The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-21
BANKING LAW VAGAR|ES
THEY ARE VIGOROUSLY DISCUSSED
BY PRESIDENT FLYNN, OF
ST. PAUL,
AT wINoNA CONVENTION
Some Amendments Are Suggested,
and He Offers Some Caustic
Comments on the Purpose
of Congress.

NINA MlHI-, June Z0.-(Special. y
Ihe eleventh. annual convention of the
State Bankers association came to a close
| To-Day. This afternoon the member. en-
! Joyed a luncheon at the Hotel Wincna.
! WhlIe the ladies of the party were fur
nlshed carriages and shown over the city.
! Ionlght large number left on the pa cket
quincy for St Louis, low round trip
| rate having been secured.
In addition to the reading of a number
OF papers at the concluding session held
this morning, the principal business was
/ the election of officers, the selection being
| as follows:
President--James c. Hunter, Du!u h.
| ,NTlce Vice President-J. R. Michel Winona.
Treasurer-Georg H. Prince. ST paul
Secretary-Joseph Chapman, Minneap-
oils p
Joseph Jockey, of st. Paul; A. A. Crane.
OF Minneapolis, and O. H Havriu were
elected to fill the vacancies in the execu-
i've council caused by the expiration of
terms Following this the convention ad-
journed. -, -
OF the several papers on the programme
only two were presented,s that of Piof,
] James Paige, of the State university. on
Negotiable instrument Law" and S. r.
FLYNN, president of the Second National
Bank of st. Paul, on 1.-The New Financial
BILL
Mr.. Flynn said in part:
The financial laws Of the United States
have ever been it's shame. The Vagsries
OF the impractical theorist and the trick
& cry OF tn the designing politician permeates
every line. The practical ppIiffcian has
held the finance of the country in the bol.
low of his hand The needs of business
the practical non-partiSan views of prac,
! ucal non-partiSan business men have as
yet had little real influence upon financial
legislation.
True, the Indianapolis convention and
its learned, wise, statesmanlike patriotic
chairman, t III. ii. Hanna, are In some quar-
ters held responsible for the act of
March IA, 1900. But the members of that
convention would not recognize this recent
legislation as the child of their thought
rms new legislation has been generally
accepted as gold measure The sound
money press, sound money advocates
praise it as such. The reputation press
and It's supporters condemn it as such
PerhapS the talking and writing members
OF these opposing forces have not realized
that the house bill failed to become a law.
Ihat bill placed our financial system firm
ly upon a gold basis. But sad to relate
the house after so nobiy endeavoring to
fulf1ll the pledge given the sound money
forces, weakly surrendered to the unsound
element in the senate. And we get what 4?
A gold brick. We asked for true gold and
have been given a salted brick
The bill adopted in conference and en-
acted INTO law does not give US a gold
base, does not effectively establish the
| gold standard 1t transforms United
States notes into permanent gold certif-
Gates, treasury notes into temporary gold
GGertifieates And by Transforming the
1t indirectly provides for the redemption
! of national bank notes in gold by the
! banks But for the rest? All bonds, ex-
cept those issued under the provisions of
| this act-that is, the refunding bonds
! are left on a coin base All COIN
| bonds can be redeemed in silver-will be
| II we nave a silver secretary, and if We
have a gold secretary how can he avoid
Indeed la
be req ired to enable the secretary of the
treasury to redeem any government
ponds, gold or coin, in gold unless there
be sufficient of the yellow metal in the
general fund for the purpose. And the
other forms of money issued or coined ?
What of them? The "other forms of
money excepting of course certificates
ISSUED to individual depositors of gold or
Chted states notes, will consist of ire
deemable silver dollars and subsidiary sill
yer COIN and silver certificates redeema-
bic in irredeemable silver dollars only
There can be but one conclusion Ourlaw
makers Intentionally, with malice afore-
thought have taken long step toward
establishing a silver base Indeed thew
nave actually placed a very large part
or our circulating medium and other OBJ
llgatons of the government upon a sill
Yer basis. Practically all of the smaller
denominations now rest upon silver and
silver alone.
1t may be conceded in defense of the
act that an inferior money can be main
a SUPERIOR
so long as the volume of the inferior
money is not greater than domestic uses
can ABSORB. But the instant domestic de-
mand is insufficient then the parity must
disappear. However, it must again be
insisted that there is but one certain
way to maintain a parity between the
dlfferlng forms of money. They must be
exchangeable, denomination for denomi-
nation.~-
AMENDMENTS TO BANKING LAW.
The amendments to the national bank
ing law incorporated in the act of March
IA, 1900, are of special interest to bank
ers. and it is to be hoped brief discus
sion of their merits will not weary Won
National banks are allowed to increase
their circulation to the par of the bonds
deposited as security.
They can issue an amount of notes. Sc
cured by bonds, equaling their capital
actually paid III.
The Organization of banks having a
capital ca OF less than $5oeOO is. provided for
IN places, the population of which does
not exceed 5000 Inhabitants.
me taxation on circulation, secured by
the new per cent gold bonds provided
Iof IN the act is fixed at Y of per cent
These are the advantages offered to ma
tional banks. 30
by comforting these benefits, real or ap-
parent, the government hopes to ine1Ira
the refunding of all of the IS of 1904 the
As of 1907 and IS of 1908, it desires. inro the
long gold IS, thereby saving very snh
stantiaf amount in interest.
10 make the exchange profitable and
desirable for the banks the tax of per
cent on circulation secured by old bonds
IS retained, thus showing a substantial
discrimination in favor Of Circulation
based on the new Is.
AMENDMENTS ARE SUGGESTED.
II it is in order to propose amendments
10 this new financial law SO soon after
ITS passage it might be well to consider
the following:
Ihat all United States notes and treas
ury notes be retired or convertad 49,
gold certificates ~ iAito