Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-03-06

ioducu lue luOISy VI Ill0 SCOChuOIueTS.
The real profit of banking comes from
the loan of depositors' money and it
is little heartless in you to look at
the question entirely from the stand
point of those who get the benefit of
the deposits.
Your second argument is, that the
guarantee of deposits would lead to
reckless banking and that the bust
ness communities would protest
against the guarantee system on the
ground that it would make all banks
insecure and drive the better class of
people out of the banking business.
THAT, of course, is a prophecy, and
q prophecy is more difficult to answer
than an argument based upon history.
Insofar as experience teaches any
thing, it teaches just the contrary. A
guarantee law has been passed in
Oklahoma, and the result is that the
bankers of southern Kansas have
Joined with the depositors in asking
for a special session of the legislature
in Kansas to consider guarantee sys-
tenn, and they have done so because
they fear that deposits will be with.
drawn from Kansas and carried into
Oklahoma. Instead of driving men
out of the banking business, the Okla
-homa law has led number of ma
tional bankers to take steps toward
changing their banks into state banks
in order to take advantage of the
cfofn 1ov In
not allowed to enter the system.
When I tried to secure the passage
OF bill in Nebraska. providing q
guarantee fund for state banks, it
was opposed by the national banks on
the ground that people would remove
their deposits from the national banks
to the state banks, if the state banks
were made absolutely secure; and it
is to avoid injustice to either class
Of banks, that l have urged that ma
tional banks should be permitted to
take advantage of guarantee systems
established in the states and that
state banks should be permitted to
take advantage of any guarantee sys-
tenn established by congress.
THE guarantee Of deposits will not
produce recklessness in management.
You are selected by the stockholders,
not by the depositors. You will en-
deavor to manage your bank In the
interest of the stockholders, and your
argument shows that you consider
their interests paramount. Under a
nfnnI of bor ,Iye III
still be responsible to your stockhold-
ers. They would lose all that they have
and be subjected to the 100 per cent.
liability in addition, before other
banks could lose anything on account
of your banks failure Would this
not be sufficient to make you careful?
DO you think we could improve the
character of our bankers by repeating
all laws providing for regulation and
inspection? If not, why do you think
It would lower the character of bank
officials to increase the security of de-
positors?
THE fact is, that the country is suf-
fering to-day from lack of confidence
in banks more than from any other
cause. The money can not be drawn
from hiding and boarding unless the
depositors are assured of the safety
of the banks. The amount of the tax
on each bank would be little compared
with the benefit which it would re-
ceive from its shore of the increased
deposits, and as for making banks un.
safe, the guarantee system will insure
safer banking
Nearly every bank failure is due
to the appropriation of the money by
the directors or officers
Why have we not been able to
secure better regulation of banks?
The answer is simple. The bad banks
don't want any regulation and the
good banks prefer to make business
advantage out of the recklessness Of
other banks. When banks become mu-
tually responsible for each others
depositors, 1t will be easier to secure
the proper regulation of the banks.
1T all depends upon the point Of
view. If legislation is to have for its
object the welfare of the whole peo-
pie, then the guaranteed bank ought
to come and come to stay. If, how
ever, the legislation is to have for its
object the securing of privileges to
a few of the community at the ex-
pense of the rest of the community,
your argument Is sound
Il believe that 1T would be perfectly
safe for the federal government to
guarantee deposits in the national
banks, collecting from all the banks
in proportion to deposits the amount
that 1t would have to pay out to the
depositors of banks that fail, and / be-
lieve that it would be safe for states
to adopt a similar system to gnaran-
tee the depositor in state banks. In
that case. the government would have
back of 1t the assets of all the banks.
But If objection is made to an absa:
Lutte guaranty by the government, the
same end can be reached by the sys.
tenn adopted in Oklahoma whereby the
banking board collects a guarantee
fund and is then empowered to make
such further assessments as may be
necessary to restore the fund in case
money is drawn from It to pay the de-
positors of failed bank. This puts
all of the banks behind each bank,
without involving the government in
: direct guarantee"
Be careful about that little cough.
let something right away; some good,
'eliable remedy that will move the
bowels. Kennedy's Laxative Cough
syrup acts gently yet promptly on the
bowels and allays inflammation at the
anne time. 1t is pleasant to take and [