The herald., 1897-04-21
OFFICE OF THE HERALD.
LOS ANGELES. April 20.

LOS ANCfELES, April zv'
The election of Mr.. John J. Valentine,
president of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s bank,
as president of the California Bankers
association by that body at the conven-
tion. meeting yesterday. was well de-
served compliment to man whose long
and honored career has earned him the
respect and admiration of his asso-
ciates, and Of the general public.
In most of the cases of bank failures
recently Investigated by committee
of the Minnesota legislature there were
culpable negligence and disregard of
law found on the part of-the directors.
Something of this kind of dereliction.
says the American Banker, is discovered
almost in every instance of bank fall
IRE. and It has made the public eager to
tighten the grip Of law and fasten the
burdens of supervision upon the banks.
The good suffer thereby for the wrong
doing of their neighbors But while the
committee found much that reflected
upon the officers of the institutions in
question, It did not lose its head and
recommend a dose of additional legisla-
ton. II did not wish 1t to be imagined
that its criticism could be applied to the
banking interests of the state in gen.
eral It appreciated the fact that mere
legislation does not make men law
abiding citizens. The legislature, also,
in adopting certain amendments to the
banking act, felt itself restrained by
common sense. Propositions limiting
the indebtedness of officers to the banks
were under consideration, but the in
expediency OF disqualifying such per-
sons was appreciated 1t Is not wise to
limit loans to officers of banks merely
because in certain cases such borrow
ers have abused their privileges. Bank
ers who are guided by correct principles,
and we believe most bankers are, will
not take advantage of their control over
the bank funds to invest them in lines
denied to other borrowers.
Henry Clews, in his latest special bull
letin, gives his reasons for believing
that there has come about most i'm
portant amelioration of a set of condi-
tions which have been holding finan-
cial interests in paralyzing suspense tpr
some months past. So far as these con-
ditions have been domestic-relating
for instance, to silver and currency re-
form-these ameliorations, he says.
have had a direct tendency to elevate
our credit abroad; but that result has
failed to affect the European demand
for our investments, because all the
foreign bourses have been alarmed by
the events in Eastern Europe. The re-
moval of this latter cause of disturbance
would therefore be calculated to bring
about a revival of our exports of securi-
ties. Taking a broad view of the out
look. there is thus reason to hope that
the conditions influencing financial OPP
erations are entering upon more nor
NAL and hopeful phase. After such
long run of severe experiences as we
have passed through, a pessimistic
habit Of feeling becomes established
which prevents the approach of better
conditions from being distinctly fore-
seen or fully appreciated; and, for that
reason, the situation of today and the
tendencies reaching into The future are
far from being credited with all the
promise that lies In them. For my own
part. he concludes. have every conf
dence that we are now squarely on the
way towards a solid recovery and a
great revival in all our national inter-
ests. The ease in money. the abund-
ance of our stock of gold. the rising drift
of credit. and the gradual recovery in
the commercial markets are working to-
gether to give effect to the hopeful in
nuences above cited.
In the last year $11s. ,42o worth OF
property in the United States went up
In smoke.
The Examiner calls attention to the
fact that such an amount saved would
PUT the government In easy financial cir
cumstances. It says: We are terrified
when we lose fifty million dollars in gold
in year in exchange for something
else; yet here is drain more than twice
as great. with no return at all. and we
think nothing of It, And vast as this
loss Is. II is much less than in former
years. In 1895 we lost one hundred and
forty-two million dollars; in 1894, one
hundred and forty millions; In 1893, one
hundred and sixty-eight millions, and
in 1899, one hundred and fifty-two mil
lions. In the twenty-five years just
ended 81. 1886. .237, oil of our national wealth
has been burned. That is more than
twice as much as our national bonded
debt. 1t is more than the aggregate net
public debts Of the whole country-na-
tional. state. county and municipal COM
bined. If we had it back we could pay
Off all our creditors with 1t and start
with a clean slate. These twenty-five
years have all come since the great fires
Of Chicago and Boston; they include no
confiagration comparable in magnitude
to either of them, but their aggregate
loss foots up over seven times as much
~ the total losses in both those disae.
ters combined. We might have burned
eleven cities like Chicago in 1871 without
reaching the sum Of destruction achiev-
ed by the unnoticed little fires Of the past
twenty-five years.
The growth Of f1re-proof construction
and Improvement in fire fighting facili-
ties account for the decline in the past
four years. Solidly built towns afford
the best protection against the excessive
IRE loss.
The recent decision by Judge York.
giving judgment for the defendant in a
suit brought by firm which had not
/ compiled with the statute in ding GER
tifcate Of co-partnership ID in accord-
ance with section 2466 of the Civil code
which provides that every partnership
transacting business in this state under
Z fictitious name. or a designation not
showing the named Of the persons inter-
ested as partners in such business. musr
hle with the clerk of the county, in which
Its principal place of busin ess is eitua tad