Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-04-27

""'' oehSlple American people as the
one thing that would do it? None
other than this same visionary Mr..
Bryan.
No matter where Mr.. Bryan got
the idea, no matter in what particu-
lar form men think the idea should
be worked out in practice, the fact
remains that the principle has taken
deep hold upon the country and that
Bryan has eternally linked his name
with 1t. He sat in the right place
He spoke at the right time, at the
psychological moment. 1t was in
spiratiOn or luck. 1t vastly improved
Mr.. Bryan's chances to win the pres
idency; and how much it has i'm
proved them will be more apparent
as the months roll along than it is
at the present moment.
If anyone doubts that this prin-
ciple of deposit insurance has taken
possession of the country he should
travel through dozen states, as
have done. He should talk with men
from all walks of life. He should
read the correspondence on this and
kindred subjects which has poured
in upon writer's for the press, like
myself, who have taken the lead in
trying to express the current thought
of the people--the thought of today
which points the way to the legisla-
tion of tomorrow. The people have
perceived that the trouble with the
present banking system is the isola-
tion of the units; the facility with
which confidence in one of these
units, standing alone, may be i'm
paired; the rapidity with which con-
fidence dissolves once dissolution has
begun; the magic way in which it
overruns the country, from ocean to
ocean. They have perceived that the
government, having compelled the
banks to make absolutely safe one
twentieth the system, that represent
ed by the circulating medium or
money, should now compel the banks
to make absolutely sale the remaining
nineteen-twentieths represented by
the deposits. They have perceived
that as government cOmpels safety of
note issues through the maintenance
of a guarantee fund at Washington,
so it should compel safety of book
credits by the maintenance of a guar
antee fund somewhere, both under
government control, and both at the
expense of the banks or their custo-
mers.
OF course it is true that in addition
to deposit safety for stopping fear
and panic, Withdrawals and runs,
there must be something else. The
whole system is wrong. 1t is badly
balanced. 1t is strong as a rock in
one place, weak as a bed of sand in
another. The reserve system breaks
down because it rests upon an mad
equate stock of money. The super
vision of banks and enforcement of
law and displinary power are lax and
ineffective, with the result that bad
banking, while not frequent, is too
much in evidence. All these things
are seen and understood by men who
take trouble to study out the whole
business. But what the masses of
the people see is that if the deposit
tors are made safe by an insurance
fund ample for the purpose there
need be no more panics. They can
not understand the reserve and cur
rency problem so well; these are
complex. But the rock of safety in
protection of all depositors is sim
pie fact which the consciousness of
the country has grasped.
1t is a fact which seems destined
to play an important part in the i'm
pending presidential battle.