One of the results of the Pan American Conference at Rio Janeiro in the summer of 1906 has been a great increase in the activity and usefulness of the International Bureau of American Republics.  That institution, which includes all the American Republics in its membership and brings all their representatives together, is doing a really valuable work in informing the people of the United States about the other Republics and in making the United States known to them.  Its action is now limited by appropriations determined when it was doing a work on a much smaller scale and rendering much less valuable service.  I recommend that the contribution of this Government to the expenses of the Bureau be made commensurate with its increased work.

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State of the Union Address
Theodore Roosevelt
December 8, 1908

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

Finances.

The financial standing of the Nation at the present time is excellent, and the financial management of the Nation’s interests by the Government during the last seven years has shown the most satisfactory results.  But our currency system is imperfect, and it is earnestly to be hoped that the Currency Commission will be able to propose a thoroughly good system which will do away with the existing defects.

During the period from July 1, 1901, to September 30, 1908, there was an increase in the amount of money in circulation of $902,991,399.  The increase in the per capita during this period was $7.06.  Within this time there were several occasions when it was necessary for the Treasury Department to come to the relief of the money market by purchases or redemptions of United States bonds; by increasing deposits in national banks; by stimulating additional issues of national bank notes, and by facilitating importations from abroad of gold.  Our imperfect currency system has made these proceedings necessary, and they were effective until the monetary disturbance in the fall of 1907 immensely increased the difficulty of ordinary methods of relief.  By the middle of November the available working balance in the Treasury had been reduced to approximately $5,000,000.  Clearing house associations throughout the country had been obliged to resort to the expedient of issuing clearing house certificates, to be used as money.  In this emergency it was determined to invite subscriptions for $50,000,000 Panama Canal bonds, and $100,000,000 three per cent certificates of indebtedness authorized by the act of June 13, 1898.  It was proposed to re-deposit in the national banks the proceeds of these issues, and to permit their use as a basis for additional circulating notes of national banks.  The moral effect of this procedure was so great that it was necessary to issue only $24,631,980 of the Panama Canal bonds and $15,436,500 of the certificates of indebtedness.