The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-11-21
A COLD.BLOODED PROPOSITION

TTeu ". DtHHlS, Sldte Ddilk CoHliHiSoioH0i'
has addressed letter to the officers of state
banks of Oklahoma, which will find its place
in the archives of the financial history of this
state as one of the most cold-blooded docu-
ments ever conceived by the brain of man.
It will remain for years blot upon the fair
name of every banking institution and a slur
and a reflection against the human hearts
and the moral integrity of every banker in
the state.
In the face of the fact that the Federal
Reserve Act was passed by the federal egis-
lature for the sole purpose of making money
more elastic of providing an enabling clause
to the nations laws, as they already existed
whereby emergencies in the financial world
might be met and panics in commercial and
producing circles avoided, Mr.. Dennis, in a
letter addressed to state bankers, in one place
said:
"The fact that you have to confne your
operations in the future to the volume Of
your own business is very apparent. The
present necessity is to pay your borrowed
obligations which insist that you do.
For the last eighteen months the banks
in Oklahoma have rediscounted heavily to
meet demands made on them by their cuso-
mers. This has brought about a like condi-
tion with banks in reserve cities, as well as
with the Federal Reserve Bank. The
farmers have received the aid they asked for
in raising this crop, and the relief was OBJ
tained in your borrowing the funds to loan
them. They promised to pay you when they
matured this crop, and you promised to pay
your correspondent at the same time, and
each and every one interested has looked
forward to this time for the relief it would
bring. You cannot expect renewal
OF this obligation, so as to make good the
deficit which has been created in our nation
al financial affairs, you must make good on
your promse. To do this you must collect
from the individual who promised to pay on
the maturity of this crop, and this you must
do. / fully appreciate the shrink
age in prices and the discomfort it has
caused, but that is a matter over which you
have no control. Your part in the work is
to relieve the situation according to your
promise, and the only way you can do this is
to collect your loans
When the architect who shall, in the
course of time, remodel the national capital
at Washington, adds to the fancy scroll and
filigree work, he may possibly provide
inches for statues of those who have done
famous deeds.
In event he does, we opine he will pro-
vide places, side by side, for Nero, who fid-
died while Rome burned, and for Pharoah
who smiled, no doubt, when the decree to
slay the first-bom in every Israelitic home,
was carried out, while, in higher, lofter
niche, overlooking these masters of heart
lessness, will be afforded place for the
statue of the most cold-blooded and heart
less of all Gods creatures-the man without
q human impulse.
The man who strikes at the structure of
our commercial strength aims a blow at the
financial world and at the institutions which
go to upbuild and maintain the prosperity of
our business institutions Such individuals
are found manipulating the stock markets
and gerrymandering the corners in differ
ent commodities. AS class the market
manipulators are dangerous to society and
detrimental to progress But they, taken col
lectively, do not constitute the menace which
may be found in the man who aims a blow
at the producers, a blow at the men who
create the raw material, blow at the men