The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-20
FORMER 6. 0. P. OFFICIAL PRAISES
 NEW BANK LAW
Prosperity and Security Due to Reserve Act, Says Will
 liam Barrett Ridgely.

In an interview made public last week in New York, William Barret Ridgely, a former Republican Comp trol1er of the Currency, declared that States rests upon safe and sure foun- dations. The enaction of the new banking law by the Wilson adniEis- tration, MT. Ridgely admits, is largely responsible for this fortunate outlook.
 MT. Ridge1y served as comptroller under Presidents Roosevelt and Taft and is a son-in-1aw of the late Shelby M. CuIlom, for thirty years a Repub lican Senator from Illinois.
 He said:
 The balance of trade in favor of the United States for the first nine months of the current fiscal year down to the end of March reached the enormous sum of $1,491 100000, more than dou- b1e that of last year and something over three. times that of, the same pe- riod of 1913 and 1914. This is at the rate of about $2,000,O0O,00O year in round figures. During the whole his tory of the Government, from Wash ington to Mckinley, a period of over no years, the total balance of trade in our favor was less than $500,0OO,000 so that in one year the balance in our favor is more than four times the amount it was for this long period.
 Figures Are Gigantic.
 It is difficult to contemplate figures of such gigantic proportions with any thing like ca1mness and to estimate their effect on the present and future business of the country without being too much carried away and impressed by them. During the last year our production of gold has continued at our normal rate of about $1OO,OOO,0O0 per year and we have imported about $35, 100000 in 1915 to an estimate of $5O,0O0,00O in 1916. Copper has more than doubled from $238, 100000 in 1915 to an estimate of $540.00O, 900 in 1916. Lead increased from 8,OOO,- 900 to S,0O0,0Q0. Zinc increased from $141,ooosooo to s19o,ooogoOo.
 Due to Federal Bank Law.
 This explains why we have been able to take back American securities from European investors by the hundreds of millions, with so little disturbance to our own markets.
 The change in our condition due to this enormous business is the best guarantee against any sudden or abrupt change when the war ends. We have cleaned house, paid our debts and laid up a prodigious fund against future contingencies. Of almost equal dmportance is the improvement in our financial system, due to the establish ment of the Federal Reserve bank, which gives us the machinery and or i-S such a mobilization of our reserve money to make impossible any such sudden derangement of our financial matters as we have frequently seen in the past. It was extremely fortunate that this reform in our financial ma chinery was in operation soon enough | to be of assistance during the crisis brought on by the war.
 Available Gold Supply. It has shown great wisdom on the part of the management of the bank that they have allowed the reserves to accumulate and have had on hand available for any contingency an in creasing quantity of gold, amounting now to about $33O, ,0OO,0 900. Our bank ing and financial institutions, fortified as they are by this great institution prepared to furnish currency or gold to any extent which is likely to be needed, are ready for any emergency. 1 If we should unfortunately become in any way involved in the war our banks would be prepared to take care of any situation.
 1 It can not be expected that the pres ent high pressure can be kept up and i such an enormous volume of business continued, but ] can not feel that we
 are in danger of any sudden cessation i of activity as will interfere with our
 having a large and profitable business for a long time to come. Not only | our relative but our positive position fnas greatly improved: We are on a 1 permanently better basis.
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