Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-28

ndnQS OF the Ddnhs. but the uGUlONTdllC
platform declares for "a postal savings
bank If the guaranteed bank cannot be Sc
cured and in November more than 81
per cent of the voters will by their ballots
demand either the guaranteed bank or the
postal savings bank. Can the financiers
prevent the carrying out OF this demand?
The republican platform does not go into
detail, but 1t is fair to assume that the
postal savings bank plank is intended as
an endorsement of the postal savings bank
system proposed by the president and post
master general. Under this plan the FED
eral government would invite the deposit
of savings, a limit being placed upon the
amount that each person or each family
could deposit. According to this plan the
business man would not be protected, for
Sc savings account; but no one can doubt
that the successful operation. of a govern
ment savine bank would ultimately lead
to an extension of the plan until the gov
eminent bank would include the ordinary
checking account and be open to deposits
without LIMIT. 1t would mean a long con-
test between the ldepositors and the bank
ers, but a contest which must in the end
be decided on the side of the depositors.
The banker must decide, therefore, whether
! he will favor a postal savings bank, which,
In the absence of the guaranty bank, Will
grow until It sbsorbs the banking business.
or preserve the present system of banking
by giving to the people, through a guar
anty law, the protection which they must
otherwise find in a government bank.
The democratic plan, therefore, contem-
plates a less radical change than the re-
publican plan. In his notification speech
Mr.. Taft charged the democrats with being
sociallstic in some Of their remedies. The
charge was not well founded, but l might
reply by charging MIN with advocating an
unnecessary extension of the government 8
sphere of activity in the establishment or
the postal savings bank. when the guaran-
teed bank would answer the same purpose
without any considerable Increase in the
number OF government employees. would
I rather see the banks attend to the banking
business than to have II transferred to the
government and because prefer 70 have
| the honEfno business nnnn nv Thn hanks
rather than by the government | urge the
guaranty of deposits as the easiest solu-
ton Of our difficulties.
Claims of DeuOsitOrs.
There is another reason why the claim
of the stockholder. The ~stockholder has a
voice in the selection of the bank officials;
the depcsltor has not. II anyone must
agement il ought to be the stockholder
rather than the depositoT. And l venture
to ask If the bankers will not trust each
other why should they expect the deposit
tors to trust the banks?
We are fortunate, however, in that We
are not compelled to choose between JUS
tice to the depositor and justice TO the
stakeholder, for, as has been shown before,
the plan which we propose nor only does
justice to both but brings advantage TO
both. More than that, the plan which we
propose protects the banker-and L Is his
only protection-against the establishment
OF a government bank, with indefinite en-
| croachments upon the bankers bus ness.
: With the guaranteed bank established,
government savings banks would only be
needed in the towns and villages "here
there were no guaranteed banks.
There Is another advantage which Inc
guaranty of depositors brings TO the banks
lit protects the reserves deposited In. other
banks. During the panic last fall the re-
serves caused the most OF the trouble, Ihe
small banks wanted to withdraw their re-
serves from the city banks. and the big
banks in the cities were not prepared to
meet the strain, With deposits guaranteed
there would be no runs on local banks
and no sudden withdrawal Of reserves.
/ have selected the capital OF the state
OF Kansas as the most appropriate place
for the delivery OF a speech upon thls
subject because your neighbor upon the
south has been a pioneer in this reform
Its plan. as you know, has been such a
signal success that deposits ave been
drawn across the line from your state into
Oklahoma. The alarm caused by this IN,
yasion OF your banking territory caused
your governor to include in his call for a
special session a recommendation OF the
passage Of a law similar TO that OF OKLA
homa. When the legislature met. however,
the Influence of the large banks was sutfl-
Client to prevent the needed legislation. ana
your state still suffers. The people OF Kan
sas have had an object lesson; tney Know
posits. They have seen its beneftcent re
suits In a sister state; they have seen III
ty-four national banks taklng advantag.
OF the state system and reaping a rich re-
ward. They have heard the echo OF the
blow that has been struck at the national
banks Of oklahoma by the attorney gen
the right TO share in the benefits OF the
state guaranty system-that echo being
the surrender OF charters by national
rather than surrender the benefits OF the
guaranty system. They have also seen
how the influence Of a few big banks.
the wishes of the smaller banks and the
desire OF the depositors all over the safe.