The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-09
DELANO IS GREATLY IMPRESSED WITH
 WHAT HE IS SHOWN
Two Members of Federal Reserve Board Taken Over Industrial District. Harding Warns Against
 Reaction At Close of War

About 65 bankers, financiers and representative business men of Birming- ham and district were present last night at the dinner given in honor of W. F. G Harding and Frederick A. Delano, mem bers of the federal reserve board, who spent yesterday in Birmingham. The af- fair was entirely informal and proved as interesting as it was enjoyable
 Mir. Harding in his talk alluded to local conditions and stated that his every breath was loyal to Birmingham and that he was too old to call any other place home He also spoke strongly ln favof of the state bond issue and stated Il should be authorized by the people oi the state as money was cheap at thls time, but was very liable to advance. lie also said the bond issue should carry because it was to liquidate an honest ln- debtedness the state owed and which would have to be paid sooner or later.
 Oscar Wells, president of the First Ma tional bank, presided and introduced the speakers. He stated they had met to do honor to two men of national reputation who occupied positions of responsibility and trust that had been considered by the President as equal to those of the United States supreme court. He 1ntro- duced MT. Delano as man who had overcome the handicap of ''hailing from Chicago, the requirements of the Presi- dent and the confirmation of the Senate
 CITY IS REVELATION
 Mr. Delano in his opening remarks re- ferred to the residential part of Birming- ham as the ''city beautiful and the business and industrial sections as being revelation to him both as to their ex- tent and vastness. He stated the pur- pose of the southern trip by MT. Harding and himself was to get in personal touch with the bankers and business men to find out what their ideas were in refer ence to the regional bank system and that they and the board at Washington wanted their closest confidence as the regional banks were supplementary to the banks tha talready existed. He declared that banks required a larger amount of capital for the returns made than any other business, and said one of the pur- poses of the regional bank was to change this condition not by reducing capital but by increasing profits.
 Yhe war, ne SIateu, ndQ ulcu5iil tuoul problems that had not been foreseen and that as a result they had not accom- plished as much in the way of interna- tonal moment as they would have had conditions been normal. Export traae would be facilitated he said, under the regional bank system.
 Mr. Wells then introduced Mir Harding, who expressed his pleasure at being again in Birmingham and mingling with fria a Qt pratlfied at the evidences of returning prosperity that he had seen during the tour of the industrial section he had taken earlier in the day and compared it with the situa- ton in in this distict one year ago which he stated was acute, but that the situa- tion had been met and that the people were on the threshold of prosperous days.
 MONEY PANICS PAST
 He declared that the country had not yet fully recovered from the panic of 1907, and had not vet faid fuliy for the errors of judgment made during the prosperous years that preceded the money panic. The new currency bill had changed things to the extent that the nightmare of a money panie is now practically dissipated and that never again will the business in terests have to resort to the use of clear ing house certificates or scrip.
 Referring to the new industrial condi- tions he stated that it would take time for the conditions to adjust themselves. He stated at the beginning of the war the United States was unprovided with gold and was a debtor to foreign nations but now had more gold than any two nations and one-fifth of the gold of the world.
 Speaking of the proposed bond issue, he said he hoped the people of the state would authorize it, a. they should not lose sight of the fact that the debt of the state actually exists and has to be paid. He stated no fir.r or corporation would hesitate to take advantage of the lower rate of interest and that the state finances should be run on the same busi- ness lines. As times get better and new investments are made. the tendency is to increase, the rates of interest and the people should profit by the experiences of the past.
 He gave a note of warning as to the possible conditions al the close of the war; stating that a reaction was bound to come and preparations should be made to meet the conditions that will come when the orders for war munitions will cease.
 Other speakers were John H. Frye, Sen ator White, R. F. Smith, Culpepper Exum and R. F. Manley.
 Yesterday morning a committee of local 5ankers and President Johnson of the