The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-06-08
Is Ill NEGEOOAkI
Bankers Dislike to Tell Com
mittee of Business.
Say Information Should Come
From Comptroller.
AMENDMENT WILL PASS
Senate Will Vote to Give In
vestigatOrs More Power.
State and National Bankers
Puzzled Over Policy.

New York, June S.-Some. of the
members of the Pujo committee of
the lower house of congress which has
Just begun to investigate the so-calleG
money trust are quoted with having
said that the senate will speedily give
Its approval to the proposed amend
ment of the national bank act which
has recently passed the house of rep
resentatives. Apparently the assump-
ton is that President Taft will as
speedily give his approval to this
amendatory act so that before mid
summer has come this highly fmpor-
tant amendment will have become law.
The senate finance committee has Civ
en- to this proposed amendment
more careful consideration than the
measure received when it was before
the house. 1t, in fact, received scant
consideration in the lower house, al
though the amendment strikes directly
at feature of the national banking
law which the trainers of that law
thought of vital Importance.
The managers of banks throughout
the United States find themselves in
a somewhat embarrassing condition
with respect to this invectigation, and
especially this contemplated amend
ment of the national banking act; for
these managers know that if they OPP
pose the amendment or if they decline
to testify before the Pujo committee
they will be liable to the suspicion hat
there are many things in their man
agement which they are anxious to
conceal. 1t will be presumed by many
persons and will probably be asserted
by those who are of demagogic dis
position, that If the banks of the
United States had so conducted their
business as to be free from any re-
preach they would not object to ex-
posing their management and affairs
to committee of congress.
The answer to this accusation which
has been made here and which has
been brought to the attention of the
senate finance committee is this-the
comptroller of the currency at Wash
ington has authority under the law to
make frequent Investigations into the
condition and management of The ma
scrutiny to the uttermost detail in
the past five years Investigations of
this kind have been thorough and ex-
haustive. In the archives of the
comptrol1er's office at Washington is
detailed information respecting the
condition and management of every
national bank. The Pujo committee
could learn no more by an investiga-
ton than the comptroller of the cur
rency already knows.
So Also the State Banks.
In a majority of the states the
banks chartered by the states are sub
year and sometimes three. On the
whole these examinations have been as
rigid as have been those carried on by
the direction of the comptroller of the
currency Therefore, unless there be
imputation that the comptroller of the
currency at Washington and the SUI
perintendents of the banking depart
ment in all the states are either in
capable or unfaithful to their respon-
sibilities then it is certain that every
bank in the United States has depos-
tied with the proper authorities de-
tailed and accurate information as to
it's condition and manageme These
things have not been concealed unless
there have been wholesale dishonesty
and false reporting on the part of the
bank managers.
The Makers of the National Bank Act.
The men who drafted the national
banking law went into every phase of
banking before they formulated their
first draft. Among the matters con-
sidered, both in committees and upon
the floor of the house and senate. was
ers. From the days of early banking
until the present time it had been rec
ognized as a fact that bank should
preserve confidential relations with it's
customers. That was regarded as Wit
al Customers do. not like to have
their financial dealings made public,
not because these dealings may be
properly subject to criticism, but be-
cause publicity with regard to them
might serve seriously to embarrass
business men, especially in their reIa-
ton with their competitors. 1t was
in recognition of this custom; which
had the force of unwritten law, that
the trainers of the national banking