The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-11-03
ROW STARTS WHEN BANKS
REFUSE TO CASH WARRANTS
Gy They Are Overloaded With State Warrants
and Can't Get Money on Them --RumOr of
Organized Effort to Force Governor to
Call Special Session of Legislature.

I banks and get them to handle that
much more of the states paper, but
that doesn't look like a square deal to
me. One Oklahoma City bank, the
State Exchange bank, has $4,000 of
state money on deposit, and it is car
rying 100000 worth of state warrants
! The Western National bank has 500
| 600 of state money and is carrying
| 1925, 900 of state warrants, and they
are fair examples of the situation.
In my opinion, the only logical way
to handle the meter is for Governor
J Lee Cruce to call special session of
: the legislature, to have these warrants
adjudicated and refunded. We have
more than a million dollars to take up
our current warrants and only about
million dollars of warrants Every
state warrant issued now is worth the
face value and the interest that will
accrue on it for every one issued since
July /, 1911, will be taken up within
six and half months from the time
of its registration. The,interest that
should be saved on outstanding war
rants is in the neighborhood of $780,
600 year, which in itself would pay
for an extra session should the old
warrants, which will have to be met
some day, be refunded.
The idea of special session did not
appeal to Governor Lee Cruce, who
stated that it was news to him that
the banks were refusing to cash state
warrants and that he probably" would
take up the question with State Treas
|urer Dunlop on Thursday
IF State Treasurer Dunlop will re-
ceive as security for state funds, only
warrants issued since July 1, 1911, the
situation will be met" said Governor
Cruce. ''It should be easy enough to
keep the present warrants at par and
there is no reasonable excuse for any
of them being discounted, for the state
has $1,300,000 of hard cash, and the
lpresent warrants all told will not
amount to million dollars. When
the banks took all these old warrants
they knew there was no prospect of
quick money, and they should be re-
quired to match the state deposits with
warrants, which they must know are
worth dollar for dollar, and thus, aid
in keeping the credit of the state on
the high plane where is should be.
''The question of calling a special
session of the legislature for the pur.
pose of refunding old warrants, issued
by previous administrations never ap
: pealed to me. They were issued. They
: were accepted. The men who bought
them knew just what they were buying
Z and it is only a questio nof time until
they will be paid, with the accrued in
terest. Even the most skeptcal will
, not intimate that the great state OF
/ Oklahoma cannot or will not meet hel
, obligations. But, even if it is desired
that these warrants be refunded al
once. af not sure that the legisla
t ture could do it without a vote of the
: people"
! At the Western National bank. the
; Oklahoma reporter was told that vii
: Brooks might know where to place
some of the present warrants. Mr.
r Brooks is son-in-law of M. l.. Turner
| president of the bank At the State
: National bank, it was carefully e1
r planned that "Mr Anderson, not the
banker" of Ardmore, would buy state
! warrants, and had mode arrangements
with Vice President Don Lacey, o
that institution, to purchase large
amount of warrants at five per cen
r discount