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APRIL. 17, 1908
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Walter Well
man
Sounds a Warning
Walter Wellman, Washington correspon
dent for the Chicago Record-Herald (rep.) has
recently made a trip through the country and,
as a result, is greatly impressed with the pop
ularity of the guaranteed deposits plan. Fol
lowing are extracts from an article written by
Mr. Wellman and printed in the Record-Herald
of Thursday, April 9:
What have the republicans to offer the
country as an offset to this plank as a means of
winning votes? The Aldrich bill?
In any consideration of the chances of the
parties in the coming struggle for control of the
government these highly important facts must
not be overlooked. At the present time, it is
true, the republican leaders have little concep
tion of the significance of this issue. They do
not realize the advantage which advocacy of
deposit guarantee is sure to give the democ
racy. But they will realize it before the cam
paign is over. If they fail to provide an ade
quate offset, either by legislation or by a like
declaration in their own platform, they will
regret it before election day next November.
Mr. Bryan never did a shrewder thing in
his life .than when he filed a aveat upon the
suggestion of compulsory insurance and guar-,
antee of deposits in national banks. The lead
ers of the republican party at Washington may
go on with their heads in the sand; the big
bankers who do not want the little bankers to
gain the advantage of equal security may pooh
pooh as much as they like; the historians may
point out that the idea is not original with Mr.
Bryan; the theorists may sneer at what they
choose to call a socialistic proposition. These
things do not change the facts. And the facts
are that deposit insurance and guarantee under
the supervision of the government and at the
expense of the banks or their customers has
taken a deep hold upon the public a hold so
deep that if one political party favors it and
the other does not, the first gains a distinct and
possibly decisive advantage in the coming cam
paign. And Mr. Bryan was clever enough to
make sure that his name was associated with
the idea.
There are two things the people of the
country everywhere are talking about: The
recent panic and means of preventing more
panics, and the making of a new president of
the United States. What statesman politician,
candidate or leader has brought forth an idea
that links the two things together in the opinion
of the .masses of people? Mr. Bryan and Mr.
Bryan alone. Call it a clever adaptation of an
other man's idea, or imitation, or plagiarism, or
what, you choose. The fact remains that Mr.
Bryan has filed a caveat. The people are willing
to give him a patent. It stands before the
country as the Bryan idea. Many other men
have advocated the same thing much more ably
than Mr. Bryan, conspicuous among them be
ing Mr. Revell of Chicago. Some, indeed, ad
vocated it before Mr. Bryan did. But it was
Bryan who gave it life and vogue and caught
the attention of the country with it.
That most delightful and lovable of men,
the late John Hay, used to tell, me a little story
of a farmer friend of his who put it:
"It does't make half so much diff'rence
what a man says as it does whar he set when
he says it."
Mr. Bryan sat in the right place. And he
said what the majority of the people believe is
the right thing.
Then the panic came along. It shocked
men into thought. It filled the country with
thinkers, students, all convinced such disasters
were preventable and that, being preventable,
they must somehow be prevented. But how?
By what means? Most people thought it was
to be done by some currency tinkering, more
money or an elastic currency or an emergency
currency. But who put his finger on the right
spot? -..Who came forward with the suggestion
.which struck the hard-headed, every-day, sen
sible American people as the one thing that
would do It? None other than this same vis
ionary Mr. Bryan.
No matter where Mr. Bryan got the idea,
no matter in what particular form men think
the idea should be worked out in practice, the
fact remains that the principle has taken deep
hold upon the country and that Bryan has eter
nally linked his name with it. He sat in the
right place. He spoke at the right time, at the
The Commoner.
psychological moment. It was inspiration or
luck. It vastly improved Mr. Bryan's chances
to win tho presidency; and how much it has im
proved them will be more apparent as tho
months roll along than it is at tho present
moment.
If anyone doubts that this principle of de
posit insurance has taken possession of tho coun
try he should travel through a dozen states, as
I have done. He should talk with men from all
walks of life. He should read the correspon
dence on this and kindred subjects which has
poured in upon writers for the press, like my
self, who have taken the lead in trying to ex
press the current thought of the people tho
thought of today which points the way to tho
legislation of tomorrow. The people have per
ceived that the trouble with the present bank
ing system is the isolation of the units; the
facility with which confidence in one of theso
units, standing alone, may bo impaired; tho
rapidity with which confidence dissolves once
dissolution has begun; the magic way in which
it overruns the country, from ocean to ocean.
They have perceived that the government, hav
ing compelled tho banks to make absolutely
safe one-twentieth of the system, that repre
sented by the circulating medium or money,
should now compel the banks to make absolutely
safo tho remaining nineteen-twentieths repre
sented by the deposits. They have perceived
that as governmnt compels safety of note Issues
through the maintenance of a guarantee fund
at Washington, so it should compel safety of
book credits by the maintenance of a guarantee
fund somewhere, both under government con
trol, and both at the expensu of tlie banks or
their customers.
Of course it is true that in addition to
deposit safety ''for stopping fear and panic, with
drawals and runs, there must be something else.
The whole -system is wrong. It is badly bal
anced. It is strong as a rock in one place,
weak as a bed of sand in another. The reserve
system breaks down because it rests upon an
inadequate stock of money. The supervision of
banks and enforcement' of law and disciplinary
power are lax and ineffective, with the result
that bad banking, while not frequent, is too
much In evidence. All these things are seen
and understood by men who take trouble to
study out the whole business. But what the
masses of the people see is that if the depositors
are made safe by an insurance fund ample for
the purpose there need be no more panics. They
can not understand the reserve and currency
problem so well; these are complex. But the
rock of safety in protection of all depositors Is
a simple fact which the consciousness of the
country has grasped. t
It is a fact which seems destined to-
an Important part in the impending presidential
battle.
i&w fr i&
SOUTH DAKOTA CONVENTION
The democratic state convention for South
Dakota met at Mitchell April 7. Following is
the Associated Press report:
It was midnight before the democratic
slate convention finished Its work of olectlns
eight delegates to tho national convention. At
tho beginning of tho evoning session a fight was
precipitated over -tho manner of choosing tho
delegates, there being a division as to whether
tho districts should elect the delogates or tho
convention as a whole. On roll call tho olectlon
was left with tho districts. Colonel W. A. Lynch
of Huron was elected pormanont chairman.
The platform adopted at tho night session
favors the abolition of tho tariff on all trust
controlled articles, a graduated income tax, an
inheritance tax, a law compelling all foreign
corporations to appear and stand trial boforo
state courts; demands tho vigorous enforcement
of tho criminal law against trusts and trust
magnates; urges tariff reforms and instructs
the delegates to the national convention to vote
for the nomination of William J. Bryan, first,
last and all the time and for nobody else.
Henry Volkmar of Mlllbank started a fight
over the positive Instructions for Bryan, urging
that the convention should permit the delegates
to have a second choice. Ho offered an amend
ment to the effect that delegates bo instructed
for Bryan so long as his name Is before the
convention and then to use their best judgment
in selecting a second candidate.
When pressed for a second choice Volkmar
named Governor Johnson of Minnesota. A dozen
speeches were made against the possibility of
voting for Johnson, and then former Senator
Pettigrew took the platform and denounced tho
attempt to creato the. first break in the solid
support for Bryan. Volkmar's amendment was
defeated practically unanimously.
Andrew E. Leo was indorsed for governor.
The following delegates wore elected to tho
Denver convention: S. W. Ziebach, First dis
trict; R. F. Pettigrew, Second district; Andrew
F. Foley, Third district; Edward 13. Loohan,
Fourth district; Dr. II. J. Rock, Fifth dfstrlct;
Judge Davis Mooro, Sixth district; Frank M.
Stewart, Seventh district; W. L. McLaughlin,
Eighth district.
Alternates: C. M. McCullom, First; P. I.
Pixley, Second; William Madden, Third; Zach
T. Sutley, Fourth; John Parrott, Fifth; Frank
Tracoy, Sixth; A. J. Colgan, Seventh; J. D.
Hale, Eighth.
fcj fr l2rt r
THE HOME OF WASHINGTON
Elsewhere in this issue will bo found an
address delivered by Mrs. Charles F. Manderson
of Omaha, vice regent of the Mount Vernon Asso
ciation. This address should be carefully read
because It tells briefly of the work done by
women of the country to preserve Mount Vor
non, the home of Washington. This has been
a magnificent work, prosecuted under discour
aging conditions but persevcre(d in by patriotic
."" -'is. and hearts that naturally associate
"home" with ideas of patriotism. It was only
natural that the good women of this association
should consider the home of Washington as the
best memorial of the Father of His Country.
The history of the association is full of interest
as full of interest as it has been full of work
and struggle.
What the Democratic State Committee of Wisconsin is Doing
The Wisconsin democratic state committee is circulating throughout that state printed
slips under the headline, "Democratic Literature," and containing suggestions as follows:
"A great many requests are being made from democrats throughout the state for
democratic literature. For this purpose The Commoner should be utilized by us from now
on. In the line of literature it supplies every party need.
"It is the one great exponent of democratic policies and principles published in the
Union and in its weekly visits explains all pending issues and gives full and complete in
formation on all current subjects of a political character.
"In our efforts to extend the circulation of The Commoner we should take special pains
to get as many liberal or independent republicans as possible to subscribe for it, and at the
extremely low price of CO cents per year, or 30 cents for six months, very few, who take an
intelligent interest in public affairs, will refuse to subscribe.
"Every present subscriber for The Commoner, every chairman of a democratic com
mittee, all committeemen and democrats generally, are urged to join hands in a determined
effort to secure from five to ten republican subscribers in each voting precinct. There are
here and there, throughout the state, many well to do democrats who will pay for at least
five Commoners to go to their republican neighbors for six months or a year. These demo
crats should be appealed to.
"During the past few weeks there has been a wonderful increase in The Commoner
circulation in Wisconsin and if this work will be earnestly and enthusiastically taken up and
pushed by local democrats, as it ought to be,- it will tell its own story when the votes are
counted next November. Will you do your share?"
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