New Britain herald., 1916-01-10
BANKS SHOW THAT
 PROSPERITY IS HERE
Comptroller Gives Report to Con-
 8ress-Suggest Banking Laws

l the financial history of any country" 1 is the way John Skelton Williams ! Comptroller of the Currency describes | in his annual report to Congress, the l operation of the national banks under his charge, during the period from l October 1914 to November 1915, the 1 first year under the Federal Reserve | system. The report was today pre- i scented to Congress.
 MT. Williams gives a comparative l statement of the condition of the na- 1 tional banks to back up his statement. 1 He shows that net resources of the l banks increased in the year $1,743,- 878,648, that deposit increased $2,- 081, ,53O,164 and that loans and dis counts increased $917, 450,502. Avail able cash increased in the same period $862, 100000 and on November 10, 1915, the reporting national banks had excess reserves of $891, 100000. Ia bles show the comparative condition
 of banks in 1895 and 1915. Tn Sep
 tember 1895 there were 3,712 re-
 porting banks with net deposits of
 $1,9S9, ,000 and loans and discounts of $2,059, 408,402 while in November 1915 there were 7,617 reporting banks with net deposits of $9.079, 9,471,447, loan and discounts of s7,233, ,92S,973.
 Big Reserves.
 ''The reserves held by the national banks November 10. 1915," says the report, "exceeded by $587 100000 the greatest reserves ever held at any time
 prior to the passage of the Federal act. Loans and discounts amounted to more than the total loans and dis
 counts of all banks, including national
 state, savings and private banks and loan and trust companies-as late as the year 1902"
 Mr. Williams says that the bank ing power" of the United States-the capital surplus, circulation deposits, etc.,-ef all reporting banks, national and otherwise with an estimate of the figures for non-reporting banks, amounted in June 1915, to s25,397,- 00,000, an increase in a year of about $1,057, 100000. Savings bank deposi- tors increased by 176,2 during the year ending last June with total de-
 posits of s4,997,706, ,013 an increase of $61, ,114, 163. The average deposit,
 however decreased from $444.36 to $444S3 while the number of banks increased from 2,100 to 2,159.
 Suits on Usurers.
 The Comptrollers principal recom- mendation for legislation is for an amendment to the Bank law authoriz- ing and directing the Department of Justice to bring suits against usurers upon information furnished either by the Comptroller or through other sources. Other recommendations given under a heading s"To Prevent Bank Fail ures' propose: To prohibit officers from borrowing from their own
 banks; to prevent loans to directors except with the approval of the board; to require officers and employees to give surety bonds; to limit direct and indirect loans to one individuals, form or corporation; to prevent or limit Overdrafts; to require certificates of deposit to be signed by two directors; to prevent ensures on the books of a bank; to limit interest paid on de- posits; to authorize the establishment of branches in the United States; to permit branches in Alaska and insular possessions; to authorize minimum in- terest charges,-which ordinarily might be usurious-on small loans and to authorize the Comptroller to bring proceedings against directors for losses sustained by a bank through violation of the bank act.
 The report renews the ComptroIler's recommendations of lasty ear for other legislation. including the giv- ing of auth ority to the Comptroller to remove directors guilty of persistent violations of the bank act.
 Evils to be Remedied
 |" Banks" says MT. Williams nearly always are broken, not by bank rob- bers, who have come from the outside, not by failure of customers to whom they have lent money. but by the tying up or disipation of the banks funds through loans to their own officers and directors, or else by direct defaI- cations and embeZzlements by trusted officers. If these evhs are remedied and they can be remedied if certain simple and much needed amendments can be secured to the national bank act-failures among national banks can be reduced to negligible num- Der. or be absolutely eliminated"
 MT. Williams shows there were IA failures during the 12 months ended October 31. In the last 50 years, he says, there were POS failures at tributable to criminal acts while in judicious or careless banking was re- sponsible for 136 others.
 The Comptroller devotes much space to presenting his side of his fight with national banks to prevent the charging of usurious interest rates. He gives tables of loans by banks in different sections to back up his charge and says that complaints have come of this practice particular ly directed against small banks in the