Evening star., 1915-03-07
FINANCIALlLOCAL AND OTHERWISE.
BY I. A. FLEMING.

sptracy affecting prices. and they. did
not regard any of the foregoing facts
as a., pertinent to their inquiry. This
illustrates ~ how the lay mind differs
In its methods from the legal or Off
ciai mind. The layman would be in
ci1ned to think that the essential thing
was whether the margin between live
cattle and dressed beef was as small
as 1t could reasonably be and If he
found in the affirmative to accept this
as sufficient proof that no very eff
fective or at least harmful conspiracy
existed"
Grecian Exchange.
For the first time ARRANGEMENTS have
been made whereby the Grecian mer-
chants. and there are thousands OF
them in the United States, can pur-
chase exchange direct on their own
country. Heretofore, when the settle
nent of an account in Greece was
necessary. London exchange was the
medium by which settlement was made,
pounds. shillings and pence.
The Irving National Bank of New
York city has inaugurated the innova-
I ton. and will now draw on the Ma
tional Bank of Greece, and drachna
the money unit that the Greek has al
ways known. will be the medium OF
settlement.
In this way the toll always paid to
bankers in the old financial centers is
being eliminated: roundabout trade
customs are being wiped out and the
It's the same way in South America
the National City Bank of New York
and the Commercial National Bank o1
Washington, maintaining branch off
ces under the privileges accorded by
the federal reserve act. are advancing
the cause of the dollar at the expense
of the pound, the franc and the mark
And this movement. although in its in
cipiency. is bound to grow to the add
ed fame and Importance of the great
American dollar.
On Overdrafts.
Some Michigan legislator has gone
the controller of the currency several
points better in the matter of protest
ing against overdrafts.
A bill has been introduced at Lansing
providing that overdrafts for sums un-
der s25 shall be considered q mis-
demeanor and that overdrafts for sums
in excess Of this amount shall constf-
tute a felony.
All bills do not reach enactment by
any means. An overdraft on check
ing account does not reach the dignity
Of an overdraft until the officials OF
the bank upon which 1t has been drawn
permit of it's payment. so that they
would be parties to any misdemeanor
or felony that might be perpetrated in
this line.
The overdraft question seems to have
simmered down; financial papers paid
1t their respects in the form of many
editorials, in which they pointed out
the fact that officials of a bank are
the court of last resort in the mat
ter of the honoring or refusing to honor
overdrafts, that conditions alter cases,
and that no hard and fast rule on the
subject can be made.
The controller of the currency has
issued no further orders on the mat
ter. Probably the great majority of
national banks have complied with the
resolution demanded. couched, as did
the resolutions Of many District insti-
tutions, in language that deprecate
loans in the form Of overdrafts, but
recognizing that there were instances
where serious results might follow. both
to the business Of the bank and business
Of customers, any rule from which de-
viations were impossible.
But the controllers letter on over
drafts will serve its purpose: it will
materially lesson the evil. 1t will be
used as club in the hands of bankers
to check the evil among good Gus
toners