The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1908-01-03

Than Any tlfhTC
Was IncNitablc-N or-t = over
Euu n Long Period OF Adjustment
and I;C,uIrFaIiou - Before Us
Washiugton. December 3i.-W. u.
| HidEcIy. comptroller of tn" currency
today gave out a statement ue"hhe
larEcly with financial conditions duI-
ing thS year 1905. in when ne 80.
thu- the conditions WHICH mad" TINS
crisis possible are the aCCGmmulatei
composite results NJ many years bus-
in,ss The Who'll world has been
given over 10 trading ana ~'Npah"lhS
and nowhere mas IL been more ram
pant thai in the United states Ihe
reaction was Inevitable and though
! n mirht not haze taken 60" form OF
, = bank pariC had we been better pre-
| pared with such a banking and cur
rency system as we should have. inc
I lines has come when some or all must
pay for uur ovcr-indu!gencc
1T is the duty OF the banks says
tn, comptroller to rcstor, business
10 normal conditions By rc@nhilhs
their functions as promptly and "a
! fuuy a. possible. Fortunately there
IS not only the strongest desire ana
disposition on the part oI ne tanNS
10 do this. but conditions a." Sh'n
as {" make II comparatively easy "no
10 lead us to expect q niue h"ts
prompt recovery than has following
other similar financial Cr.sIs
The reports to the couptfollet
shows that the reserves IN the CrhtrhI
reserve ci;ies were but %. AHalhs'
the legal requirement OF rs per cent
: Tn, forty reserve cities show ~ az
per cent. OF legal reserve. or almost
the full legal minimum. while their
total cash means are 20 So per cent
OF their deposits. Of tn" forty cities.
twcnty-onc show legal reserves above
Is per cent while ten 81 lhem snow
over 80 per cent OF legal reserve and
all but eight OF them show more than
Is per cent. OF total cash means The
! largest reserves are In the Texas
! cities, Galveston and san Antonio
: showinE over IS per cent " IcSnl
reserve and Galveston oNcr 20 per
cent Of total cash means
There Is not one state which does
not show an excess OF reserve above
! legal requirements OF Is per cent. and
an increas, in legal reserve and total
cash means on December 3rd, above
these held on August 22n'.
Nlthou the central reserve cities
have received through IMPORTS OF gold
and otherwise, certainly a. much "a
$4,000 600. probably considerably
more. it has been paid out and their
reserves paid town TO y per cent
without the failure OF n single bank
in any one OF the central reserve cthes.
From October 10th IL December
3Oth. 1907. there have been but l6
suspensions or failures OF national
banks. OF these. two nave resumed.
and several more should do SO In the
very near future.
Contrast this with the panic OF
1898, when 100 national banks fail'>I
and Of these "a were never ~e-opene
The total number Of national bank
failures for 1907 Is rwenty-one N
this number has been exceeded many
times In years when We have had
nothing which could be called "A
panic. The banks are in better CON
ditiOn on January !, 1908, than they
ever were after such n crisis. ThS
reports OF condition of the national
banks show that from II to
December 2. Individual deposits Ne
creased but $l42, O00. 900, or about
+ 3! per cent. while the decrease In
cash on hand was but $40, 600 600 and
the increase in bills PAYABLE and re-
discounts was about SAP. 0OO. 900.
sine December 3rd the ccntral
, reserves have steadily increased and
the disappearance OF any premium
on currency In the last lew daS3
shows that the strain - rellcHed'
Most OF the reserve cities are up To
thcr legal requirements, many of them
far above il. and the con-"
as = whole are in the same condltion
we have had q very severe bank
panic. 1t might. however. hav" been
! worse and would ave been much
worse. but for the aid gwen 10y tn"
treasury department and some OF ms
eadin financial men OF the country
1T would seem but a fair conclus-
son that the bank trouble l. past: that
| Dayments may be and in fact are beng
resumed So RAPIDLY that normal con
ditions Of payments and remittance
may lc now assured.
The panic is over and the worst
is past. but we have a long Dcr1od OF
establishment and rcc~upcration before
MS. Values OF All kinds viii ha""
To be rc~-arrangcd We shall have
more Industrial and commercial fail-
ures. and probably some more bank
failurae. We shall have TO 20
through n period OF rctrenChmcn ana
~Iiouidatiun. but there is reason To be
Ucyc II VIII not bc 80 long or trying az
II has been NJ other times We have
had a moncy panic as bad as 1899, but
the fundamental strength OF condl-
tions has enabled as 70 stand the cur
ailmen Of credits. and disarrdRge-
ment Of domestic exchanges. with Tar
less disastrous results. than in 1893
After NO have paid our debts an"
reduced our expenses. the great re-
sources Of the land will revive our
business. let us hope on "A more SOUND
and enduring basis than ever before.