Evening star., 1901-10-16
MAKE GOOD SHOWING
Business Report Of Bankers at the
Milwaukee Convention.
PAPERS READ BY DELEGATES
Mr.. Herrick's Resolution Regard.
ing the Mckinley Memorials.
AS TION TO AID

| MILWAUKEE,, Wis, October 16-The
trust section of the American Bankers As
| sociation convened in its fifth annual ses-
| sion here today. Howard Green of Mil
waukee welcomed the delegates and Will
f, lam G. Mather of Cleveland, chairman of
! the trust section, responded. Secretary
James r. Branch's report showed balance
on hand of $4,5S7 and a total membership of
1 34S increase during the year of 60
per cent.
| Charles F. Phillips of New York read a
| paper on 1.-The Business in Foreign Coun-
| tries Analogous to That of Trust Com
| panies in the United States
paper entitled Powers of Fiducaries
Outside the State Of Their Appointments"
! was read by Frederick Vierling of St
| Louis.
The session was devoted to business from
| the start. Upon the call of states bankers
from various sections of the country re-
ported in five-mnute speeches the general
condition of business. The general Trend
| of their statements showed that business
was in thoroughly satisfactory condition.
Practical Banking Discussed.
Following the call of states came dis
cussion on practical banking questions.
A. B. Stickney, president of the Chicago
Great Western Railway Company, was then
introduced and read interesting paper
| on THE Medium Of Exchange AID the
Banking Function"
Various resolutions which were introduced
yesterday and referred to the executive
council were adopted by the convention to-
day after being approved by the council.
These included resolutions asking Congress
to repeal the war revenue act relating to
stamps; legislation for the punishment of
anarchists; the return of drafts. checks
etc, where stamps have been redeemed: /:
fndemnifying senders of unsigned certifi-
Gates which may have been stolen.
Chairman Tracy of the committee on uni
form laws recommended an appropriation
for the furtherance of the work in connec-
ton with securing an Improvement in the
laws affecting banking interests. This was
referred to the executive council.
MyrOn T. Herrick's Resolution.
Myron T. Herrick of Cleveland introduced
the following resolution:
whereas an association has been formed
known as the Mckinley Memorial Associa-
ton, for the purpose of erecting suitable
memorials in Canton and Washington for
the purpose of commemorating the life and
deeds of our beloved and martyred Presi-
dent: Therefore be 1t
Resolved that the American Bankers
Association, through it's members here as
sembled, earnestly commend this project
and desire to aid in furthering this project
to a successful elimination, and to this
end request the members of the assocfatio
to receive subscriptions at their respective
banking houses and transmit the funds re-
ceived to Myron T. Herrick, treasurer of
the Mckinley Memorial Association at
Cleveland, Ohio
The resolution was unanimously approv-
ed by the convention and referred to the
executive council
A letter Of regret was read from John
E. Borne, chairman of the executive com
mittee, who is detained at home by the Ill
ness of his wife.
Question of Trust COMPANIES,
II. NJ. Young Of Chicago spoke on behalf
of Arthur Heurtley Of Chicago who was
unable to be present. Mr. Young said, in
part:
Trust company forms should tell their
story plainly, SO plainly that any one of
average intelligence could understand how
they were to be used Through ali the
books there should be run a chain OF en-
tries, so as to make them bind together
1t should never require the services of
chartered accountant to check a proper
system of trust accounting and errors
Should be discovered automatically The
cash securities should never be In the Gus
tody or control of the same clerk that keeps
the books. There should be a double Gus
tody of all securities. and every trust should
have a number by which it is known
through all the records. All papers re-
ferring to these trusts should bear the
same number. to facilitate the work of
tracing them
Mr.. Cages Address.
A feature Of todays session was The ad-
dress delivered by Lyman J. Gage, Secre-
tary of the Treasury Mr.. Gage expressed
the opinion that there is too close an in
tlmacy between the governments finance
and our commercial affairs. but he added
that lit is comfort and satisfaction to
note that at the present moment the in
furious effect of such intimacy appears to
be at minimum" The speaker urged
that the present is a most propitious time
for enacting reasonable reforms in tie cur
rency and banking laws.
I'm every country" said Mr.. Gage,
there is more or less intimate relation
between government fnances-debt and
taxation-and the general commercial or
industrial affairs OF such country. In our
own country that intimacy has been and is
injuriously close. Memory readily recalls
those periods when our whole financial
and industrial progress has been severely
checked while great questions relating to
the condition of the treasury or the stand
ard of money have awaited decision. While
under our system the people constitute the
government, yet in Its organization the
government is a legal entity, separate, dis
tinct. impersonal. Within its proper sphere
of action it is supreme, but it cannot
transcend these limits without harm to it.
self and injury to the people In other
words. there are laws superior to the gov
ernment laws which 1t cannot defy and
escape penalty. They are not written laws,
but they are discoverable these higher
economic laws which have a way Of self
operation, blessing the obedient and ban
ming the violator. OF these all men and all
governments should be afraid and to their
mandates respect should be shown
An Illustration In Point.
Mr.. Gage by way OF illustration, repeated
the substance of conversation he had
had with the financial minister Of South
American republic, whose government en-
couraged banking facilities by depositIng
its surplus funds subject to call, with eight
banks, all Of which have branches These
banks are permitted to issue notes to cir
culate as money. limited. however. in
amount by their relations to capital and
BY the percentage OF specie which they
are required to carry against note is
sues Asked why his government did not
make the banks secure their notes by
piedgtng government bonds, thus eniarg-
ing the market for the government securi-
ties. and lowering the rate of interest on
the public debt. the South American re-
Piled that this apparent advantage might
prove fa1iaeious in the end. We consiier
the bank currency entirely straight TO the
holder as it now is, and to REQUIRE what
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