The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-12-23
BREIDENTHAL'S BILL
Will Have to Fight in Order to Get
Consideration.


Bank Commissioner Breidenthal's
proposed amendment to the state bank
ing laws for the purpose of creating a
guarantee fund is meeting with opposi-
tion. 1t is claimed that it will work
an injustice to the old-established banks
and those which have built UP a large
business by square dealing, by making
new banks just as safe as old ones,
and thereby establishing confidence in
them. 1t is also urged against the bill
that if a rogue engages in the banking
business he can tell people his bank is
just as safe as the bank OF the man
who is known to be thoroughly honest
because the state Of Kansas is behind
it,
Another objection Is (and this sounds
amusing, tOO,) that it will injure the
national banks by making the state
banks absolutely safe to depositors
while national banks are not so, and
it will therefore have a. tendency to
take away business from the national
banks and give them to state banks.
AS a matter Of fact, no banks are ''ab-
solutely safe"
L. Palenske, representative from Wa
baunSee county, who is a fuSiOniSt and
also president of the Alma National
bank, says:
4 do not believe that the law would
hurt the national banks at all. I have
heard the objection urged among baRk-
erS that the bill would do an injustice
to the honest banker by placing the
Scoundrel and the man without credit
told that out of over $50 members of
the State Bankers association who
have expressed themselves on the sub
ject, 1877 are opposed to the proposed
law. have not talked with any of the
members of the legislature on the sub
ject and do not know what their senti-
ment iS.''
In speaking of these objections today
Bank Commissioner Breidenthal said:
This proposed law is intended to
protect depositOrs and not banks. 1t is
the purpose of the law not to have any
bad banks-they should all be good
laws and that is the very reason I pro-
posed this guarantee fund, in order
to make all banks absolutely safe. The
little bank should be just as safe for the
people who deposit their money in it as
the big bank is. The law will not work
injustice to the old d-estabHshed
banks because it is those very banks
that people most need protection
against. 1t is the old established
bank that have the biggest losses.
Look at the Cross bank at EmpOria and
the Kirby bank at Abilene. Both were
old-estabEshed banks and had the con-
fidence of the people. The evil effects
of a bank failure are far-reaching. I
am told that a result of the EmpOria
and Madison failures cattle have gone
down So per head in the vicinity of the
latter place because the other banks
began to close out their cattle paper as
fast as it came due, compelling the
cattle men to sell for whatever they
could get.
Too many bankers overlook the fact
that they are not handling their own
money, but other peoples. They draw
interest on what they owe. 1t is a
privilege to do a banking business and
not a right. It is the depOSitOrS' money
that 1 ask to be placed in this guaran-
tee fund and not the bankers money.
and I ask for only one-twentieth of the
deposits.
IF the people do not want this law
it is nothing to me, but they ought not
to object when they lose money in a,
bank failure if they do not want to be
protected against such losses"