The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-19

4 resolution in opposition 10 the
bankrupt law went through without a
word of discussion. but with ripple Of
applause and rising vote. The bank
ers are tired of the law, which, they
consider. operates to the great disad-
vantage of the business world.
sat on the Fowler Bill.
Mr.. ]. S. Davis of Albany was the
author of the resolutions condemning
the Fowler currency bill, which were
introduced the day before in the tri-
state convention. a convention that
would have had four states represented
if South Carolina had had a state bank
ers' association. This drastic docu-
ment was offered before the assocla-
ton. and. as predicted in the Morning
News, it was adopted. Only one bank
er, Mr.. Reynolds, declared for it, say
ing that he wanted to go on record as
being one man in Georgia. who concur
red in the bill. Its branch banking
feature was the only one of which he
expressed doubt. Mr.. John A Davis
declared that he opposed the bill in its
every feature.
Mi. j. ). Davis spoke in part as fol-
lows:
The necessity for currency reform
in the United States would seem great
if one should judge by the almost uni
1t forms a large part of the proceed
ings of nearly every bankers conven-
ton in the county But views as to the
necessary changes in what seems to
us to be an admirable system, with
some minor defects, are widely diver
gent.
ut is always dangerous to tamper
with a legal status to which CONNER
cial and other business interests of the
country have adjusted themselves. His
tory bristles with innumera-
bic instances in confirmation
of this truism, but the panic of 1887,
following the failure to renew the
charter of the United States bank is
a notable and convincing substantial
ton. Therefore the conservatism of the
country has expressed itself that a
permanent bad law is better than the
uncertainty of good laws constantly
changing.
THE Branch Bank System proposed
is not in accord with the genius of our
institutions. Besides the constitutional
incongruity, the economic phase is of
questionable expediency. Our people
are opposed to trusts or anything that
holds the suggestion of monopoly, and
the temper of the people must always
be reckoned as a factor in the sum of
results to any proposed measure.
Asset currency to a limited amount
proportional carefully to the capital
stock of a bank, could be so safeguard
ed as to inspire confidence, but the
scheme of the Fowler bill seems to us
to invite speculation in banking. Ag-
gregations of traders would be encour-
aged by its liberal provisions to organ
ize into corporations to further selfish
schemes and to swing wild enterprises,
thus augmenting the dangers of the
business situation. 1t seems to me that
the bill would jeopardize the present
uniformity and fiuency of our curren-
cy. Our system does not provide as
flexible a currency as the exigencies
of crises require, but whatever legal
expedient is devised to secure this, the
government should stand sponsor for
the issue.
What we most need is not an as
set currency, to which there must
always attach more or less suspicion
but an emergency currency that will
relieve the strain of stringency in
times of panic. The volume of cur
rency to-day is ample for ordinary
times and conditions. For while con-
fidence runs highest the volume of
currency can be at minimum, but
must currency be at a maximum.
Ninety-five per cent. of the business
of the country is transacted on credit
in usual times, but in panics the vol
ume of currency required is abnor
mally large, unfortunately, to a less
degree, to be sure, than with the gen
eral public, distrust in times of string
ency exists among banks themselves,
and the currency scheme of this bill
wiz increase this distrust by the pro-
vision giving first heir to the govern
ment on all assets of the banks to
protect it in guaranteeing its issue.
I very much fear that if in panic
times we should have a few sporadic
failures of banks it would become ep-
idemic, and they would pop as fire
crackers at Christmas time"
Wants No More Grace.
From Supt Otis Ashmore of the pub
lie schools of Chatham county, was
received the following appeal for the
abandonment of grace on time paper:
I'm behalf of the teachers and the
children of the state of Georgia, l de-
sire to ask your attention to the advis-
ability of having abolished days of
grace in the banking business of our
state.
Whatever reason there once may
have been for the use of this custom, it
is certain that no good reason now eX-
lists for it's continuance. Indeed, the
changes and Improvements in business
transactions have rendered days of
grace not only useless, but absolutely
detrimental. The uselessness and cum
bersomeness of this custom is perfect
ly clear to every banker and business
man, and it should no longer be per-
mitted to compHcate commercial trans
actions.
But it is more in the immediate in
terest of the schools that we are in
terested. The complicated problems to
which this useless custom gives rise
in teaching children arithmetic are
we'll known to every teacher and
much valuable time and patient labor
are expended in getting children to
understand them.
Recognizing that this custom is now
useless and a hinderance in the bust
ness world, three-ifths of the states
in the Union have already abolished it.
The states that have already abolished
days of grace are as follows: Colorado
Connecticut, District of Columbia
Florida, Maryland, Massachu-
sets, New York. North Caro-
lima, North Dakota, Oregon
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee
Utah Virginia, Washington. Wiscon-
sin, California, Delaware, Idaho. I'LL
nois, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire
New Jersey, Ohio. Vermont, West Vir-
ginia.
THE first seventeen have adopted
the Negotiable Instruments Law In
! full, which itself abolishes days Oh
grace, with the exception of North Car
DINA, which struck off the clause abol-
| ishing DAYS of grace. The last clever
| have abolished days of grace on tilnf