The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1914-05-23
Thus your banking connection goes on

Thus your banking connection goes on
practically without interruption.
The annual assessments in Kansas
are one-twentieth of one per cent of
deposits; but four emergency assess
ments, bringing the total up to one
quarter of one per cent year, may
be levied.
A bank is not admitted to the system
until it is one year old. The bank
commissioner fixes the rate-for each
county-which banks may pay on de-
posits. Any bank officer paying a
greater rate is removed from Office.
The banking law in Kansas has been
we'll administered, and guaranty of de-
posits has not produced any of those
noxious results it's critics say are inc
vitable. More than half of the state
banks have voluntarily joined the guar
anty system.
Guaranty Laws in Other States.
Nebraska, also, has deposit-guar-
anty system, and no demoralizing re-
suits have so far been discovered; in
fact, there has been no bank failure in
the state since the system was inaug-
urated, or for several years before 1t
is obligatory on all state banks, and
when the law was passed the state
bankers fought it tooth and nail, al
most to a man; but their opposition
seems to have subsidized, and Mr.. Cooke
opines that now they are generally
reconciled to deposit guaranty.
The fund begins with four semi-an-
nual assessments of one-fourth of one
per cent each, to be followed by yearly
assessments of one-twentieth of one
per cent until the fund amounts to one
and half per cent of the deposits;
but these assessments are simply cred
lifted on the banks books to the state
bank commissioner and are subject ia
his check.
Texas, also, has a deposit-guaranty
system, and since the law went into
effect state-bank deposits have doubled.
Three small banks have failed, entail
ling draft of about hundred and
thirty-five thousand dollars on the fund
of which, however, over fifty thous-
and dollars were recovered from the
assets of the banks and paid back to
the fund. Three other banks have
failed and been liquidated without
calling on the neutrality-suspicious., of
course, being paid in full.
To sum up, there is nothing in our
brief experience of deposit guaranty
which proves that properly framed
and administered system can not be
worked successfully. To be sure, if
deposit guaranty is to succeed, the
banking department must be vested
with large and rather despotic powers.
1t certainly will not do to hand the
states guaranty over to any adven-
turer who can scrape together money
enough to start bank. The banking
department must refuse bank charters
to men whose regulations and exper-
tience are not such as to raise a strong
presumption that they will conduct
the bank safely 1t must be in a posi-
tion to prevent such men from getting
control of established banks.
It's inspection of banks must be tho
trough and not superficial 1t must not
|charter merely competitive banks,
which presumably can get little or no
business except by outbidding the ex-
listing banks in the community for de-
lposits. But all these things are per.
lfectly possible. They are contained,
for example, in the Kansas law.
Senator Roots animadversion i'm
Iplies that deposit guaranty must be,
Igranted to anybody who applies for it.
Under that condition unquestionably
it will break down-but why should a
blackguard have bank charter any
lway?