The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-06-18
MR., O'FERRAL ORATOR
Of The BANKERS
Continued from First Page.)

others are young; time has made no
wrinkles on their brow, but though young
they are fast gathering laurelS, and TAX
ing their places among the sages CT fl
nance.
So far as I remember, no Virginia bank
closed it's doors, opposed its debtors or
wrorged its depositors or stockholders.
They held up the hands not only of those
found in the busy throng of trade, but
the hands Of the farmer, when crops
were poor and prices were low and ferti-
laer bills were due and obligations were
pr.ssing. No Virginia bank took advan-
taSe of it's opportunities to swell its cot
fcrs by grinding the people; no Virginia
hank prostituted its franchise to base
purposes, or, like Shylock. demanded the
last pound of flesh, as it was writ in
the bend.
ALL DRONEs.
NoWz.<I yield to none in my devotion to
the glories of Virginia's remote and recent
past but I have no patience with the Vir-
ginian who IS constantly harpins upon
what his State has been, what she has
produced and what she has done, and who
lends her no aid in her effort to advance
aut! grow. Neither can I SympathiZe
with the disposition of some to fan dying
embers of sectional strife They are an
librarians, fossils, drones and barren fig
trees They are disconnected spirits. dis
cordant elements. They are dead men,
so far as their State is concerned, and
for the public veal it would be better if
they were among monks in monasteriss
or owls in caverns.
The banking bill of Representative Fow-
Ter, seems 20 be the matter of most inter-
est before the convention. A letter was
read from Congressman Fowler regrett-
ing his inability to be present in which
he said:
You will permit ME to express the
hope that the bankers who come frcin
Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia,
will be mindful of what their fathers
enjoyed in the way OF right banking
to follow the example OF their Kansas
brethren and declare that branch bank
ing and credit currency are 'un-American.
unpatriotic and unbusiness!ihe.'
FOWLER BILL APPROVED.
"From the foundation of the govern
ment down to the civil war, If anything
was chara cteristic of those instances OF
American banking which proved sound
and satisfactory in tho highest degree
it was right of not ISSUE and power TO eS-
tablish branches.
Notwithstanding this, the first reso-
luton introduced by President Davis. OF
the First National Bank OF. Albany, Ca,
said of the Fowler bill:
Having carefully considered the pro-
posed banking system contained In said
bin, we regard its radical and revolution
ary character. seeking. as 1t does. TO abol-
ish our present conditions and substitute
those for 4 new and >untried one, as
dangerous experiment.
..'J'hat We do not consider our present
| system perfect, but it should be>perfected
bv necessary legislation. preserving those
features that gave uniformity of value
and security to all bank issues
: he racnl1fiOn will he debated tO-nOr-
row. and the belief among the bankers
tonight is that it will be aGbpted without
change.
'This afternoon the bankers were enter
tanned by the Savannah Yacht Club and
tonight they were given a reception at
| the De Sofa Hotel