The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-02-23
Session Was Held Yesterday at Bur
iington Win Big Attendance
From Financial Men in
This Distrt<A
KEoKUK REPRESENTED
Bankers From Here Heard Fred e
Farnsworth, Secretary Amer
lean Bankers Associa-
ton, Talk

large delegation from the Keo-
kuk banks attended the meeting Of
Gorup Eleven OF the Iowa Bankers
association at Burlington yesterday.
There were over two hundred bank
ers who registered for the sessions,
held in Remey hall and at the Hotel
Burlington where the banquet was
served. Thursday evening banquet
was served at the Hotel Burlington
In honor of Fred E. Farnsworth OF
New York
The Burlington Gazette last night
says of the meeting held there:
The twenty-first annual meeting Of
Group Eleven, Iowa Bankers asso-
citation, was held in Burlington today
with more than two hundred in at
tendance. The bankers registered at
the hotel this morning and at IL
o'clock assembled in Remey hall for
the oyening business meeting
Important addresses by Fred z.
Farnsworth. general secretary of the
American Bankers association, G. H
McNider, federal reserve chairman
for the third Liberty loan in Iowa,
and others were delivered at this
meeting, and the session was one of
great interest to the bankers who
were present The invocation was
offered by DR.. Archibald Cardle and
the address OF welcome was made by
E. L. Edwards of this city o. F.
Fryer OF Fairfield, chairman OF Group
Eleven, presided
+ Banqueted At Hotel.
Following the meeting in Remey
hall the bankers banqueted at the
Hotel Burlington at 1890 o'clock and
listened to number OF short ad-
dresses. 8. NJ. Leach Of Odel, Iowa,
president Of the Iowa Bankers' asso-
citation, was unable to be present and
his place on the afternoon program
was taken by George H. Messenger,
Iowa bank commissioner. Frank
Warner of Des Mones. secretary of
the association, also spoke this after
noon and addresses were given by
J. J. Fleming of Burlington and a
number of others.
At Remey hall this morning Mr..
McNfder spoke on the coming Liberty
loan campaign, told how Iowa was
being organized for the drive, and
asked the aid of all bankers in the |
campaign. This address was a timely |
one. coming az 1t does on the eve |
of the new government drive.
Mr.. Farnsworth's Address
Pending Problems" was the ad- |
dress delivered by Mr. Farnsworth. !
In opening he spoke on topics Of in |
terest to the bankers in this terri. |
tory. His address in part was as fol- /
lows: .x;fzA
"Of financial problems there is ap-
parently no end. Those that were |
with us before the war are with us
still; the war has brought us many
new ones. At no time In the history
OF the nation has the question OF the
capacity of the banks to meet the
requirements of the nation been SO
interesting or 20 important At no
time has the situation been so pre-
sented as to test the banking skill of /
the nation to the extreme. We are !
still in safe and sound position and |,
we are at the tremendous advantage /
of knowing with reasonable certainty
the demands that are to be made
upon us. In respect Of war financing,
then, the greatest problem may /
stated In the simplest terms: Are we /
TO control the situation or are we to /
allow the situation to control US? |.
There Ia one index Of the situa-
ton to which / wish TO call your at
tentton. This seems simple enough
but 1t Is so frequently overlooked that
1t is well worth mentioning. / refer
to the percentage of gold to liabili-
lies item as it appears weekly in the |
statement Of the condition of the fed
eral reserve banks. That one line l.
item tells US with clarity and pre-
cision where we stand. The percent.
age Of gold to liabilities is now run
ming in the neighborhood of sixty
five percent. A year ago it was nearly
ninety percent; two years ago II was
over 100 percent. You will remem-
Der that the required percentage of
gold to deposit liabilities OF reserve
banks is thirty-five percent and TO |
note liabilities forty percent. We
may consider forty percent as a sort |
of danger line. The nearer the fig /
ures approach forty percent the less
secure is our position. 1t is true that
we may go below forty percent and
survive. We may go below twenty
percent and survive. We may even
wipe out the gold reserve and sur.
vive, but the lower the percentage
the greater the difficulties.
Thus we learn why the federal
reserve board made such efforts to
Increase and protect the gold stocks /
of the federal reserve banks.
Thus we learn why the banks |
have responded and surrendered their |
holdings of gold to the reserve banks. |
The more gold gathered into those
banks. the less the danger and the
stronger the position.
Search for Capital. !
The distress of the business world |
N us search for capital Is well
known The government has need
OF even more funds than can be
accumulated through the processes
81 saving and Increased production |
There isn't enough capital to supply
the demand. We are hearing much |