The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-11-06
HIS POWER MAY BE REDUCED
CONGRESS ITkEII 10 TtRB
CONPT ROIIER on q RRENCl.
Ills Right Of Appointment and Removal
In Ills Bureau ABSOLUTE and He
Fixes Receivers Fees once That
Usually Leads to Bank Presidency.


inouiry will he directed into the affairs .
of tho ofrice of Comrtro.ler of the cur /
rercv and into the necessity for lcgIsla-
tion amending the national banking act
and overhaullng the entire plan ot adj ,
ministerlng failed banks and examining
going financial institutions that have
charter from the Federal Government.
The Office Of the Comptroller Of the
Currency was organized 10y an Indiana
man. Hugh MgCulioch, oue time Sccre-
tary of the Treasury and the first Comp
,roller of the Currency. He was banker
OF experience. and the mem bers Of his
family are still in the banking business al
Fort Wayne The Office Is a peculiar one.
The tenure of the Comptroller Of the Cur
rency is five years, while the usual term
OF a public officer in the Federal service IS
four wears. He is not subject to removal
except on charges or by Impeachment.
Appointed nominally bv the Secretary u
the Treasury, and in theory aCCountahI"
to that Cabinet officer. the Comptroller
OF the Currency is really appointed directly
by the President ION the recommendation
Of the Secretary Of the Treasury, and ne
exercises an authority and power that -
Until the second election Of President
Cleveland the Office OF the comptroller
Of the Currency had been filed without
exception by experienced bankers. James
II. Eckels Of Illinois was the first Comp
troller OF the Currency who came 10 that
Office without experience as a banker
He was a lawyer and when appointed ad-
mitted that he had never read the nauohaI
banking act. which ne was expected I"
administ er. and that he had never even
had bank account, and yet It Is generaly
conceded that Mr. tckeIs made one oi 'he
best Comptrollers IN the history OF the
Office. he was good lawyer whose
legal attainments were not unknown I"
President Cleveland, who "a Governor oi
New orh had met Mr. tchels a. studeh'
at the Albany Law school.
In the first three months of Mr.. Eckels's
administration more national banks failed
49, "a hoo,,,,., ;,,s,l,.,r, !, ali tba
,i' N''. , !, -. ~.
previous h.Stoiy o' 'Ie o'I'Ie' ~ vas ''''
beginning OF the panic OF 1898. IL Was
serious trial for the new administrator.
but bacama through IL with a good record
D-..il., ,,la,..,I,,,I ox,,,;,,.,I tho, y.
had selected lawyer lut we ONCE I'e-
were mainly Of a legal character and not
,t,esti,ns relating to national banking
~. u,-:I,.,, 81, 3D.. o. ,,..J I,,.,.sr
iNe ''', '"''
Was NEEDED IN the once "AACe h'
Eckels retired two Of his successors have
been LAWYERS and one a banker without
any yleyaj a,narience The p-a.ant Comm
49,, :. - - H.. ,.,.,.o-
H"''''' 20" ''' 80
ana hd@ ''iA oahhIhS eAPe''e"0e'
The Comptroller Of the Currency - the
head of one Government bureau who NAV
r,,L, bi. o,,o,,t,,ants and rar-ovsi. .
ttir - -.
from oluce 'esa! u'ess o' '''e U'N' H'' ''1
law. National pank examiners ara not
within the classified service. Receivers
of failed banks and their assistants and
49, L. ,,.,,,sal oil .rroir,a3 hv ,bs
'.e - =
IofnPtr"h"F oi the currency "Iulo'' an
limitation as TO his discretion IN the ma o.
San4 e1smnrrs s inv A's The aev co%proer Of the
Currency fixes the compensation Of re-
ceivers arbitrarily and has the last word
as TO the pay Of all assistants and clerk
to a receiver and as TO the compensatIpu
for legal counsel.
The question has come up repea ted Y
in recent years in Congress as 10 whether
there should not he some limitation on
this power. Many men in Congress be
lieve there ought 10 be some standard or
rule that would insure some uniformity
in the fixing Of compensation of receivers
and lawyers other than the judgment Of
the Comptroller % the Currency. II has
been pointed out that the power is one
which in the hands OF politician might
be abused. II has even been charged that
il has been abused and that politicians
have been permitted TO reap large fees
as national bank receivers and as at
torneys for receivers. fees that we're not
warranted by the services rendered
But this is not the only ground of COM
plant that has always been made against I
the administration Of the Office The
complaint is heard that il affords too great
an opportunity for personal aggrandize-
mont. One has but 70 recall the historical
fact that every Comptroller Of the Cur
rency, with one exception. on leaving
that Office has commanded high salary
as an officer OF a national bank, regard
less Of whether or not he had had bank
ing experience before he entered the
office
The exception was Charles G. Dawes
who is now the president of the Central
Trust Company of Illinois. Mr. Dawes
always maintained that a Comptroller
of the Currency gained an insight into the
national banking business of the country
through his experience in that Office
that was so valuable that he could readily
command a high salary from many ma
tional banking institutions, because the
information as to the solvency and internal
affairs of the banks throughout the coun-
nv was simply inyahabie TO a big ma