The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1897-07-25
OFFICE OF THE HERALD,
Los Angeles. July "a. 1897.

Recently gathered statistics show that
the reserves held by the national banks in
the reserve cities is considerably in ex-
cess of the amount required to be held by
law. The reserve required to be held in
those cities is 25 per cent. According to
Bradstreet's, in the central-reserve cities
New York leads as regards the amount
held by the banks in excess of the re-
CURED reserve, whereas Chicago holds
first place as regards the percentage of re-
serve held. In New York city the reserve
held amounted to $153, SOC, 597 or 32.S3 per
cent, while the required percentage, % per
cent, would have amounted to only sl17,-
1864 The Chicago banks held $42, 1888, OIL
or 41.36 per cent, whereas the required re-
serve would have amounted to only S25,-
S32,37S. st. Louis banks held reserves
amounting to ss,7565s7, or 29.SS per cent,
whereas the required percentage would
have amounted to only s7,45O, 514. The re-
serves held in the three central-reserve
cities amounted altogether to $2e5 301, 176,
or Sil3 per cent as compared with re-
CURED reserve of $15o, 800, 467.
In the othe reserve cities the same gen.
eral proportion is maintained. They
record a total of reserves held amounting
to $1S7, 22S771 or S4.72 per cent, as COM
pared with required reserve of $134, 1914
6Si. Some of the cities show a high per-
centage of surplus. Among these is Hous-
ton, which had reserve of So 26 per cent
st. Paul, which had a reserve of 5431 per
cent; Albany, which had a reserve of so. 81
per cent; Washington which had a re-
two 70
neapolis, which nad reserve amounting
to 1881 per cent; New Orleans, with 1886
per cent; Omaha, with 81. so per cent; Louis
vile, with $40 per cent; Lincoln, Neb.,
with 3I2f per cent; Des Moines, with 81 Oh
per cent; st. Joseph, with 1862 per cent,
and Kansas City, with 1915 per cent.
Taking the reserve cities as a whole
they held reserves amounting to 1892 500, :
94S, or 3441 per cent, as compared with a
required reserve of $2S5, 224 1O1. A similar
story is told by the figures about the indi-
vidual states of the United States as a
whole. The percentages for the several
groups of states were as follows: For the
New England states, 27.S0 per cent; for the
eastern states, 2S.S7 per cent; for the
southern states, S2.62 per cent; for the
middle states, "a. 50 per cent; for the west
ern states, 1896 per cent, and for the
Pacific states, 1924 per cent. The country
banks held reserves amounting to 91.52 per
cent. The banks of the country, as a
whole, held reserves amounting to $672,-
252, 1876, or 1914 per cent, as compared with
required reserve of s41S 32S, 6S6. AS will
be seen. the reserve held was, taking the
ptrv WI IN,
excess of that required by law
r + =
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson has re-
ceived report from a veteran horticulture
ist whom he sent recently to investigate
the tea-farming industry carried on at
Summerville, s. c., with a view of ascer-
tanning the prospects of profitable growth
of the tea plant in this country, should 1t
be decided to introduce it here as an in
dustry. The report says the labor questio
is the most important one in the economics
of the business in this country. 1t esti-
mates the minimum cost about eight times
as much to pick one pound of tea in South
Carolina as that paid for the same SER
vice in Asia. The report suggests that ii
seems impracticable to compete with the
cheap Oriental labor, and while some oil
the processes Of development lave beer
delegated to machinery, the picking of the
leaves, requiring discrimination in selec-
ton, has to be done by hand. The problem
has been ingeniously met in this southern
field by establishing a small colored school
where tea picking is included in the cur
riculum, and the young scholars after
some instruction prove good pickers. AS
to the future of tea culture in the United
States and the encouragement Tor It's eX-
tension, the report quotes the promoter OF
the South Carolina tea field as saying that
if he were twenty years younger, he would
plant 500 acres as rapidly as he could pro-
cure the plants, thus indicating his faith
in tea raising as profitable industry. The
report urges the development of knowl-
edge as to tea raising by means of schools
of Instruction.
In the past three years two important
forgers of municipal bonds have beer
promptly exposed and summarily punished
by Imprisonment in states prisons. The
first of these, one Quigley formerly of the
firm of Quigley futile & Hartman, was
detected largely through the agency of the
Daily Bond Buyer, and his firm was broken
up z. Z. Lewis of Urbana, O., who has
Just been sent to states prison for elgh'
wears for similar forgeries aggregatins
$3.50. 900, escaped punishment prompt as
that of Quigley only by becoming fugitive
in Mexico He could not endure exile ano
some months ago voluntarily returned &c
accent punishment. These facts are worth
mention at this time as illustrating the
protection which the law gives to investors
In municipal bonds.-Bond Buyer
r r 4
The copper market is improving rather
in the foreign than domestic demand, the
foreign consumption being in excess of the
enormous consumption of last year. Inc
British and continental requirements ab-
sorb all the copper this country can spare
The aggregate transactions in this direc-
ton during June are estfamted at IRON
Il, 100000 to 20, 900, 600 pounds on basis OF
II and 11S cents. The stocks in this country
and visible supplies throughout the worio
are at such low level that any sudden
increase in consumption would quickly In
fiuence the price. For some time strong
influences have been at work to prevent the
prices from going up engineered by the
spectators.
4 r r
The Bartlett Lumber company has COM
pleted the biggest land deal ever accom-
plished in the eastern states. 1t has pur'
chased outright Mount Washington, the
entire Presidential range and thirty lesser
eminences of the White Mountain group
and in addition some 60 600 acres OF fue
land in the wilds of Northern New Hamp
shire. The company proposes to cut its