Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-26

sured our deposits today. Now let us proceed to make some rotten loansr
 'Is 1t not possible that 1t will occur 10 those directors that their losses must come out of their profits. out of their reserves. out of their capital. and out Of their reputations? Will they not realize thnt they can get nothing out of the guarantee until the last dol. lar of their capital. surplus and profits has been wiped out, and stock. holders have been assessed double the amount of their stock2
 The Bankers' Reputation.
 "Until their regulations have been injured, If not ruined, and possibly some of them have been started on the road to state prison? Can anybody think that any board of directors of any bank would be less solicitlous, anxious and honest and wise after they had guaranteed deposits than they were before? ft
 T assert again. after the most ma ture dellbcratlon, that If there Is one reason for insuring life and home, there are more than a thousand good reasons-more than ten thousand good reasons--why the depositors of the banking institutions of the United States should be insured"
 Two Valuable Contributions.
 These two men have offered valua- ble contributions to the discusson of the, proposed guarantee of bank de- posts. Mir. Gage has set forth the present trend of bankers towards a closer watchfulness over all institu- tions which accept the peoples money in trust, and has indicated the exact means whereby, under guarantee law, bankers would do as now they do maintain an association empowered to look sharply into financial concerns which seem to be departing from sound methods.
 His reference to the John R. Walsh failure in Chicago was doubtless be- cause 1t was known to the country generally, having been given wide pub licity and therefore most likely to at- tract attention as an illustration.
 However, there is scarcely a locali- ty wherein bankers in late years have not gone under toppling banks and up- held them by guaranteeing deposits wholly or in part. in order to help in the quelling of popular distrust and the undermining of confidence in all banking institutions. No Delay for Depositors. It is quite apparent that under guarantee of deposits there would be NO alteration of conditions affecting banks now, so far as concerns espion- age maintained by one over another. The important difference, however, would be that dcpositors would not be subject to the annoying, often disas- trous, delays in getting their money which now they experience when ! banks fail.
 | But that fewer failures would oc- cur surely would be one of the re- l suits of such law. Everyone knows that many runs are precpitated on banks which are absolutely sound. Many a man, faithful, safe, conserva- I tive, conscientious in caring for the money of his depositors, has suffered | runs, caused by some rumor started through malice. Many an honest banker has had his heart broken by senseless runs, and has groaned in spirit as he realized that gross injus- tice has been done as reward for ear nest and able keeping of the trust re- posed in him by his depositors. | The Barring Failure. When a dozen years ago, Barring Brothers. of London, suspended, 1t was due to that very espionage by other bankers to which MT. Gage refers. The Earrings had embarked in many South American enterprises, some of which were manifestly unsafe. The governors of the Bank of Eng land, sensing the danger, refused to accept securities backed by them as basis for the issuance of bank notes under the custom of that country; that action never has been adyersly criti- cized in any country, although it has been discussed ever since the world over
 Modern business is conducted on the i basis for the issuance of bank notes tie actual money passes from hand to hand.
 Modern System of Credits.
 You go to your bank with bundle of checks and drafts and deposit them to your credit. Against that account thus opened, you draw checks. They pass into the world of business, are accepted at face value, and circu- late virtually as does gold, silver and currency. If you pay your bills in checks, often you pass through weeks at time when you have only a trife of loose change in your pocket for street car fare and the small things you need from day to day costing too | little to bother to draw a check.
 "A check cancelled is voucher, has become a maxim in the business i world
 Complications of the System.
 This complicates business and forces all banks to associate themselves in | v