The commoner. [volume], November 01, 1907, Page 8, Image 8

About The commoner. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923

Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE

                
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A NEWSPAPER dispatch from St.-Paul, Minn.,
says: "Attorney General Edward T.
Young of Minnesota, was adjudged in contempt
of court by Judge Lochren in the United States
district court today and fined $100, which he
refusedto pay. An appeal to the United States
supreme court will be taken in the form of an
application for a writ of habeas corpus, as Mr.
Young has been remanded to the custody of the
ynited States marshal, and the question of
whether the United States court has the right to
enjoin a state from enforcing its own laws will
thus be finally disposed of. The question in
volved is whether an officer of a sovereign state
can be sued. It came up in the attompt to en
force the commodity freight rate law enacted
by the last legislature. Judge Lochren enjQinod
Attorney General Young from enforcing the law
- and included the state railroad and warehouse
commission and many shippers. Thereupon At
torney General Young brought mandamus pro
ceedings in the county court to compel the rail
roads, to revise their rates, according to the
state law." '
AN INTERESTING dispatch under . date of
Lincpln, Neb., is printed in the Omaha,
World-Herald: "A number' of republican gov
ernors who accompanied President" Roosevelt on
the trip down the Ohio recently came in for. a
severe curtain lecture en route. The lecture
was administered by the president himself and
. was the plain, blunt expression of a plain, blunt
man. Among the governors who were called
in by the president and made to face the music
was George L. Sheldon of Nebraska. In eon
sequence, Sheldon's fighting blood is up and
it is even rumored that he may call a special ses
sion of the legislature to make suitable and
.forcible response to the presidential rebuke.
For the point on which the president lectured,
the governors was the question of state's rights
and centralization. The president told the state
executives that they were 'way off' on 'this
state's rights business.' He told them tho time
is- at hand when the federal government must
take over the exclusive control of railroads and
all other big corporations. He told them the
republican party must declare for this policy.
He told them when they opposed it and- permit
ted their republican followers in their respective
states to oppose it they were merely contribut
ing aid and comfort to the democratic enemy.
The president was especially severe with Shel--dori.
It 'is learned. SLhlrlmV. iinHinir
..- .i8fi$ a?1t;od that to himself was responsible
&vJF9 "ft? stat,e s riBhtB' Plank of the Nebraska
&rsr republican nlatfnrm. RnnBmmit , ....? . "".
ished, then angry. He spoke with unusual ve
hemence, even for him, and Sheldon was at first
overwhelmed by the torrent of executive wrath
Finally, however, Sheldon got his courage back
5?m f?fG ,Dlalnly. t0 tb0 PWBident. He told
him that ninety-nine Nebraska republicans out
of every one hundred stand squarely for the
rights of the ntfiiA tn n,iiv, : y lor me
hout toderal interf erence He asSed that
should the Nebraska republicans declare in
lZ ?f f,feral "Nation at the expense of
the states it would not only put Nebraska sUr
In the democratic column, but would make everv
s ate between the Rockies and the Alleghtni
either doubtful or surely democratic Ti i
was something of a strained feeling when tie
conference broke up. Other governors lad?
similar experience. It is assorted? m snort
? nHeiT bHcan governor was summoned
.sf,-".-..'....?- j- ? a
dispatch says: "Excitement amounting almost
to alarm marked the openintr of fh iIi
was being made on the various offices of the
Knickerbocker Trust . company. At the main
office, Fifth avenue and Thirty-fourth street,
more' than 160 persons were in line at 10:30, and
there was a line, of carriages in waiting extend
ing ,for more than a b.lock Many, depositors
j'CanxeJnjjarrlages and the .carriage .ljhe extended
for over a block from the 'bank. , There waB a'
sho'rt run -on the Bronx branch, of the Knicker
bocker Trust company, when it opened! for busi
ness.. ,ft was promptly stopped by the arrival
of two wagons from which were unloaded, In
view 'of. the waiting depositors, . Tbfg bundles of
specie and currency. There lyas a' steady flow
of depositors to withdraw'' deposits from the
down town office of . the Knickerbocker Trust
company, ,and despite "the' rapidity with which
claims; were paid., there 4 were more than 175
persons; standing , in line at 10: 30 o'clock."
.' o . ,
FOR SfeVERAL days nervousness, lias 'marked
the actions' of Wall Street. The sembar
rassmehts that came to the Heinje family, the
drop in copper, the failure of the big bank at
Hamburg, Germany,' and the forced retirement
of one of the Heinzes from a New York national
bank, all contributed-to the disturbance. An
Associated Press dispatch of .the day says: "'The
news printed today that the National Bank of
Commerce yesterday gave notice that it would
decline any longer to act as clearing house
agent for the Knickerbocker Trust company and
the resignation of Charles T. Barney of the
presidency of the institution, served to unsettle
sentiment more than the Morse-Heinze. develop
ments of last week. The, magnitude of business
transacted by ttie Knickerbocker Trust company,
with its deposits amounting to more than $60,
000,000, gave a much more serious aspect to
the changes made in its management than did
the .changes in the relatively smaller Morse
Heinze concern. The announcement of Mr. Bar
ney's resignation was followed by a series of
conferences of financial men at, Sherry's which
lasted until nearly 2 , o'cloqk this morning.
Among, those present .were .J. Pienpont Morgan
and his partners, .George W. Perkins -and Charles
Steelp, Mr. Morgan taking a leading part in the
.discussion."
THIS STATEMENT was given out by a com
mittee of tho directors of the .Knicker
bocker Trust company: "In view of the fact
that Mr. Barney's financial interests had be
come greatly extended, and in View'of his per
sonal position in the directorate of certain in
stitutions recently under criticism, in, particular
because of his position, with Mr. Morse and some
of Mr. Morse's companies, he has decided that
the best interests pf the company would be
served by his resignation, 'although he had no
loans with the Knickerbocker trust company
He has 'resigned as president of the trust com
pany, and will resign as a director. He will
also resign as a director of the National Bank
of Commerce, which was the clearing house
agent of the Knickerbocker Trust company. In
view of the fact that the Knickerbocker com
pany will hereafter clear by itself it was deemed
advisable to obtain guarantees of additional
cash should it be needed. These guarantees
have been used and the Knickerbocker will be
amply ready to meet any requirements that may
grow out of the changes of methods of the clear
ing house.' The Knickerbocker has $8,000,000
cash in its own vaults. If more cash is needed
it will be ..mmediately available under the guar
antees. . The meeting of the trust company presi
dents was largely for the purpose o"f outlining
a plan, for a clearing house pf "trust companies
similar to, the clearing houso of banks. This
will enable all trust companies to stand to-'
gether." .
THE EVENTS of the day were briefly present
er , ?d y ,the sstciated Press in this way:
"Knickerbocker Trust company of New York
closed its doors under a run at 12:30 todav It
has deposits of $60,000,000. The New York
clearing house committee annpunced tjjja follow
ing debit balance of banks today: Mercantiln
National bank $ 45 4,000 ;. ; National Bmk if '
North American, $543,000; National twi
New Amsterdam, $34ooo0;tho ffl L ? oC
Traders' National bank, $335 000 Mand
Bank of Commerce, $7 000 000 W aUnal
ZTtthatt ?e"tog SU S Z
rendered assistance today to the MercantllP m?
tlonal bank. It was stated that the Si A
balanceof the National Bank of Commowe J
resented the clearances of. the KnlckerboS
Trust company. It is understood ft Washing
that Secretary of the Treasury Cortoivn,?8 ?n
ordered the dtotrlbut!qii?ooToooWamo'!!
the banks of New York. The stock S
slumped violently At 12:35 UnionpLHa
110, a Joss -of .7. .OaU -money at 12:35 III
fifty per cent American securities were wSk
at London Grain markets weak on the New
York situation. Coinptreller df the Current
Ridgeley says condition of the banks general y
in the country is sound arid tfo cause for alarm
Bankers m Omaha, Chicago, Denver, Kansas
SSL?11, otheu?laces W they will not be "af
fected by conditions inN(?w York'
q PEAKING. AT Nashville, Tenn., on the day
O. of the panic President RoPsevelt said:
f? been ,oubl6 in'the st0k market,
in the high financial worldduring the past few
months The statement has frequently been
made that the policies for which I stand are
responsible for that trouble. Now, gentlemen,
these policies, of mine can be summed up in one
sentence. They represent the effort to punish
successful dishonesty. I douti if these policies
have had any material effect in bringing about
the, present trouble, but if they have, it will not
alter my determination that for the remaining
sixteen months of my term these policies shall
be persevered. in. If to arouse that type of civic
manhood in our nation it wer.' necessary to
suffer any temporary commercial - depression, I
should consider the cost but small. All wo have
done has been to unearth the wrongdoing. It
was not the fact that it was unearthed that did
the damage. All I did was to turn on the light.
.1 am responsible for turning on the light, but
I am not responsible for what the light showed.
It is Impossible to cut out a cancer without
making the patient feel for a few days rather
sicker than he felt before. No material well
being will save this nation if it loses the lift
toward higher things. I will permit neither the
demagogue upon one side nor the reactionary
on the other to drive me. away from the course
of policy which I regard most vital for the well
being of this nation. And the' thing most im
portant to remember is that that policy has two
sides. It would indeed be an evil day for this
nation if it were ever permitted to grow up a
spirit whioh would 'discriminate' against the hon
est man who achieved business success. Thoro
is nothing meaner than the hatred of the man
who prospers honestly, simply because he has
prospered,- and I challenge the spirit of every
good American when I say that the honest rail
road, the honest banker, and the, honest business
man is the man who makes a fortune because his
exceptional business ability enables him to
render exceptional service to the community. If
ever there should be any temporary gusts of
popular feeling that demand what is wrong, what
is unrighteous, then the truo servant of the
people is the man who disregards that tempor
ary wish of the people to do .evil. No man will
stand more strongly than I willin the defense
of property, so long as it is "honestly acquired,
and honestly used."
WEDNESDAY, October '23, was another
desperate day in Wall Street. New York
superintendent of banks took control of the
Knickerbocker Thrust company. A big run was
made on the Trust .Company of America in New
York Llty, but that company met all demands.
J. Pierpont Morgan and James Stillman took
personal charge of the financial situation and
Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou made $10,
000,000 deposits in local banks, government
money. The Pittsburg stock exchange closed for
the .day, the president thereof .issuing this state
ment: "The..SecurityJuvestment .company finds
itself, involved.. This will necessitate a tern-
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