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WOR CESTER MAGAZINE :32 1eountrv. bu t shou ld no t r eceive account s of individual s01 ( ()JilO rat ions : it should be the sole hank of iSSIIP, ex('('pt, an d t he excepti on is a most im portant one, t hathanks at p resent issu ing c ir cu la ting' not es should , sofar' as possible, bc sufeg ua r ded a ga inst loss resulting:from th e liquida t ion of hold ings of Gove rnm cnt bond s .Such hanks m ight be p erm i t t ed t o keep th ei r circula tionup to t he amo u nt outsta ndi ng at th e t im e of t he op eni ngof the I'pn t r lll ba nk u nti l th e bond s secu r iu g it shou ldhave mat u red and been pa i d a t pa r.That th is may be clea r, it should bc understood th atunder th e p resen t la \\'s, ba nks must deposit Governmentbonds with th e F edera l Government to secure thei r ci r('Hl ntin g: not es. Owing to a 100r e f avor ab le c ircu lat iontax on no te s issued ag ainst the 2 ; ' 's of 1!:l30, thes e arcthe most p rofitable as a bas is f or circu la t ion , and anentirely artificia l demand , apurt f rom t heir investm entvalue, has thu s been creat ed fo e th em. T he result isthat bet ween six hu ndred a nd seven hun dred mi llionsof these bonds a re to-dav owned bv ou r n at i onal ban ks.bouuht at an i l l '1 ificially "hi gh pr ice fa r beyo nd th a t f a;'which t hey would sell as an inv es tm ent . Th ese bondshave sold as hi g'h as 100-4, an d are to-day sell ing at IOO l

all investme n t , mea sur ed by th e current pr ices orforeign seciui ties of a simila r ch arac te r, they wouldsell at f rom 75 to SO. Th e m anifest i nju stice of comp ell ing- han],s t hat ha d bo ugh t " gove rn men ts " as a basisfor cir cula tion, to liquid ate the m in t he in vestmen t ma r ket fi t a loss of f rom tw enty-five to thir-ty poi nts , is toogreat to be considere d and no le gisla tion compel ling th iswould be co nceivable. I t is obvious t ha t some eq nitablemethod of taking ca r e of existing conditions is one ofthe serious prob lems of an y scheme of cu r rency revisio n .The qu est ion of th e security beh in d th e notes of acentral ba nk is a nother much di scussed q ues tion. T heconsensus of op in i on insists on a large coi n r eser ve an dsuch paper as th e ban k s hould be a llowed to d iscount.As to the loan s of the ban k, it has b('pn suggested th a tit should re d iscou ut fo r the ba nks sho rt t ime comme rcia lpaper, a nd th e n ot es of firms an d corp or atio ns withsatisfactory end orseme nts . In t his con nec tion , th e f ollowing' quota t ion fr om th e speech of 1\1r. R eyn olds , before ref er red to, seems admit-a ble ." I f eel sur e we all nz rce th at a sh ort-ti me cr editcreated in the act ual con d uct of b usiness, wh ich re p r esents a r eal tr ansa ction between tw o or more solve ntconcerns a nd which bears a solven t endorse me nt in addition, is th e credit wh ich is m ost des ira ble , as it is acredi t whi ch wi ll be first redeemed, sinc e a comp letionof the trans acti on th rough which i t was create d all tomatieal ly r eti res th e obl igat ion." I would th en r est rict t he d iscoun ts of the cent ra l

bank to sh ort-ti me cred it s of thi s ch ara ct er, t hose wh ichwould ru n, sa y , no t to exceed ni nety days ; I wo uld makethe bank a bank of di scoun t fo r the national ban ks of t hecoun try , and if it would be necessar y to do so to enableit to employ its fu n ds, I wo ul d al low th e ban k t o accep tdiscoun ts from th e publ ic, but i t should no t rec eivedeposits f r om th e publi c. Wh ether or no t th e ri ght ofdiscount sho ul d be extended to Sta t e ban ks a lso, is on lya lilatter of detail an d is not im portant f rom th e st an dpoint of a d iscussion of t he p la n of a. central ba nk."It must be understo od th a t th e f or egoin g is no t adiscussion of th e cen t ral bank problem , nor does i tpr esume to offer n ew or p ersonal views on the subjec t ,but is simp ly a br i ef a nd , of necessity, c rude out line ofsome of th e plan s u nd er di scussion a t the presen t ti me,and is presen t ed in t he h op e th a t i t ma y s uggest to so mea f urther investiga tion 01 the subj ect .

Commercial Commissioners from Japan.vVe presen t th e fo llowing li s t of mem bers of th e

sp ec ia l p ar t y f rom J a pa n wh o are soon t o vi si t ou r ci t y ;ca lli ng spec ia l a tten t ion to the w id e varie ty of occ upatio n an d business r ep resent ed in t his large grou p ofmen , each on e of whom is sp ecial ly assigned to someparticul ar t heme of invest igat i on ;-

D Ol , .M ICH IO,P resi dent. Osaka E lect ri c Li gh ti ng Co.Pr es ident Osak a Chambe r of Commerce .PUJ IYF., N AGAT AK E,D ir ector of Cera mic E xperi men t Station, K yoto .H ,I R.I , RINNOS UK E,

Cont ractor an d Bui lder, 'l'o]

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322 WORCESTERN ISHIMURA, J .,P res ide nt K yoto Cha mber of Commerce.T extile Merch ant.M ember Ho use of Rep r esentatives.01, B Ol{USHIN,President Sulphuric Acid Co., Osaka,M ember Ho u se of Repr esentatives.OTANI, K.,Pr esident Yo koh ama Cham ber of Commerce.E xpor ter a n d Im porte r.M ember Up pe r H ouse,S AKAGUCHI, HElB EI,S ilk Me rch an t , Osaka.S A1AKE, SAKUTARO,

Presi den t T okyo El ectric L ightin g Co.Sp ecia l Memb er T okyo Chamber of Commerce.M ember Ho u se of Rep r esentatives.SH IllUSAWA, BARON ElI CHI,Pr esident Dai Ichi Ban k, T okyo.Cha ir ma n of t he Commission.BARONESS SI l IBUSAWA.S HITO, A. ,Di rect or S ilk Condi tioning H ouse, Y okohama .SODA, K. ,B an ke r .Member Y ok ohama Cham be r of Co mmerce.TAKA ISHI, SH INGORO,Secretary Osaka Cha mber of Com merce .TAKATSUJI, NARAZO,D ir ect or K a negaf'ucui Cotton Mill Co., Toky o.TAKI, KU MEJIRO,Manu f a c tur er of Fe r til izer, Ko be.Member H ouse of R epresen tati ves.MADAME T AKl.TAMURA, S HINKICHI,E xporter a nd I mporter, K obe.

MAGAZINEVVATASE, T ORAJIRO ,P roprieto r T okyo Plan t , S eed a nd Im plement Co .

U ~ l O T O M OTOSADA, .P roprietor o f II J ap an Ti mes, " T okyo.In man agemen t of the party :

CONSUL-GENERAL K. lIJIDZUNo, in charge.T . KA':'O, Sec reta ry.M. KA WASAKI, H . K OZUKA, Ass ista n t Sec re tar ies.American Rep resentatives, fr om the Assoc iated Chbers of Commerce of P acific Coast :

J. D. L OWl\{AN,P resident As soci a ted Cha mber s of Commerce of theP acifi c Coas t .P resident Se at t le Chamber of Commerce.C. H. HY DETa coma Cha mbe r of Co mmerce.CHARLES STALLMAN,Sa n Fran cisco Chamb er of Commer ce.O. M. CLARK,Po r t lan d Cha mb er of Commerce.H . Z. OSBORNE,L os Angeles Chamber of Commerce.C. HERBERT MOORE,S pokane Chambe r of Commerce.

Representing the United Sta tes Government :ROGER S . GREENE,Consula r Serv ice , R epr esen ti n g Dep ar tment of S ta te .JACKSON S. ELLIOTT,Rep resenting D ep ar tm en t of Comme rce an d L abor.PROFESSOR ,TOHN P AUL GOOODE,Univer sity of Chi cago, R epresent in g Depa rtm ent ofCom merce a ud La bor .

HON ORARY COMMERCIAL COMMISSIONERS FR OM J APAN.

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323ORCESTER MAGAZ INEEditorial Comment

Contents of this Number

The closin g th emes of the vicennial celebra tion atClark University furnish two of th e leading articles ofthis number . The in teres t man ifested in th e program meof th e Dep artmen t of History , un der th e di recti on ofProf. George H. Bl akeslee, was widespread an d gn at,both in our own ci ty and elsewhere . W e are fortuna tein being abl e to presen t so clea r a summary of th e positions taken by th e distin gu ished sp eakers as that contained in Professor Blakesl ee's article, a nd in prefacing it with so practi cal an application of th e whole matter to the possible action of W orcesters business men.lIou. Chester Holcombe has spent thirty years of hislife in th e ser v ice of th e United States legat ion in China ,being acting' minister durin g' ni ne yea rs of that period,and having th e hon or of negotiating with Korea the firsttreaty into which th at cou nt ry ever entered; and hiswords sh ould ca rry great weight. Mr. Ai ken 's illuminating d iscussion of a central ban k is timely, in view of thepresent drift of sentiment in mon et ar y circles.

Our Japanese VisitorsW orcestcr and her Boar d of Trad e ar e to be peculiarlyhonored and favored by th e approaching visit of theHonorary Commercial Comm issione rs of J apan , in th e

course of th eir tour through th e United States . Landing a t Seattle th e first of September, th ey have beenaccorded mos t rernarkabl e receptions by th e cha mbersof co mme rce of th e P acifi c Coast. who h av e ma de thesedist in guished fo reigners th ei r per sonal guests fo r th eentire journ ey , with the financial assistance of some ofthe large transport at i on co mp anies .At first t heir itin erary fa iled to includ e our city, butaf ter the visi 1, of th e ex cu rsionists from Worcester toSeattle, per sonal assurance wa s g iven fr om Mr . J . D.Lowman, president of th e Seattle Chamber of Com merce an d of the U nited Chambers of th e P acific Coast,tha t if it wer e p ossible, th e " Id eal Industri nl City "sh ould be added t o th e list . I t is no w decid ed that ,barring un foreseen events , th e d elegation will leaveBoston on th ei r spec ia l train a t midn ight, Monday,Oct. 25, rea chin g here an h ou r la ter . Th ey will .br eak fast in their dinin g cars , an d be read y fo r an inspectionof our city by 9 0 'clock. Th ey will be obliged to proceed on th ei r journey westwar d about noon, h ence onlya very limited am ount of sight-seeing can be affordedthem .Th rough th e kindn ess of th e Congregat iona list weare enabled to show t he fa ces of th e prin cipa l membersof th e Commission.OUt' reader s will a lso be in ter ested in some of th especial su bj ec ts of inquiry , to some one of whi ch eachof th ese individuals is specifically assigned : banking,forei gn trade, cotton an d silk trad e, agri culture, stockbrokerage, ship-building , building and cont racting', ca rmanuf acturin g, elec tri c pow er , m unicipal administration (i ncludi ng cha ritable inst itutions ) , ed ucation ,medi cal scie nce, cha mbers of com merce, dry goods a nddep a rtment sto res, machinery, Am er ican t ariff, warehou ses, new spapers an d p ublications, tr ansportationan d city tr affic.

The Boston Chamber of Commerce BanquetW e have called att ention from time to time to the

steady progress of th e consolidation movement amongcommercial bodies a t th e Hub, both becau se in itselfal one considered it is a remarkable transition from someconventional characteristics of Boston, and because inits relations to 'Worcester a nd everv other cit v an d secti on of New En gland it holds ~ e f e n possibilitieswhi ch few as yet r ealize. A joyous celebration of theconsummation of hopes and endeavors came at th e recent banquet in Boston 's la rg-es t auditorium, where thePresiden t of th e nat ion was an hon ored and most acceptable gu est , making' th e happies t possible introductory speech on th e threshold of hi s long tour across thecontinent. I t was a gracious an d significant thing forthe Boston organization to make room at th e crowdedboard f or so many rep rescutatives of other bodi es ; noless than eleven Wo rcester gentlemen, representing th eMerchants Association an d th e Metal Trades Ass ociation, as well as th e Board of 'I'rade, were granted opportuniti es for sharing the festivities. Th e W orcester Magazine, in behal f of its entire constituency, offers it sheartiest eongrntulations a l l t ~ best wish es for th e consta n t g rowt h in number s and power of th is grea t central commercial body of New EnglallC1.The Presidential Tour

J\ t th e time of this wri tinu, P resident Willi am H.'raft is in th e midst of hi s journey to th e northwest an dother' portions of th e national domain. W e believe noappropriation of Cong ress will call forth heartier approval from the people at large , or do more for th ecommon wel fare, th an the sum set apart f or th e tr avelin g expenses of om chief magist rate . A ll who haveseen t he" Ta ft smile " an d f elt th e clasp of that " gladhand " must re joice that th eir pleasurable impressionsare to he so widely ex tended, and that so ma n y thousands of th ei r countrymen are to meet th e Presid ent.He is worth meeting as a manly man ; and it is a lsoworth while to ha ve such a jo u rney ma d e in order toma ke personal an d rea l that intan gible thin g which wecal l" the go vernmen t of th e United States ." In common with al l other int erest ed citizens, we are f oll owinghis speec hes from day to da y. \Ve need no t always agr eewith all his posit ions , no r do we regard his ea rnestefforts to harmonize dissen ting views in his own party,on th e subject of th e tariff, as lik ely to p roduce theeffect which he has a right to desire ; bu t he has foundthe best kind of forum fo r expressing frankly and fullyhis convictions an d policies ; an d n o right-minded mancan f ail to h onor an d respect him therefor . W e ar esure th at he w il l greatly st rengthen his furth er adminis t ra tio n by th e gen iality a nd frankn ess wi th whi ch heha s t ak en th e people into hi s confide nce.The New Tariff Commission

A sma l l - ex ceedingly small-s-crnmb was grudginglyg ranted by Congress instead of th e full loaf wh ichbusiness in terest s almos t unanimously deman ded, inth e shape of a so-called commission of ex perts on thefuture adjustm ents of tariff duti es . The Presiden t issee mingly det ermined to mak e th e most possible out