The Oskaloosa herald., 1908-11-12
AS TO BANK GUARANTEES.

AS TO BANK GUARANTEES.
A curbstone politician stood near
the polls in the Second ward most of
the afternoon on election day and re-
called the crowd with his interpreta-
ton of Bryan's plan Of the guarantee
of bank deposits. Time and again he
Iput the question in loud voice to an
approaching voter: Say. if you or !
put ten dollars in that bank on the
corner, oughtn't we to have a guar
antee that we will get our money
back" He generally got an afiirma-
Tive answer from those who paid any
lattention to him, and then he would
say: We'll If you do, vote for Bryan"
. The force OF such argument would
seem silly TO anyone who had given
the matter any thought, but it I'M
ldoubtedly did some mischief, and
shows how easily some men can be in
lfiuenced. Some of them no doubt
thought after listening to him that if
they would put ten dollars i'll the
bank on the corner that they had no
guarantee or its return 10 them. -.'>
The greatest and best guarantee
that anyone could have is in the fact
that no depositor in any bank that
has ever existed in Oskaloosa ever
lost one penny. Next to this the char
Iacter and standing of the hundreds of
men in Mahaska county who own
bank stock is sufficient to prevent any
suspicion of loss.
But on top of these moral reasons
come the straight business environs
that are prescribed by state laws!
and which make money in an Iowa
bank as safe as it is in the deposit
|or's own hands, and in nine cases out
of ten, an hundred fold safer,
In the first place, over and above
the deposits and other obligations of
the bank are its capital stock and its
surplus as a reserve to, draw from,
should anything happen. The stock
holders are liable to double the
amount of their holdings Of stock, and
no one man is allowed to borrow more
than twenty per cent of the amount
of the capital stock of the bank. Off
Icers and directors of state or saw
ings bank cannot borrow cent with
out the consent OF a majority of the
BOARD of directors. Similar safeguards
are thrown about national banks by
the government.
Now and then rascal will bob up
in the banking business. Just the same
as a hypocFite will occasionally come
TO the surface in a church. He may
get away with lot of the banks
money, but it must be remembered
that it is the stockholders who must
bear the loss, and not the depositors.
And today there is not a cent on de-
post in OskalCosa that is not doubly
secured against any possible loss.
Bryans plan Of bank deposits guar
antee may have some merit but its
chief asset is in its name, and It's
great weakness is the premium it
puts upon the fellow who is disposed
10 be crooked. There is no reason
why honest bankers directly and the
lepositOrs indirectly should be taxed
10 put temptation before the shs-
ceptible absconder who would ease
his conscience with the thought that
the many and not the few would have
to bear the burden OF his crookedness.
But giving Bryan the benefit of the
doubt, and admitting that there is
some good in his plan. the argument
put up by the curbstone politician is
without reason or common sense.
Though Bryan probably would be I'M
able to recognize any OF his ideas in
the words of his follower yet the in
cident points out the danger Of arOus-
ing the suspicious of the people against
financial or other public institutions
for political purposes.