The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1921-06-23
BUREAUCRATIC BULLY-RAGGING

In that period of American history
when the aboriginal inhabitants were
given names that were supposed to de-
scribe some of their characteristics, the
noble Red Man was given some such name
as, if translated into English, Scared
Wolf, Sitting Bull, etc. If present inhab-
itants of this fair land were named in a
similar manner, there are "a lot of local
tinanciers who might appropriately be
named Banker Afraid of His Government
There would be good reason for confer
ring such name, if we are to believe the
records of the United States Supreme
court, and we usually find them fairly
correct and reliable.
1t appears from the records of suit
decided that officials of the Fed
eral Reserve System adopted very dras-
tic scheme for the purpose of forcing
bankers operating under state laws to
conform to the wishes of the Federal Re-
serve Board in certain particulars, not
understanding the banks were not, and
were not required by law to be, members
Of the System. The old fashioned method
of torturing people until they confessed
themselves guilty of witchcraft was not
more cruel than the scheme adopted by
the Federal Reserve System to coerce the
independent banker The plan was this:
Knowing how much money an independ-
ent bank was required to carry in its
vaults and also knowing from state re-
ports how much money the bank actually
carried Federal Reserve bank officials
would gradually accumulate checks
drawn on that bank until they exceeded
the amount the bank would probably have
on hand. The bank officials would not
know what checks were outstanding and
would not make unusual preparations to
cash an extraordinary amount at any one
time. Having thus secretly accumulated
the checks in violation of banking and
business customs, the Federal Reserve
agent would swoop down upon the bank
some morning, demand immediate pay
ment of the whole collection of checks,
and, when the bank could not pay imme-
diately, send the checks to protest and
spread the report about town that the
BANK had dlshonored perfectly good
LneckS.
There is no knowing how many times
this scheme was used to force local banks
to sign agreemnts to subject themselves
to the dictatorship of the Federal Reserve
System. OF course, almost any small
banker, caught in such a trap, would be
glad to sign away his independence rath-
en- than subject himself and his family to
the disgrace, humiliation and financial
loss Of bank failure But there was one
bank that didn't capitulate. That bank
brought suit, the suit went to the United
States Supnne court, and the Supreme
court declared that while the holder OF
checks had right to accumulate them, if
he does so through proper motives,no man
or organization has right to accumulate
checks for the dishonorable purpose of
presenting them at an inopportune mo-
ment for the purpose of breaking bank.
Since the Supreme court characterized
this conduct of the Federal Reserve Sys-
tenn as warfare upon legitimate crea-
tons Of the states" a country banker
might very appropriately be named Ban
ker Afraid of His Government, for, al
though the Supreme court has denounced
this particular form Of coercion and per-
secuton, there is nothing To prevent the
bOara rom adopting some other scheme
just az reprehensble.
n HN
VIBTEI " WARNINH