The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1916-01-15
BANK BUSINESS
SHOWS GROWTH
COMPTROLLER OF CURREN
MAKES FAVORABLE RE-
PORT ON CONDITIONS

WASHINGTON. d. c., Jan. 12.-
Development and growth never
rarallelled in the financial history
of any country is the way john
Shelton Williams, comptroller of the
currency, describes in his annual
report to congress the operation OF
the national banks under his charge,
from Oct. 1, 1914 to Nov. !, 1915,
the first year under the federal
reserve system.
The reserves held by the ma
tional banks Nov. 10, 1916" says
the report, exceeded by $751;
OOO,O 0 the greatest reserves ever
held prior to passage of the feder-
al reserve act. Loans and dis
counts amounted to more than the
total loans and discounts of ali
banks, including national, state,
savings and private banks and oar
and trust companies, as late as the
year 1902"
Mr.. Williams says the banking
power of the United States, cap
lJdi, SUI pluS, SllSuidtiOh, uOpooitot
etc., of all reporting banks, with
an estimate of the figures for nOn
reporting banks, amounted in June,
1915 to $25,397,1OO, 900, an in
creas in a year of about $1.051,-
100000. Savings bank depositors
increased by 176,25S during the
year ending last June, with total
deposits of $4,997,7O6,O13 an in
crease of $~61,114,163. The aver
age deposit decreased from $444.36
to $442.S3 but the number of
banks increased from 210O to Pisa.
The comptroller's principal rec
ommendation for legislation is tor
an amendment to the bank law
directing the department of justice
to sue usuerers on information
from the comptroller or other
sources.
Other recommendations for pre-
venting bank failures propose: To
prohibit officers borrowing from
their OWL banks; to prevent loans
to directors except with approva,
of the board; to require officers
and employees to give surety bonds:
to limit direct and indirect loans
to one individual, firm, or corpoi-
alton; to prevent or limit over
drafts; to require certificates OF
deposit to be signed by two dl-
rectors; to prevent erasures on
bank books to limit interest paid
on deposits; to authorize estah-
lishment of branches in the United
States; to permit branches in
Alaska and insular possessionsAto
authorize minimum interest cha> ks
which ordinarily might be usUr-
ious, on small loans and to au-
thorize the comptroller to proceed
against directors for losses sustain
ed by a bank through violation
of the bank act.
Banks says Mr.. Williams,
nearly always are broken. not by
bank robbers, who have come from
the outside, nor by failure of Gus
toners to whom they have lent
money, but by the tying up or dis
sipation of the banks funds through
loans to their own officers and di-
rectors, or else by direct defalc*-
tons and embellishments by trust
ed officers. If these evils are
remedied and they IA be remedied
If certain simple and much need-
ed amendments can be secured TO
the national bank act, failures
among national banks can be re-
duced to a negligible number, or
hn ahcOlnfnlU illuminated
Mr.. Williams shows there were
IA failures in the - months end
ed Oct. Al; that in the last 80
years there were 20S failures at
tribuatable to criminal acts; that
inJudicious or careless banking was
responsible for 1876 others.
The comptroller details his side
to prevent usuricus interest rates.
He gives figures to back up his
charge and says complaints of this
practice have been particularly d.
rected against small banks in the
south and southwest, west and the
northwest.
Mr.. Williams says that usury uD-
checked means depopulation, hone
lessness, t~hriftlessness and result
ing loss of producing capacity. He
closes with the statement that ill
innate connection with the affairs
OF his office has shown that the
majority of American bankers are
honest and anxious to obey the
laws, and are intent on building up
| fhn1r y n n psfia1 aNl A.
try.