Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1916-07-27

find then. s. Ives short elf means in
diff-cult times, lit is his task and
care to find ways and means to OBJ
tain what is needed. sometimes at
great Financial risk to himself
1T is perhaps significant that all
mos. all the railroad companies
now in receivers hands were amone
these for whose Financial policy NO
one amongst the leading banking
houses had continuous and recog
nized responsibility, though / must
not be under str Cd as meaning to
suggest THAT theirs were NOT other
contrfbutp:V causes for such receiv-
enshfp, involvimg responsibility and
blame, amongst others, also on mem
bers of the banking fraternity.
Without going into shades of en-
cyclopeklic meaning, will define for
the purpose of this discussion, a ii
nancier as a man Who has some re-
cogml zed relation and respon biDity
towards the larger monetary affairs
of 1.-THE public, either by administer
dng deposits and loaning funds on.
by being Wholesale or RETAIL distrib-
utor of securities
To aall such the confidence of the
financial community, which natural
lily knows them best, and TO the in
vesting public is absolutely vital.
Without it /, they simply cannot live
To provide for the thousands of
millions of dollars annually needed
by our railroads end other indus
tries, would vastly overtax the re
SOU rces of ALL the great financial
houses and groups taken together,
and therefore the financiier or oroup
of financiess undertaking suchtrams-
actions musn depend in the first i'm
Stance upon the cctopeu1ation nj of the
financial commm nifty ait large. For
this purpose such houses OR groups
associate with themselves for every
transaction of considerable size. a
large number of other houses, thus
fctrmiag sotcalled syndfcates.
But even the resources THUS COM
bined of the entire flna,ncialI com
immunity would fail far short of being
stuff. cieint to- supply the needed funds
tor more than every limited time,
and appeal mus therefore he made
ito the absorbil g power of the commt
ais a. whole repre scented by the ulti-
matte investor
! Now. let a. financial house, either
Through lack CT n high standards of
A integrity i'm dealing with the public,
or Through. lack of tholrougihness and
care, or thu ought bad Judgment, for
4 felt THE confidence of its, neig h,bors
or of the investing public, and the
/ very roofs OF it's being are cut.
u do not mean to c.aim that high
4 Finance has mot an some instances
strayed from the highest standard,
THAT it has mot made mistakes, that
it has not ait times yielded to. temp
tationF-and the temptations which
beset i's path are indeed many-tha
there have not teen some occurrences
which every right thinking man mus
deplore and condemn
Bht I do say and, cla.mI that pract
ticallE all such instances have oc-
cmtred during what may be termed
the countrys indusr iall and econo-
mic p omeer period, n period, of vast
and unparalleled concentration cd
naticnsl energy and effort unon ma
jterial achieveme emit, OF tremendous
a:d turbu.e emit surging towards tangi
bic accompl's hm,enIt, of sheer indi-
vidmal ism, a period CT llaM enforce
ment OF the laws by these in author
iltW, CT "a certainty regarding THE
meaning off the STATUTES relating to
business and rsequently, CT inn
patience at restraint and a weak EN-
ed sense of fear, respect and oIbel-
fence due to- the law.
In the mighty and binding rush
of that whtrlwind of enterprise and
achievement things We're done-ge en-
eraNly without AMY attempt at COM
ceaIm emit, in the OPEN light of day
for everyone to behold which woul
not accord with our present ethical
and legal Standards, and public opimr
ion permitted them to be done.
To quo g one instance out of many
Campaign contributions by corpora
tions were a recognized and almost
universal practice. The acceptance
Of such contributor did not shock
the mos. tender political conscience.
Now they are RIGHTLY forbidden. and