Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-01-17
how Banks
Held Reserve
COMPTROLLER RIDGEWAY TELLS
OF PANIC AND BANK
CONDITIONS


ly, comptroller OF the currency, gave
out a statement today dealing largely
with the financial conditions during
the year 1907 in which he says that
"the conditions which made this crisis
site results of many years Of business.
possible are the accumulated compO-
The whole world has been oyertrading
and expanding and nowhere has this
been more rampant than in the United
states. The reaction was inevitable,
and though It might not have taken
the form OF bank panic, had we been
better prepared with such a banking
and currency system as we should
have, the time has come when some
or all must pay for our overindui.
gence." The comptroller continues:
at is the duty of the banks TO re.
store business to normal conditions by
resuming their functions as promptly
and as fully as possible. Fortunately
there is not only the strongest desire
and disposition on the part of the
banks to do this. but conditions are
such as to make It comparatively easy
and to lead us to expect much more
prompt recovery than has followed
other similar financial crises.
Reports to the comptroller show
that the reserves In the central re.
serve cities were but 1926 per cent.
against the legal requirement Of %
per cent.
The 40 reserve cities show 24.72
per cent of legal reserve, or almost
the full legal minimum. while their
total cash means are 1855 per cent Of
their deposits.
"Of the 20 cities 81 show legal re.
| serves above % per cent, while some
have more than 80 per cent, and all
but eight show more than 25per cent
o. total cash means. The largest re
serves are in the Texas cities, Calves.
ton and San Antonio showing more
| than SO per cent of legal reserve, and
Galveston more than IS per cent of
legal cash means.
"The returns tabulated by states
are also significant and reassuring as
to the general conditions. There Is
rot one state which does not show an
excess of reserve above the legal re-
! auirement of 25 per cent and an in.
crease in legal reserve and total cash
means on December above those
held on August %.
I'm the subdivision by states the Pa.
cific states show the largest legal re.
serve, 22.2S per cent, while the west
ern states show the largest cash
means, 32.11 per cent. The most i'm
portant significance of these figures
is that the reimbursement of bank re.
serves has taken place with so few
bank failures.
From October 90 to December 80,
1907, there have been but l6 suspen.
sions or failures OF national banks,
OF these. two have resumed and sew
eral more should do so in the very
near future.
THE reports of condition of the ma
tiOnal banks show that from August
20 to December individual deposits
decreased but $142,000,C00. or abou'
49, per cent, while the decrease in
cash on hand was but $40, 100000 and
the increase in bills payable and re
discounts was about $42 100000.
1--WE have had very serious bank
panic. 1t would have been much
worse but for the aid given by the
treasury department and some of the
leading financial men of the country.
TT is probably never will be known
how much credit is is due to few
men who furnished vast sums of mon
ey and supplied credit from their enor
nous resources in the patriotic effort
to stop the panic and relieve n situa
ton which might have led to a fal
greater disaster If 1t had not beer
met so promptly and handled so sue
cessfully."