The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, December 13, 1908, Section Six, Page 4, Image 56

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FT -n iLLJAM ATHERTON DU PUT.
WHAT would you give to know
what has become of the Emer
gency Currency? You had for
gotten the sound of that term, emer
gency currency. In the six swift months
that have elapsed since May SO, last
when Congress passed a bill authoriz
ing its Issuance. Yet you had been
sufficiently familiar with It from oft
.repetition. But that liOO.OOO.OOOl
AVhat has become of It?
Tou are to know for It has been
discovered. I found the place of Its
hiding myself and will point It out to
you. You have but to come with me
to H and Fifteenth street. Washing
ton. There Is the Imposing structure
of a trust company on the corner.
Every day for many months a common
plebeian wagon has been driven up to
the side door of the trust company
building and unloading a few boxes.
Sh-h: These boxes In each Instance
contain $3,000,000.'
In the basement of the building Is a
long vault, steel-lined, heavy-doored.
impregnable. Into this the boxes have
been carted unceremoniously, $3,000,000
a day. It Is a rapid growth for a treasure-house
that a few months ago was
empty. Today there Is $.00.000.000 in
real money in the vault and the amount
still grows. It 1 one of the greatest
treasure-houses In the world.
The Government has rented this
treasure-house. There was no room, In
the Treasury for this big Issue, for
S00. 000.000 in paper money with no
denomination smaller than $3 bills, oc
cupies some space. The rented build
ing Is convenient to the Treasury and
Is provided with every safeguard that
modern ingenuity can devise. Tried
any trusty guards from the Treasury
watch over it nignt and day. Inside and
out, and It Is fcccure.
Higgest Single Isue of Money.
F.ut it Is strange that the biggest
single lusue of money In the history of
the country should have gotten away
from you and you did not even know
tf Its making and disposition. You re
ran that there was some currency agl-
iiion last year, in ract, now that Con
gress Is just opening and your mind is
upon such things, you remember that
ongress occupied Itself almost eTcin
sively last year with financial legis
lation. Some of the banks In New Tork got
-" ' preienaea they did. and
when the farmer banks sent in for
money the drafts were not honored.
Everybody had a lot of money in the
hank, and while they did not need it
to use, many of them were curious to
see If there really was a shortage of
money, and they sent a boy around to
the bank with a check to find out if it
was true and to see if the check would
be turned down or not. There were
so many of these curious folks around
bank doors that the public began to
say there was a panic and there was.
They Just Talked.
When the members of Congress came
to town lst year the newspaper men
interviewed each of them as to their
Ideas of how to relieve the crisis. None
of them knew anything about it but
wanted to "get in" the papers for the
effect It would have on his constitu
ents, who would not be able to criti
cise this utterance, for they knew
nothing about It. either. So each
talked columns. It was safe.
Then Congress opened and from the
first gasp to the last there was nothing
to It but emergency currency. If you
couldn't talk emergency currency you
had to keep still, so each member
strung together a line of platitudes
and hurled them Into the unoffending
air and moved that "they be spread
upon the minutes." They were melodi
ous, euphonious. Mgh-soundlng, and
their constituents took them as being
the real thing.
When Aldrlch Got Busy.
A Senator of the name of Aldrlch
framed up a bill which he said would
be oil to the troubled financial waters.
He may or may not have been con
vinced of this, but some financial legis
lation had to be passed. The bill was
amended and reamended and plng
ponged back and forth. Some few
people studied lis provisions for a
while and followed Its tortuous career.
But by the time It was passed the
public had grown so surfeited with Its
exceeding dryness that they revolted
and refused to read the final product.
What was the odds. They had financial
legislation.
Io you remember the front page
headlines of last Winter? Every news
paper had two or three of them set
up and switched them back and forth
for months. At first they ran new
reading matter under the heads, but
after a while found out that nobody
read it. so they got to switching the
same old stories back and forth. You
looked at your paper for the emergency
4., 3
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currency head and turned over the
page. But In the end the legislation
passed and there the matter rested.
The Money Actually Made.
Then a campaign came on and the
financial legislation was forgotten.
That Is the reason that the finding of
all this emergency money is a sur
prise. Nobody knew that there was
going to be anything done with It.
But if you should dig up that Aldrlch
bill you would find something like this
In It If you will parden the use of a
dead language:
"The Comptroller of the Currency,
.acting under the direction of the Sec
retary of the Treasury, shall as soon
as practicable cause to be. prepared
circulating notes in blank, registered
and countersigned, as provided by law,
to an amount equal to 60 per centum
of the capital stock of each National
banking association."
This may have been Intended as a
joke, but there are two things that
i.awrence O. Murray, Comptroller of
the Currency, cannot see. a Joke and a
"story." So the money was printed
and a building has been hired to store
It In.
The making of tJie money fell on the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It
was a big job and the regular work
of the bureau had to be carried on.
The detail of It Is as follows: The Na
tional banks have the privilege of
Issuing money. Just ordinary paper
money such as you use every day. That
Is all a National bank note Is. This
money is Issued through the Controller
of the Currency at Washington under
certain conditions. Each bank has
half a dozen or so plates engraved and
filed away at the Bureau .of Engrav
ing and Printing, and when It wishes
to Issue some Vf its own money It
puts up certain ecu..ties with the Sec
retary of the Treasury, and has the
money prepared with lis name on the
RECENTLY
OREGON CKtMiRAmiC BOARD.
Mill G. 8teel, President Portland
Geo. H. Ilimea. Vlre-Pres. . Portland
Joorph Schafer. Keeretary . . . Kiigene
J. B. Horner, Treasurer. . . .Corvallls
Appointed by the Governor October
l, laus.
TO THE people of Oregon: Appre
ciating the fact that numerous
geographic features In this state
bear similar or Identical names, and
that many old landmarks either have
no names at all or else have names of
no significance, and realizing the ne
cesslty for better identification. Gov
ernor Chamberlain, on October 1. 1908,
appointed a commission to supervise
the naming of geographic features
within the state, to prevent confusion
by duplication and dispute, and to per
petuate, as far as may he. unique
legends of the Indians and traditions
of our pioneer age.
The commission met in Corvallls.
October 28. 1908. and organized by
electing the following officers: Presi
dent. Will G. Steel. Portland; secre
tary, Joseph Schafer, Eugene; treas
urer. J. B. Horner, Corvallls. The name
selected Is Oregon Geographic Board.
Portland was made headquarters.
The psychological Influence of names
In a community is generally acknowl
edged. Goood names afford at least
unconscious satisfaction, and may even
tend to elevate the public mind. Bad
ly chosen names gives conscious dis
satisfaction and have a tendency to
discredit the community In the estima
tion of outsiders. A general "toning
up" effect is produced In a community,
by the prevalence of place names whose
suggestion Is elevating,' stimulating to
the Imagination, or pleasing to the ear.
Special difficulties result from the fact
that geographic names ordinarily come
into being In a haphazard manner, and
therefore many of them are duplicated,
others disputed, and some are from
every point of vie inappropriate. Su
pervision Is called for if only for the
purpose of eliminating duplicates and
assisting to settle cases of dispute.
The chief reason for the creation of
a board of supervision lies In the fact
that in a new state of vast proportions,
like Oregon, population Is pushing into
new areas, and the older sections are
becoming more densely populated, giv
ing rise everywhere to new towns, vil
lages and post of flees; this calls
closer attention to many hitherto dis
regarded physical features of the coun
try mountains, streams, waterfalls,
lakes, beautiful landscapes along the
seaccast or the interior. Hundreds,
even thousands, of new names may
be required within the space of a few
years. The board will be prepared to
TirE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAJTD, DECEMBER 13, 1903.
EfiL HI1
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MfiA 44 yyA
f ace . of each bill. The engraving
artistic and the money Is real.
Bis: Job of Engraving.
is
Now this emergency currency was to
oe let through on a lltlte more liberal
basis than of old and this necessitated
the substitution of a phrase on the
engraved plates. Where the old money
read "United States bonds deposited
at the United States Treasury at Wash
ington." the new money was to read
"United States bonds or other securi
ties." This necessitated the changing of
14,000 plates before the money could
be gotten out. The country was
dragged for engravers and the work
was pushed under the greatest tension.
Sdmethlng over half of the money has
been made and the work is still going
on at a constantly Increasing rate of
speed.
Xo One Wants It.
Since this law was passed and since
the first of the money was made there
has been not one single call for one
cent of it- The bill creating it says if
you will again pardon the language:
"That National banking associations,
each having an unimpaired capital and
a surplus of not less than 20 per
centum, not less than 10 In number,
having an aggregate capital and sur
plus of at least five millions of dol
lars, may form voluntary associations
to be designated as National currency
associations."
These National currency associations
or members of them may deposit col
lateral with the Treasurer and by pay
ing a rather large rate of Interest Issue
the emergency money. To do this, how
ever, a bank has to be a member of
an association every member of which
guarantees the pledges of every other
member.
High officials at the Treasury de
clare such a proposition as ridiculous.
They say that in troublesome times
APPOINTED OFFICERS OREGON GEOGRAPHIC BOARD
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lllllH. lnhaltk jn "f1fl'ra'fr' tftotJnnV nnM Qnfc II niTftr luMTl V T H 1 1 I'M Ml
assist citizens wlsnlng to apply names
to such new places, by furnishing lists
of appropriate names drawn from In
dian lore, pioneer history, and from
other sources. In this manner the re
sults of the earlier "haphazard" meth
od of designating places can be avoid
ed so far as relates to the place names
of the future.
It Is the Intention of the board to
make a careful stuiy of existing names,
to account for their origins, etc.; also
to collect data concerning places de
serving names, cases of duplication
and names In dispute.
By no possibility can the board ac
complish any good without the co-operation,
of the public. It is wholly
without funds, and Its members, while
gladly contributing - their time and a
limited amount of expense money to
serve the state, will be unable to curry
out Its plans unlesr the press shall be
willing to publish its communications,
and the public in general shall be
willing to assist In the collection of
data. Upon such support, however,
we rely with the greatest confidence.
Every possible attention will be paid
to correspondence addressed to any
member of the board. It Is hoped that
citizens posseslng Information con
cerning the history of names now ex
isting, concerning disputes that Is,
cases wherein some Insist on giving a
place one name, wnlle others apply to
the same place another name con
cerning places whose names are known
to lie duplicated elsewhere In the stale,
nd concerning names which the people
H Wife x -h
when such a thing would be necessary,
no bank would want to assume the re
sponsibility for nine or more others.
And In times when every bank Is look
ing at Its neighbor with distrust how
many would, be willing to pool their
Issues even to uphold one of their
business friends when the crash
might Involve their own Institution?
What then is to become of all this
money? '
Possible Ise for It.
- When you ask these officials what
will become of the emergency Issue
they fell you that they are not to be
quoted but that cobwebs will be spun
over It by the Inhabitants of the dim
corridors and that dust will accumulate
on Its wrappers. It will lie In undis
turbed solitude Insofar as its use as
an emergency Is concerned. But the
makers of tile money have had these
contingencies In mnd and ultimately
It may be handed out in the regular
course of Treasury business, for It is
so made that it may be used in this
way also.
There Is kept by the Controller a
reserve for the redemption of worn out
National bank notes. That ' reserve
now amounts to $240,000,000. When
this Is used up the emergency Issue
111 be put In Its place and handed
out In redemption. In this way it will
come into circulation in time and shake
off the dust of disuse. Until 1914 the
JSOO.OOOXJO in emergency currency will
be kept up to that figure and at that time
the provisions of the bill expire.
The wise ones argue that there Is no
possibility of a panlo within the next
six years. The history of panics shows
that they never occur close together.
I for any reason think unfit, will write
the. facts as fully as possible to the
board. Local newspapers can be of
great service In this respect, as can
likewise the pioneer settlers of Ore
gon, whose knowledge of local history
Is naturally extensive. Doubtless,
newspapers by Inviting communications
will be able to gather a large amount
of Interesting matter for their columns
and at the same time aid materially in
the work. The board will deem it a
great favor if editors will forward
marked copies of papers containing
such Information. They should be sent
to the member of the board having
special charge of the region to which
the matter refers.
The public school system extends to
every part of the commonwealth, and
teachers and pupils are of necessity In
terested in the subject of the geography
of the locality In which the school Is lo
cated. The Board, suggests to the
teachers and pupils of the common
schools that they have It In their power
to confer ' a lasting benefit upon their
state by merely introducing into their
schools as a general exercise a subject
which will be sure to vitalize the work
in both geography and history. We re
fer to the study of local names In the
school district. Let each teacher su
pervise the preparation of an alphabeti
cally arranged list of all places In the
district possessing names. A.ter the
names are collected, let her. with the
aid of the pupils, prepare a brief state
ment of the history of each name. To
illustrate: . I
Therefore there Is no danger of a need
of the big money reserve even granting
that It would be attractive to the
banks In case of stringency.
But it is provided that It must be
FOULWEATHER, Cape named by the ex
plorer Captain James Cook. In lTiS, because
of the bad weather he encountered while
paeslnp that point.
ROSEBL'RG. town In Douglas County.
Named by Aaron Rose. Its founder.
The pupils will Inquire of their par
ents, or of pioneers, or other well-informed
persons, as to the origin of
names. They will come to take an in
tense Interest in the subject, and will
discover a new significance in their en
vironment, both geographical and his
torical. They can readily be led, also,
to suggest a list of places deserving of
names, but not yet supplied, and to make
suggestions as to appropriate names for
them. This will afford opportunity for
language exercises. The teacher should
select from the places listed such as are
clearly worthy of special designations,
and describe them in a brief report to
the Board. She should also send in the
names suggested for them, and of .he
persons making the suggestions, stating
in each case the reason for applying the
particular name. If a man of the school
district can be prepared, and the namiis
Indicated upon It, a further service will
be rendered to the Board and a valuable
additional exercise afforded the pupils.
The Board will, In its published re
ports, give general credit to all who shall
assist in the' work of collecting Information,-
and it will make special mention of
the names of ipuplls In each county who
furnish the Board with the best and
second best map of their own school
district, with all place names properly
indicated upon it. It will also give spe
cial recognition to the teachers in each
RIP MOTCLEEZE2A
RENTED BUILIING
made and kept accessible. It is con
sequently being stored in a rented
building until provision can be made
for it at the Treasury. A vault is be
ing made especially for its care In
county who shall supply the Board with
the best lists, as follows:
(a) An alphabetically arranged list of
all place names in the school district
with statement of the origin of each, so
far as can bze ascertained.
(b) A list of all places known by t ro
or more names, with statements tending
to show which names ought to prevail,
and the reasons therefor.
(c) A list of places having no names,
with reasons for bestowing names upon
them, and suggestions for names for
particular places.
The Board will be under great obliga
tions to the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, to the' County Su
perintendents, and to the conductors .f
teachers' Institutes for any help they
may see fit to render teachers or pupils
In the way of advice as to the method.-
of carrying out the above suggestions.
For the guidance of those Interested in
this work, tho following rules are sub-.
mitted:
Euphonious and suitable names of In
dian. Spanish .or French origin should
be retained.
Names suggested by peculiarities of
the -topographic features designated
such as their form, vegetation, or ani
mal life are generally acceptable, but
duplication of names should be avoided.
Names of living persons should be ap
plied very rarely, and' only those f
great eminence should thus be honored.
No personal names should be attached
because of relationship, friendship or
personal Interest, nor should names of
obscure persons be given. Names or
eminent men now dead may be thus per
petuated, particularly those of early ex
plorers. Long apd clumsily constructed names
and names composed of two or more
words should be avoided. It Is a fore
gone conclusion that such names will
not "be adopted by the public. If the
name selected consists of more than one
word, the words should be combined If
possible.
The multiplication of names for dif
ferent parts of the same feature, such
a a river or mountain range, should be
avoided. Only one name should be ap
plied to a stream or mountain ranie
throughout its entire length; In the casa
of a river the name should follow up its
longest branch. In most cases inae-
pendent names should be given to a
river's branches, and the use of "North
Fork," "East Fork," etc.. discouraged.
For the present communications miuuiu
be sent as follows: All matter relating
to Multnomah. Clackamas, Hood River.
K-inmnth Jackson and Josephine Coun
ties should be addressed to Will G. Ste A.
424 Lumber Exchange. Portland. All
matter relating to Benton County and
all of Eastern Oregon except Klamath
County should be sent to J. B. Horner.
Corvallis. All matter relating to cia'
sop. Columbia, Washington. Tillamook.
Yamhill. Polk. Lincoln. Marlon. Linn.
I.ane. Coos. Currv and Doufflas Counties
should be sent to Joseph Schafer, Eugene.
the main building. It will be 100 feet
long and 24 feet wide. Its weight will
be enormous and Its burglar-resisting
power the greatest of any vault in the
history of the world.
It requires some space In which to
put away $500.000,00'0. It would make
a pile of $10 bills two miles high or
a string of them 8000 miles long. Fifty
two-horse wagonloads would just
carry them. There would be 5000
cubic feet of It or more than enough
to fill a woodshed 20 feet wide and 20
feet long and 13 feet high entirely.
When shelved and made quickly ac
cessible when there should he any de
mand for It It will fill the vault that
Is being built for It.
k Well, the money Is there If the hanks
want it. The officials of the lon
troller'e office stand In readiness to
put out ja. hundred millions of dollars
any day that It seems necessary. If
the scare -seems uncalled for the next
day they will as readily redeem It.
But Instead of this theoretical activity
the "long green" will probably moMer
and grow whiskers In retirement until
Its six years is served and It Is emanci
pated. The only alternative rests with
the bandits.
(Copyright, 1908. by W. A. Du Puy.)
50,000 London Houses Empty.
New York Herald.
Fifty thousand empty houses 1n Ion
dou! John Burns made this startling
announcement in the House of Com
mons recently. Large as tills number
Is there are those who believe It Is
under rather than over the mark. A
remarkable change has taken place
during the last five or six years.
Whereas formerly landowners were
masters of the situation, tenants have
now the whip hand In nearly every
district, and have all manner of In
ducements to take houses.
It is not long since that a premium
or what amounts to the same thing,
"key money" was demanded by property-owners
In some parts of London.
Today numbers of such men will
actually allow tenants to discount,
which consists. In the case of small
property, of the expenses of removal up
to J)5, or else of so many weeks' occu
pation free. Usually no rent Is re
quired for the first fortnight; but in
certain localities the competition be
tween property-owners is so keen that
the period In some cases Is one month,
making the discount about $10.
A more curious bait is free Insur
ance. One company gratuitously In
sures each of its tenants against fire:
while another. besides safeguarding
the householder against this contin
gency, relieves him of apprehension
respecting any damage to his furniture
by lightning or flood.
Fuels iu the Case.
Chicago News.
SleSo your friend Singleton has vol
untarily joined the ranks of the boncdicls.
has he?
He Not exactly. Ho was drafted; a
widow marled him.
A Confusion of Battle.
Army and Navy T.ife.
It in very nearly midnight
On the streets of Boston town;
Only now and then a person
TVas there walking up and dwn.
Jtut thre came a roving spirit
From the shades of long atto.
And he scanned the people s, faces
As they passed him to and fro.
I have ridden." he was musing.
Many miles since yesterday.
To Bet tldlnus for my people
Of this awful English fray;
They've been fighting out at Concord.
And at Lexington tho gore
Of the Patriots stains the meadows;
It is war, most bitter war."
It was plain to those who saw him,
That this shade was not au fait; .
He thought that he was living
In a long time-vanished day:
w was talking of the battles
That have furnished many a rhyme;
He had no thought of seasons
Or the passing on of time.
Pown the street there came a fellow
riad In sporty raiment, lie
"With a diamond in his bosom.
Flash in his entirety.
Tell me, tell me," quoth the spirit.
As approached the stranger near,
"Tell me how the battle goeth.
We have lost, I greatly fear?"
"Well," the sport said. "It was d'.s wart
Foist It looked as do' de coon
Didn't have no chance of winnln',
But would give up putty soon;
But he kep' on gittin' foxy.
And at last de Jaw he found.
And ho knocked the odder silly.
Done him up lu d' seventeenf round."
Then the shade's eyes bulged and glittered:
"Man," he said, "I do not know
Why you twit me with such stories,
As "they fill me full of woe.
Are you talking of the battle
Out In Concord In the night?"
"Naw." the sport said; "I nm chirping
Of the Cans and Nelson fight."
.S