The Democratic advocate., 1908-10-30
Mr.: Bryan SHOWS Why the In.
dividual Favors Protection
- " OF Bank Deposits.
A MATTER OF INTELLIGENCE
Banks Should Attend to the RANKING
Business and Not the
~-@ 90 Government --sF

No Issue in this campaign appeals
more strongly to the individual than
the protection of bank deposits. Thou
sands and thousands of republicans
Will vote for Mr.. Bryan on account of
this one issue, which he has presented
SO clearly to the people of the nation.
In recent speech Mr.. Bryan pre-
sented this issue in a simple and most
convincing way. He said:
"Of the many policies proposed in
our platform, the protection of bank
depositors Is the simplest and most
easily understood. Why, my friends,
this question is SO easily understood
that I suppose there is not person
in this audience who is not able to
understand it. I do not mean that
every one, everywhere, can understand
1t. draw the line here: When every
person reaches the period of intel
lectual development, where he is able
to see that when man puts his money
In the bank he ought to be able to get
it again, he ought to have Intelligence
enough to understand this subject; but
until he gets to this point I do not
know how to reach him. I take it for
granted, however, that you are all
sufficiently advanced to be able to
understand that when you put your
money in bank you ought to be able
to get 1t out again. Now, my friends,
there are just two questions to be con.
sidered In this matter. One of these
I have given you. The other question
is, who must make it secure? Our
position is that as the banks make
their profits out of the peoples money,
the bankers ought to give the insur-
ance the people require. Now, had
supposed that that was q self evident
truth and that it would not be denied.
II have made no speech without dis
cussing the guaranty of bank deposits
in all parts of the country. After I
had made my speech in Baltimore, ex-
planning our system and presenting our
arguments in support of it, my atten-
tion was called to an advertisement in
one of the papers. In my speech had
said that you could insure your house,
you could insure your life, YOU could
insure your Suggy or your barn, but
that you could not insure your money.
And in this advertisement my. Ian
guage was quoted and the advertise
taken, for a certain fidelity company
was prepared > insure deposits. And
then l found out how they do it down
there. You put your money in bank,
and then go and get somebody to in
sure itse that you can get it out of the
bank again. I believe the time has
come to compel all the banks to stand
back of the banks and make good the
presumption upon which you deposit
your money in the bank.
"Now, my friends, you may ask IT
the banks are not now sufficiently Sc
cured That is what the bankers say.
They will even tell you that only occa-
sionally bank fails, but the trouble
Is that we cannot tell in advance which
bank is going to fail. Look at the no.
tice they hang up. Does it say, this
bank will fall? No, the notice says
this bank is closed,' and if bankers
follow out this plan will agree not to
urge this insuring of deposits. Let
the bank give notice three months in
advance Of a failure so the people can
get their money out before the failure.
"Do you think the banks are suff1-
GENTLY secure now? The postmaster
general says, in his report in favor
of the postal savings bank, that we are
sending millions of dollars to Europe
to be deposited in government saw
ings banks there, and the people who
send their money there would rather
send it across an ocean three thousand
miles wide than to risk the banks of
this country. l say to you that we
ought to make our banks here SO Sc
cure that money will not be driven out
of the United States to find safe
place of deposit. That money which is
driven to EurDpe ought to be kept here
and used in the business of this coun-
try. Not only does money go to Eu-
rope, but money goes into hiding, and
this is about the time of year when we
discover some of it. You will see in
the paper every once in while that
Mrs. So and So for the first time this
fall made fire and was mortified to
| find that her husband, without her
knowledge, had been using it as a
bank. A man in New York said last
fall, when the panic was on, that
| billion dollars was in hiding under car
pets. I do not know whether that
estimate is too high or too low, but l
know this, that if I were a banker I
| would be ashamed to have an old rag
carpet running rivalry with me as a
safety deposit vault, in time of danger.
eff any man says that the banks are,
sufficiently secure I will remind him
that there is not national bank in
| the United States that can get dollar
of Uncle Sans money without putting
up security The state demands Sc
curity; the county demands security;
| the city demands security; and each
| village demands security; and the fra
ternal orders are now demanding Sc
curity, and believe the time has come
when the farmer, the merchant and
the laboring man should have security
when they put their money in bank.
"In Oklahoma they have had this
plan in operation for now some six
months. I learned OF one failure there
and in forty-two minutes after the
| bank suspended, the man in charge
| had an order from the government to
pay every depositor in full, and the
business went on without interruption.
And when he telephoned out to the
farmers and said to them, The bank
| has suspended, come in and get your
| money they answered, We are busy
| with the crops now, we will be in in
| few days Is it the way you do here
In your state when q bank gets shaky?