deterrent Influence to bring about law
fulness, and compliance with publio
sentiment. -
To say that the country Is helpless
Is to acknowledge the incapacity of
Americans properly to deal by publio
sentiment and law with all situations
as they arise.
President Roosevelt aad Judge Taft,
ala great Insplrer aad adviser, repre
sent policies that are apbolldlaa- and
reaolatlve. On the contrary, Mr.
Bryan s projects emphasize danger and
destruction not Intentionally, but nev
ertheless effectively aad therefore the
aeeesaltr for defeat of Bryan and elee.
tlon of Taft to Insure maintenance of
wise, conservative business policies.
Let us glance along the record. The
history of the magnificent growth and
progress of this country, since the
Civil War, has been the record of the
Republican party and its grand
achievements.
Take railroad regulation. Formerly
the means of transportation were poor,
but the highways were free; now the
meana are admirable, but our great
highways are private property. The
question !s how to have the railroads
administered as private property, so as
continuously to enlist great Invest
ments of capital seeking legitimate
profit and at the same time enhance
the great publio interests. All now
agree that systematic Improvements of
our harbors, waterways and canals,
whether actually carrying or not, will
he great competitive regulators of rates
by rail.
Supervisory law, which should gov
ern rich and poor, and subserve all. Is
also a means of regulation of rates of
all artificial lines -built under eminent
domain and charged with a great pub
lic trust for the publio welfare.
To solve this problem with fairness
and Justice to all, state commissions
were first Inaugurated In Massa
chusetts, when Bryan was a mere lad.
The great National Act. the Reagan
Cullum bill, was passed In 1SS7, when
Mr. Bryan was a briefless lawyer.
Grave questions arose. Ths railroads
Insisted they were private property, to
be admlnls-.ored solely for private prof
It. They claimed they had transpor
tation to aell and could sell It as they
chose. Abuses existed. Favored rates
were given to favortd shippers, who
crowded their less favored competitors
to the wall.
In an address before the American
Bar Association In 1893, Judge Taft. a
year before Mr. Bryan thought free
silver the remedy for evils, laid down
the fundamental anti-railroad trust
principle that ail these vast aggrega
tions, with due regard for their pri
vate interests, were charged with a
public trust of operation for the ulti
mate welfare of the people of this
country.
Again In '9. Judge Tat. In the Addl
rton Steel pipe case, decided prin
ciples under which all the later-prosecutions
of trusts have been based in
this country a decision that Is now a
1-gal classic While Solicitor-General In
Harrison's administration. Judge Taft
became Intimately associated with
Roosevelt, the civil service reformer;
and Taft s Influence on Roosevelt per
sonally and continuously has been
most effective. How much so, let words
of President Roosevelt attest:
"When I became Governor of New
Tork and confronted with new and per
plexing problems, I turned instinctively
to Taft. I knew that He. approached
public questions at the same angle,
and I wished to benefit from his sane,
fair Judgment. I have known
Mm Intimately for many years; we have
worked for the same objects, with the
same purposes and Ideals.
"I do not believe there eonld be found
In all the country a mam mo well a I ted
to bo Frretdrnt. He Is not only abso
lutely fearless, disinterested and up
right, but he has the widest acquaint
ance with the Nation's needs, without
and within, and the broadest sympa
thies with our citizens.
Mr. Taft stands against all privilege,
and pre-eminently for the broad prlncl-
pies of American citizenship, which lie
at the foundation of our National well
being. -There la no fight for decency and
fair dealing which I have waged, in
which I have not had his effective
sympathy and support, and the policies
for which I stand are his policies as
much as mine.
'He will not favor a ruinous experi
ment like Government ownership of
railways; he - will stand aaralnat any
kind of eonllseatlon of honestly ac
quired property, but he will work ef
fectively for the most efficient type
of Government supervision and control
of railways, so- as to secure Just and
fair treatment of the people as a whole.
"What Is here said as to his attitude
on railroads applies to the whole ques
tion of the trusts."
- . .
Neither he nor Taft ever borrowed
any policy from Mr.. Bryan. In 1900,
Mr. Bryan thought the paramount Issue
was Imperialism, yet Roosevelt in 1903
was actually at work on the evils of
predatory corporate wealth and the
regulation of trusts.
In 1904, his principles were a railroad
commission with power to ascertain and
fix rates. Parker's platform characterized
Roosevelt' policies as "arbitrary and
spasmodic methods which pervert
the public mind with dread distrust and
perturbation." Bryan supported Parker.
Parker was afraid of the destruction of
state rights, and like Cleveland, was
apprehensive of exercise of National
authority of regulation. In state
rights, Cleveland's Attorney-General,
Olncy, as can be seen from Cleveland's
message, saw a great lion In the path
way of enforcement of the Sherman
anti-trust law, passed In the adminis
tration of Harrison "inherent obsta
cles." he said, that would cause "all
Federal legislation on that subject to
fall short of its purposes." Cleveland
and Olney were thoroughly imbued
with the JefTersonlan Idea as opposed
to Hamiltonlin prlnolples of a nation
strong enough to cope with any inter
state question.
Cleveland, In 18S4. thought tariff re
form "the remedy. Bryan, in '96, thought
currency regulation the thing and in
1900. the reform of our colonial policy,
and the granting of the rights of self
government to Filipinos not prepared
for It.
Roosevelt, on the contrary. Imbued
with Taffs principles, said. In 1904.
that the evil of great railroad encroach
ment must be remedied through a Na
tional commission with full power to
act and fix rates, reasonable for capital
and for the people. Roosevelt defeated
Parker whom Bryan supported and
commenced his great work In earnest.
Bryan went to Europe. Over there he
saw some country owning ana running
some railroad and when he came back.
In a carefully prepared speech, came
out squarely for government ownership
as our only remedy. Roosevelt, In the
meantime, under the Inspiration ana
counsel of Taft. went steadily on In his
policy that the strong arm of National
law be asserted on trusts, and that Na
tions! highways be administered' for
the Interests of the people.
During the Cleveland administration
In the very teeth of the Sherman law, i
large monopolistic - corporations had
been formed. In Harrison's time, some
were so successfully prosecuted in their
Illegal agreements with each other that
the trusts finally sought the beneflts
of combination and aggregation of cor
porations to eliminate all competition
Increase Power
Only Hope Is In Taft's Election.
PORTLAND. Oct. 59. (To the Edi
tor.) As an Independent voter and
one who has, by force of circumstances,
kept well Informed on the course of
events, I may be able to help others
by telling why I Intend to vote for
Mr. Taft. That Is my excuse for writ
ing. I believe that government should be
administered and laws made In the In
terests of all the people not some laws
for the capitalists, others for the bank
ers, others for the manufacturers, farm
ers, worktngmen. Therefore. It waa
with disgust that I saw railroads Ig
noring any lawa which did not suit
them, violating conditions of land
grants, granting rebates, driving some
men out of business and helping others
to create monopolies; land speculators
hiring men by wholesale to commit
perjury; trusts defying the lawa
against monopoly; manufacturers se
curing the imposition of an exorbitant
import tax In order to enhance their
profits and enable them to capitalize
the extra profit and sell stock accord
ingly; officeholders using their office
to rob the people as the postal officials
did: workingmen resorting to dyna
mite and brutality in order to, even
things up for the violations of law
perpetrated by their employers.
This was the condition when Presi
dent Roosevelt took office. He has
enforced laws against railroads so that
they new admit that rebating Is a
crime; he has begun suit to forfeit land
grants, the terms of which were vio
lated: he has put life Into the anti
trust law; he has sent the land thieves
and the postal thieves to the peniten
tiary; he has championed the Just de
mands of workingmen and resisted
their unjust demands: he has warned
them that lawlessness on the part of
capital Is no excuse for lawlessness
on their part.
What Roosevelt has begun, Taft will
carry on. Taft has been Roosevelt's
right-hand man for years. Every act
of Roosevelt's for the people must have
had Taft's approval. The suggestion
that Taft la a mere echo of Roosevelt is
preposterous when one considers what
he has done. His record as Judge and
as Governor of the Philippine Islands
long before he became a lieutenant of
Roosevelt proves that he has a mind
and will of his own; that be is no
man's man, but is his own man. The
conclusion Is far more reasonable that
he worked with Roosevelt because they
were men of like mind.
But we are told that the Republican
convention refused to Include In Its
platform some of the distinctive Roose
velt Ideas and that Taft is running on
that platform. My answer Is that Taft
will do as Roosevelt did. Roosevelt
forced his party to get ahead of Its
platform on railroad rates, trust prose
cutions, meat Inspection. ' pure food,
protection to life on railroads. He had
It half educated up to the point of
thorough regulation of railroad securi
ties and corporations, income and In
heritance taxes, prohibition of child
and female labor, removal of the abuse
of Injunctions without granting to
labor rights which are not granted to
others. Taft must have been heart and
soul with him in this work or the two
men could not have pulled together.
Taft will carry his party beyond that
platform. He will have to fight
Aldrich. Cannon and all the slaves of
the plutocracy, but he will force his
progressive measures on them and all
the rest of his party. Just as Roosevelt
did. He has been hailed as a radical
by Senator La Follette, who, as even
our country had sought to guarantee In
the Sherman law.
Roosevelt, however, counseled by
Taft, buckled" on his armor .and won
the first great victory In the famous
Northern Securities ease beating the
great consolidation of the Northern Pa
cific ud Great Northern Railroads, and
leaving them still subject to the opera
tion of the Sherman law.
These were all Taft policies.
Then followed the act 'of 1906 the
rate bill, establishing the right of the
Federal Government through the Inter
state Commerce Commission to regu
late railroad rates so that they should
be reasonable. It also has operated, so
far, as a mightry moral warning to the
great corporations, and also to the
great industrial combinations, that
from this time on our statutes must
not be ignored.
Today there is practically mo rebat
ing, nor discriminating In favor of large
nippers. Judge Taft. years ago, learn
ing that a receiver bf the Toledo, St.
Louis & Kansas City Railroad was al
lowing rebates, summoned him' before
the court with the result that the re
ceiver resigned and the rebating
stopped.
The Roosevelt-Taft policy always has
been right and as. President Roosevelt
said In his message In 1902, "we are not
hostile to corporations; we draw the
line against misconduct, not against
wealth; and in curbing or regulating
them, we must be careful not to stop
enterprise but to prevent misuse of
power." This was great doctrine.
President Roosevelt followed with an
attack on the Standard Oil and the
great tobacco trust. He has been tire
less In his efforts to serve the people;
the beef, paper and drug trusts, the
coal combinations, and varloua combi
nations of railroads and shippers, have
all felt the heavy- hand of the law and
have learned the -lesson tthat National
law Is strong enough to compel a
square deal.
To -regulate and control the great
combinations and to 'destroy the evils
of trusts requires a atrong government
the power of Hamilton rather than
the weakness of Jefferson; a govern
ment strong enough to deal with the
vast combinations of capital like those
of Standard -Oil. the - steel trust, the
railroad combines, and every trust that
does an Interstate and monopoly busi
ness. In short, such a- government as
Roosevelt has given and Taft will con
tinue. Congress has worked In harmony
with the President in the great meas
ures enacted, and has embodied into
law more of the recommendations of
ths President than has ever fallen to
the lot of a chief executive.
- No Investment In lawful business has
been Jeopardised, no fair and honest en
terprise has been Injured j but wherever
the constitutional power of the govern
ment reaches, trusts are being regulat
ed and curbed within lawful bounds,
as they never have been before, and
the men of small capital are finding In
the efficiency and skill of the National
Department of Justice, a protection
they never had before against the
crushing effect of unlawful combina
tions. In the face of this record, it Is appar
ent how little there Ms in the false
of the Nation
Then Trusts Will Be Curbed.
Bryan admits, Is a faithful public serv
ant and who Is not likely to be deceived
in the man.
Then why are the plutocrats support
ing Taft? Assume that they are and.
If they are It is only a lukewarm sup
port. What. Is the alternative before
them? To support Bryan, who has a
new Issue every six months and ne'er
a true one. They at least know what
to expect from Taft, for. he Is a man
of clearly defined principles, the ef
fects of which "the interests" can fore
see. But what can they expect of a
man who takes up free silver, then
antl - imperialism, then Government
ownership, then guaranteed bank de
posits and, when he finds these theories
cannot win, becomes silent about them,
though never openly retracting any of
them? The plutocrats have no more
love for Taft than they have for Roose
velt, but they would rather take Taft's
medicine, knowing the worst about It,
than run the risk with the mysterious
doses Bryan concocts for them.
But how about tariff revision? In
principle I am a free trader and believe
a revenue tariff the only one for which
there Is any excuse. Then how are
we to gain that goal? I have seen the
adoption of one Democratic tariff re
form . bill and it was a monstrosity.
The samo elements In the Democratic
party which deformed the Wilson bill
are ready and able to do the same mis
chief again. Should they fall, then the
most radical tariff reformers would cut
the tariff so deep at one stroke as to
cause business convulsions. Free trad
er as I am, I do not believe this would
be in the public Interest. The transi
tion from the protective to the revenue
basis should be gradual, so that busi
ness may adjust Itself to the change
without loo violent a shock. Taft and
the progressive Republicans propose a
moderate revision with reciprocity pro
visions which would widen our foreign
market. They will have a struggle
with the standpatters, but will wring
something from the fists of that fac
tion. The manufacturers will find that
they thrive under the reduced tariff
and will cry tor more of the same kind
of medicine. Taft's revision may be
the first step to converting the Republic
an party to thorough tariff reform. -The
Democrats had their chance in
1S34 and made a botch of the Job;
now lot the Republicans try.
But there is a reason for supporting
Mr. Taft far more fundamental than
any Issue which has come to the sur
face In this campaign. The Republican
party-sets the Nation above the state;
the Democratic party, with Its state
rights doctrine, sets the state above
the Nation. I am convinced' that the
only hope of enforcing submission to
the law by rich and poor alike and
of securing such changes In the law as
will abolish special privilege and se
cure equal opportunity for all is the
enlargement of the National power.
Trusts play the Nation and the states
against one another so effectively that
they do as they please. The only hope
of effective control is in exclusive Fed
eral incorporation and Federal control
of all corporations doing Interstate
business and surrender of necessary
powers by the states to the Nation.
It is reasonable to expect something in
this directlow from the Republican
party, for such a policy is in accord
with its traditions. The Democratic
party could not pass such measures
without being false to Its traditions.
Mr. Taft, as president, can be expect-
claims of Bryanlsm through Democracy
which is now apparently aching to get
Into office toburst a lot of trusts. Our
laws have had such deterring effects
that pooling, rebating and discriminate
lng have been almost abandoned, all
having a marked effect on business
methods.
Overcapitalization Is being reached
and retarded, and remember that so far
Democracy has accomplished nothing;
nothing in Cleveland's time, almost
nothing In any of the Democratic sov
erelgn states that have already had full
control of corporations in their Juxlsdic
tion, or over the corporate creatures of
their own state laws. And remember
that every line of legislation now oa
our statute books condemning trusts
was enacted by Republicans. The Dem
ocrats simply have resolved. "
Mr. Bryan has ever been afraid of
centralization, but now he has a new
fangled project for destroying trusts
that out-Herods Herod himself In cen
trallzatlon of National power, viz: The
fanciful one of Federal license up to 60
per cent and annihilation if they ex
ceed It never able It seems to get away
from arbitrary figures. In 96 It was
16 to-1; now it-Is 26 per cent to 50 per
cent. .
If a trust controls only 49 per cent,
it Is to be licensed and let alone; if 61
per cent, off comes its head. Bryan's
trusts and combinations may grow until
they get 60 per cent fat and then he
strangles them. Up to 60 per cent. It
Is all right, over 60 per cent. It Is all
wrong.
The true principle Is the Roosevelt.
Taft Republican one of regulatinjr and
punishing violations but not to destroy
nny great potentiality for progress.
Bryan's present platform remedy Is
Impracticable as Governor Hughes and
President Roosevelt each well Illustrat
ed and so eutopian that It too Is certain
to go glimmering with all his past
theories.
Republican, policies are regulative
nnd . pros-reoaivel Bryan's destructive.
Roosevelt and Taft would regulate and
up build. Bryan, like Samson In his
blind rage, would extirpate and destroy
the entire business in order to stamp
out evils pull down, as it were, the
very pillars of the temple over our own
heads.
Voters, read Roosevelt's letter to
Bryan. Taft only will carry out the
good work of Roosevelt policies.
The Roosevelt administration has
borrowed nothing from and owes noth
ing to Bryanlsm. What Mr. Bryan has
that In good la not original; and what
be hua that Is original Is mot good. The
Republicans have borrowed nothing
from him that was his own and owe
nothing for any sound principles that it
had not of its own to apply. It cer
tainly has -never borrowed his free
trade, nor his free silver, nor his cur
rency fallacies, nor his undermining of
the Judiciary, nor his scuttling policy in
the Philippines, not any of Tils Govern
ment ownership, and It la to be hoped
that the people now want none of his
abolishments of court injunctions, or
destruction of Federal court authority
in contempt enforcement of decrees and
orders, nor arbitrary throttling of any
progressive business which has grown
up beyond the trade of its own state,
and extended to 60 per cent of business
elsewhere. If Mr. Bryan ever had any
good thing that was original with him.
that was worth borrowing, the people
have never 'been able to discover or
approve .lt. Fine' man as he is in pri
vate, he Is too erratlo for public use.
He. Is. too risky. You can never tell
where he will burst forth next. Even if
he 'be a new Bryan, we have yet to
learn that the leopard can change his
spots. Embalm, cremate and bury Bry
anlsm. t
Vote for Taft and take no chance.
M. C. GEORGE.
ed to exert to the -utmost all the powers
the Nation already possesses for curb
ing the. "malefactors of great wealth."
If those powers are Insufficient he will
demonstrate that fact so plainly by his
own course that the people will back
up his demand for greater powers and
Congress dare not refuse to submit the
necessary amendments to the states.
These seem to me sufficient reasons
why a believer In a strong National
Government conducted In the- Interest
of tho - whole people and not of any
special Interest should vote for Mr.
Taft. Of course. In doing so he cannot
help voting for Mr. Sherman but let
us hope that Mr. Taft will live out
his four years and then no mischief can
result. HENRY LAURENCE.
WHY BRYAX Villi BE DEFEATED
Neither He Nor His Party Brave
Enough to Espouse Prohibition. ,
ALBANY, Or., Oct. 28. (To the Editor.)
I am not a prophet nor the eon of a
prophet, but for months have had the
Impression, amounting near to a convic
tion, that Mr. Taft will be elected Presi
dent. If I am not mistaken, a number
of the political leaders In the South de
clared after the Presidential election of
1904 that they would never go into
another Presidential campaign.
With this declaration in memory and
with the South so largely devoted to pro
hibition, there were some of us who felt
quite sure that this sentiment would de
mand recognition at the-Democratic Na
tional convention at Denver. The thought
must have been burning in the minds of
tho Southern delegates, but its expression
was smothered. Had the Democratic
platform embodied a prohibition plank,
there probably would have been no candi
dates nominated by the Prohibition party.
Of course, the Indorsement of prohibi
tion by the Democratic party would likely
have alienated the liquor vote, but this
would have been more than made up by
Republican prohibitionists .voting for
Bryan, and he - would have been quite
euro of election, at .least much more so
than Is now the case, for all many of bis
adherents are so sanguine.
With a more telling defeat than In 1904,
because so nearly an even contest, the
South will assert herself, and demand In
1912 recognition of the issue that is upper
most in her mind today, and that In tour
more years will have grown to much
larger proportions, and aided by a like
growth of prohibition sentiment all over
our America' vast dominions will make
that principle the dominating issue in
American politics, championed by a party
looking beyond material Interests and
seeking the glory of God and the highest
uplift and truest welfare that pertains to
a righteous citizenship. There will then
be no need to repeat the call sounded
forth from the heights ofr Carmel by
Jehovah's grandest prophet. "How long
hajt ye between two opinions?" (I Kings
18-21), as to a choice, as we now apply it,
not as between the two leading parties,
but as between them and the Prohibition
party. There is much to confirm the opin
ion of our candidate. Eugene W. Chafin,
that the leading party that suffers defeat
this year will cease to be.
The Prohibition party Is the most likely
of any to succeed It, though Its name may
be changed somewhat.
Whatever the name, It will place men
in power favoring state and National
prohibition, and who will enforce the
laws so faithfully that there will no
longer be heard the unmanly cry "Pro
hibition is a failure." I hope to see my
native Oregon leading the van In the
triumphal procession of a Nation re
deemed from a thralldom worse than
human slavery.
CYRUS HAMLIN WALKER.
About National Insurance of Bank Deposits
Proposition to Abolish State Banks; All National Banks to Create Insurance Fund; System of
Inspection that Must Disclose Dishonesty in Officers.
PORTLAND. Oct. 29. (To the Edi
tor.) There has perhaps been as much
said and written during the present
campaign with regard to bank guaran
tee as any other one feature of the two
platforms. Believing that neither party
Is quite right on this question, I am
prompted to give my views.
The term, guarantee, as used by the
Democratic party, is misleading in that
It gives' the Impression that the Gov
ernment Is to undertake to guarantee
the ' deposits, or, ; In some measure,
stand back of them, which It Is my
understanding Is not tho case, but the
proposition is to have a compulsory
form of co-operative or mutual Insur
ance on the part of National banks,
which state banks can take advantage
of. This latter feature I believe to be
wrong. All banks should be National
banks under the strictest Governmental
supervision and control. Whether we
have compulsory co-operative or mu
tual insurance of deposits on the part
of the National banks or not. we should
have some rigid and searching Govern
mental inspection and control of the
National banks, and in recommending
this I do not mean to imply that all.
or any great percentage of banks or
bank officials are dishonest or crooked
or require such stringent regulation,
but failures prove that some are, and
to catch the few we will have to su
pervise and regulate them all.
. To begin with, we should take all
the bank failures In this country since
the National banks were established
and classify them as to causes of fail
ure, and then provide a system of rules,
regulations, examinations and audits
for each one of these causes that would
effectually check and prevent failure
from such causes, that Is, Insofar as
lies In our power. For example, we
can recall several large bank failures
in this country, where It was found
after the crash that the president,
cashier or some other official having
access to the bank's funds, had been
using same in unlimited quantities for
speculative purposes. Naturally there
must be something in the bank to take
the place of the cash when examina
tions are made; usually these have been
found to be fictitious or forged notes.
To prevent making use of absolutely
fictitious paper, the banks could be re
quired to have on file a commercial
report from a reliable commercial
agency, like Bradstreet or Dui In all
cases where the amount loaned to an
Individual, firm or corporation amount
ed to over a stated sum, say, for Illus
tration, $1000.
It would be impossible to get these
commercial reports on an absolutely
fictitious name. Now, to prevent their
stuffing - a lot of forged paper Into
the note pouch to be gone over by the
examiner, the signatures being forg
eries of the names of good, responsible
men, the examiner should, at each au
dit, mail to the maker of every note
found in the bank a statement of the
note, with instructions if not correct
to notify the auditor in person at his
private lockbox at the postoff ice, which
could be secured for the purpose This
would effectually prevent these forg
eries. Then, in addition to that, after
the examiner or "auditor had completed
his audit, have him make a list of all
the notes and securities, figuring In
tho assets, said list to be classified and
arranged alphabetically, making as
many copies of this list as there are
directors of the bank. Let it be the
duty of the auditor or examiner to
personally place in the hands of each
director a copy of said list. In case
of a director being out of town so this
could "not be done, the auditor or exam-,
iner to mall said list to his residence
or business address other than the
bank. This would prevent the directors
from making the claim after the bank
had suspended that they did not know
the bank was loaning the amounts
they were to certain names; they could
not help knowing. This is merely a
suggestion as to methods that could
be adopted with reasonable certainty
of stopping or preventing, at least, the
major portion of failure from such
causes.
The classifying of all bank failures
that we have had under the head of
causes, would of course develop other
causes than those cited, which could
be treated In a similar manner and
an effectual preventive provided for
each cause. This system would, of
course, cost more money to maintain
than the present system of examination,
but .it would be much more efficient,
and while there might be some fail
ures under such a plan, they would
be reduced to the minimum.. There
would still be 4ome risk left as no sys
tem could be expected to be absolutely
Grand Army and Mr. Bryan
Why Should Any Old Soldier Vote for. the Democratic Candldatef
PORTLAND, Oct. 29. (To the Editor.)
For my life I can see no good reason
why any old soldier who fought In the
War of the Rebellion from '61-to '66 can
vote for Mr. Bryan. The evening paper
supporting Bryan a short time ago had
a statement from a straw-vote canvasser
that old soldiers were unanimous for
Bryan. Lest some may be deceived as to
the truth of that statement, the writer
knows It is an exaggeration. I might
say "hot air." ne truth Is, only one In
ten of the old soldiers will vote for Mr.
Bryan. How can any of them who
fought for the Union to make this a
Nation do otherwise than support Mr.
Taft and the Republican nominees? All
of the veterans should be opposed to
state rights, as advocated by Bryan
and Jefferson. When he votes for
Bryan he advocates state rights, and
state rights means disunion.
There are persons In the vicinity of
Portland who knew Mr. Bryan's father
at Salem, IIL, that during the war he
belonged to tue xv.nlghts of the Golden
Circle, prayed devoutly for the success
of the Southern Confederacy. In 1864
for treasonable language and vllllfylng
President Lincoln and his "Army hire
lings," he came near being mobbed.
It will be asked what has this to do
with W. J. Bryan, his son? It Is this:
"Like, father, like son," in a large
measure.
When the first opportunity was afforded
W. J. Bryan to show his regard for the
memory of Jefferson Davis In a con
spicuous manner, he'accepted an Invi
tation of the committee on arrange
ments to be present at the dedication
and unveiling of the monument in
honor of the memory of Jefferson
Davis, President of the Southern Con
federacy, at Richmond, Va., about two
years ago. '
The dispatches tell us that air. eryan
was present, but did not make a
speech. What was he there for? Com
ment unnecessary. - Z. M. PARVIN.-
Company D, Sixty-fourth Illinois. Vol
unteers.
Which the - Dangerous Imperialist?
HBPPNER Or., Oct. 27. (To the Ed
itor.) A Question: Please tell us which Is
the most dangerous Imperialist, the one
who. though certain -that he has the af
fections of the people, refuses a third
Infallible, nor -couli we expect that
the Individual could be absolutely so.
Some examiner or auditor might some
time fall us and prove untrue to his
trst, but this could be minimized by
rotating the examiners from one dis
trict to another.
Now after reducing the liability of
failure to the minimum, is It not wise
that we should provide for a compul
sory, co-operative or mutual plan of
insuring depositors against loss from
failure or suspension of National
banks so supervised by the Govern
ment, this Insurance to oover the little
risk that is left after we have elim
inated all we possibly can? I believe
that It Is, and I believe that our Re
publican candidate, Mr. Taft, thinks
that it is, as In touohlng upon Bryan's
proposed guaranty, as It Is called, he
says he does not approve of It In Its
present form, indicating that he would
approve of a proper measure. A satis
factory deposit Insurance plan must
carry with It the most rigid audit and
regulation of the banks.
Dealing with the principal objections
that I have noted, reference to the In
surance plan as a general proposition,
the one entitled to the most consideration,
is the one advanced by Mr. Taft him
self, that in .the form as proposed by
tho Democratlo platform the bill would
not bring the desired results. To handle
the matter properly all the banks would
have to be under the same strict super
vision, consequently state banks could
not be allowed to take advantage or
participate in the plan, and as a matter
of fact there should be no state banks.
The claim that it would make bankers
more reckless we would offset by a
more rigid Inspection of regulation as
proposed, which would make them more
careful than they are now. They would
still hare their own Investment and In
terest in the bank, same as they have
now. The bankers have claimed that
the basis on which to permit them to
operate la simply upon a basis of honor.
This is all right and proves sufficient
In the majority of cases, but It la the
case where the honor la lacking that we
are after, and the plan as proposed will
not Injure honor where honor exists.
Another contention that Is made by
some Is that the good and honestly-conducted
banks should not be compelled to
pay for the loss and defalcations of the
dishonest or poorly-conducted ones. This
sounds good, but when they all have
their doors open and are doing business,
which are the good ones, and which are
the bad ones? We do not know until
one goes to pieces. A trusted employe
who handles funds and is asked to give
bond, might as well make the eame con
tention, as It Is the premiums from the
honest employe that has to pay for
the defalcations of the dishonest, but
they are all honest until they are found
to be dishonest. Another objection
raised by some of the banks, particularly
the larger ones, and those that feel safe
in their own security. Is that this form
of insurance would make the small bank
as strong and as safe so far as the de
positor is concerned, as the larger one,
and that the small bank would thereby
draw deposits out of proportion to its
capital. This we can overcome and
should provide for In our present bank
ing law, whether we have deposit in
surance or not, in the following manner:
Provide a limit to the amount of de
posits that a bank may accept: said
limit to be based on its capital and sur
plus. Just for Illustration, we will say
that no bank shall accept deposits in the
aggregate of more than ten times its
capital and surplus. When Its deposits
run to ten times its capital and surplus
It must increase Its paid up capital stock
or reject new accounts. I don't use this
as a correct ratio of deposits to capital,
but merely as an illustration. A safe
and proper ratio could easily be arrived
at. Now for additional reasons why we
should Sprovlde a plan of Insurance along
the lines Indicated, first reducing the pos
sibility of -failures to the minimum, we
Insure practically everything else im
aginable where there is possibility of loss
to the Individual We insure against fire;
against accident, death, dishonesty; we
Insure our plate glass windows, our ele
vators; we Insure practically everything
In connection with" our business in
terests, and these business Interests are
but the arteries of trade, while the banks
constitute the very heart and center
through which these arteries, are sup
plied with their life blood. Anything
that affects the heart, affects the whole
organism. In the case of most of our
losses, against which we Insure, there Is
absolute loss to the community, the
wiping out of actual value, as In case
of fire, but in a bank suspension there is
term, although It would be only his sec
ond elective one, or the one who, twice
voted down by immense majorities, still
persists in Imposing upon a sensible Na
tion bis conceited personality and the
moving pictures of bis absurd nonsense?
Probably W. J. B., If beaten at the
polls a fourth or fifth time, would ex
cuse himself, like the schoolboy we all
heard of, who, coming from the creek on
Sunday, a fishrod on his shoulder, and be
ing met by his horrified minister's ex
clamation: "Oh, Charley, how could
you?" said, "Oh, mister, I did not eaten
any." LOUIS VORUZ.
PLAGUE OF BLATANT DEMAGOGY
What Mar Reasonably Be Expected
If Bryan Should Be Chosen.
HOOD RIVER, Or., Oct. 29. (To the
Editor.) How strange- It is indeed that
every Bryanlte Is trying to lull us to
sleep by saying that "nothing is going
to happen If Bryan is elected. Every
thing will go on as smoothly as be
fore," they say. If they believe what
they are telling us, they are surely de
pending on our Republican Congress
to serve as a bulwark against Bryan's
and their own known radicalism.
"Nothing happened" during Cleve
land's administration except a contin
uation of a high order of business and
common sense, and see how the Bryan
ltes hated him, and still hate his mem
ory. Will they be content to have
Bryan act as moderately and as sen
sibly as Cleveland did? Neverl If Bryan
is elected the country will be afflicted
for the next four years or more with
the worst pestilence of blatant dema
gogy and of attempts to force revolu
tionary legislation that our people have
ever known. R. E. HARBISON.
DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM OF '84
How the Party or Bryan Denounced
the Patriotic Work of Lincoln.
CENTRA LT A, Wash., Oct. 27. (To the
Editor.) Will you please publish enough
of the Democratic platform of 1864 to
show what they said of President Lin
coln at that time?
Now ths Democrats of ths North are
no actual losa to the community; "no
money has been wiped out of existence,
there is as much as there was before,
and in a case of this kind it should be
easier to Insure against loss than In a
case where there Is actual loss to the
community. Furthermore in the case of
these other classes of Insurance which
we employ, we have only the individual
loss to count on. In this bank proposi
tion, however, it is not so much that
we desire to save the individual from
loss of what money he may have de
posited In a certain bank, that Is not the
real end sought after, though It is neces
sary to do that In order to reach ths
real objective point, which is to make
the depositor feel so absolutely safe and
secure In bis funds deposited in our Na
tional banks that no matter what may
happen his mind Is absolutely undis
turbed. There Is no possibility of a panicky
condition in his mind, causing depositors
to run the banks and the banks to close
their doors. In addition to this, there
would be great advantage in the banket
feeling that absolute security from runs,
which would make him feel it not neces
sary to carry from 40 to 60 per cent of
the deposits on hand, as many of the
banks are doing today, and the Interest
on the difference between the reserve now
carried and that necessary under condi
tions of absolute security to deposltoi
and banker, plus the Interest on addi
tional deposits, which would be drawn
from safety deposit vaults, tin cans, old
wallets and stockings would more than
pay the slight Insurance premium, so that
In reality we would have the absolute
security to the individual depositor, bank
er, business interests and the community
at large without actual cost to any oi
these Interests.
As a plan of Insurance, the following
would seem to cover all requirements.
Take the entire period that our banks
have been In existence and get a ratio of
losses to depositors. Do the same lor the
last 00 years; the last 15 years, which
period (16 years), would cover "83 and 1907i
also take the last 10 years. Whichever
period shows the greatest percentage or
ratio of losses to deposits, use as a basis;
add 60 per cent for safety and in this way
fix a premium ratio that all National
Banks will pay in to the Controller of th
Currency, to be by him held as a fund
for the liquidation of suspended banks.
Immediately upon the suspension of a
bank, let the Controller of the Currency
take charge, and Immediately upon proof
of claim of depositors, pay the claim in
cash. Then the Insurance fund stands in
the depositor's place, and the hank Is
liquidated and the fund repaid from the
assets of the bank as far as passible. If
there Is a deficit after using up all the
assets of the bank, the stockholders still
have to come in for an extra assessment,
as at the present time. In the event there
is a surplus of assets after the fund has
been repaid, the surplus, of course, be
longs to the stockholders. Should there
at any time be an insufficient amount in
the fund to take care of suspended
banks, the Controller of the Currency to
have power and authority to levy a
pro rata assessment upon all National
Banks to cover the deficiency.
As to this plan of mutual insurance, It
Is the plan under which the lowest firo
rates in the country are written a plan
whereby the risk, or possibility of losa
is reduced to the minimum, by providing
every possible safeguard, and then pro
viding a mutual insurance plan to cover
the small risk that Is left.
As to the advisability of this Insurance
as compared with fire insurance, or any
other kind of Insurance that we have to
day, there is ten times more reason for
this kind of Insurance than for any other
class of insurance that we have, because
trouble and loss and fear of loss among
our banks cause widespread contraction
of credit, and o a greater or less extent
paralyzes every avenue of trade, where
as these other classes of losses we insure
against are largely local and Individual.
There is one thing that presents Itself
to my mind as a fair Illustration of our
present condition along this line, aed
that would be to see one of the knights
of old go to battle with steel armor over
his entire body excepting over his heart;
that laid bare and his shield on his right
arm.
In conclusion, I am a Republican; have
always been, and shall vote that way at
the forthcoming election, as I believe the
interests of the country will be best
served In Republican hands, Including
the providing of a bill somewhat along
the lines indicated, to properly protect
depositors, bankers and the business In
terests of the country at large from the
serious results following the disturbing of
confidence in our financial Institution.
H. W. MITCHELL.
praising and eulogizing Lincoln to ths
skies, and some of them contend that
they gave him only praise in the '60s. I
was a soldier In the Civil War, and I re
member how the Democrats abused Lin
coln at that time. Nothing was too mean
for a Democrat to say of "Old Abe" Lin
coln. I also remember that the murder
of Lincoln was attributed to the evil in
fluence of the Northern Democrats, tlie
"Copperheads," and the Knights of the
Golden Circle. They were not howling
for 1 to 1 then. A. M. BARNETT.
This Is the most pertinent plank In the
Democratic National platform for 1&4:
Resolved. That this convention does ex
plicitly declare, as the sense of the American
people, that, after four years of failure to
restore the Union by the experiment of war,
durtnp -which, under tbe pretenee of a military
necessity of a war power higher than the Con
eUtutlon. the Constitution Itself has been dis
regarded In every part, and public liberty and
private riirht alike trodden down, and the.
material prosperity of the country essentially
impaired, justice, humanity, liberty and the
publio welfare demand that Immediate efforts
be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a
view to an ultimate convention of all the
states, or other peaceable means to the end
that at the earliest practicable moment peace
may be restored on the basis of the Federal
Union of the States.
AUTOIST HAS VANISHED
Fears for Safely of Hansen, Round
World Racer.
NEW TORK. Oct. 31. The Norwegian
Consul-General in New Tork, Christopher
Ravn, has asked for assistance In an ef
fort to find thwnereabouts of Captain
Hans Hansen, one of the men who took
part in the recent automobile race
around the worlds Hansen started from ,
New York In the French car, but left It
In Chicago and later Joined the Ameri
can car and guided It across Siberia. On
his arrival in Paris much feeling was
expressed against him, and he was even
threatened, it is said, because of his
leaving the French car and assisting
the American car to victory
Members of the party who are now in
New York state that they last saw Han
sen In Paris when the party broke up
after the race. At that time he had a
large sum of money In his possession,
and Intended to go to Tomsk. Siberia,
where his wife and child reside. Now
It develops that he has not reached that
city and his relatives are unable to find
trace of him. Hansen has been a sailor
and soldier of fortune, having made many
trips In various out-of-the-way comers
of the world, "