The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-05-22


good many times and 1 will help YOU"
SO we went to work. The first thing /
did was to invite Father Elder down to
dinner with me, and in the quiet hour
after dinner oyer his cigar q dom SMOKEY
We discussed the banking situation and
the numerous failures that were taking
place, and l demonstrated to him that
the fact was that there was no law reg
ulating the banks and it was a disgrace
10 the state of Kansas. and that now
the best and most popular thing the re-
formers could do would be to reform the
banking laws of the state. Mr. Elder
assured me that If the bill was fair one
he would help it through. After some
cutting out of the more drastic items OF
the bill twas passed and became the law
of 1891
1t was not perfect but 1 think more OF
it than 1 do of the present yoluminous
law, and the bankers of Kansas owe
debt of gratitude to the ex-speaker and
the lamented Wood.
Hon. c. F. johnson of Oskaloosa was
the first bank commissioner, and he did
his work well. Following him came that
very able man, Hon. John w. Briedenthal
in very friendly remembrance, as his
administration carried us through one
of the most central periods for our banks
Mr. Briedenthal was honorable. broad
gagged and high minded, and did his
best to help the banks over the rapids
and into peaceful waters. 1t do not know
of single instance of oppression, or one
in which he did not do all that was pos
sible to be done in the aid Of the banks.
Following him we have Hon. Morton Al
baugh, who has conducted the Office with
great credit and honor TO himself. The
times have been propitious, prosperity
general, bank failures few, and those
that did OCCUR were simply loots which
no vigilance on the part of the commits
sioner could have forseen or prevented.
OF the present what can l say that is
not already familiar to you all. The
accumulation of liquid assets has reached
an enormous sum and in New York city
the amount is estimated at over S350, &C.,,
600. and this is being added to yearly by
the good profits and dividends earned by
our factories, railroads and other indus
tries. In older states the absorption of
capital does not today equal the increase
thereof. Hence the owners of this in
crement are bidding for good bonds and
our investors are exploiting Mexico, Cuba,
street railways in London and other for
eign investments and bond propositions
in Japan and Russia The healthful de-
cision of the United States supreme court
in the Northern Securities case amounts
to financial declaration OF independence,
and we hope will knock out all the
great and dangerous railroad combina-
tions. The promise now is, win our large
volume of currency, each dollar of which
is as good as the worlds best dollar,
that prosperity will remain with us until
some new craze in the speculative line
developes and affects credit, when we
may have a set back such as we had last
fall not necessarily a serious one as our
currency and financial system are in har-
mony with the finances of the world, and
the worlds pocketbook and money for
borrowing or purchasing of our commod-
tiles, is ours The world must have our
foods and cotton.
PROPHETICALLY.
Now for the future Well, Johns my
name, but l am not worthy to loose the
latchet of the shoes of the seer OF Pat
L
and 1 will. by saying that the future of
the banks must be on par with the
future of the country at large and of our
state in particular. Our banks can only
be prosperous when the communities in
which they are located are prosperous |
The banks can be and are, when properly |
conducted, the conservators of the best |
interests of the community. The bank. |
in my estimation, is nothing more than |
the publics pocketbook, and while safety |
should always be the principal thought, |
yet the business of bank ought TO be /
conducted on broad, conservative |
basis. A banker can dwarf the legitimate |
business of his town. Successfully con- |
Quoted business builds towns. Bankers |
can help
With the broad. fertile, sun-kissed ter |
ritory embraced by the state of Kansas, |
with a soil and a climate that will pro- |
duce anything from cotton to wheat, let |
the pillow but tickle the bosom of mother |
earth and we have a one hundred mill |
Ian bushel crop OF wheat and one hun |
bred and ffty-five million bushels of |
corn. Our agricultural products for 1903 |
are valued at SOB .9S4.5OS. and we are in
creasing the VOLUME yearly. We must |
add to this our minerals and mineral oil. |
b, ,.o can predict the value of these new
er developments? Kansas cannot fail to |
become a rich, populous state. with the /
result that cur banks in less than twenty /
years from now will be doubled in cap
ital and have deposits perhaps three or
four times as great as at present. We
have a remarkable population of moral,
energetic, intelligent and untiring peo-