Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-01

Al a meeting Of the Historical society Of
this state q year ago, as its president. the
agreeable duty dcvolved on me ot intro
ducine Nj. Bryan as the principal speaker.
Il wss at that meeting that I heard him
declare for the government guaranty OF
deposits which he then and there adopted
lie distinctly said that the perniclous
scheme was not his own and frankly
stated that he had borrowed it from some
respectable financial biockhead in Lincoln.
whose name he gave. but which I have
forgotten. Like the free silver terror and
every other proposition he ever made In
politics, he borrowed this new vote-catch-
ing device OF government guaranty OF
bank deposits. He never made a serious
proposition for a platform which ne did
not steal or borrow in his life. He pur-
loined the free silver fraud from Mr.. Bland
of Missouri. who had largely created that
monstrous invention to ruin the country,
and then tricked him out OF the nomination
for the presidency in 1896, to which he was
fairly entitled. Mr.. Bryan is a popuIist-
and worse. And he borrowed his govern
ment ownership Of railroads from Tom
Watson, Tom Tibbles and the other Toms.
Government guaranty OF deposits is as
dead as a mackerel in the state that will
beat Mr.. Bryan out OF his boots next
Tuesday as a prominent issue, but as the
cunning scheme is relied on by Mr.. Bryan to
carry this state, Mr.. Hitchcock to return
to congress, there would seem to be a
necessity for giving the new issue some
attention.
Nc better scheme for wildcat bank
swindles and legalized piracy was ever
Matched than is this government guaranty
scheme. 1 do not intend to argue It. 1
only mean to prove what 1 am saying by
the only available proof which, in even q
short time, has been given in the only
place where there has been any experience
with it, Oklahoma. Facts show that wild
banking is already showing Itself under
the new order. as follows:
Up to September q, seventy-five banks
were organized. Twelve national banks
have left the national system and have
greatly reduced their capital. Any bank
can be organized on a capital of $4,000.
One bank which had a capital of 100000
under the national system reorganized for
$4,000 under the state law, and not only
retained, but Increased It's business. Seven
other banks with aggregate capital of
$4,000 have reorganized for less than one
half that sum, or $4,000. Deposits in banks
have greatly increased-over $1,000 900 from
February 20 to July 15-and their loans
have increased, showing 81. $4,000 over de-
posts. This tells the old, old story OF
wildcat banking revived in Oklahoma and
foreshadows the early coming of an ex-
plosion that will smash things all over
that country. with the poor, frenzied de-
~positors chasing the bankers with ~shotguns.
How and why? For the reason, among
others. that the Oklahoma fund is only
about S135. 600. New banks are being or
ganized daily. Mr.. Yates told the story
.bof what has already happened in Oklahoma
in his unanswered and unanswerable ar
Rument in the recent debate with Mr..
Hitchcock. Mr.. Yates said in that speech
that one case Is reported where a man
just released from the penitentiary, to
which he was sent as a public defaulter
is now organizing a bank and will have
IL in operation soon.
The president of a national bank, whC
was also a merchant, failed in business
and went through bankruptcy. Naturally
he had to sever his connections with that
bank. He has organized a bank under
the state law and is its president.
In many small towns, where only one
bank and at farthest two could hope to
make a living, as many as four are in
operation. The bank commissioner was
made to realize the danger of the situa-
ton and some weeks ago he turned down
an application for a fourth bank in a town
Of less than 1000 population.