Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-10-28
BANK COMMISSIONERS.
Their Eighth Annual Report-what they
Say About Silver.


Their Eighth Annual Repor.-What they
Say About Silver.
The report of the Bank Commissioners
of the State of California VIM. F. White
w. W. Moreland and A. W. Potts, has just
been received from the hands of the State
Printer. 1t is an exhaustive and complete
statement of the condition of every bank
in the State, report of 40 pages, neatly
printed and handsomely bound.
Their report shows that twenty-five
savings banks in the State under their
charge hold in their keeping $63, 00O, 600
almost wholly the hard earnings of the
working people, while the deposits in the
seventy four commercial banks reach only
about $40, 100000. The present law re-
quires that each bank shall be examined
twice year. This the Commission finds
TO be utterly impossible; for in some cases
where the banks do a large business il
takes whole week to critically examine
all the details of the business. They give
detailed description of how they conduct
an examination.
SECURITY.
They say: We discourage the leaning OF
money to Touring mills, lumber mills, and
all sorts of enterprises, such as fruit can
ming corporations, and the like, without de-
handing ample security for the money
loaned. And it is a curious fact, that so
far, our advice in this respect, when disre-
garded, has always resulted in loss to the
bank, sometimes sweeping away its whole
reserve, and in some instances even impair
ing its capital IS well. We do all we can 10
discourage and prevent the officers and di-
rectors of banks from loaning the bank s
money to each other. The practice is bad
in itself and liable to abuse that is almost
criminal. We sometimes find officers and
directors of bank partners in some extern
sive enterprise of great apparent usefulness
to the locality in which the bank is doing
business, influencing the Board of Directors
of the bank to make large loans to this
favorite enterprise, without requiring Sc
curity, that is absolutely and beyond all
doubt good. This is all wrong, and gener-
ally ends in disaster to the bank. Nine out
of every ten banks that fail, do so from
abuses in this direction, and the stock
holders of bank cannot be too watchful
of the action of their officers and directors
in this respect.
CURRENCY.
1t may be of interest to state that in our
examinations, as rule we now find much
more currency than formerly in the banks
This is particularly so in the southern
counties of the State. The marked change
in this respect is undoubtedly owing to a
large Eastern emigration that for the last
four years has been flowing into those
counties.
The prejudice in California against the
use of paper money is still very strong, but
undoubtedly modified.
SILVER
The silver standard dollar seems every
day to increase in popularity in our State.
The country banks find the undated de-
mand for it hard to meet. Most of them
receive from one to three thousand dol
lars week from the Sub-Treasury in San
Francisco, the expense of the transfer being
paid by the General Government. This
rapidly goes into circulation and disappears,
no one knows where, as it never returns to
the banks. It seems to remain among the
people, as a necessary medium of trade
We find by our investigation on this point,
that it does not return to the city through
the agencies of the country merchant, for
they do not pay their bills in San Francisco
in silver. They seldom send a dollar of
silver to the city. either to liquidate their
debts or purchase new goods. All this is
done by drafts on the city banks, or with
gold and currency sent through the post
office or express. The only two avenues
by which the silver dollar seems to find its
way back to the city, is through the settle
ments made by the country postoffices with
the main postoffice in San Francisco and
the settlements made with various railroad
stations throughout the State and the head
office in San Francisco. But through these
avenues cannot be traced one-ffth of the
amount constantly streaming into the in
terror of the State through the local coun-
try banks.
There never was proposition so I'M
animously unpopular with the people of
California as that proposing to stop the
coinage of the silver dollar.
The fight so bitterly waged by Eastern
money dealers against silver, has had the
effect in our State of keeping our large city
banks in constant state of alarm, lest
they might be caught with deprecated
currency in their vaults. The consequence
is, that though disappearing of this anti
silver crusade, they are yet forced, as it
were, to take part in it in a quiet way, by
avoiding silver as much as it possible. 1t
seems plain that if the anti-silver war in
the Eastern States was decidedly discour-
aged by our Government it would soon
further trouble in the continued coinage OF
silver.
CLUNIE OPERA HousE.-The next at
traction at this popular place of amusement
will be the favorite actress. Miss Nellie
Boyd, supported by an excellent company
commencing next Monday evening, and
continuing one week The sensational
melodrama, The Unknown will he pro-
duced on the first two nights, with beauti-
ful scenic and mechanical effects, including
representation of the Brooklyn bridge,
New York city illuminated, an excursion
steamer. etc. Wednesday evening, the in
teresting society drama, >" A Case for Di-
vorce," will be given. The prices of adj
mission will be 25, so and rs cents.
BEAN-BAKE AND DANcE.-Clara Barton
Loyal Ladies' League, auxiliary to the
Grand Army of the Republic, will have a
novel entertainment in the form of bean
bake and dance at Changers Hall this even
ing. The Hussar Band will furnish music
for the occasion. The Loyal League is
composed of the mothers, wives, daughters
and sisters of soldiers of the late war, and
its mission is to relieve the wants of
soldiers and their families when they may
be found in need of assistance. 1t is a new
organization in California, Clara Barton
being the second League formed here, but
ii is growing very rapidly.
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SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.
VIM. B. Miller returned yesterday morning
!, 81. st,NE