The Commoner,
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
PV&H
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fVOL. 8, NO. 6
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 21, 1908
. Whole Number 370
. BRYAN BEFORE THE ECONOMIC CLUB
Frank Talk with Andrew Carnegie, Lyman J. Gage, President Baker of the First National
Bank, and Other New York Financiers, in Which Some Candid Answers are Given
to Pertinent Questions Breezy Repartee Characterizes the Proceedings of a Some
what Remarkable Dinner A Stenographic Report
V
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.
The Economic club gavo a dinner at Hotel
.stor, New York, February 5. There were seven
hundred guests, among them many New York
jankers and capitalists. Mr. Bryan was one
tef the speakers. Victor Morawetz, Andrew Car-
legie and Lyman J. Gage, former secretary or
the treasury, preceded Mr. Bryan on the pro-
;ram. Mr. Baker, who took part in the dialogue,
is president of the First National bank of New
pork City.
The Commoner presents a stenographic re
tort of the proceedings beginning with Toast-
:aster Stetson's introduction.
Following is the stenographic report:
Mr. Stetson: I think that Mr. Gage under-
itimated his power as a pulpit orator, yet I
o not think he can noia a rusnngnt in mac
opacity to the next gentleman, whom I regard
is the greatest pulpit orator of our day, Mr.
iryan. (Great and continuous applause.)
Mr. Bryan: Mr. Chairman and gentlemen,
have had a 'number of delusions shattered hero
w "itfrmlfrVif T Vinrl nnrlnrcsfnnrl that for thf. Inst.
efiSkffortv-seven vears our flnailcial affairs had been
vMIEF. ... . - . .,..-, i.
1n thfi hnnrifl or man who nossessea all tne nuail-
ties that Mr. Gage has suggested a commission
should possess. And now to learn from excel
lent American and Scottish authority that we
not only have the worst system in the world,
but worse than he, with his fruitful imagina
tion, could Imagine, what shall I say to my
people when I go back home? How shall I
explain that three conspicuous financiers who
have given this subject great thought, and who
know all the intricacies of finance, should be
agreed upon but one proposition, and that is,
that they do not know what ought to be done.
(Applause and laughter.)
I am assured by one of them that that is
not a fair statement. I will withdraw any state
ment that is considered unfair, although it seems
to me that after I have traveled 1,500 miles
to drink in wisdom from authoritative sources,
CONTENTS
MR. BRYAN BEFORE THE ECONOMIC
CLUB
INTERESTING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS FOR DEM
OCRATIC CLUB
CHAMP CLARK IN THE HOUSE
A REPUBLICAN PAPER'S VIEW OF THE
TREASURY DEPARTMENT
GET IN LINE WITH THE "MILLION ARMY"
WASHINGTON LETTER
COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS
HOME DEPARTMENT
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
- NEWS OF THE WEEK
it is a breach of promise, at least, (laughter) not
to give mo some information. And yet, as each
one approached the important part of the sub
ject, he concluded that wo ought to have a com
mission to consider tho matter. Is it not strange
that the commission is always resorted to by
those who do not care to elaborate before an
election a plan that might not bo popular at
tho election? (Great applause.) Is It not
strange that all of our great financial programs
are brought out just after tho election, when
tho people can not sit in judgment upon the
subject? (Applause.)
Tho time allotted to mo is not sufficient to
answer all of tho financial fallacies that have
been advanced tonight. I, the champion of
sound money (great laughter) have not time .
to defend the honest dollar from tho attacks
that have been made upon it. (Laughter.) And
as I listened to those from whom I expected
some clear, specific remedy, I was reminded of
the words of tho great apostlOj..and I do not
know but I might paraphrase those words and
say, "That sound finance which ye ignorantly
worship, that come I to declare unto you."
(Great laughter and applause.)
When I defend anything that wo have In
finance, you will not accuse me of defending
anything with which I have had any connection.
These greenbacks that have been described in
uncomplimentary language were not Issued by
me or by my party. (Laughter.) But it seems
to me that it is straining a point to denounce
the government for issuing 346 millions of
promises to pay, bearing no interest, whqn he
(Ex-Secretary Gage) does not denounce tho
issue of 700 millions of bank promises to pay,
that bear no interest. If a bank's promise to
pay, bearing no interest, is fit to servo as money,
why should not a government's promise to pay,
bearing no interest, be fit -to serve as money?
I understand that tho subject tonight is
the currency question as it presents itself at
this time, and, therefore, it is "not necessary to
discuss our whole financial system. I do not
want to enter into the discussion of a subject
as large as our financial system. But I remind
you, that if we follow the suggestion that noth
ing but gold be considered good for reserves,
then we will either have to stop making deposits
in the banks, or increase our gold so that we
can keep in the banks a reserve large enough
to protect the banks in the doing of their busi
ness. (Applause.) We have not the gold in
this country and we can not get it without draw
ing gold from countries that need it. If
we draw the gold from other countries, and dis
card the use of money that serves today in the
place of gold, then the effect must be to diminish
prices in foreign countries and lessen their
ability to trade with us.
Today we hold in our reserves not only
gold, but silver and silver certificates and green
backs. And tho silver and silver certificates
and greenbacks amount to 946 millions, 600
millions of silver and 346 millions of green
backs. We have about 1,200 millions of gold In
the counjtry; that is the best estimate that I
have been able to get. Now if we are going to
discard, as has been suggested, the use of silver
and greenbacks, we must go somewhere anfc get
04 6 millions of dollars of gold, and It will not
bo an easy matter. How can we get It? I will
toll you ono way to got it; make the fanner sell
his foreign export for leas, and lay upon hlra
tho burden of getting the money, to substitute
for silver and tho greenback. Trial may pleaso
some, but 1 am not surprised that it Is not ad
vanced .seriously pending a campaign, for It
would -not pleaso the producing masses of this
country. (Applause.)
It is not my business to explain this panic.
I have not felt as much of It as some of you
have. In fact, my connection with It has not
been embarrassing. (Laughter.) And politi
cally my connection with It has been anything
but embarrassing, for-it has at least robbed tho
country of the argument that my party was tho
only party under whoso administration a panic
could corrio. (Groat laughter and applause.)
If I were a financier and rny word was good
on finance, I would say that instead of locating
tho blame on too large an issuo of paper money,
it ought to be located on the issue of stocks
and bonds that do not represent value or even
honesty in business. (Great applause.) Tho
gentleman (Ex-Secretary Gage) did m6 tho
honor to quote something that I said last night.
I am glad that he quoted; I was afraid It would
not get Into the papers. The fact that he quoted
it shows (hat It appeared in print and I am
gratified. And, my friends, I do not overstate
it. in fact, knowing that I was where language
was carefully examined I was especially cautious
as to the use of language, and I shall not put
thi3 government, which bought sliver at sixty
cents and coined it Into a dollar in the same
category or company with those who floated
the billions of dollars of stocks and bonds that
represented nothing but the expectation that
those who Issued them would, unmolested, reach
their hands into tho pockets of tho people and
draw from them dividends to which they wero
not entitled. The government did buy silver
at sixty cents and coin it Into a dollar and no
man who took the dollar ever lost one cent, and
that can not bo said of the men who took tho
securities and suffered a shrinkage of one-half.
So much for the cause of tho panic.
But, my friends, the study of causes does
not help us unless it suggests remedies, and, it
seems to me it is time to suggest remedies. I
have heard that elastic currency was necessary.
I am led to the conclusion tonight that we have
overestimated the need for elasticity, for if wo
can postpone for a year the getting of that
elasticity, merely because the campaign is on,
the need is not as urgent as I had been led to
think. (Great applause and laughter.) I had
been losing sleep at night. (Cries: You don't
look like it!), wondering how long it would bo
before we could respond to the urgent need for
clastic currency. I had been anxious that as
little time should intervene as possible, and havo
been much disturbed by the failure of our ad
visers to agree upon some plan which would at
once relieve the stringency. We have two bills
in congress, one known as the Aldrich bill and
one known as the Fowler bill. The Aldrich bill
attempts to provide an emergency currency by