The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1908-10-01

lishment Of a postal savings bank system;
the Democratic party prefers the guar
anteed bank because il Is better for the
depositor and better for the banker-it
gives the depositOr the security which he
needs and yet leaves the banking busi-
ness in the hands Of the banks. But the
tai savings bank IL the guaranteed bank
! can not be secured" and In November
more than ninety per cent OF the voters
will by their ballots demand either the
bank Can the fnanciers prevent the
carrying out Of this demand?
The Republican platform does not go
| into detail, but II is fair to assume that
the postal savings bank plank is intend
ed as an Endorsement OF the postal saw
| ings bank system proposed by the Presi-
dent and postmaster-generaL Under this
plan the Federal government wouid IN
being placed upon the amount that
each person or each family could de-
posit. According to this plan, the DUST
ness man would not be protectea' tos
| he uses a checking account instead OF
/ savings account but no one can DOUBT
/ that the successful operation OF gov
| eminent savings bank would ultimately
lead to an extension of the plan until the
government bank would include the or
| binary checking account ana pc open
| to deposits without limit II would mean
a long contest between the depositors
| must in the end be decided on the side
of the depositors. The bank must de-
eide, therefore, whether he will favor a
postal savings bank which. In the abb
sence OF the guaranteed bank will grow
until II absorbs the banking business,
or preserve the present system OF bank
Ing by giving to the people. through
guaranty law, the protection which they
must otherwise find In government
bank.
The Democratic plan. therefore, con-
templates a less radical charge than the
Republican plan. In his notification
speech Mr. Taft charged the Democrats
with being socialistic In some OF their
remedies. The charge was not well
founded, but I might reply by charging
him with advocating an unnecessary exs
tension of the governments sphere OIL
tai savings bank, when the guaranteed
bank would answer the same purpose
without any considerable increase In the
|, number Of government employees. 1 would
rather see the banks attend to the bank
/ ing business than to have II transferred
to the government, and because ! prefer
, to have the banking business done by
I ment, / urge the guaranty Of deposits
/ as the easiest solution for our difficulties.
> There are only 20, 600 banks, while there
r are To- 0oO, coo depositors, and l DO not
, hesitate to declare that In conflict be-
tween the two the depositors have
. prior claim to considerations, II we es-
> innate the average number OF Stock
. holders of each bank at seventy-hVe,
: and that is a liberal estimate-the total
q number of stockholders would only be
: million and a half, or one-tcnth as many
, as there are depositors. The stockholm
r er is not compelled to buy, stock, while
the depostor is compelled to use the
, banks, both for his own sake and for
= the sake Of the community, for only by
, using the banks can he keep his money
g a part of me eirEu.aslng medium r,n. ne
o or. attest good to the greatest number as
- we'll as those who have the greater
I, equity upon their side
o There Is another reason why ne claim
O. of the deposition is superior to the claim
: of the stockholder. The stot knoluer nus
. Il voice in the selection of the bank
k officials; the depositor has not. If any
r on" must lose, therefore as the result OF
i bad management, it ought 10 he the
Z, ltockhodcr rather than the. depofitor,
l. And, venture 10 ask, II the bankers
wiz not trust each other, why should
k they ,Spect the dcpUsitors to trust the
!. Ne are fortunate, however, in that we
:, are not comle',,d 10 choose between
y Justice to the dgposttor and justice to
before, the plan which We propose not
i advar age 10 both. More than that.
pr the plan which we propose protects the
i. ba nker-and it is his only protection
N against the establishment of a govern
~ nlent bank with indefinite encroach-
&c os ments upon the bankers business. With
- the guaranteed bank established. govern.
~, mcnI saXllls banks would only be needed
he in the towns and villares where there
AZ were no guaranteed banks.
70 There IS archie advantage which tho
ha guaranty Of Gepositors brings TO Tho
re banks--ii prctc,ts the reserves depos TED
al In other banks During The panic IL =
t fall the reserves caused the most of tlt
" trouble. Inc small banks wanted t,
h. Withdraw their reserves from the cii'
and tigr in lh.a - Ia
ho were rot T, Jared to meet The stain
ne With deposits guaranteed, there wou''
he be no runs on local banks AID no SUD
~ den Withdrawal of reSer IS.
~ | have selected the Cal iiGl of the stat
n of Kansas as he iaost aptrppriaie III e.
ba for the delivery of Il srecch upon tn.
,st ! subject. because your n"lghb0r upon IN
''' south has been pioneer in this reform
,+ Her plan as you know, has been such
80 | signal success that deposits have bee
~ drawn across the line from yojr stat
| into Okla homa. Tine alarm caused J.,
81 | this invasion of your banking terrtor
~, caused your governor 10 lhcluuc III n!
Hg | call for a special session a recon- men II
en ton of the passage of law similfr ,
or, that of Uklaho When the legsi
81, ture met, however, the influence of tn
,no large banks was sufficient 10 pryvri
'ne the needed legislation, and your stat
' un still suffers. The people of Kansas hay
az had an object lesson; they know til
.pa necessity for law guaranteeing depos
,ae its. They have seen its benehcent !,
tc suits lin a sister state; they have Sc.
We fifty-four national banks taking advar
iay tage of the state system and reaping
I'VE rich reward. / have made inquiry an
out find that many Kansas bankers fave
ne the adoption of guaranty system-thre,
ny fourths of those who have replied hay
we we declared for the guaranteed bank. The
pie have heard the echo of the blow ths
ely has been struck at the national bank
en-, of Oklahoma by the attorney general
iay ruling which denies to such banks tf
MS right to share in the benefits of I'll
s hii state guaranty system-that echo ben
py the surrender of charters by nations
run banks which prefer to become sta.
ace banks rather than surrender the benefi
OF of the guaranty system. Four nations
ock banks have surrendered their charte
nat and are now conducted as state bank
am while sixteen more have applied Il
sits state charters. Your people have al:
the seen how the influence Of a few b
banks, concentrated upon legislator
osl- can defeat the wishes of the small
the banks and the desire of the deposito
unit all over the state.
lion / submit that In this effort to make q
ade banks secure, the Democratic party
1t the champion of the farmer, the labo
was ing man, the business man, the profe
1ks sional man, the champion Of the bank
GER as well. No class il outside Of the ben
on fits of this law, for 1t bestows its bles
uch ings upon all.
the Why has the Republican party been
be quick to respond to the demands of Wa
iaral