Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-10-20
Former Governor of Iowa Or
ganizing Financial lnstitu-
ton Under Lewis Plan
HEAD OFF POSTAL sAvINes9
Iowa Bankers Look Upon shaw's Plan
as an Effort to Prevent Adoption of
New Government system-Insurance
Department Probing Action of East
ern Companies in canceIns Policies.
pecial to Times-Republican.

~
Des Moines. oct. 20. Governor
Shaw, formerly of Iowa now of Pitts
burg or Philadelphia. has given at
least one newspaper man of the coun-
try the greatest possible chance to play
the I-told-you-so game for a little
while This editor is Il. G. Lewis. of
st. Louis. who seems to be acquiring a
string Of newspapers and journals like
that with which Harmsworth decor
ates himself in England. Lewis has the
"Woman's National Daily" and several
monthly papers and has recently taken
it wonder He started a great bank
a few years ago and 1t was assassin
ated,'' as he has called it, by executive
order Of Secretary Cortelyou. then in
the postoffice department. He was not
permitted to run the bank and fraud
order was placed against him. The
leading accusations against him were
that his system of universal small eX-
change at par, or the writing of ex-
change drafts for small sums without
expense to the purchasers, was all
wrong and destructive of good bank
ing; that his banking by mail scheme
was not based on sound business prin-
cfples and that the system of scatter
ing the stock far and wide among pros
pective customers of the bank was all
wrong. These and others caused Cor
telyou to put Lewis on the blacklist.
Now comes Secretary Shaw with the
prospectus of a bank or trust COM
pany which he is organizing and he
Endorses at least two of the things
which Shaw's former associate in the
cabinet condemned. Shaw is organic
ing to do banking business by mail and
he is soliciting stock sales so as to
scatter the stock among thousands OF
the prospective customers. Lewis
points out that this is exactly what he
after Lewis bank was hopelessly
wrecked. that these features are all
right. In addition, Lewis is able to
point to the action of the American
Bankers association in indorsing the
system of small universal exchange.
A local banker who called attention
to these things points out that the
adoption of the system of banking by
mail and free exchange for small sums
is for the purpose of heading off the
contemplated adoption by the govern
ment Of the system of postal savings
banks. He states that bankers are far
more fearful of the postal savings bank
plan than they are of bank deposit
guaranty. Hence they desire to head
off the postal savings idea by adoption
of some new ideas in banking.
The office of attorney general has
had to wrestle with more hard prob
lens on election methods this year
than for many years. The primary law
deal to do with this One of the latest
problems UP to the attorney general is
in relation to the use of voting ma
chimes in Polk county for voting for
assessors. In some precincts it is found
that part of the voters only will have
the right to vote for assessors while
others will not have the right. Just
how to provide for separation of the
two classes is a problem.
Des Moines is going to compliment
the Indians by having a lot of the
streets given Indian names. Curator
Harlan, of the state historical depart
ment, has been asked to furnish a list
of suitable names. The remaining of
Des Moines streets has been done sew
eral times but there are still many
names not suitable and many duplica-
tions
The state insurance department is
Investigating complaint made against
certain large eastern accident insur-
ance companies that policies have been
Cancelled without warrant. Some of the
state officials carried policies in one
company and have recently received
notice that they are no longer insured.
Inquiry brought the statement that the
icies after the holder reaches go years.
The state insurance department finds
that under their agreement this can
not be done without consent in Iowa.
The state board of medical examiners
will try to weed out large number of
the itinerant doctors of the state. There
are now only two left whereas there
We're a few years ago more than thirty
licensed to travel about the state. The
complaints which have come to the
board have led to the change Of policy.
The number of itinerant vendors of
medicines is on the increase. and they
are licensed by the pharmacy board.