The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902, May 08, 1902, Image 1
m if I VOL. XIII. LAW VIOLATORS National Hank la a Criminal Conspiracy aad the Comptroller of the Currency Party to the Crime Editor Independent: I have been having some correspondence with the comptroller of the currency. It is quite voluminous, or I would send It all to you. The following is the sub stance of it. On March 17 I wrote ask ing among others these questions: "To how low a per cent of its de posits can a bank reduce its actual 'cash reserve' without violation of law, or being subject to a penalty?" "Your last abstract shows that th aggregate of banks in each of twelve reserve cities were short in 'cash re serve required. Is this not as much a violation of law as if they were short in 'reserve required?' " On March 20 the comptroller replied at some length. The substance of his answers is contained in these word3: "Central reserve city banks are re quired to maintain 25 per cent cash reserve on deposits. Other reserve city banks are required to have at least 12 per cent reserve on hand, and other banks (1. e., country banks) 6 per cent on hand." lie also referred me to section 5191 U. S. R. S. for answer to question about penalty. This section provides that when any bank is below the amount required to be kept on hand, the comptroller may notify it to make good its reserve; and, if it shall fail for thirty days thereafter so to make good its reserve of lawful money, "the comptroller may, with the concurrence of the secretary of the treasury, ap point a receiver," etc. On March 22 I wrote him again about the penalty and asked these questions: "If a bank having the full amount of lawful reserve required by law should send it all to a reserve agent, would that bank be subject to any pen alty under the law?" "Am I correct when I conclude that the abstracts of the reports of national banks show a violation of the provi sion of law regarding the 'cash reserve required?'" On March 26 he answered by refer ring me to section 5191 U. S. R. S., and saying: "If the entire reserves were kept with reserve agents, the requirement of law in regard to home reserves would not be complied with." He again referred me to section 5191. quoting the language as quoted above, and also referring to section 5239 U. S. R. S. This section provides that: ,-. "If the directors of any national banking association shall knowingly violate, or knowingly permit any of the officers, agents or servants of the association to violate, any of the pro visions of this title, all the rights, privileges and franchises of the asso ciation shall be thereby forfeited. Such violation shall, however, be determined and adjudged by a proper circuit, dis trict or territorial court of the United States in a suit brought for that pur pose, by the comptroller of the cur rency in his name, before the associa tion shall be declared dissolved." He quoted this section down to the word "forfeited." On March 31 I wrote again. The material part of this letter is con tained in the following quotations from it: "I notice that abstracts issued from the office of the comptroller, since the last quarter in 1896 to this date, with two exceptions, show some banks short in 'cash reserve required.' " "In your last (No. 26) it appears that the banks, in the aggregate, in each of twelve reserve cities were short to a considerable amount." "From the beginning of 1S99, no ab stract shows less than eight cities in each of which the banks had an ag gregate shortage. During all of this time, the banks in the central reserve city of St. Louis have been short iu 'cash reserve.' In the last report, this aggregate shortage was over $3,396, 000." "If I interpret your letter correctly, if a country bank shall deposit more than three-fifths, and a reserve bank more than one-half of its lawful re serve with reserve agents, this would impair its lawful reserve. This makes it impossible for a bank to be short in its 'cash reserve' without beins short in its 'lawful reserve.' " I then asked him this question: "Why do you, in your last abstrac;, show banks short in 'cash reserve re quired,' as having their full lawful reserve?" On April 3, the' comptroller an swered this letter by professing to be willing to give 'proper Information,' but expressing himself as 'not disposed to enter into a discussion." However, he proceeded to say that: "While the comptroller is charged with the administration of the bank ing laws, he is also vested with cer tain discretionary powers in the ex ercise of which he must use his own judgment." He then attempts to explain away the fact that his abstracts show a full "lawful reserve" while at the same time showing a short "cash reserve," by saying: "You are advised that the columns headed 'reserve held' and 'ratio of re serve' might be more properly ex pressed as 'cash on hand.' including funds with reserve agents." No difference what might be, it is not so expressed and never has been, but the abstracts show specifically that banks short in cash have a full re serve, and this is impossible, as he admits. On April 14, I wrote: "I made the statements not as ar guments, but to make my questions LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, MAY 8, 1902. NO. 51. exercise discretion on ' what seems tc you sufficient groundsi' "I would like to know the facts that make the basis of any discretion you exercise in allowing banks to be short in their reserves." ,A One April 16 he answered: "The comptroller has no authority to exercise a discretion In a matter concerning which the law is manda tory. Whenever a shortage in reserve is reported, the attention of the bank is called to the matter and is re quired to make the shortage good." This is a remarkable statement in view of the law. that says the "comp troller may notify, etc.," and that the comptroller may, with f the concur rence of the secretary of the treasury, appoint a receiver, etc." It is remark able in view of his reference to "dis cretionary powers" in his letter of April 3, and in view' of the fact that the charter of a bank cannot be for-1 feited except by suit of the comptroller in his own name. On April 21 I wrote again, and, in reply to this, asked the following ques tlon: "Am I correct in understanding that. when you notify a, bank to make good a shortage in its reserve and it does in . thirty days (as provided by the law to which, in a former letter, you called my attention), the same bank can again immediately, say in one or two days, reduce its reserve below the requirements of the law, and that all you can do is to serve another notice! and that this would again give the bank thirty days within which to comply, etc.? Cannot a bank in this way continually violate the law in de fiance of the comptroller and the de partment?" -, To this I received answer, dated April 23, of which the following is the substance: "There is nothing to be added. .The duty and discretion of the comptroller will not be discussed." On April 24 I wrote again, in sub stance as follows: "It is not a discussion I have want ed, nor do I think I have asked for a discussion." "I have been very desirous of ob taining from the comptroller's depart ment such an answer as would indi cate that the department Itself is not a party to the continual violations of the national banking law, that are manifest to any one, who knows any thing at all of the subject." It must be true that if banks, are able, in the manner -indicated, , to maintain reserves below the require ments of the law, then the law is de fective and ought to be amended." "You say, 'the . duty and discretion of the comptroller will not be dis cussed.' There was not a word in my last about duty or discretion. I asked you the pimple question, if it is not true, in the way indicated, that a bank can coninually violate the law in de fiance of the comptroller and the de partment. It is nonsense to say that it would be improper for you to an swer this question." Such has been the result of an at tempt to get information out of the comptroller. There is no competent banking au thority on the face of the earh that regards anything less than a 25 per cent reserve as safe. By law, only SI national banks are required to keep that amount, while 269 are only re quired to keep one-half that amount, and 4,027 may reduce thel reserves to 6 per cent. Notwithstanding this rot ten and dangerous provision, there are hundreds of banks ' allowed, by the comptroller and the treasury depart ment, to encroach upon even this low reserve in clear violation of the law. It is perfectly safe to assert that not less than 100 out of the 61 central re serve and the 26$ reserve city banks are continually and systematically violating the law that authorizes their existence. It is equally certain that it is being done with the full knowledge and with the consent of the comptroller, whose duty it is, under section 5239 U. S. R. S., to bring suit to forfeit the charter of every such bank. The charter can not be forfeited without suit, and no one can bring the suit except the comptroller. Is there any wonder that he does not desire "to discuss" the subject? But, after all. is he responsible for the situation? The law puts the respon sibility on him, but the situation is controlled by the secretary of the treasury, and by the president. Here is where the real responsibility rests. I suppose the answer to this will be, that, to bring suit against every such bank, would precipitate financial dis aster. Well, this may be true, but what a comment this Is upon the whole national bank system. We have created 4,357 of these institutions by law. They have now acquired, under the law, sufficient power to bring dis aster upon us If we attempt to make them obey the law. Is it then true that we have created a financial Frankenstein, a financial monster, that has wholly escaped from our control and now threatens us with destruction? Talk about anarchy! Here is the anarchy, the defiance of law, that threatens the peace of so ciety and the perpetuity of our insti tutions. , I have examined the Fowler bill, and I say without any extravagance of expression that, from the standpoint of public interest and welfare, it is the most infamous financial proposi tion ever made in the history of . the world. It may postpone the day of disaster, but, the force of it. when it does come, will i be multiplied many times. ;; ' FLAVIUS J. VAN VORHIS. Indianapolis, April 29, 1902. MEAT TRUST AND TARIFF The Independent and your county JO anaf, fTlo vpar, fftr t1 9ft 1 ' f t The People la the ISaat Kept fa Ignorance The Plutocratic Papers Find Out What a Trust is The people in the east have found out what a trust is! The "beef trust" has taught the lesson. It is a practical demonstration, by hitting the people hard in the stomach. For years anl years we have been hearing about trusts, as something far away; but now, that one of them has come into every family and raised the price of meat we know their power. . For years they exhibited their power by killin off competitors, but nowl that they have raised their hand against every mans hand it becomes necessary to find a remedy for killing the , trmt itself. There Is a remedy near at hand, known as the "Sherman anti trust law," which every citizen in the east will read with interest. It is in words as follows: "An act to protect trade and com merce against unlawful restraints anl monopolies." ''Approved July 2, 1890. 26 Stat. 203. 'Section 1. Every contract, com bination in, the form of trust or other wise, in restraint of trade or com merce among the several states, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations is hereby de clared to be illegal. "Every person who shall make any such contract or engage in any such combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be pun ished by fine not exceeding five thou sand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court." The next section makes it a crime even to attempt to monopolize trade. It is in the following words: 'Section 2. Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign na tions, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion , of the court." By section 3 the act is extended to the territories and the District of Co lumbia, In addition to criminal prose cution there 13 a civil remedy in the following; words: 'Section 4. The several circuit courts of the United States are hereby invested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this act; and it shall be the duty of the several district attorneys of the United States, in their respective districts, under the diiection of the attorney general, to institute proceedings in equity to pre vent and restrain such violations. Such proceedings may be by way of petition setting forth the case and praying that such violation may be en joined or otherwise prohibited. When the parties complained of shall have been duly notified of such petition the court shall proceed, as soon as may be. to the hearing and determination of the case; and pending such petition and before final decree, the court may at any time make such temporary re straining order or prohibition as shall be deemed just in the premises. By section 5 parties found anywhere n the United States can be brought before the court by serving a sum mons upon them. The next section furnishes another civil remedy in the following words: "Section 6. Any property owned un der any contract or by any combina tion, or . pursuant to any conspiracy (and being the subject thereof) men tioned in section 1 of this act, and being in the course of transportation from one state to another, or to a foreign country, shall be forfeited to the United States, and may be seized and condemned by like proceedings as those provided by law for the for feiture, and condemnation of property imported into the United States con trary to law." The foregoing sections give the United States the right to proceed not only criminally, not only in a court of equity for restraining further criminal action, but the government can seizs all the property of the unlawful com bination when found In course of transportation. But this is not all. It enables pri vate individuals to recover threefold damages, as appears by the following section: "Section 7. Any person who shall be injured in his business or property by any other person or corporation by reason of anything forbidden or de clared to be unlawful by this act, may sue therefor. In any circuit court of the United States In the district In which the defendant resides or is found, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold , the damages by him ; sus tained, and the costs of suit, includ ing a reasonable attorney's fee." The act not only provides threa civil remedies, but a criminal prose cution besides, and yet gold bug demo crats and tariff -for-revenue-only dem ocrats are saying that the law is no good! Hereafter, if any monopoly exists a monopoly that does business In moro than one state the president of the United States ought to be held re sponsible,, because the power is in him to appoint an attorney general, and this officer has power to direct any district attorney in any part of the United States to bring suits at the ex pense of the government. For the purpose of executing this law, the president is the United States i H.j jx yeMedJiLMiaUJhejjjw . r . - 7T " BENEVOLENT How the Religion of Jesus Christ is ASSIMILATION." Being Extended in the Philippines. United States for this purpose. If the attorney general does not do his duty, he has the power to appoint an other who would da his duty. The gold bug ;;atid revenue-tariff democrats are saying that the high price of domestic meat is due to the tariff on foreign meat. They do not say how much the duty Is on foreign meat; they only say that we are a tar Iff -ridden country and speak of tho high duty on foreign; meat as the only cause for the extraordinarily high price of domestic meat furnished by the trust. j -.i ." The duty on foreign beef, veal, mut ton and pork Is 2 pents per pound. If we were dependent; upon foreign na tions, which we are jnot, the price of foreign meats would be raised only 2 cents per pound, and this would enable the trust to raise the price onljT 2 cents, whereas they have raised it not only 2, but 4,tJ6, 8, and 10 cents. The trust, then, and not the tariff, is the cause of the high prices. Being independent of foreign na tions for our meat and being able to produce not only our. own supplies, but to send meat abroad, it is impossi ble to see how a tariff duty on foreign meat can raise the price of domestic meat a single cent. This being so, it must be true that the democrats are misrepresenting the practical wprking of a protective tariff, so far as it re- ates to' meat; They are also drawing the public mind away from the trust that is doing the great wrong and "di recting attention to the tariff that is not doing any wrong, in this instance. Where does Mr. Bryan stand in his emergency? v "Will he join the gold and free trade democrats In denounc- ng a protective tariff of 2 cents a pound on meat? or will he call upon the president to execute the law against the butchers? Mr. Bryan must bear in mind that, if the president moves against the trusts, he will need all the support he can get. It is a poor time now, to talk about chang- ng tariff laws, either for revenue or or protection, rather, than faithfully executing a law already on the statute book. If Mr. Roosevelt undertakes to do his duty, he will have to contend with great powers. It will be like moving against the slave power fifty years ago. President Roosevelt Is showing a disposition to execute the law accord- ng to the oath he has taken. It is very encouraging. If the people sup port him, it will not be long before the monopolistic butchers will be In ail for a year, besides having to pay a fine of $5,000 and costs. No man In the nation can do as much to help this work along as Mr. Bryan. He said, over and over again, that, if elected president.he would suppress the trusts. Now he has . an opportunity to assist without being president. But he will have to avoid all entangling alliances with those gold standard democrats who are talking about free trade or tariff . for revenue only. If the pro tective tariff system needs reforming or revising, it is for the republicans to do it. It was not the work of demo crats and they arc not responsible for t, and they have no moral right to talk about it as long as there is a law against monopolies unexecuted. JNO. S. DE HART. Jersey City, N. J. The principle upon which; the re publican party has been run the last few years is, that a man can live on bread alone, or, in other words, money s the sum of all that man should strive for. The worship of money, the rule of Mammon, the adulation of men because of their wealth, was the new idea to which all energies were to be devoted. The plutocratic preach ers have changed the answer to the question in the catechism and made it to be: "The chief end of man is to get gold." Many have followed this new doctrine and piled up mountains of gold, but the devil has been let oose and there is more bloodshed and tyranny, than thas been known since the dark ages. The Indepen dent has loaded its columns with warnlnga of the certain result of such p ahi" on.-- -y , t 'fft GEN. SMITH'S ORDERS Th Excai G1tk fr Their In and How the Campaign Began In "Which all Filipinos Were Killed The excuse for the order to make Samar a howling wilderness was the slaughter of nearly a whole company of the Ninth infantry. The question arises whether . that slaughter was without excuse. It was not a one sided affair at all, for many of tha natives were killed in the onslaught. The Filipino side of the story was of course never told. One of the men who escaped was William J. Gibbs of Springfield, Mass. Having served out his time he has returned home. He was promoted to corporal and rec ommended to receive a medal of honor for gallant services. Corporal Gibbs makes the following statement: ' Captain Connell, testifies the 'cor poral, while under instructions to do everything to conciliate the people of the island, started In to "clean up" the town, and "give it a semblance of civilization." "He became intimate with the native officials of the village and with the priests of the convents, and apparently won their confidence." But he soon met difficulties in get ting the. natives to work. It was a tropical climate. "The men (natives) would work two or three days with more or less energy, but their activity then ceased." What Captain Connell then did is related by Corporal Gibbs: "The only remaining method that could be adopted in getting the work done was by compulsion, and Captain Connell set out to do this, thereby re ducing the natives to practical slav ery. Those who refused to work with out compulsion were kept in confine ment when not at work, and while they were at work a guard was sta tioned over them, after the manner of the plantation guards in the cotton fields of the south a half-century ago. This .conveyed an unnatural impres sion of the American people to the Filipinos, and it .is no wonder that they rebelled. They were not allowed to go to their homes at night, but the 90 men who were thus enslaved were confined in two conical tents, each of which was only sufficient to accommo date 16 men. Their wives wer? obliged to carry them their meals, and none of the comforts of their homes were provided. It is not to be won dered, therefore, that these natives were sullen and plotted death and de struction to their captors. The en listed men of the company were out spoken in their disapproval of this regime, but the captain was the au thority, and his will was obeyed. For six weeks before the massacre the na tives had become sullen and morose because of their treatment and priva tion." The people of the United States have been made to believe that the attack on the Ninth infantry was a cold blooded piece of treachery for which the assailants had no excuse at all. This is the first intimation of the cause . of the outbreak. Let us hear both sides of this case. The Indepen dent insists that the Filipinos shall have their day in court. Majir Gar dener and other officers and enlisted men who have opposed the cruel poli cies of Chaffee and General Smith should be subpoenaed and give their testimony before the investigating committee. pared to those conferred upon large property holders. In the one case, however, they are direct; in the other, more remote, yet: nevertheless just as real. The pauper, or Insane person is furnished food, clothing and other liv ing expenses at a cost to the commun ity of perhaps $150 to $250 a year; the real benefit is to society, however. For the large property owner the government may not in years perform any direct act which could be called a benefit; yet all the machinery of government is at his disposal when ever he needs it. The courts stand ready to define his property rights, and the executive is ready to defend these rights at any time. Without government no one would be secure In his possession of property or in his right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The two ideas in a measure seem to blend. - He who receives the greatest benefits is nearly always most able to contribute. HORROR UNSPEAKABLE H. Gaylord Wilshire in the last num ber of his magazine took to task Edi tor Wayland of The Appeal to Reason accusing him of holding to populist ideas regarding money. Mr. Wayland replied that: "Wilshlre's Magazine fails to get the point of the Appeal's observation about the exports. , The Appeal never for a moment in its ex istence. had the ideas it attributes to it. What the Appeal said was to show that this nation is sending out hun dreds of . millions annually in exports of gold, silver and merchandise more than it Imports and nothing come? back for them. This excess sum is the tribute which is exacted from America for usury on capital which never existed something for nothing. Large exports is no more an evidence of prosperity . than the large exports from India evidences its prosperity or the expprts from Ireland during the famine years, when American sent it millions evidenced the prosperity of Ireland." Mr. Wilshire took the re publican idea that a large excess of ex ports over imports is a favorable trade balance, but Mr. Wayland thought otherwise as will be seen by his reply. Of course The Independent stand3 with The Appeal on this point. In fact the Appeal is getting to be a rath er readable populist paper notwith standing the fact that Mr. Wayland in sists that he Interests people in thj cause of socialism. The ethical justification for taking part of a person's property by way of taxes is by some held to be that each person, should contribute toward the maintenance of government according to the benefits conferred upon him by government; by others that the con tribution of each should be accordlug to ability to contribute. The stock objection to the first idea is that If persons contribute accord ing to benefits received,, then paupers, insane, and others of that class, should pay the heaviest taxes. Of course, this Is not tenable. ; The ben efits conferred by government upon paupers and insane, counted in dol J a rO ti dcn t sf reY erx.FnUji 5cQr- CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT No system of taxation ever in vented, and in the nature of things none can ever be Invented, that will shift taxes from labor of hand and brain. Land pays no taxes; houses pay no taxes. Neither does any kind of property, real or personal. Taxes are paid by men and women. The money to pay them must be got by labor of band or. brain. For the sup port of the general government they are paid in the increased price of the articles of necessity or luxury that the people buy. ; A land tax is not a tax upon land at all. It Is a tax upon tin Income of the man who owns or oc cupies It. If he has no income he can pay no taxes. How a tax on the income of men occupying 'smaller or larger portions of land is going to re lieve the body politic from all the ills from which it suffers, is a thing that this editor cannot understand. If any body can convince him that it will, he will fight for it while life lasts. If the immense fortunes and hereto fore unheard of concentration of wealth in few hands, has come from the private ownershfp of land, thea the fact ought to be demonstrabTe. The land owners are not the billion aires. The immense fortunes were not accumulated by the ownership of land. It may be true that the private ownership of land has caused 1 all of these evils, but. this editor for tae life of him can't see how y r fttuf w senate InYeatlgation of MiiMtm In the Philippines The British rarallel Trmts Strike Reeent Decision Washington, D. C, May 5. 1902. (Special' Correspondence.) The Phil ippine question still engrosses sena torial attention. The ordering of two court-martials by President Roosevr.lt lo try American officers for unspeak able atrocities in warfare against the Filipinos has emphasized the horror and disgrace of the oriental situation. The American people are slowly get ting at the truth, in spite of the fact that a studied attempt on the part of the administration has been made tc suppress the facts. The tollowing story, given In sworn testimony before the Philippine com mittees, is only one of many of sim ilar import and should be considered In all its phases. Corporal Richard O'Brien of company M, 26th volun teers, says: "It was on the 27th of December, the anniversary of my birth, and I shall never forget the scenes I wit nessed on that day. As we approached the town the word passed along the line that there would be no prisoners taken. It meant that we were to shoot every living thing In sight, men, wo men or children. The first shot was fired by the thn first sergeant of our company. Ilia target was a mere boy, who was com ing down the mountain path Into th town astride of a carabao. The boy was not struck by the bullet, but that was not the sergeant's fault. The lit tle Filipino boy slid from the back of his carabao and fled in terror up th mountain side. Half a dozen shots were fired after him. The shooting now had attracted the villagers, who came out of their homes in alarm, wondering what it all meant. They offered no offence, did not dis play a weapon, made no hostile move ment whatsoever, but they were ruth lessly shot down in cold blood, men, women and children. The poor na tives huddled together or fled in ter ror. Many were pursued and killed on the spot. Two old men, bearing a white flasj and clasping hands, like two brothers, approached the lines. Their hair wa white. They fairly tottered, they were so feeble under the weight of years. To my horror and that of th- other men in the command, the ordr was given to fire, and the two old men were shot down in their tracks. W entered the village. A man who had been on a sick bed appeared at the doorway of his home. He received a bullet in the abdomen and fell dead in the doorway. Dumdum bullets used in that massacre, but we were not told the name of the bullets. We dH not have to be told. , We knew whit they were. In another part of the village a mother with a babe at her breast and two young children at her side pleaded for mercy. She feared to leave her home, which had just been fired ac cidentally', I believe. She raced th flames with her children, and not a hand was raised to save her or the lit tle ones. They perished miserably. It was sure death if she left the houso it was sure death if sne remained. She feared the American soldiers, however, worse than the devouring flames." Go with me into another part of the world and find a parallel in South Africa for similar infamies, GenernI De La Rey makes a report to ths world on the Boer war from which the following extracts are taken: "The treatment of women and chil dren, defenseless craatures, is really the darkest page among the many dark pages of this sad war. At first hun dreds of our women who were living in the villages were taken prisoners ani sent to the commandoes. v "We formed women's camps at sev eral places, where our women and children were taken care of, but soon rthQj&nemychanged his conduct Our