Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-11-12
FInQnCiezs
Discuss Banks
Congressman FoOss Cshicied Bankess Freel, Who ZIP
pauded Him but Dlssented From Hm--M Matter Of
Cussency Reform Er-CompfroAer Daues Says is
BeNes 10 Take One Step al a Tme--H. Whites Vices.

| the great industrial concerns whose
| headquarters are In the central cities,
| where would exist the chief Offices Of
! the central banks, under branch
banking system?
"Our great western. middle and
southern states, are as yet undeveoped.
| And the man who develops country Is
the very one whose credit is to be cur
tailed and his chance 10 found or in
crease business, injured by the branch
banking system. In this country, we
are leading the world, commercially, be-
causes under our lay and government,
we have made II our special effort TO
protect the rights, interests and oppor-
tunties Of the individual and of the
small enterprise Branch banking may
come In times when still further the
great process Of industrial centrallza-
ton and national development shall
have continued, but II is not time for
II now and from the standpoint of pub
lie policy as bankers. and as citizens,
we should oppose II at the present
time.
What we should do now is to con-
solidate our whole efforts behind some
measure for an elastic circulation the
need Of which we all feel
Horace White, editor OF the Evening
Post Of New York, spoke as follows;
EDITOR WHITES ADDRESS.
Let me explain what we mean by
assets currency. This IL phrase pc
culiar to our own country. Properly
speaking, all bank notes are assets
currency, since their goodness depends
upon the assets of the issuing bank.
This Is true of our own national bank
notes, since the bonds deposited in the
treasury as security for them are as
sets OF the issuing bank. So the dis
tinctlve feature Of assets currency, as
We use the term. is that the bank itself
holds all the assets on which the good
ness of the notes depends. instead of
depositing some part Of them In the
public treasury. The reason for
lodging portion OF them in
the treasury is TO guard
against loss through bad Investment,
fraudulent management, or robbery.
These banking risks exist always and
everywhere. Yet assets currency pre-
walls In all civilized countries except
the United States and that part of
Great Britain called England. II exists
in Scotland and Ireland, as well as on
the continent of Europe, Bank notes
secured by assets not under the control
of the issuing bank are the very rare
exception TO general rule"
Mr.. White devoted much of his adj
dress to discussion of the Fowler bill,
embodying the principle of assets cur
rency which was before Congress last
winter tt
Assets currency" said Mr.. White,
ought TO- be better than, government
notes because the assets of the banks
consist OF the circulating properties OF
the country. IL these assets are not
good, nothing is good. If they were
not good, the government could not
long exist The assets of the bank
are partly cash and partly claims upon
the producers and holders of the coun-
try's wealth of every description, The
government has nothing but the right
TO tax and this Is effectual only In so
far as the producing power OF the coun-
try in which the capital and deposits of
the banks are invested, is profitably
employed.
zone feature of the Indianapolis plan
Of assets currency which has not at
tracted the attention that 1t deserves,
provides that the government shall
hold five per cent redemption fund
for all bank notes as now; also
five per cent guarantee fund, with the
power to replenish II by taxation when
needful; also a paramount lien on the
assets OF failed banks and on the share
holders liability for the redemption OF
the notes Of such banks Having sup
piled the government In this way with
the means for redemption Of bank
notes, II provides that the treasury
shall receive az par all such notes In
payments 10 itself except for duties on
imports, and that II shall not pay them
TO its own creditors without their con-
sent. Under this nlan, therefore the
note holder can lose nothing because
he can use the notes In payment to
the GOVERNMENT and the government
cannot lose, because Il is armed with
the power 10 recoup itself