Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-20
USE OF CHECKS IN BUSINESS
Over Half of Retail Trade Done with
Credit instruments.
FIGURES TAKEN FROM BANKS
investigation shows Ninety Per Cent
OF Wholesale Trade Is Done with
Bank Paper-WyOminE
Leads states.

-
WASHINGTON, Feb. p.-"ws are justi-
fled in concluding that 50 or 50 per cent Of
the retail trade OF the country is settled
by means of checks and other credit in
struments. over 30 per cent Of the whole
sale trade Is done with credit instru-
mehts."
Such are the conclusions of DR.. David
Kinley, of the University Of Illinois, ex-
pressed in a monograph which the Ma
tional Monetary commission will issue in a
day or two under the title Of "the use Of
credit instruments in payments in the
United States"
During 1909, DR., Kinley made an investi-
cation OF this subject through the instru-
mentality OF the commission and the comp
troller Of the currency. instructions were
sent to all kinds of banks.
The aggregate retail deposits on March
16 1909, the day on which the banks we're
requested to report their retail deposits,
showed some interesting facts. according
to DR.. Kinley. The largest amount OF de-
posits was in the returns OF the national
banks where the percentage Of checks was
TAT. the highest shown by any class Of
banks. The loan and trust companies next
with 1877 per cent, but their total deposits
were only about one-eighth OF those OF the
national banks.
The third in order of percentage was the
state banks and the percentage Of credit
paper in their deposits was 20 in deposits
amounting to about 40 per cent of the ma
Honal banks. The private banks, with less
than 81. 900 deposits. showed 6S.4 per cent
OF checks, while the stock savings banks,
with deposits of less than $500, 900, showed
n a = - ZZ.A - lzzI.- MI -...A,.. a-..
ings banks showed 12.s per cent in checks
in deposits Of less than $4,000.
wyoming Leads states.
The highest percentage of checks EN-
ployed in retail deposits was in banks in
Wyoming. There the ratio was s3.7 per
cent, while New York came next with S0a
per cent, and Oregon third with SOL per
cent. The only two states that showed a
percentage of checks less than 60 were
Maine, where the percentage was 5S.S of
deposits reported, and Rhode Island, where
the percentage was $3.50.
Or. Kinley says that the use of checks
Is promoted in a measure by the payment
OF wages in checks. OF weekly payrolls
reported by the banks 20 per cent were in
checks.
THE transaction OF 50 large a volume
of our business by checks is an element
OF danger In times OF s%tringency and
crisis says Or. KInley. I'm such times the
balances OF credit. transactions creates &
larger demand for money, but the habit OF
settling by check has meantime Kept tn,
available amount of money at a minimum
Consequently there ought to be SOM
means Of supplying additional currency
when credit as a means Of payment dimin.
ishes. This currency ought to be as saf'
and as uniform as the ordinary currency
THE volume of credit transactions very
likely tends to increase as population ant
business grow. 1t does not increase uni
formly, however, but by periodic move,
ments. That is to say, the rate of increas'
Of credit transactions as compared with
the whole volume Of business grows, az 1
were, by jerks and at a decreasing rate"