The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-26
BANKERS SESSIONS CLOSE.
INTERESTING PAPERS READ AND
DISCUSSED BY MEMBERS.

'"The Need of Banking Facilities i'm
RuraI Districts" Treated by Will
liam L. Royal of RichmOnd-Paper
by John w. Fnxon of ChattanOOga.
w. s. Witham of Atlanta Discusses
"The Country MISREPRESENTATION of
Officers for the Year-GeOrge III.
Russell of Detroit Made President.
L.P. Hiuyer Vice President From
Georgia,
Denver, Col, Aug. 25.-The closing ses-
sion of the oath annual convention
of the American Bankers Association
opened with <full attendance. The election
of officers was the first thing on the pro-
gramme.
After prayer, William L. Royal of
Richmond, Va, read a paper on THE
Need of Banking Facilities in Rural
Districts" He said in part:
"The clamor of the day is for more
money It is the backbone of free sill
YER To get more money more than
5000, 900 voters declared in '96 for free sill
YER They were willing to take bad money
to get more money. This seems absurd,
but there never yet was great popular
movement like this without some solid
cause behind it. The fool pooh-poohs the
whole business. The wise man looks for
the cause Let us take the part of the
wise man.
when looking into the case, the first
fact to meet us is the abundance of
money in the cities. But there is none
in the country, whence the clamor comes
People in the cities have plenty of
money, because they use scarcely any.
They do all their business with checks.
and need only enough to go to market
and to pay street car fare.
but in the agricultural districts there
are no banks for the people to check on.
Every one knows this to be a fact. Why
is it? Because the tax of 10 per cent
on the issues of state banks makes any
but national banks impracticable. The
national banks are founded on national
bonds, Of which the farmers have none
and they are anti-rural also in their ma
ture There are no banks in the country
then, for the country people to check
upon, and checks are unavailing to them.
A check is of no use to a cowboy on the
plains. The country people must have
actual cash for their affairs, and yet they
have none. Why is this? Il is because
all of our money is good at its face value
in every part of the United Statesfgo
because OF it's intrinsic value; silver, be-
cause the government practically gives
gold for it, and greenbacks and national
bank notes. because the one is the gov
ernment's note and the other bears its
Endorsement. This being So all of it goes
to the commercial centers and leaves the
country people destitute. We hear every
fan that money is scarce and interest
high in New York because all the money
has been sent West to move the crops OF
grain and South to move the cotton. This
money is not used to buy grain and cot
ton. That is all paid for with exchange.
1t is used principally to pay labor, and,
therefore gets spread out amongst tke
people But an three months time 1t has
all returned to New York, interest is again
normal there, the country districts are
again destitute of money and the same
process must be repeated next year.
"The countryman reads in his newspa-
per that the New Yorker can borrow all
the money he wants for per cent, while
he, with valuable properly can get none
at 10 per cent, and he feels thaS he is
wronged. He is wronged. There
is the seat of free silver
strength. though if the farmer only knew
it. the silver dollar would leave him just
as the greenback does. 1t would be good
for its real value all over the nation and,
as it would become the sole money, it also
would go to the commercial centers. Free
silver would only produce a general liqui-
dation, and then it would leave the farmer
as greenbacks do. The great upheaval for
free silver came then from the country
wit
workmen of the cities that the threat of
free silver threw out of employment. 1t
had its origin in the countryman's unsup-
piled need for money, and we will have to
face il again unless we remove the cause
of the countryman's discomfort"
w S. Wood of the National Bank of
Commerce of Kansas City, Mo, condemned
the IDEAS advanced in Mr. Royals address
from first 10 last.
The banking business, he asserted, was
developed all over the country. In the
East large commerce had led to the es-
tabiishment of banks of large capital,
while in the West smaller commerce had
been satisfied with smaller banks. III the
West banks were too plentiful, compet-
ton had been so excessive that the bank
ing business is not profitable, and, conse-
quently, in many cases, not safe He adj
vocated the branch bank system as the
remedy for the trouble
Mr.. Bonedrake of Kansas disagreed with
Mr. Royals assertion that the country
districts lack banking facilities, especial
ly in the West. He quoted figures to
show the amount of money in the banks
in country banks in Kansas.
John II. Branch, president Of the Mer-
chants National Bank of Richmond, Va,
disagreed with all suggestions. He favor
ed permitting country banks to issue cur
rency on the same terms as city banks
George NJ. Reynolds cashier Of the Com
mercial National Bank of Chicago follow
ed in a paper on Uniform Laws for Hol-
idays, as Well as Days of Grace"
John w Faxon, assistant cashier Of the
First National Bank OF Chattanooga
Tenn. followed in a paper on Banking as
1t Relates TO Industrial Developments"
He said, in part:
How strange Il IS that there are so
mon. nnnuln WIN so nlanN cmrlnma and or