The herald., 1897-04-09
orFIcE OFF THE HERALD,
Los Angeles. Cal, March 3, ISs

Los Angeles, CAL, Marcn o. ioo''
Our National Banking System was
the subject of a recent letter from MI
Stuyvesant Fish to the New YORK Ilmes.
Mr.. Fish Is considered to be peculiarly
qualified to speak on the subject, as ne
Is president of the Illinois Central Rail
road company and vice president of the
National park bank of New York city.
The laws governing the national banks
ara considered defective in the fact that
they make no use of the element OF credit
which he saws. is necessarily the basis
Of banking. The law requiring that
practically $4,000 of government Sc
curities shall be deposited to secure the
privilege of issuing $4,000 in currency
reduces the available resources of a
bank by a quarter of the whole He
objects also to the provision that banks
shall make no new loans when their re-
serves fall below a fixed percentage, on
the ground that If strictly observed In
a financial crisis IL would lead to the
bankruptcy of the banks commercial
depositors, and necessarily to that OF the
bank itself He says, "As far as the
more safe keeping of the money OF de-
positors and its prompt payment on de-
vnand is concerned, the national banking
system has worked better than any
ether system of which the country at
large has had experience. AS system
nf banking for those engaged in busi-
ness. who base their operations on Sc
curing from them lines of discount COM
mensurate with their average deposits,
the system has failed whenever serious
iy tested The feature of the national
banking system which Mr.. Fish evident
~ considers the most defective, lies In
the limit placed upon the extension of
credit, when, in the opinion of the bank
ers. It ia safe to do so. He considers
average deposits as a basis upon which
credit may be safely extended.
When the street assessments have
been paid the street law requires that
contractors shall enter satisfaction with
the superintendent of streets. Follow
Ing is the law:
"The warrant shall be returned to the
superintendent of streets within thirty
days after It's date, with g return en-
dorsed thereon, signed by the contractor,
verified upon OATH stating the nature
and character of the demand, and
whether any of the assessments remain
unpaid. in whole or in part and the
amount thereof Thereupon the super
turn so made in the margin of the rec
ord of the warrant and assessment, and
also the original contract at full length,
in a book to be kept for that purpose in
his office, and shall sign the record"
The fault with this law is that there
Is no penalty If the contractor fails to
enter satisfaction. and he will seldom
do it. The average contractor is con-
tent to accept the amount due, and
rather than take the trouble to remove
the lien, he allows 1t to remain as
cloud on the title of the land assessed.
If the contractor himself does not can
Gel the debt, it never can be removed as
n lien, II the lot owner loses his bill.
he will have to sue the contractor to
prove that he paid him. In two years
the bill would outlaw, 1t Is true. But
how many lawyers would recognize the
statute of limitations in such cases?
A penalty should be put in the law re-
uuiring contractors to cancel liens cre-
ated by street work. and which have
been paid. If they remain uncanceled.
and the property is sold. the seller his
lawyer and real estate agent have to
hunt contractors or bills to remove the
cloud on the title caused by the negli-
: gence OF the street contractor.
The discovery of an extensive bed of
coal by the Mexican Central railway Is
one of the most important things for
the welfare of the republic that ever
happened. Nearly all the coal used at
present is imported either from the
United States or England, and 1t retails
in Mexico all the way from SIG to s24
a ton. Wood is very generally used
throughout Mexico. but for most uses
II is even more expensive than coal.
r. G. Dun & Co.'S monthly review of
trade and prospects for Southern Cali
fornia says that general trade through
out the country is below the volume in
former years of prosperity; each week.
however. brings some improvement. The
event of the month was the collapse OF
the iron ore combination. The decision
of the supreme court against railway
associations has staggered for the time
being both the iron and steel industries.
The large movement of corn continues
t. affect the demand for wheat and an
other drop was recorded in price of that
cereal. Speculation in wool showed in
creased activity, and higher prices ruled.
Eank clearances showed increase over
game month last year and the state of
foreign exchange remained favorable.
Passing to our immediate districts, To-
cally there is perceptible frightening
In trade prospects. Movements in mer-
chandise is larger; business payments
more satisfactory. The establishment
of new manufacturing enterprises is
on the tapis and the forging ahead at a
rapid rate of the gold mining industry.
10th in Southern California and Arizona.
must increase the Importance of Los An
geles as distributing point. The inter-
est in the mining centers of Southern
California increases all the time and
since the sensational strike at Yuma.
Arizona is experiencing a veritable
room.
Good reports have been received from
agricultural and horticultural districts.
Grain never looked better and the honey
crop is reported excellent. A large acre
age Is being put to canaigre in San Ber-
iardino county; beet planting is in full
swing now; about FIVE hundred acres
will be put in for the Chino factory. The
prospects for large crop are good, but
the harvest will be late. The cold
weather Is making a backward fruit
season, but little real damage has been
done to deciduous FRUITS south of Te-
hachepi. Citrus season Is about closed,
prices for lemons very unsatisfactory
The dried fruit market is quiet; prices