Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-29
CREDIT INSTRUMENTS.
An Interesting Investigation by Con-
troIIer Eckcls.

An Interesting Investigation by Con-
troller Eckcls.
Chas. A. Connant In Globe-Democrat.
The part which checks and other instru-
mems of credit play in retail transactions,
to the exclusion of coin and paper money,
will be tho subject of an inquiry next
month by Controller Eckels. He attempted
such an inquiry last year, and the results
were embodied in his annual report to
Congress- but some of his questions were
not stated so fully as to prevent misun-
derstandinss. and the answers were not so
complete as he hopes to obtain this year.
The essential questions to which he d.
rected attention were the character of pay
clothiers. dealers in furniture and dealers
in fuel.
He asked the national banks to report
what proportion of the deposits made on a
given date by traders in these articles was
In coin, paper money and checks and other
instruments of credit. Confusion arose
from the failure to state that clothiers
were intended to cover dealers in dry
goods, and that returns We're desired from
general stores in the country dealing in all
these classes Of articles Replies were re-
ceived from 2. 1853 national banks out of a
total of 3,774, and it was found that the
use of credit instruments ranged from
fcrty-three per cent in Wyoming to eighty
covered for single day were $5,999,065
throughout the United States, and of this
amount $50 per cent was in checks and
store orders and All per cent in various
kinds of money. The variations in diff
ferent states were SO great as to suggest
the Importance of a more thorough can
vass, and this is what the controller pro-
poses to make this year. He will ask the
national banks to make a count some
date in September Of the amount and char
acter of the deposits by their patrons who
are in the retail trade. He has asked a
number of students of political economy
tc suggest Improvements i'll the form of
questions and new points to be covered.
1t has been suggested that separate re-
turns be asked of deposits of checks and
store orders, as some of the advocates of
banking currency regard the latter as
an evil growing out of the defects of the
present banking system. The controller
has also been asked to request reports as
to the discounts made on store orders or
similar Instruments when brought in for
deposit by regular customers, and especial
ly when brought in to be cashed by the
operatives or laborers to whom they are
iss ued
The inquiry made last year by the con-
troller was the first comprehensive at
tempt to ascertain the proportion of credit
instruments used in retail trade. Most OF
the inquiries of the past on the extension
wholesale transactions through the banks.
These show a much larger use of credit
instruments than retail transactions. Con-
trol!er Knox made such an inquiry in 1881.
and the results showed that out of receipts
of $52,llS 1S5 by the banks on September
Ii of that year ST. per cent was the aver
age proportion of checks and drafts
throughout the country. The proportion
ran as low 50 per cent in Nevada, and
as high as 81 per cent in New Jersey. The
proportion was even larger in the great
Cities averaging ?22 per cent in fifteen
cities outside of New York and 9SS per
cent in New York city.
TIE proportion of checks used at the
London banks at about the same time
was 9I.23 per cent, at the Edinburgh banks
SS.IS Fer cent, and at the country banks
in POI British cities and towns I2.S6 per
cent. The use of checks was at that time
in its infancy in France, and transactions
were generally made in coin or in notes
of the Bank Of France. The returns given
in all the preceding cases include, Of
course. nothing but transactions through
the banks. The proportion of credit ins:ru-
ments to currency would be smaller If the
figures covered the aggregate transactions
Of the country.
There is another form of credit. however
in use by storekeepers where there are no
hanks which obviates to large extent the
use of currency. This resource is book
credits, given by the storekeeper to the
farmer upon The delivery of merchandise
ard set off against sales of goods by the
storekeeper during the year. The control
Ter of the currency has no direct power to
make canvass regarding the use OF book
banking currency regret that it cannot be
done. in order TO show the scarcity OF more
legitimate means of exchange in the coun-
try districts of the south and west,