The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-29
RESERVE BANK AND FAR WEST

1t was made evident by the remarks
addressed by Governor Void to the Mon
tana state bankers that the people of
the northwest. and particularly the re-
mote northwest, are now beginning to I'M
derstand what the federal reserve bank
ing act means, not only for them, but
for the entire country. Montana state
bankers now know that the enactment
of the federal reserve banking law iden-
titled the opening of a new period in our
ba hiking history. This fact was recog-
nized in the thickly settled and highly
prosperous section of the country east
of the Mississippi river from the first
And four months after the European
war began, there was not a banker in
the east who did not realize how greatly
the new banking system aided the Unietd
States In recovering business and finan-
cia equilibrium and in enabling this
country to become for the time being,
the chief and almost exclusive money
market of the world
But in the far west, there was not
opportunity for perhaps a year, clearly
to understand what the federal reserve
system meant to the United States. The
object lesson furnished by the United
States in financing the needs of other
countries, the facility with which the
United States has placed lo4ns aggregat-
ing billion and half with other nations
and the ease in the money market, the
abundant resources which have come to
the farmers, reflected by the plethora
of deposits in the banks. not only in
Montana, but in other states of the far
west, have served thoroughly to teach
this object lesson. Governor Void told
the Montana state bankers that since
the enactment of the federal reserve law.
something has occurred characteristic of
the United States and something of far
reaching effect. To use his words;
IF | am not wrong. what has occurred
is that the American people in financial
sense, have found themselves. After more
than 100 years of cropping round in the
ozark for a system that the people have
row discovered, happy medium between
the old ideas and the new, and have
adopted a financial mechanism that has
the resiliency, the flexibility and the ele-
ments of sound and effective co-opera ton
that the people have so long sought =
In less than a year. the American peo-
pie have found themselves. That Is
proved by comparison between the rela-
tive hesitation and slowness with which
the United States absorbed the Anglo
Frerch loan of half a billion dollars in
the late autumn of last year and the
eagerness with which they absorbed the
recent French loan of a hundred millions
and the loan which Great Britain per-
fected few days ago of two hundred and
fifty millions Both of these loans will
speedily be of influence in increasing the
deposits in the state banks of Montana
and far western states, for the entire
am cunt, aggregating $3.50, 600 900. borrowed
from the people of the United States, is
to be returned to them in payment for
commodities purchased in this country.
Governor Void told the Montana bank
ers that the adoption of scientific. sys.
tematic and direct method of check col
ections will in all probability be the
solution of a most perplexing problem
both to bankers and to business men.
The Montana bankers were also told that