Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-11-24
The Bank Guaranty Law

ne NdtlOnal OankS nave now
filed their brief in the bank guar
anty case before Judge Pollock
in the U. S. Circuit Court and the
whole matter is now under advise
ment by him. From the account
we read of the ground for the at
tack on the law, the case of the
National banks seems to rest on
slender footing if not altogether
ridiculous assertions. To one on
the outside of the fight the whole
thing appears to be founded on in.
sane jealousy on the part of the
National banks towards State
banks that are trying to obey the
law and protect the people who
have bank deposits. That the people
will resent this attack on their law
goes without saying; that this law
or one similar will in the end tri-
umph is an assured fact and the
sooner the National banks cease
this foolish warfare against estab.
lished law, the more money they
will have on deposit in the end.
This is plain but true statement
that is daily apparent to anyone
who will listen to the talk on the
streets.
The brief in question now before
the court is in itself an admission
of the sel6shness of the plaintiffs in
the case. 1t admits in plain terms
that the National banks will lose
business if the law cannot be torn
down, that the people will deposit
money in State banks because it is
there absolutely safe, and therefore
injure the National banks that can
not go under the law by reason of
the ruling of the Comptroller at
Washington; we read from the
brief:
"Our position is further that be-
cause the scheme is backed by the
state and all its officials and is
thoroughly advertised it will at
tract the people and that those
banks who go into it will be bene-
flied and those banks that stay out
of it will be injured. The law
therefore is primarily burden. If
it is enforced it becomes a benefit
to the banks who participate be-
cause they lose only their assess
ments and it becomes a burden to
those who do not participate, be-
cause they lose their business.
What twaddle this is. The
doors are open under this law for
every National bank in Kansas to
guarantee its depositors just the
same as the State banks and if the
Comptroller and Wall street won't
permit this to be done, then let
them denationalize and take out a
charter under the laws of the state
of Kansas, which, by the way, is
the only proper way for a bank to
be chartered doing business in this
state. In the petition of the Ma
tional banks in this case their at
torneys make this admission: "that
in case the law remains in, force
and effect banks which may not
accept the provisions of said law
will be forced to cease doing busi-
ness for the reason that all, or a
large part of their deposits, will be
withdrawn, and will be forced to
wind up their business, or, to rein.
corporate in such way as to en-.
title them to the benefits of sale
law.
This certainly speaks we'll fol
the eight hundred State banks tha
are going to do business under it
Surely, if the National banker:
think this is the result to be
why not come in out of the we
and get the business of the people
| But again, why is this a reason
| for destroying the law on our stat
ute books? The two hundred Ma
| tional banks in Kansas are not tn
people by large majority and i
seems that these banks have forgot
ten that the dog usually wags tn
tail and not the tail the dog
| Judge Pollock, of course will rend
er his decision in accordance wit
law, and while we are not lawyer
we predict verdict for the people
AS we have stated before, this lay
is right and just; the people c
Kansas demand it and Kansa
. people generally get what they G
! after.