Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-03-09
Brran,s Answer to Forgan.

ali answer W
James B. Forgan, president of the
First National bank of Chicago, in a
statement published in the Chicago
papers in opposition to Mr.. Bryan's
plan of guaranteeing depositors in
banks against losses by requiring the
banks to create an insurance-deposit
fund, under government supervision
was quoted as saying that this plan
would make all banks safe" and that
this would be unfair and unjust to
banks that by careful and conservative
management had established a solid
reputation. Mr. Bryan criticised Mr..
FOrgan's statement, and in doing so
used the words as coming from Mr..
Forgan, make all banks equally safe"
This quotation Mr.. Forgan denied hay
ing made, and in an open letter to Mr..
Bryan which was published in full in
the Chicago papers, stated that he did
not say government guarantee of de-
posts would make all banks equally
SAFE but that it would make all banks
equally good. In the issue of the Com
mOner dated Feb. %, Mr.. Bryan re-
piled to this open letter of Mr.. For
gan, and tells him that banks are for
the people, not the people for the
banks. Mr.. Bryan says in this letter
that, as he understands it, Mr. FOrgan
cause it puts all banks on an equality.
This he declares is selfish and unfair.
Among other things Mr. Bryan says
in his letter to Mr.. Forgan:
Let me make the charge so directly
that there can be no question about
the interests of your stockholders
above the interests of your depositors
and that you put the interests of the
big bank above the interests of the
various communities and Of the public
lat large. You admit this when you
insist that the guarantee of all banks
would deprive your stockholders of
a value which has come from wise
management.
"The people who deposit money in
your bank do not, as a rule, know any
thing about the management of the
bank. They do not know anything
about your methods of doing business.
They do not know whether the di-
rectors are using the deposits for their
own interests or carefully guarding
them. They do not know any more
about the interior workings of your
hank tbap thay did obO,,+ NJ, NUoIcb,-
hank or than they knew about other
banks that have failed. They take it
for granted that your bank is safe be-
cause they trust the government and
have confidence in the regulation, re-
striction and inspection of banks If
you had rented room and announced
that James B. Forgan would accept
money on deposit and carry on bust
ness as a private banker without any
regulation or restriction as to the
manner of conducting the business you
might have claimed credit for such
reputation and standing as you might
have been able to acquire. But you
did not do that. You associated your
| self with a bank whose prestige and
reputation depend more upon the law
and on the presumption given by the
people to the law than on your SUI
periOr care or management.
when the laws were made the law
makers thought they had provided for
the security of the depositors, and it is
not only unfair to you to count as en-.
tircly personal to yourself or your di.
rectors the confidence shown by the
public in your bank, but is is selfish
to insist that the people have no right
to obtain further security, even if, as
a result of that, your bank loses some
of the advantages which it now has
over smaller banks. The bank exists
for the benefit of the people. 1t is q
mistake to assume that the people
exist for the benefit of the bank This
laws regulating banking are made fol