Evening star., 1918-04-19
LOCAL BANK TOHANDLE
ALIENS NTANG|DLES
ny I. A. FLEMING.

The District National Bank has been
named by A. Mitchell Palmer. custo-
dian of allen property, as one of the
national bank repositories for the safe
keeping and handling of the intangible
assets under his care.
1t is understood that trust companies
IN various sections of the country Will
be named to care for real estate hold
fngs taken over by the custodian. un-
der the same terms as when handling
estates.
National banks designated to care for
Intangible assets, stocks, bonds ana
collateral, will be expected to collect
coupons, dividends and interest and
will, it is said, receive substantial re
turns for their services.
All the actual alien cash seized by
the custodian has been turned over
to the United States Treasury.
While there is no way of making
anything like a fair estimate of the
amount of money. securities and prop
erty of aliens that have been placed in
charge of the custodian, it is safe to
estimate the total value in the hum
dreds of millions of dollars.
Naturally. all business property and
farms will be turned over to trust COM
panies in the cities near location in
order that the best results may be OBJ
tanned from the trust.
No Liberty Bonds Ready.
While bankers were generally ex-
pecting deliveries of third liberty loan
Today, they had not received any up
to late hour this afternoon.
Strong Position of National Banks.
J. Shelton Williams, controller of the
currency. calls attention to the fact
that the resources of the national
banks of the country are $4,000. 600, 900
in excess of what they were in 1917, as
shown by the report of condition at the
close of business March 4. 1918. when
they showed resources of SlS,Ol4,sll,-
600.
National banks and their customers
took three fourths of a total of S5,S0S,
000.0 first and second liberty loan
bonds. and the records show that these
banks have passed the bonds on to in
without borrowing from the banks.
On March 4. 1918, national banks held
sS6,577.o0e of Sls per cent first loan
bonds all told. or about I per cent of
the bonds issued to date.
The bonds owned by national banks
Plus the amount of money loaned on
liberty bonds. March 4, was s733, ,4n2, 900.
The deduction is simple-the people of
the country have bought and paid for
$4,000 100000 of bonds of the two lib
erty loan issues. exclusive of bonds
owned by national banks, or on which
loans made and bonds owed by savings
banks, state banks and trust COM
panies.
The controller closes his remarks as
foflowsi
''It is a tribute to the solidity and a
powerful evidence of the success of our
banking system that these gigantic
transactions have been carried through
fre he S1i q In
or arrangement in the money market.
Despite the large Withdrawals which
were necessary in order to pay for the
new liberty bond issues, the deposits
of the national banks actually increas-
ed, as compared with their deposits
made prior to the Offering of the hrst
liberty loan, about billion and hair
dollars, as shown by their sworn re-
sources as shown above are nearly two
billion dollars greater.
May Be Another Admonition.
Millions Of dollars of railroad funds
are deposited in trust companies and
state banks. Railroads have generally
made their nancial arrangements
with Institutions either controlled by
prominent officials or by directors hav-
Germs.
1t is now stated that John skelton
Williams, controller OF the currency
and financial director of the railroad
administration. Is considering the ad
visibility. Of ordering all these funds
removed to banks in the federal re-
serve system.
Considering the fact that the aim of
the federal reserve board Is to bring
all banks into the system, and that Mr..
Williams Is Interested in like manner
IN the growth and success of the banks
under his supervision, 1t would look
very much as IL a ruling on the suggest
ed lines might be expected in the i'm
mediate future.
A unified banking system is the hope
of all administration officials.
On the Local Stock Exchange.
Today's session OF the local stock ex-
change was attended by extreme dull
ness and practical neglect. save in
quotation making, of all securities.
The only transactions were the
rights" of eleven shares of CONNER
cial National Bank stock, in lots. at
1o3s to 1fB