, 1907-11-13
A REMEDY.

One Of the most conservative papers
In the United States and also N OF
the best edited papers is the Saturday
Evening Post, the paper which claims
direct succession from Benjamin
Franklin. 1t has a splendid editorial
page each week and makes comment
upon matters of current interest. In
% speaking OF the financial furry 1t sug
r gests the following remedy.
What the country most needs, in
such a situation as developed in Wall
street the latter part of October, Is just
a word of unimpeachable authority.
Whoever, In that disturbance, withdrew
a bank deposit to hoard 1t, picked 1t
. the %underpinning OF the house in which
we all live. Only the people have
money. It., Is their twelve thousand
millions on deposit in the banks that
carries on the commerce of the coun
try. II wage-earners, salaried men,
proprietors of small business should
concertedly withdraw their bank lie
posits they would thereby automatical.
ly throw themselves out of employ
ment n into bankruptcy. No one de.
liberately pulls down the roof over his
head. There could have been no rea.
sonable doubt OF the soundness OF
practically all the banks. Yet there
were some activities in the r%oof-pulling
line because a considerable number OF
persons were, for the moment, unrea
sonably frightened. What the country
then needed was simply a convincing
word of assurance; somebody wno
would be believed, who could say,
Don't shut off the water supply be-
cause a fire alarm has been turned
in; let your deposits alone, and you
will certainly not be hurt" A govern
ment bank, probably, could say this
word convincingly. The Wall stree,
disturbance strengthens the argument
for such an Institution"
A government bank would unQues,
tionably strengthen the financial sys,
q tenn of the United States. American
finances have been in more or less OF
a chaotic state since Andrew Jackson
killed the United States bank. Post.
3 master General Meyer recommends
postal savings banks as a remedy, b.,
lieving that they would BIO a means OF
keeping money in circulation during
panicky times. He maintains that the
people would deposit their money In
postal banks and that the povernmen,
could then mako deposits from tbeae
funds In the national banks, and thence
the money would get into general cir.
culat,on ,~oio
There Is just one more step that
{ congress might take in the matter OF
strensthening the backbone of thu
people thai would unauestionablv have
a tendency to stop all nanics and that
is 70 pass an act leyyiny a tax upon all
national banks to nav depositors In
banks that fail. The R~enublican has
referred to this matter several, times
before and each wear seams tn brino
forth more striking arguments in IN.
yor of the plan. Not many months az,
a Wyoming hank nresident- fy,red tba
matter out ana found that n tax of one.
twentieth of one ner cent would nav
all losses to depositors with sucn
a law there woula he no runs nm banks
because there would ha M fear os loss
Notb,np conld occasion n lose IN , de
nos,tor hut tho aetna, foi,,rs os tba
government itse,f All tho mon.,, now
in hiding woula come ont and the ma.
tiona, hanks would he inst as good as
a government nostal savings hank or
, yreat Government h,nr Of yosn,r,
ton
For n time thor. might h. q sbif.
inc os funds from state hanks to tho
Guaranteed ~nat,onal hanks hnt in :,
short time tho States brougb leyisla.
tive enactment could r,ace III. STATE
hanks an tba son,, We've &c ~. NJ,
t;ona, hanks pard;n tbeSe ,.g;sl,.
tive a,.ctmer+s rtato honLs oorid forr,
association, 70 ,uor,pto. ,b.,r a.ros
,tors .g,inst Ioss
In n Iettor 70 ,ba .ditor 90 rh. %
nph,,cor , wyor;ny hart nra,iaort
savs. 81 am afr,i5 III. eos. 10 coin.
70 Zoo, -, m. nras.r. sy,,an, ;n a.
dor :. o. ,on,a loui.,.tian TO - lii
oome In th, f,rm Of q hin 70 ar,r,ntaa
d.rosi,s :. viii ~ an .;n,t ~ -
49,. ,H,u -. -.
what little commence the people nave