Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-21


VERONA. Neb. Sept. 16-To the Editor
of The Bee: one Of the strange spectaclcs
that We witness in this campaign Is people
paying attention to Bryauys advice on
financial legislation. Bryan's speeches
when he opposed the repeal OF the Sherman
silver purchasing act sixteen years ago
when he approved Senator Aliens fourteen
hour speech against the repeal, when he
fought Grover Cleveland for maintaining
the gold standard and the country's credit
all the world around ousnt TO be still fresh
In the memory Of the voters. II he had had
his way there would have been a free silver
plank in the democratic platform only four
years ago. Everybody knows that the
foundation Of our last eleven years OF
prosperity was Grover Cleveland's main
tenance of the gold STANDARD and the
country's credit, perpetuated by Mckinley
and Roosevelt. and all their work In this
IRE was condemned by Bryan. But now
he is wandering again and wants the gov
eminent to guarantee bank deposits.
Everybody knows that Nebraska bankers
pay 4 per cent on deposits, twice the
amount the government pays on its securi-
ties. A 2 per cent bond sells above par,
Not only do the banks pay twice as much
interest to both large and small deposltors
as the government pays for money, but
they, under present laws, have to give the
entire assets Of the bank, both capital and
surplus, and each stockholder Is liable for
an assessment of 100 per cent additional
as security for the depositors. Our banks
have reached their present high plane of
security in this and other states by the
old rule Of the survival Of the fittest.
Think of the untold millions that Moshcr
90 Al. Ya4- C,-tN,I N~,VH1-a1 hanE 81 In
coin could have got from depositors II he
could have said to them: Every other
bank in this state is security for you here
with me-" Depositors would have had no
object in withrrlwing their deposits. Reck-
less men are more liberal with depositors
than conservative men, and always will he.
and under a government guarantee the I'M
told millions on deposit would flow from
the conservative and well managed banks,
where 1t is now. into the hands of the
reckless and liberal bankers. 1t Is not a
question to leave we'll enough alone. 1t
Is a question to leave the very best alone.
Does any man suppose that the last panic
could nave been so admirably handled II
our banks had not been built up step by
step or the old rule OF the survival or the
fittest? To say that there is now proposed
a law by a leader of one of the great
parties that in effect means that any set
of men, with only SO, 200 capital, the amount
Il takes to start a national BANK ana
1 ,OOO, the amount required to start a state
bank, could by recklessly giving more in
terest and more liberal treatment to de-
p~ositors than sound ara conservative men
would give, and drain our conservative
banks with large capital and deposits and
force the large and conservative banks to
withdraw credit from our business enter
prises and manufacturer is simply appall-
ing.
Mr.. Bryan is our greatest orator. He has
the greatest voice of any man that speaks
the English language. Let us give him
credit for what he is. Let us oVerwhelm-
ingly condemn him for his vagarics, his
poor judgment that caused him to advocate
free silver, government ownership OF rail-
roads, and, last but not least, government
guarantee Of bank deposits. All wrong and
show up his weak Judgment. Does n
sane Roosevelt republican or airy sane old
line democrat want to elect a man presi-
dent that has made more mistakes than
any living democrat? Nebraska democrats,
like Hitchcock and Shallenberger, must ad-
vocate his vagaries or be driven out Of the
party by him. There is no half way point.
Never in the history Of the democratic
party was such a spectacle presented.
When our party made the mistake in 1872
and nominated Greedy democrats staid
away from the polls and four years later
got together and elected Tilden, a sound
money, all around practical man. As demo-
Gratis we should stay by our state and
county tickets and keep up our organiza-
ton, and leave the presidential electors
blank, and show to the world that as demo-
Gratis we will not elect an urysound man
president. JOHN MURTEY.