The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-04-26
MCADOO'S SURM|SES
NOT WELL FOUNDED
WHAT SECRETARY OF TREASURY
TERMS IRREGULAR METHODS
NOT IRREGULAR AT ALL.
COL. McADAMS EXPLAINS
REPORTS ON CONDITION Of BANKS
MERCHANTS NATIONAL SECURES
NOT ADVANCE INFoRMA-
TION, BUT PUBLIC
PROPERTY.

Following up a dispatch from
Washington to the effect that Sec
rotary McAdoo has instituted an in
vestigation of what he terms irregu-
lar methods In connection with the
giving out of information in his de-
partment regarding the condition OF
national banks, In which the Mer-
chants National bank of Richmond
was mentioned as one OF those which
had secured information from the
department. Col. Thomas Is. Nc
Adams, cashier of that institution,
stated yesterday that there is abso-
lutefy nothing irregular in this meth
Cd so far as his bank Is concerned.
To save time. and for the sake Of
convenience, Colonel McAdams states,
the Richmond bank has had an ar
rangement with the Riggs bank. Of
Washington, which is its correspond
emf there, to furnish 1t with regular
reports of certain Southern banks to
the comptroller in which II is inter-
ested. The clerk in the Riggs bank
simply makes copies of reports that
have already been published in the
newspapers Of the cities in which the
banks are located. are on public files
in the comptroiiers office. and are in
mo sense advance Internationally
have become public property-and
the only idea ia to save the time and
trouble OF writing a hundred letters
70 the various banks to procure this
Information.
Colonel McAdams gave out the fol-
lowing statement:
Five times each year the comp
troller of the currency calls for a
report Of the condition of national
banks. Under the law these state
ments must be published In the va
,Ia,S uaxRznanarw and thus
Immediately made public.
"Our Institution has large num-
: Der of correspondents among the ma
tionaI banks Of Virginia and the
South, and In order to keep our
credit flies in up-to-date form II is.
of course, necessary that we receive
and compile regularly the statements
of these national banks as issued.
Merely as a matter of conven-
fence and for no other reason we
have for about a year past secured
copies of these published statements
from Washington. rather than writ
ing around to each OF the banks or
newspapers for the same information
we have always understood that
these published statements were pub
lie property and open 10 the inspec~
ton of anyone, and any bank or in
dividual could call at the comptrol-
ler's Office and get copy of the pub
lished report of any institution. In
fact. the department itself publishes
regularly once each year detailed
statements of the national banks Of
the country. and would doubtless do
80 at every cali but for the expense.
TN order. therefore, to secure this
Information with the least amount
of trouble we requested our CORE
spondents and friends. the Riggs Ma
tinrm, hank Of Warrington to have
this work done for US and sent them
a list of the banks whose statements
we wished 20 receive regularly at
each cali.
I'VE have never asked for nor re-
celved any information other than
that contained in the regularly pub
iished reports of the banks and In
no way could II be construed as ad
vance information, as in the natural
course OF events statements could not
Re copied and forwarded to us until
two or three weeks after they had
been made public through the news
papers OF the country"