El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-22
SHOULD Be KEPT
OUT Of POLITICS
Bankers Association Presi-
dent Says Currency Re
form Decentralization

New Orleans, La, Nov. 22.-If the
proposed plan for the reform CT the
currency and banking system Of the
United States be kept nOnpartisan, its
enactment into law viii be an easy
accomplishment And it could be kept
& nOnpartisan issue, If the 1000 bank
ers> here would work zealOusly to that
end upon their return home.
So declared F. o. Watts, president
of the American Bankers association,
in addressing the convention Of its
members here Tuesday. Mr. Watts
strayed, he said, from the beaten path
Of precedent, to discuss the theme
which has been made the keynote Of
the convention proceedings.
Surely there is no good reason why
the question should become q partisan
one" he said There is no party
principle involved in such a cooper
ative agency and nothing but preju-
dice Of the extremity for an issue,
which certainly does not exist in this
day, could cause either Of the two
great political parties to treat the
subject differently from what they
should proposals for good health or
pure food. or river improvements, or
the building of a great canal.
We can show that instead of be-
ing Capitalization the proposal is de-
Capitalization, the power coming to the
central agency for all banks in just
such q way as the power is placed in
the chief executive of the nation. The
president becomes the composite of
there
occurs a shifting CT authority. So the
Central Reserve association would al
ways be the composite of the share
holding banks, and therefore, stand
ing for the best in our business life.
Undoubtedly those interests which
according to the passing speech and
hurried composition are designated as
Wall Street favor the National Re-
serve association or any plan of none
tary reform making for stability and
prosperity and relieving the best bank
ers of New York from the great strain
OF crop movements, trade expansion
small number of stock gamblers around
New YOrk's Stock exchange, we find
there banks, business houses. indus
trial and railway corporations vitality
country and who have learned what
one aptly expressed during the year
in saying that his institution and al
lied interests make dollars out of the
where they could make only pennies
out Of special privilege The real Wall
street prefers prosperity to special
privilege, and knows that they serve
commercial, manufacturing, agricul-
tura1, transportation and banking in
terests Of the whole country"
FarnswOrth's Report.
New York still tops all other states
with membership in the American
Bankers association according to the
repOr+ of Fred T. FarnswOrth of New
York. general secretary of the asso-
citation. OF the ,072 Institutions having
membership in the organization, 9Ig
or approximately one in every IS. halls
from New York Pennsylvania comes
next with SO and Illinois is close
third with T99. Fourth place is claimed
by California with $40 hard pressed by
Ohio. with sos the five states named
furnishing 3549 members or nearly one
third of the entire enrolment
The annual income of the assocfa ton.
Dir. FarnwOrth's report proclaimed was
sos, 126 for the past fiscal year OF
this sum, the annual dues constitute
S199,972 having reached that figure
from S127,T50 in 1905. and $11,60 in
1875.
Mr.. Farnsworth touched upon the pro-
posed National Reserve association. de
claring that the currency commission
will hold itself in readiness to prose-
cute a vigorous campaign when the pro-
posed measure shall be framed as a bill
and will come before congress-
Warburg on Wall Streets Danger.
Likening Wall street to a ruler sit
ting upon a key of dynamite Paul NJ
Warburg. of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., i'm an
address declared that the Ma
tional Reserve association would take
the monetary system Of the country
from the control of Wall street inter-
ests and give the United States an elas-
tic system such as never enjoyed be-
fore.
Wall street, at present is a ruler on
a key Of dynamite" Mr. Warburg said