Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-03-20
To Insure Bank DepOsitOrs.
March 9Th, 1908.

To Insure Bank DepOsitOrs.
March 9th, 1908.
To THE LEADER: We have to meet
with q curious anomaly, and we may
as we'll make up our minds to meet 1t
,sQuarely, the oon the better, If we
mean at all to better u economic
and moral standing. The assertion is
true, and can be proven, that the
ethical sentiment In society is In the
majority; yet we are ruled by many
spurious laws working mischief among
us, causing strife and disharmony.
We can only account for this on the
ground that %selfshneSs and the seek
ing of special advantages Is the more
aggressive, always stalking to the front,
while the ethical tendencies keep
latent, are more conservative, and be-
come pushed to the background.
In the "Conmoner" of March 6, is
q couple of letters that will 60 a long
way towards supporting this conten-
ton, the letters are somewhat lengthy,
they are worth a perusal, and with
the permission Of the LEADER | shall
here give one of them for the benefit
of those who may not have access to
the Commoner:
"Manitowac. Wis. Feb. 1s.-To the Editor:
When men in high places say q thing II goes:
same men were Of the common herd. although
possessing the same abilities. their doctrines
would not have much weight. Although
ton or wealth. or the size Of a bank. yet these
things carry q great prestige With them.
J. B.. Forean. the president Of the largest
bank in the northwest. with deposits Of over
truism. Carries With it = Certain conviction.
so9Gs snnsah sn him Che The bs,9 9a3S S Ssy 'G he do ns 50
have made in a single stroke is to persistently
and repeatedly keep peeging away at it. and
thereby eradicate the errors ne may nave
Mr.. Forgan has written an open letter to
reitersting his areument aeains! DEPOSIT in-
surance-that the depositor would not sharply
iook to SELECT the safest ba h,s to put lbs ms
amount tor Nothing. as 1 told him before.
looked sharp when selected ny reserve
had the best reputation. its stock soid At
three times its face value. End yet II failed.
sithef 1' our Snia nsnciai coneressmsn. Nj.
Fowler. in his Albany address the other day.
any idea wi Wha atnss ees about the ctr true inRardness
Of the bank with which he is doing business;
It Is absolutely a matter of faith. and a blind
the estimation Of the community, where 1t is
yet he knows as well as l do that our deposit
ors have worried more or less for the safety
OF L0clf O0pOSlCS. IN SplG0 OF having S0IoCCou
Mr.. Forean takes exception to the accuse
s siS9 s saat he e.i + a y ~ iefa fFo% 70 ae ssl5s6 on m2t sef;
50 he admits that the application is not mis-
fshne.s is enerafted in sll Of US. Forean is
seldshly actuated to guard against anything
attaining the highest pinnacle Of finance. L.
TOO. am selfish, and my selhshness is also
t}nn NJ m " fOn7, hnnaS IN attain a hQnkinD
system which will prevent financial disturb,
ances. relieve our depositors OF worry. and
TIT realization OF such an ideal system would
give me more pleasure. and be worth more to
dollar bank. and BY it I would acquire the
good name. which. as Forgan cites from Solo
mon. is rather to be chosen than great
Al the attainment Of my deposit insurance
plan is worth more TO me than a HUNDRED
selfish than MI. Forgan, who is only striving
to conserve and add to what he holds;
The question now arises. which selfish mo-
tive should be most encouraged-Mr. For:
gan's, h admits that it is for the benefit OF
which is for the general welfare: Any insur-
Ance expert will admit that bank depositors
i ana ran Is less J. hazardous b = than any got other er
ganized sooner is because Of the fear of q
government Insurance system which would
nevertheless insurance companies have en-
tered this field. and more are ready to enter
80 OO1 10 blCJ hhSW Wh"V wis Al NOs
When these companies are once firmly estab-
lished. Mr.. Forgan's bank. in spite OF Its high
ors. In the face OF these conditions. why not
do it at once. at the least expense and in the
most effective safe and pr Ions sc NAME"
President Manitowoc Savings Bank.
1t should be born in mind that Mr..
Forgan's argument is that, deposit in.
suEance by a guarantee fund would
place all banks upon the same level,
the carefully managed bank would
have no advantage vel a carelessly
managed bank, he says, and deposit
ors might, with the sames safety, place
their money in any bank.
This is what Mr.. Schuette calls the
realization of his fond hopes. The
other letter by Mr.. M. r. Collins,
president of the Douglas National
Bank, (Wyo.,) is very much in the
same strain, and to the same effect.
Our W governor candidate, MI.
ing business, has declared himself In
favor of this measure. Thus we have
three bankers against one, who have
made public declaration on this point
SO far. If our morally goud men were
three, to n morally bad, it would be
some comfort, but I believe the pro-
portion Of good is greater. As for the
ethics on this question l suppose there
are not many that will hesitate which
side to choose. And when we con-
slider that the ethical side is the side
that will last the longest and benefit
the greatest number, in fact henefit
all, It would be we'll If our people
more generally, and u bankers
specially on this question, would ex-
press themselves and choke spurious