The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-10-07
TWO SECTIONS
OF BANKERS NET
CLEARING EOUsE AND SAVINGS
BANKS SECTIONS HEAR
SEVERAL SPEECHES.
THE FUTURE OF BONDS
Discussed BY Deputy Comptroller of
New York, (. .. Fisher--fle
Believes Cprrency System
Needs Changing.

Needs Changing,
Los Angeles, Oct. G. The savings
banks and clearing house sections oi
the American Bankers Association
were the only ones taat met today
The savings banks section was all
dressed by President Wm. Greer OF
Cleveland; Secretary VIM. Hansar'
of New York; Edmund p. Fisher Of
New York, and Newton e. Haley Of
Memphis.
The clearing house section was adj
dressed by Lee McCmng, treasurer
of the United tSates; j. b. Forgan, cf
Chicago Edmund d. Fisher OF New
York; stoddard Jess, OF Los Angeles,
and John Kotley, of Atlanta, Ga.
Future of Bonds.
The future fer bonds is bright be-
cause the present quietude in busi-
ress will stimulate thrift which IN
turn will increase the investing pow
er Of the country was the belief OK
pressed by Deputy Comptroller EG-
mund d. Fisher, of New York cry.
Mir. Fisher said in part;
"The future Of bonds as an invest
ment is bound up, to a greater or less
or extent. with practically every
question which affects financial and
Industrial activ IS. Il is manifest y
Impossible, within the approp ate linn
TITS o9 an address. 10 tleai iF more
/ than a general way vita some OF the
fundamental causes wAich produce
from time to time marked and some
times violent fluctuations in the value
OF Investments with fixed maturities,
and to point out some OF the weak
nesces in our general methods o!
transactng business VIII ch are re-
sponsiblc for these fluctuations,
! Interest return on lac market
value of Characteristic securities dur
ing the past three decades has under
gone a marked change, This return
on railroad bonds was. in 1879, a.9'
per cent; in 1889, 4.93 per cent; IN
1899, 395 per cent; while In 1909 II
was on a basis OF 4.l8 per cent. The
return On high grade municipal secu
Irities during this period has averaged
about / per cent lower than these
rates, except in the last decade, whicf
has been characterized by a eAaaRe II
1 the general moyemeh; o. bond prices
II is quite evident therefore, thai
from the broad standpoint the usua
law involving interest returns ha
I prevailed; namely, that as wealti
and capital have increased the inter
est return on invested capital has De
clined.
Recent events in the financial ant
political world, however, point to
period of quietude in business, whel
the recuperative powers Of the coun
. try for investn ent will return Neces
; sity, growing out of business difficu'
} ty, stimulates periods of thrift whicI
tend to reduce commodity prices, in
; crease wealth and consequently tn
. investing power of the people. Fun
: thermore. the bond markets are no
/ likely to be fooIed with the grea
volume of competing securities whic
5 has characterized the last decade,
$ this country the need for improve
+ ment in our currency system is a
J tracing much public attention, an
1 the necessity for the establishment q
s a central bank for this purpose is b'
+ coming more apparent 1ne Great @
. of such an institution would go Ion
9 way in reducing the severity q recu
y ring crisis which have so oi'en d'
T. ent system there VIII always be II