The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-06
Governor to Attend Conference

Montgomery, November 5.--(Special)
 The governor of Alabama will leave next Sunday for Madison Wis, where
 he will spend several days in attend ance upon the governors conference, 1
 which meets next week. The governor
 will deliver an address before the con ference on the subject or Rural Credits" on which question he Is rec
 ognized as one of the leading author tiles of the south.
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 and the United States would be promptly
 met When San Francisco was almost noribund because of earthquake and fire. the subtreasurY at New York contributed important aid furnished almost upon the instant to that city, and there were other local crises in the United States in which
 the subtreasury was of great assistance, such, for instance, as the distress occa-
 stoned by the fire from which Baltimore
 recovered so speedily and well that the
 recovery has become one of the great traditions of recent times. The subtreas- try was of important aid at the time of the Chicago fire, in 1871, and of the Boston fire, in 1872.
 Some of the technical and detailed work which is done every day at the subtreas- ury entails employment of many experts
 
 ! of the subtreasury would also be one of | the characteristics of q unified bank, If there were one. f
 ] The reported decision to. retain the sub I treasuries is, from one point of view, a recognition of the fact that without a cen- tral bank machinery of this kind is neces- | sary. It would not be just to put upon the regional bank which is speedily to be established in New York city such duties as are now the responsibilities of the New York subtreasury. To do so would entail
 the employment of large number of ex. tra clerks and great amount of technical or detail work for which the regional bank would charge nothing. Therefore, the reasonable profits of the regional ba ak would be surely diminished if 1t were called upon to undertake the duties of the subtreasury.
 Furthermore, the subtreasury is a part, and the most important part, of the gov ernment's fiscal system That is not true of the federal reserve banks. for, al- though they are chartered by the govern ment and are subject to the supervision of the federal reserve board nevertheless they are private institutions. The sub treasuries, among other duties, are re- sponsible for great amounts of gold and silver and also of currency, these beIng
 government funds. It frequently nap-
 pens that transactions in a single year Of
 the subtreasury of New York on govern nient account aggregate between s4,000,- 000,00o and 5000, coo, GOO. approximately one-half of which Is r,presented by gold,
 silver, cents and currency. On the aver age the local sub-treasury sends SS00 oOO.- 00O year to Washington, all of 1t being
 represented by defaced, solled or torn currency. This money is sent to Wash
 iEgton for the purpose of exchanging it for clean notes All of this work, which Is purely governmental, would, if there were unified bank at Washington, be performed by that bank.
 Since the organization of the federal reserve system was assured it has been the prevailing opinion of those in au- thority at Washington. as well as those who have taken prominent part in facili- tating the organization, that the sub treasuries would be maintained for soma years It has also been said that after few years the American people will have learned that the federal reserve system
 cannot be as perfect financial and iisca. Instrument as it should be until central or unified bank has been established tt Washington, controlled by the federal re- serve board. A few years experience will probabiy show the people that the opera uon or the subtreasuries, supplementing the operation Of the federal reserve banks. IS not the most economical and satssac- tory method It will show also that the ieoeral reserve system and the subtreas- pries operating in cooperation approach somewhat the more simple, economical ana satisfactory method which would be characteristic of unified bank