The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-10-30
Ben |. BRUNER
ON WILSON
Former Secretary of State
Gives Character Sketch.
Accuses Ex-Governor Of Vetoing
His Bank Examiners Bill
For Spite.

During the State legislature of
1S99-l0 the Secretary of State, DR..
Ben L. Bruner. who is now a pros
pective candidate for Governor. pro-
cured the passage of a bill known as
the Bank Examiners law. II was We
toed by Governor Wilson. but has
since IN substance been enacted and
become a law. When Wilson vetoed
the first bill DR.. Bruner. who was
the Republican Secretary of State.
gave out an interview which was pub
lished in the Courier-Journal March
%. 1910. After discussing the merits
of the bill DR.. Bruner gives his esti
mate OF Governor Wilson in the fol-
lowing terse and pointed language:
THE Governor. like the editor of
the Evening Post. and like Mr.. Sui
1iran. whom the Governor quotes so
freely demonstrates the fact that
he is ignorant regarding the present
banking laws and present banking
conditions in Kentucky. He tries to
Justify his veto of this bill by quot
ing ad libitum from Mr.. Sullivan's
letters and practically endorses the
obnoxious bill prepared by Mr.. Sui
Ivan known as house bill 270 which
provides that the Governor of Ken
lucky should appoint a bank commits
sioner from a list of three names to
x'be submitted to him by the executive
committee of the Kentucky Bankers
Association and this same bank COM
missioI els in turn empowered to
appoint an assistant as we'll as bank
q examiners. This bill was before the
legislature and was discussed by the
bankers OF the State who had OPP
portuni;y to see 1t, and up to the
presen, time Mr.. Sullivan, Mr.. Prev
lit, Mr.. States and Mr.. Ford. four
in all, are the only state bankers we
know OF who were In favor of the
Sullivan bill, while several hundred
bankers in Kentucky and men con-
nected with the banks were enthusi-
astic in their support of the bill that
passed both branches of the General
Assembly almost unanimously. and
they were equally as enthusiastic to
defeat the obnoxious House bill 270,
known as the Sullivan bill, which
foisted upon the banks a $4,000 de-
partmert here at the seat of govern
ment in addition to the salaries and
expense of the bank hammers. II
the bank commissioners to have been
appointed under the Sullivan bill.
which the Governor argues in favor
of, should have the power to oppoint
his assistant commissioner and his
bank examiners wherein can be any
!, incentive for the reasoning put forth
by the Governor that the Secretary
of State, while remaining as bank
supervisor or commissioner. should
not have the appointment of the ex-
n aminers under him?
90 The Governors veto of this bill
leaves the owners of seventy millions
of deposits. many of whom are wild
ows and orphans. and the majority
of WHOM are people of small means
(because II is a we'll known fact that
the Weather class of people are
more often borrowers and creditors
of a bank than they are depositors)
without the proper means of protec-
ton which this bill provided. 1t
also leaves the owners of twenty
seven millions OF capital and surplus
and undivided profits as well as the
five thousand officers and directors
of these State institutions all OF
whom welcomed a proper mode of in
spection, at the mercies of the chain
ers", "padders." and "kiters" of the
State tall bankers know what a
"chainer," "padder." or "kiter" is. }
We therefore claim that there was
no other legislation before the re-
cnt General Assembly that was of SO
vital import and that was so far
reaching in its effect and that affect
"a SO many of our sovereign people
as did the bank examiners bill. and
IL is therefore irrational, II not real
ly criminal. for the Governor and his
cohorts TO attempt to justify the veto
Al this measure on the grounds Of