The Globe-republican., 1908-06-25
GUARANTEE LAW GIVES DEPOS.
TORS ADDEn CONFIDENCE.
HAS BEEN BUT ONE FAILUTE
Text of the Measure In One Case
Brings Good Results.-Law
May Be Amended
49, Soon. LID IL

Guthrie, Okla, June 21.-The Ok
lahoma depositors guarantee law
which has now been in effect four
months has attracted national atten-
ton. Assistant Secretary of State
Leo Meyers stated today that his OIL
flee has received applications for
copies of the depositors guarantee
law from every state in the union and
two applications from Alaska State
Bank Commissioner Smock stated
that he is continually receiving in
quiries from all parts of the country
regarding the practical operations OF
the law.
The report of the bank commission
er's office shows that from February
29, the date that the law went into
effect, to May IA, the gain in indi-
yidual deposits was $2,350,602.44,
most of which Mr. Smock attributes
to the depositors' guarantee law.
There has been but one bank fail
ure to test the law This was the
International bank at Coalgate. The
state took charge and under the di-
rection of Bank Commissioner Smock
all the depositors have Deen paid and
the defunct bank has been made to
pay all but $4,000 of the loss to de,
positors, which has been made up
out of the state guarantee fund. The
banking department, as soon as 1t
discovered that the bank was being
run along dangerous lines, was able
to close its doors without fearing that
many poor people would lose their
entire savings in the collapse.
There is still considerable doubt as
to the practicability Of national banks
operating under the guarantee law
and a large number of the national
banks of the state are holding aloof.
The new law does not seem to be in
juring these banks to any extent as
practically all of them are old insti
tutions in which the people have con-
fidence and have the advantages to
national supervision. The main benz
fit Of the tepositors guarantee law To
the state banks and the national
banks that have taken advantage Of
1t, is that it has inspired confidence
in the class of people who were In
the habit of burying their savings In
tin cans, hiding their money behind
chimney pieces and carrying it about
secreted on their person. These peo-
pie have begun dep0siting their
money and many badly discoloreL
coins are now in circulation in Okla
homa as a result.
The operation of the law at present
is based on the insurance plan, the
state guaranteeing that it will levy
upon the state banks at any time to
make good loss to depositors by rea-
son of bank failures. When the law
went into effect one-half of l per
cent was levied upon all the banks.
This has placed about $150,000 at the
disposal of the state banking board
but another similar assessment can
be made under the law at any time.
Some believe it would be better to
change this feature of the law so that
a stipulated tax should be levied each
year, say one-fourth of l per cent,
and that this annual assessment
should be continued until the deposi-
tors guarantee fund had reached a
stipulated amount, $2,0O0000 OF
100000 for example. This fund
they believe could be so invested as
to make it sufficient to meet all re-
quirements caused by bank failures
through a period of several years
without another assessment upon the
banks.