Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-01-12
Secretary of the Treasury Replies
to the Resolutions of Con.
gress
Asking For Information in Re
gard to Deposits in National
Banks.
Done to Avoid Business Disturb.
ances by the Piling Up of
Money.

0aSo mas SenC TO congress MS replies
to resolutions recently introduced in
the senate by Mr.. Allen of Nebraska,
and in the house by Mr.. Sulzer of New
York. The text of his reply, which is
an exhaustive exposition of the man.
agement of that branch of the treasury
finances under his administration, re-
lating to national bank repositories,
contains about 5000 words, which is
supplemented by special reports from
department officials relative to special
inquiries in the resolutions, including
copies of over 1000 letters on the SUBJ
ject under consideration. In summing
up his reply to the inquiries the secre-
tary says:
First-That the reason for utilizing
national banks as repositories for pub
lie moneys, as authorized by law, when
the receipts of the treasury were ex.
ceeding expenditures, has been to avoid
disturbance to business which the with
drawal of large sums of money from
active circulation to the treasury vaults
must inevitably cause. The policy thus
pursued by me has been the established
policy of the government for many
years and departure from it under
similar conditions would certainly
cause disastrous results.
Second-Ihe reason for directing the
internal revenue receipts into deposi.
tory banks at this time is that the rev.
enues are now largely exceeding dis.
bursements from month to month, and
seem likely to do SO for an indefinite
time. This condition will be menace
to the business world if assurance were
not given that this surplus would be
diverted from the treasury vaults te
public repositories where, while Sc
cure to the government, it would re.
main available to business use.
Third-The reason for directing al
of the internal revenue receipts to one
depository was that it Is more conven-
lent to first collect the receipts of the
numerous Offices into one place, and t
make the desired distribution from it,
than to give new instructions daily to
113 collectors. The most convenient
agency to effect such distribution is a
bank which is a member Of New York
clearing house.
Fourth-The reason for selecting the
National City bank as such distributing
agent was that at the time the order
was issued, it was one of but two banks
which had offered bonds sufficient to
cover the amount of the daily deposit.
Its bond deposit was $4,000,O0O and
that of the Hanover National bank
81, ,95O,O00. The National CITY bank
was, therefore, the one most naturally
chosen. Of the 6S banks applying for
share Of the deposits, the National
City bank, the Hanover National and
three other applicants for over $4,000
each, are the only ones out of the 6S
constituting group one, which have not
been supplied the full amount for
which they had offered security.
Fifth-The custom house property
was sold to the National City bank as
the highest bidder on July 8, 1899.
Under the terms of the sale it had the
option of paying in cash all of the pur-
chase money at any time, or any par.
it might elect above $75O,0OO, which
sum it was absolutely obliged to pay.
It exercised this option by choosing to
pay $3,2l5,0OO leaving $5O, 1000 yet due
No deed will be executed until full
payment has been made. Tho payment
received was turned into the treasury
by deposit in the National City bank, it
having been the established custom
of the treasury officials, under
the counsel of their legal ad-
visers, supported by decisions of the
supreme court, to consider moneys on
deposit to the credit of the treasurer of
the United States, in designated depos-
itories, as moneys in the treasury. This
deposit was made in depository bank
for the same reason that other deposits
have been made in them: Because to
withdraw the currency into the vaults
Of the treasury, where it was not
needed and could not be utilized, would
have required withdrawal of credit
that was being extended in commercial
circles, and to that extent, disturb
ance of the natural order of business
would have followed. To have required
its payment by the National City bank
to another designated depository, would
have been an ungracious discrimination
without substantially changing the
fact.
"Finally, under my administration of
the treasury department, no discrimin-
alton in favor Of one bank against
another ha' been made. Generally
speaking, when an increase in deposi.
tory banks was desired, all have been
invited to qualify themselves for re-