Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1907-11-30
Financial
A HEALTH-GIvINe PROCESS.


Despite the critical conditions which
nave prevailed in New York financial
circles this week, the American bust.
ness world as a whole will not we
think dissent from the views oX
pressed in such ringing terms by
! President Roosevelt in his speech ut
Nashville Business men who are en-
GagCd In legitimate enterprises and
conducting them in a legitimate man
PER will agree with him that the as.
I'GCrtions maze in high financial circles
IS to his policies being the cause of
the existing troubles are not founded
upon fact. As the President says. ali
that he did was to turn on the light;
he Is not responsible for what the
light shows. And the great mass oil
the American people. we believe. will
further agree with the President that
II buccaneering cannot be checked
and punished without some CONNER
cal depression, then It Is better to
put mp with the depression rather
than allow Chicanery and dishonesty
to continue. For, after all, 1t is a
choice of two evils. We can either
have a setback now and have 1t arise
from health.giving causes, or allow
rotten methods to prevail until they
eliminate In far worse disaster.
So far as the present purgativc and
cleansing movement has gone it has
not disclosed any serious weakness.
Only those institutions whose man.
agcmcnt IL Of the speculative and
gambling type have been affected.
The banks and conservative trust
companies ana other financial organ
izations which have at their head men
of the more solid type are perfectly
| secure.
Even outside Of financial circles the
Morse banks had suffered in reputa.
ton through the extensive outside OPP
Crations of their head, while the big
concern which closed its doors on
Tuesday had for some time been re-
gardcd with suspicion. The mere fact
that the KnickCrbOCkcr Trust Co. had
erected al enormous cost, an clabOr-
ate building solely for It's own &C.
cupancy and on what Is probably the
COstlcst site in New York outside of
the downtown financial district
ste, by the way, which, 1t Is reported,
was sold to the concern by its prcsi
cent at good round prOfit--was in
hsCf sufficient evidence of CXtrav.
aganCC and unwisc management.
But oven shOIld the trouble extend
to other financial institutions In New
York, il would not indicate that the
COuntry's financial cOnGStiOn Is un.
sound. 1t IL in this center that so
many queer financial transactions
have Of late boon brought to light,
and II is here that those who have
sOwn the wind must reap the whirl-
wind. In toe many cases money has
been loaned ON water. instead of on
securities that are really secure: in
other cases loans have been made
against collateral that. If possible, was
OF even less value. Men whose inter.
Csts include enterprises of doubtful
stability have been put into positions
where the opportunity to misinyCst
the funds entrusted to them and to
employ unmarkCtablc securities as
collateral was daily presented.
Furthermore, New York finanCicr8
and specul1tOrs appear 20 have over
looked one important factor, viz, that
the wealth created in other sections
of the country no longer flows into
New lOrk's financial center as 1t for
merly did. As the Economist long
Ego pointed out, the money which Is
made IN the West and in other sec
tiOns now stays largely where II Is
produced. Not only has the West
raid off its mortgages, but II has put
millions into various prosperous en-.
tGrprisos Twelve years ago the banks
Of Kansas held only n little over thir.
~ million dollars Eight years later,
in spite Of the fact that Kansas has
been paying off its mortgages held in
the East, thus sum had risen to one
hundred millions; and three years lat
e. the bank deposits of Kansas had
risen TO one hundred and fifty mil.
lions, while today they are rapidly
mounting toward the two hundred
million mark. In Iowa the bank de-
posts today aggregate three hundred
and fifty millions. And il this has
been done in States that have but
few manufacturing interests, how
must 1t he in Western States where
mills and factories have within the
last few years reached great import.
incc?
The sooner Wall Street realizes the
change in conditions and learns that
Instead Of being the dog II has become
the tail the better it will be for all
concerned Especially Is this con
summation desirable as regards the
honest hnanciers and other business
racn ol New York, who are compelled
10 suffer anxiety, If nothing worse
as the result OF the dishonesty and