Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-02-14
O'Connor's Address to Legislature

Representative O'Connor's address
70 the legislature yesterday regarding
y bank bill was greeted with APP
plAuse from the galleries.
The discussion continued several
minutes when 1t developed an inter-
estinE turn as Representatives Ness
and Patterson became involved in a
heated argument that threatened for
several minutes to develop a long In
teresting line but which quietly sub
sided. "
II this bill passes It means that
there will be created in this state not
The Bank Of North Dakota but a
banking system for the State Of North
Dakota which will have its branches,
II the industrial commission sees At,
every city. in every town, in every
v1iiaee IN the state Of North Dakota"
said Mr.. ,O'Connor.
1.-THE section which I AVE iuAt read
was that the state shall engage in
the banking business and for that
purpose shall establish q system Of
banking. 1t may be that that is what
the gentlemen Of the majority desire
and what you believe the state de-
sires. However, gentlemen, 1t GER
tainly is not put Of place to call your
to these matters before we
pass finally upon them. Therefore I
say that this is one Of the most i'm
portant steps that you men are tax.
ing.
How much money there will be
gathered under this bill from the va
rious sources it is very difficult to es-
innate. No satisfactory figures have
been given. You provided in section
Z that all state, county, Townships,
municipal and school district funds
and funds Of all penal, educational
and industrial institutions and ~all
public funds shall be, by the
person Or persons having control Of
sucn FUNDS. deposited n'the Bank Of
North Dakota within three months
from the passage and approval Of this
act, subject to disbursement for pub
TIC purposes on checks drawn by the
proper officials In the manner now
or hereafter to be provided by law.
Inen there are certain limitations,
one that where money has been loan.
ed out you permit the loans to ma.
lure and then a certain period is CIV
en- before that money is required to
oe turned in the State Bank Of North
kot All the state money must be-
paced in this bank. The money that
mas been used by various little towns
and communities throughout the state
since statehood, as I. believe for the
purpose Of assisting the people Of the
state in their various business opera
tons. as the county money, as the
township money, and as the cities the
FUNDS Of all the school districts and
OF the various institutions and also
penal as we'll as educational. a.
ut means, therefore, that money,
gentlemen. for instance, which is in
the school fund will be deposited in.
this bank. We have $26, 939, 1850
in the school fund. That is not ali
available at the present time, so, Of
course that could not all be placed in
cash in this bank, as most of it has
been loaned out. For instance, there
Is ~$5,664,670 in farm loans. It is
therefore difficult to estimate how
much money will be placed in the
state bank.
IAN estimate has been made that
at the present time there is about
~$27,000,000 Of the reserves Of the va
rious banks of North Dakota in 9TH
placed in the state bank. That re-
serve, however, varies but there will
be all the money that will be raised
for taxation. 1t will not be there in
n amount. Taxes come in at, vari-
Gus times during the year. I believe
last year for state purposes and all To-
cal purposes there was raised about
$19,000,O00. That money would not
all be placed in the bank at one time
as I say, because it comes in at Diff
.ferent periods in the year. Last year
there was appropriated $4,123,854 by
the state for state purposes. That,
also, of course, would be placed in
the state bank until such time as It
was needed for the various uses for
which the great legislature had ap-
propriated it. Besides ten million
dollars worth of real estate bonds
that o are going to sell that would
be placed in the bank, it's working