The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-09-23

For some weeks past it has been
noted in business circles that gold has
been rapidly retiring from circulation in
Salt Lake, and for a number of days
the scarcity of it has been very mark
ed. Last week it was reported that the
banks were refusing to pay gold, and
the fact gave rise to the question:
why do the banks of Salt Lake refuse
to pay out gold?' question that has
been propounded very frequently since.
The answer almost invariably heard
has been, they are boarding it, expect
ing gold to go to a premium
To ascertain whether or not the re-
port that the banks refuse to pay gold
was authentic, and if SO, the reason for
it, a Herald reporter interviewed officers
of the principal banks of the city yester-
day. The result of the investigation
proved the report to be true to a GER
tain extent, but that it is due to the
reason so generally ascribed-that it is
being held in anticipation of gold going
to a premium-was denied at all the
DdnhS NlSIItU. vi lie COulIdIy, luc
bank officers seen said that it is to
prevent the people themselves from
drawing gold out and boarding it for
the same reason which they assign to
the banks, and thereby taking the
out of circulation, that they are
declining to pay out gold unless they
are satisfied the request for it is made
for a laudable purpose, and not with a
view to keeping it out of circulation.
They all denied that they are refusing
absolutely to pay gold, but said they
supplied their customers and paid it to
Others when they were satisfied it was
to be used legitimately and not to be
boarded.
Some of the banks said it was be-
cause there was not enough gold de-
posted to enable them to pay gold eX-
cept to customers without taking it
from their reserve funds, which they
all said they carried in gold and al
ways had, and this they did not feel
called upon to do as it was theirs, and
if they drew upon it they would have
to ship gold from California to replace
it if they wished to maintain their re-
serve in gold as they always had done,
and would have to pay the express on
it. Gold is the best money there is, ;"
said one banker land / see no reason,
as long as our reserve is ours, and we
have it in gold, why We should not re-
tain it,
Others said they had plenty of gold
and only refused to pay it out when
they had reason to think it was being
withdrawn for boarding.
GEORGE M. CANNON.
Hon. George M. Cannon, cashier of
the lions Savings bank, speaking for
his bank and the State Bank of Utah,
of which the lions Savings is an adj
junct, said: Whatever may be true
of the other banks, it is not true that
we refuse to pay gold. We always have
plenty, and pay gold or currency,
whichever a person wishes. l don't
think, however, that the other banks
refuse to pay gold to their customers"
w. S. MCCORMICK.
w. S. Mccormick of Mccormick &
Co.'S bank, said: 1T is not true that
we refuse to pay out any gold 1t is
true that we refuse to pay gold to
people whom we have reason to believe
want to hoard it, and keep it out of cir
culation. The trouble is with the peo-
pie, and not with the banks. That is,
people who have limited knowledge
of finances and think gold is going to
a premium. They hold on to every
piece of gold they get. and the result is
we don't get gold enough to make a
general practice of paying it, but we
furnish our customers with gold when
they require it. [ will give you an il
lustration of those people who are talk
ing about the banks not paying gold.
A man came in the other day and writ
ing out a check. asked for gold. He
offered no especial reason for wanting
it, and when we declined to furnish it
he insisted that he had deposited gold.
We looked up his deposit slip and
found it had been a check which he de-
posted. That man simply wanted the
gold to hoard, and that is the case
with nine-tenths of the people who are
asking for it. Declining to pay gold to
that kind of people, l consider very
proper, as it would merely take that
much money out of circulation" Mr..
Mccormick asserted very emphatically
that his bank was not boarding gold,
expecting it to go to a premium.
w. w. Ritter, director in the Deseret
National. said: THE reason the banks
are not paying gold is that they do not
get it to pay. The people are boarding
all the gold they get and none, or very
little of it, comes into the banks. That
is our situa ton. l don't think we aver
age $100 day in gold received in de-
posits, but what does come in we pay
out, and we furnish our customers with
gold when they require it for a specific
purpose.
J. M. STOUTT.
]. NJ. Stout, president of the Utah
National, was very emphatic: It's al
nonsense" said he, this talk about the
banks not paying gold. We pay gold
to anyone who deposited gold and we
furnish our customers with it wher
they have a gold obligation to meet
When a man comes in and says he
deposited gold and we find he did not
we know he don't want gold for legiti
mate purpose and we are pretty apt tc
refuse him. 1t is only to people whc
want to take it out of circulation thai
we refuse gold, for we have an abund
ance of it and we get plenty of it al
the time l will give you an instance
of how the people want to get theil
money into gold to hoard it, A promi-
rent official came in the other day anG
wanted $500 in gold. Because he was q
prominent official, I suppose more thar
for any other reason, we gave it to him
but [ am satisfied he had no use for
the gold and only wanted to put il
away somewhere. If we and all the
rest of the banks allowed that sort OF
thing to go on, it wouldn't be long be
fore we would pay all our gold out and
have our banks full of currency, while
the money would be out of circulation
No, this bank is not boarding gold ex-
pecting it to go to a premium, for we
do not expect any such thing. Those
people who do and are holding their
gold for it will be disappointed.
HARRY T. DUKE.
Harry T. Duke, cashier of Wells-Far-
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