White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-16
persons as would lead to a campaign
of self-destruction.
Who The Heayist Losers Were.


of self-destruction.
Who The Heasist Losers Were.
Furthermore, our observation was
that such individuals and corpora
tons as wefe fortunate enough, when
the panic was raging and when Sc
eurity prices were at their lowest, to
hold any considerable amount of
liquid resources, invariably devoted
such resources, to the aid of the weak
er members of the community and
deliberately refrained from putting
their funds into low-priced securities
for the purposes of profit.
1t has often been observed that
Mr.. Morgan aided actively and effee-
lively in the efforts to compose the
panic of 1907. Such aid as he was
able to render to the situation in New
York at that time was due, we be-
lieve, simply to his ability in secur-
ing the prompt cooperation of many
divergent minds which represented
strong, Independent banks. The
same kind of service always is to be
commanded in this country's
emergencies.
If we have dwelt with more cir
cumstanee than perhaps your judy
ment approves upon these features
of the Preamble, it is because we be-
lieye that the whole framework and
language of the congressional reso-
luton under which you are acting
implies a conception impossible in
sound theory, and wholly impossible
in practice; such theory being that
a comparatively small group of men,
chiefly conferred in New York City,
can and do obtain such complete mas
terry over the financial machinery of
one hundred millions of independent
people that they have power TO cause
this whole country incalculable dis
tress, or as the Resolution puts 1t:
have welded a power over the bust
ness. commerce, credit and finances
of the country that is despotic and
perilous and is daily becoming more
perilous to the public welfare"
Perhaps the greatest harm il the
presentation referred to lay in the
further unwarranted inference, to
which has been given wide publicity,
that the vast sum of $25 900, 600, 900
was in cash or liquid form. subject
to the selfish use or abuse of indi-
viduals. Such an idea excites the
public mind to demand the correc-
ton of a fancied situation which
does not and, in our belief, never can
exist.
This striking tendency toward a
greater and greater diffusion of
American banking Is illustrated fur
Their by the fact that between 1900
and 1912 the number of independent
banks in the country has, according
to the best reports obtainable. in
creased from 10,37S to 25,160, or by
more than 40 per cent. while the
population increased by less than 25
Der cent in the same period. Here is
complete evidence of a tendency OPP
Grating today toward the decentrali-
zation of banking facilities.
Not Equal To Country's Needs.
1t is also perhaps not sufficient
" recognized that, even as it is,
American banks have not fully kept
pace with the development of Amer
lean business. Hundreds of the finan-
eial transactions of today are so
large that no single bank commands
81 sufficient resources to handle them.
This is especially true with respect to
the great public utilities which are
essential for the development and
welfare of the community. Even our
largest banks are seldom able separ-
ately to extend the credit which such
undertakings require, no one nation
al bank being permitted by law to
loan in excess of 10 per cent of its
capital and surplus 20 any one indi-
vidual or concern. When it is re-
membered that literally hundreds of
corporations in this country are now
obliged to borrow annually sums of
a million dollars and upwards apiece,
ii is obvious that the size of our