The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-01-12
BANKING REFORM
FOR BUSINESS MEN

mittee of the National Citizen
League.)
1t has been said that the Unite,
States has "the worst banking sys
tenn in the world" but | believe tha
we have foundation on which we cal
build the best banking system in tn,
world. This can be done without tear
ing down our present structure, anC
without making any revolutionary
changes.
Our banking system, as it is now
ESprganized, breaks down at the very
time when the country's business is
most in need of the support a banking
system should give. A sound banking
system should prevent money panics
not breed them, as ours now does II
is humiliating fact that ours is now
the only country in the world in which
money panics occur Germanys re.
cent experience is an Illuminating ex.
ample of the manner in which sound
banking system prevents panics.
The panic of 1907 brought home to
every business man and to every wage
Garner the fact that something was
radically wrong with our banking sys-
tenn. We had the same bitter expert
ence in 93 and in '73. eW are bound
to have it again if we do not profit by
these costly experiences, and correct
the evils that are apparent to all who
have given serious thought to the
fundamental relations between bust
ness and banking.
1t is inevitable that when man
takes up the consideration of a new
problem, he is controlled by his past
experience, and | had not studied the
banking problem very long before my
point of view was adjusted by my
training as a business man. Since
then, have endeavored-to approach
the problem, not from the standpoint
of how radical revision of our laws
| can suggest, and how many ideals
can be achieved, but rather in an en-
de9vor to determine how much of our
. present system is satisfactory, and
how little change need be made, for
change always means disturbance.
The business man who seeks to dis
cover how our banking system may be
most readily improved must be i'm
pressed by the fact that there is much
in our present system that is better
than any other system in the world,
that the defects, while radical and i'm
portant, can be readily overcome, and
that the difficulties are not nearly so
serious as some believe. The impor-
tant things is to approach the prob
lem with an unprejudiced mind and
endeavor to satisfy the people of this
country that simple solution can be
found, instead of confusing them with
a complicated reorganization.
The strongest feature of our present
system is its great number of independ-
ent banks, each serving separate
community, with an intimate knowl-
edge of the business conditions which
surround them. The president and di-
rectors of each bank have their fingers
on the financial pulse of the commun-
ity which they serve. They are in in
innate daily touch with every mer-
chant and industry.
A central bank, operating through
branches, and dealing directly with the
business interests of the country can
not take the place of the independent
banks which have been built up in
democratic American fashion. | be-
lieve that it is a waste of time to con-
-ssser the possibility of establishing in
this country central bank. The peo-
pie do not want a central bank.
But the periodic breaking down of
our banking system, with the result
ing enormous industrial losses, has
clearly shown the need in this coun-
try of banking cooperation. While
we are fairly we'll agreed that cen
trail bank should not take the place of
our existing banking institutions, we
have seen that the operation of central
in other countries has
established the fact that
some element of central control is es- {
sential
We have 10000 established banks, '
each doing efficient work, but we have
no method of bringing about united ac- {
ton in time of emergency. We have
20 900 soldiers, and no general. The
result has been that in time of panic, c
each one of our 10000 soldiers has L
tried to stel the ammunition of some t
Of the others, in order to fight his own v
little battle 1t is not necessary, how V
ever to disband the army in order to
make it effective. Let us preserve all r