The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-12-07
OVERWHELMED BY DIsTRUsT.

Had the banks and bankers
throughout Missouri. Kansas, Okla
tloma and other places. treated the
National Bank of Commerce of Kan
sas City. Mo-, during this time of
money stringency with the same
courtesy, the same faith and the same
leniency that they request,-nay. de-
mand-of their own creditors. there
is little likelihood that the big institu-
ton would have been compelled to
close its doors on Thursday. 1t
would probably be doing business to-
day on as sound a basis as any other
bank in the country.
Reports from Kansas. Oklahom ma
and Missouri" say the telegraph dis
patches, "are that no bank in those
states will be carried down by the ty-
ing up of its reserve in the National
Bank of Commerce. This is re-
assuring news to the depositors in the
banks in these states who were of the
clientele of the Kansas City institution.
But it is more than that. It tells in
a yelled way of the potent reason for
the suspension of business by the
Bank of Commerce..
Since the beginning of the money
period the banks in the
states mentioned, many of which were
accustomed to keep large sums in re-
serve and on deposit with the Bank of
Commerce, have been insisting on the
return of their funds. That the Bank
of Commerce responded nobly to these
demands is evidenced by it's having
paid out in cash nearly $4,000 of
its deposits aggregating $S5,oo0,00o
which were on the banks books when
the money stringency started. No
other bank throughout the entire land
has paid out SO much money in pro-
portion to its deposits as has this bank
during the money stress.
What would have happened to lots
of other banks long ago had they re-
dueed their deposits by moro than
one-haIf since the beginning of the
money panic? They would have closed
their doors long ago. And the rea-
son they have not paid out their de-
posts is because they have been in
sistent on their clients, including small
Ter banks and bankers withdrawing
minimum sums at time and for the
further reason that the depositors
have been most indulgent in their
faith in the stability. Of these institu-
tons On the other hand the Bank
of Commerce has met the demands,
chiefly of the banks depositing with it
to the extent that none Of them in
Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas,
which were accustomed to have large
accounts with it, had anything but in
sums in its vaults when it
was found necessary to- close the
doors-sums so Insignificant as TO not
affect these banks in the slightest.
This Is a good thing for these banks
and their depositors. But 1t would
seem to come with bad grace for these
banks to now boast of the fact that
they have practically nothing in the
tills of the Bank of Commerce. If
they had left their funds with this in
stitution with the same faith that they
insist their own depositors should
the Bank of Commerce
would still be doing business and
would likely have pulled through. But
the Bank of Commerce was forced by
the other banks to play the part of
the goat and was overwhelmed by
wave IL distrust which was i'll founded
from all reports. Had it been given
the same fair treatment that other
banks have received it would be as
healthy and vigorous as any Of them.