Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-05-21

stand it, that it is ridiculously complex
and that IL may be easily simplifed.
The chief element IN the multiplication
of notes is the fact that each bank has
considered that il must have u distinctive
issue. Take the case of the Federal re-
serve banks, as an example. This case is
comparatively simple because there are
| but II such banks. For each of the II,
however, the Treasury Department prints
Federal reserve notes. The notes are
different in each case, each having upon
it the name of the particular bank Tor
which it is printed. Thus it is necessary
that for this work II different sets OF
plates he manufactured II different lots
Of money be printed, kept in stock, re-
deemed and reissued The same purpose
would be served if this currency were not
made peculiar to the given banks, If all
Federal reserve bank currency were ex-
actly alike. Its issue would be one-twelfth
as complicated as at present.
ONE BILL ron ALL BANKS.
Where the kinds Of notes issued by the
Federal reserve banks are II tunes as
many rs are necessary, the varieties issued
bv the national banks are 5000 tunes as
great rs are needed There are more than
5000 national banks. Each of these has
the authority to deposit with the Treasury
certain securities and have issued to 1t
certain amounts of currency. On an
average national banks ask Tor two ana n
half varieties of currency, notes OF dli-
fCrcnt denominations thus making ZuOoo
varieties altogether. The United states
Treasury prints for each OF the national
banks the different kinds OF bills Tor winch
II asks. Ii puts the name of the individual
/. fEhny, 4 opRntnIlin tnS
q stock Of the bills Of that bank that 1t may
respond to any further demand for the
currency. II also files away the plates
from which those bills arc made and keeps
them against any future demand, In
every phase of the handling OF the money
of that bank it must be assorted and an
individual record kept of IT.
Now, this whole process, says Assistant
Secretary Moyle, IS confusing, compllcat-
cd. unnecessary and expensive. No pur-
pose is served III printing a special cur
rcncy for a special bank and putting the
name Of that bank upon the currency All
national bank notes are guaranteed by the
Federal government They are dipped
out of the same general reservoir and I
eventually come back TO It to he retired |
or rcissucd. They should all be just alike. |
When a national bank asks for currency /
it should tie given the standard national
bank currency There is no reason Tor /
printing special currency for It,
TT IS TIME FOR REFORM.
Here is an example Of the waste. Special
is printed for a gwen national 4
bank 1t has the name Of that bank on 4 4
Stock must bc kept ready printed, subject .
to the call Of that bank The bank talis, /
with another bank, for some .
good reason changes its name. The ready
printed currency at the Treasury Is NO +
good Ii, together with the plates, must .
lie destroyed You can see 10 or 2O
thousand dollars worth Of such good money
Icing destroyed at the Treasury any day
Ii all drew from common reservoir 4
there would bc no such loss.
II has often been noted that govern
mental agencies grow in an unwletdly
way, always adding to themselves new
The issue of money, Judge
Movie holds. is IN example Of this ten
dcncy. The process becomes 50 comphcat-
cd that administrative agencies are too
close t0 il to set the proper perspective
1t is necessary that the problem he set ont
to itself, removed Of every possible con-
fjlSlng detail and viewed Tor what Il i.
The purpose Is he served should he under
stood and the simplest method 81 serving
that purpose should hc determined
Proper methods Of snplltieation and re-