The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1908-10-29
MAJOR LACEY At
WEST UNION IOWA
DELIVERED STIRRING REPusl.l-
CAN SPEECH LAST NIGHT.
BRYAN PALACES pUNcrUkED
High Compliment is Paid Osksloosa
Institutions in Discussion Of Bank
Deposit Guarantees--inter-
estine Comparisons.


West Union, Oct 2S-Maj. John f.
Lacey, republican candidate for Unit
ed States senator, addressed large
audience here last night. He re-
ferred especially to the bank deposit
guaranty which Mr.. Bryan is making
his principal political argument dur
ing this campaign. Mr.. Lacey said
that this scheme was neither good nor
new. He said it was tried many years
ago in New York and found to be a
dismal and costly failure Oklahoma
under the inspiring rule of Gov Has
kell of coal oil fame, is now trying
this experiment again, and with a
great flourish Of trumpet it is an
|nounced that, after few months trial.
it has proved success. But a trial
Iof such a radical experiment cannot
be made in az few months. Democrat
ic Oklahoma has been covered into
a financial experiment station. We
are told that one small bank there has
failed, that it was not able to meet its
obligations on demand and that the
deposit gus anty was used and all de-
positors promptly paid, and that the
assets were ample and losses were
finally incurred even for the deposit
fund. Under these circumstances no
loss would have occurred to the depos-
itors if a receiver had wound up the
bank But the true test will come In
Oklahoma when some large bank
closes its doors and is in fact insoly-
Ient.
Mr.. Lacey referred to the city of
Oskaloosa where he said there had
never been bank failure in the so
years of existence. Abont $40,000,o00
are on disposit in theS .anks of that
city. 1t, is proposed by Mr.. Bryan,s
party, he continued, to levy tax Of
one percent or $4,000 on the amount
LOT the oskaloosa deposit 10 create~Fu
Guaranty fund to make good the loss
es of broken banks of Florida. Ar
kansas, New York. Texas or Iowa.
He showed that his assessment would
not fall on the banks. for tb'y would
make it up by reduction of interest
on deposits or some other way. A
banker in some distant city or state
squanders the money intrusted to
his charge The people Of his COM
munity trusted him and knowing the
standing of the bank they were de-
ceiyed and put their trust in dis
honest institution Now it Is pro-
posed to tax the honest depositors or
other banks to make good the loss.
kaloosa in which no such losses have
kaloosa which no such losses nave
ever occurred in nearly so years.
must guarantee by depositors tax
the dishonesty or mistakes OF other
communities in distant states.
Iowa has more banks than any 9TH
er state in the union, though by no
means as much banking capital as
many other states. To make the
banks of one state guarantee the
banks of another is plan predicted
upon the theory that it would make
them all strong. No chain is strong
er than the weakest link in it. The
plan would make the banks equally
weak, for the strongest must guar
antee the weak. The rotten banKs
VAL pdS ItiC hASutoJ luLClCoJ OB UNr
post and if each bank is guaranteed
by all, the depositor will either shun
them all as equally dangerous or win
deposit his money in the most feck-
less one which will tempt him with
tho highest interest. Each bank
failure win be marked by fraudulent
certificates of deposits, and the blund-
or OF the deposit fund by fraudulent
bank failures will become a leading
| industry of the country. The scheme
| is wild and chimerical like all tine
financial yagaries of Mr.. Bryan who
has always been much more of popu-
list than democrat. His free silver
scheme has gone into the limbo OF
exploded herecies and has its histor-
ian, but no present supporters His
greenback plans are also things Oh the
past, but his bank guaranty pro-
position is his pet and morbid fancy
| Of today. Should he win and it
should be tried, it would be as much
failure as the Wilson Tariff Law
| which he, as member Of the ways
and means committee helped to frame.
A farmer sows q field of wheat or
oats and his crop proves a failure.
Why should not his more fortunate
neighbor be called upon to subscribe
wheat and oats guaranty fund to
make up the loss? Is the deposit in
the bank any more sacred than the
deposit of the seed In the ground?
A bank loans money on a note given
by trusted customer with a trusted
surety on the note. Both principal
and surity fail and the note proves
worthless. Why should not the 9TH
er banks be called upon to make
good the loss lender? Who should
watch the methods OF the bank it's
depositors 81 the distant bank which