The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-09-17
BANKER TALKS ON
FINANCIAL SITUATION

. \ a.
uonal bank Of portlsud.D
certain facts-and beyond persdyen.
'ure The most important ones in tbf
consideration Of cur present financial
CONDITIONS, which must be indelibly
impressed upon the mind Of every hus.
/ mess man IN these United States are
First-That financial conditions ir
our country today are sound. and at No
/ tine since our government was estab.
/ ilshed were they ever IN a sOunder con.
ultion than they are at this moment.
! Second tand let this sink deem int,
/ your understandingl-th is abso,
Iu'eiy no danger today Of a financial
pane sweeping across this country
/ such as all Of Us have seen in times
gone by, nor, indeed, shall you or
ever again witness in this country surh
panic conditions as prevailed in 1907 on
1885, or, indeed, IN other panic wears.
Ihese are cold, hard facts and not the
/ rosy dreams of some visionary student
OF political economy facts that are
established truths in the minds of
hhahclers OF established reputation,
and tacts that should and must be
equally well established in your mind
and IN the mind of every business man
IN these United States.
Let me repeat them, for they cannot
be reiterated too often: First, these
/ United States were never in a sounder
financial condition than they are today.
second, there is no danger of finan-
clal panic today nor shall we ever
again see such panics as We have seen
In the past.
Flrst-Because in these United
States there are 81, 800, GOA, 900 of gold
a supply roughly two and a half times
greater than that Of any other coun-
try an amount more than sufficient
to transact the business of this coun-
try; when treated scientifically as a
reserve against currency issues it is
sufficient 10 carry burden of currency
5O times greater than we now have,
without endangering cur maintenance
of a gold standard Take for example
the panic of 1907, when England had
but S4OO, 100000 of gold; and yet so
perfect was EngIand's financial system
that it parted with one half of this
supply to this country without shaking
the financial fabric Of Great Britain.
Our supply Of gold today is nearly four
times larger than that Of Great Britain
in 1907, and should with ease carry all
the burdens of commerce that may be
put upon it,
Second-The strength of our fnan-
cial system today is shown bv the ease
with which we parted with 500, 600,
600 of gold in the first months of this
year and S4S, GOO, 600 more during the
month of July, without disturbing one
iOta our finances. At no previous date
in the history of our country have we
exported like amount of gold in so
short time; to have done so in years
gone by would have rocked every f.
nancial institution in the country to
its foundations and probably brought
ruin to many. Today not one has been
disturbed by such heavy expectation
of the precious metal nay more, tinan-
cial leaders say so good and sound is
our condition that another 500, 900, 600
could have gone abroad without percep-
tibly affecting conditions.
Third Because the New York Stock
Exchange, against which so many of
our people eXclaim, was kept open for
days after every organized stock eX-
change in the world had closed; yet by
so doing was able to absorb, without
panic OF disaster, the immense flood of
securities poured upon US by the panic
stricken peoples of Europe Such sta
blity of our financil institutions, for in
the end the burden was cast upon them,
makes it but a question of few years
before New York becomes the recog-
nized financial center of the world.
Fourth Because today we have es-
tablished in this country, and soon to
be in full operation, scientific fnan-
cial system that is capable of with
standing any strain or stress that may
be brought upon it.
After what has just been said do you
ask further why there is no danger of
a financial panic today, and why we
shall never again have such a one as
we have experienced in the past?
1t needs but word in answer: Due
in the first place to the work done by
the Aldrich Currency Commission and
later, to the crystalization of that
work in the Federal Reserve Act, we
have now a sound economic system
that makes any serious financial panic
an utter impossibility. Tight money
we may have in future, commercial
we must and shall have
whenever speculation exceeds the
bounds of prudence, but financial
again.
So much for the financial conditions
of the present and the future. We're
time, | should like full well to go into
the details Of the Federal Reserve Act
by which sound financial conditions
are assured US, but must omit doing
so as, before closing, | wish to say
word or two concerning our local con-
ditions and how | believe the Euro
pean war will effect business interests
in the northwest.
We are now harvesting one of the
most bountiful crops with which the
northwest was ever blessed; a crop
that Europe, and especially England,
must have in order that their people
shall not starve. This crop they must
pay for no matter what the cost may
be. England appreciates this fact and
is bending every effort to compass its
safe transportation. The British gov
itself has announced that 1t
will insure the shipper and owner
against any loss occasioned by the
European war, and it but remains for
our international bankers to perfect
arrangements for negotiating the bills
of exchange drawn against these car
goes so that they may be converted
into cash in New York. This firmly
believe will be consummated within
the next two or three weeks. When
the question of export
ing our grain is solved, and with the
will come a flow of English
gold to our country in greater volume
than we have ever witnessed before
a volume so great as to materially
stimulate every business enterprise
within this country.
In the meantime, however, for the
next two or three weeks there will be
unrest and fear and excitement. 1t
therefore devolves upon US to practice
patience and maintain our courage, for
there is nothing to fear in the future.
" hat is true of our wheat crop is true
in like measure to our meat. hops and