The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-09-11
BANK GUARANTY PLAN
Issue Is Sweeping Agricultural
States of the West.
KANSAS REPUBLICANS ACT.

State Convention Puts Proposition In
|. It's .Platform-A Setback For Mr..
Taft-Fryins the Fat From Corpora
tions-An Example of G. o. p. Ef-
frontery-Thc Organized Labor Vote.
By WILLIS j. ABBOT.
The real political sensation OF the
week III Democratic circles has been
the wholly unexpected growth Of the
demand for the guaranty OF bunk de-
jposits rs provided In the Democratic
platform. think but few public men
aside from Mr.. Bryan himself had any
conception of the wildtirc way In
wlcll this issue would sweep the agri-
cultural states OF the middle west. A
Prominent Washington OFFICIAL. 4 Re-
publican. who was in my office the
,thcr day sahl that he lad been travel
Ing through Kansas and Nebraska and
found the people. including the bank
ers. earnest In their demand for the
adoption OF this plan. In Kansas the
tRepUblicRa state convention has put
Tue proposition IN It's pRtf0rm. thereby
presenting the phenomenal spectacle
OF the party in the state taking sharp
issue with the position OF the party In
the nation. Secretary Taft, who GER
tainly seems to have the courage OF
his convictions. bitterly denounced the
project in speech which bT Il curious
coincidence was delivered on the same
day that the Republican convention In
Kansas met and adopted 1t.
Tie fact OF the matter is that the
operation OF the law in Oklahoma has
been so exceedingly successful that the
Kansas banks are beginnin. to feel
the d:ain. Their depOsitors arc with.
drawiu. money from banks which Of
fer no security for IL and senI;ng it to
those In the Ecighborims slate which
afford Il security prescribed by law. II
Kansas adopts the system. as II donbt-
less will when It's next Legislature
luecis, Nebraska will follow suit. The
plan will proceed from state to state
until the whole tier OF agricultural
states bordering the Mississippi and
NJ MiSSo,iri rivers have adopted 1t. This
Is not tuere idle speculation. but It IS
the well founded opinion OF travellers
and correspondents who hare visited
those states since tue. Denver conren-
tlon. The Republican papers in the
larger cities and IN the east recognize
the danger OF this issue and arc con-
centratin. their fire upon It. The DEM
0crats welcome these attacks and re-
,u;,r Set ;hr u';r:antrs OF both Sec
retary Taft and President Roosevelt
have mace the issue s'l;lar"'y on this
point.
Ono Attack Confuted.
Recently through some political
agency mnst OF The big city dalIics
printed IN article to the effect that ibc
system OF bank deposits had been
tried in New York stale aud failed.
The authority cited was Il certain his
tory OF the American banking system
which contained the statement that in
1929 the banks OF New York establish
cd guaranty fund which resulted in
overspeculatun and in ultimate disas-
ter. Comparatively few people will
think that the experience of eighty
years ago, before the banking system
had been at all perfected. should be
applied TO conditions existing today
Dut, even if it were, investigation
shows that the cases are not parallel.
1t was not the creation OF fund to
he held by the government as custo'
dian. fund raised by tax upon the
deposits upon the banks, but was
rather system Of mutua! nnderwrit-