Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-11
THE GOLD SUPPLY
Another Effort to Be Made to Sc
cure Accurate Information.
CIRCULARS Sent TO BANKERS
Inquiry Also as to the Instruments
of Credit.
MIR. KELS' PLAN S

An inquiry into the amount Of gold held
| by private and public banking institutions
| throughout the United States will be made
| by Controller Eckes this summer. This is
| not the entire object of the investigation
| which he is preparing to set on foot, but
| 1t is likely to prove one of its most interest
| ing features. Returns of the condition of
| state and private banks and loan and trust
| companies are now obtained from a variety
| of sources and published in the annual re-
| ports of the controller They cover, how
| ever. widely separated dates. and do not
| attempt any classification of the funds on
| nand. except under the general head, Cash
| and cash items These items for banks
| outside the national system reached total
! of $22I,o0O.00O in 1885, distributed 20 the
| amount of sli3,oJ1,914 among state banks,
| $t5,SGl,6S6 for loan and trust companies,
| $9561,7S7 for savings banks and SJ.2.5.916
| for private banks. The national banks
| July IL, 1899, showed cash items amounting
| to about $Ii1,U0o,W0, of which $lI,21G,S3I
was in gold or gold certificates. like pro-
| portion of gold il the holdings of STATE ANA
private banks would yield total of about
$1',oOoOO and with the gold in the treas
| ury at that time wouli show a visible sup
| ply of about SiOTooOo This, with the
! gold IN actual circulation on the Pacific
| coast and IN private ho;.rds would raise the
| sum of $6UD,nJ,oDU, which is estima ed by
| statistical authorities 1t is likely to ap-
pear, however, that the proportion o. gold
! held by state and private banks is consider
ably smaller tnan by national banks. 1t is
some accurate data on this subject which
Controller Eckels hopes to obtain.
To Classify Cash Holdings.
The circulars which he proposes to send
cut ask every bank in the country TO clas-
sly its cash holdings on a fixed date,
which is to be the SETTLING day" nearest
to July in the community where the bank
is located Returns will thus he obtained
for the entire country fer substantially the
same date. The controller, in his letter of
transnittal, expresses the hope, in regard
to banks not conducted under the rational
banking act, that responses will be rs
| general and complete from those who
are connected officially with this Office"
He declares that such courtesy will he
greatly appreciated. and the assurance is
given that the publication of the Informal
ton submitted will be confined entirely TO
general summary of the returns. The
controller believes that the information
sought will be of value to every banker in
solving monetary problems ard determin-
ing Inc strength of the cash reserve of
the country. He intends to exert himself
to make the returns complete as possible
and will follow up the first circular, which
viii be seat out early next month, by a
later letter. directing attention TO the sub
ject and asking the banks not TO neglect it.
Instruments of Credit.
While this ascertanment of the gold in
the banking institutions of the country will
be one Of the most interesting results of
the proposed inquiries, it is not the only
| feature proposed to be dealt with nor per-
haps the most valuable. The controller
proposes to repeat the inquiry which he
made In 1894 of the national banks regard
irS the use of Instruments Of credit and
to extend 1t to the state and private banks
The questions put in 1884 will be varied
somewhat. in order 10 avoid an element of
confusion which then occurred. The banks
were asked al that time to classify their
deposits on a fixed date according to the
occupations of certain patrons engaged in
retail trade. The classification was not
thoroughly understood and the results OBJ
tained showed j great varia ton in the
proportion of credit instruments other than
currency used in the various states
His especial object in 1894 and again this
year has been to determine the proportion
OF credit instruments used in retail trans
actions. The inquiry of 1894 was the first
On large scale dealing with this branch Of
the subject Many previous inquiries have
been made in the United States and other
countries, which have shown the proper ]
ton of credit instruments, paper currency
and coin, included in the entire receipts of
the banks. 1t is well understood that the
proportion of such instruments in whole
sale transactions is much larger than IN
retail transactions. but they have not here
tofore been separated The inquiry of 1894
showed that, even among retail tradesmen
using the national banks. the checks AMI
similar instruments of credit ran as high as
S6 per cent of their total deposits. This
proportion was exceptional however, and
the average was about 80 per cent This
did not, of course, represent the percentage
OF checks used in all retail transactions
since traders receiving currency would na:-
urally employ it in making small pay
ments, while depositing all their checks at
a. o-i1t
also small traders keeping no bank depos-
its.
More Accurate Figures Expected.
The figures this year are expected to be
more comprehensive, more accurate and
probably more uniform in their results than
those obtained in 1894. 1t is the purpose
CT Controller Eckels to submit them to ex-
perts interested in the subject, with view
to deducing some facts which can be work.
ed into comparative tables. Some general
questions will also be asked, not susceptible
of mathematical answers. One of these
questions relates to the custom of the COM
munfty where the bank is located in regard
to paying wages by checks and in regard
to the question whether wages. as a rule
are paid weekly or monthly. The statistics
regarding the kinds of money in the Gus
tcdy Of the various banks can also be work
ed up in such a way to answer several
interesting questions to the distribution
of silver dollars and silver certificates as
well as gold. The results Of the inquiry
will be compiled promptly as possible
after July l and will be embodied in the
next annual report of Controller Eckels to
Congress.
Change of Duties in Sweden.