Evening star., 1921-06-12
WISE POLICY MAY SUGGEST
PASSING CORPORATE DIVIDEND
Conservation Of Resources May Be Neces-
sary to the Weathering of the Lean Year.
Financial News of the Week.

the discount a. the case might be.
Every year enormous sums Of cur
rency were shipped from New, York
| city and other eastern points for the
| crop movement, and the return move
ment would start with the marketing
Of crops and repayment Of bank loans.
Not only was the operation costly
from the standpoint Of express and
| insurance charges. but there was no
| interest return on the funds in the
period of transfer.
All is changed and different now.
Comparatively little money passes
ern methods.
The federal reserve system has
| made great changee in banking,
practically eliminating the transfer
Of largo amounts of money through
the actual shipment Of the currency.
just as the checks and letters Of
credit have lessened the need of trav-
elers carrying funds.
Express robberies are less nu-
! merous. with the government the
| istered mail robberies, securities and
registered packages Of all kinds.
while the big liberty bond issues
in their transfer and distribution
have given the thieves a new lease
of piracy.
In the olden days there was no
such shifting of money as there is
In the present, but now IL Is not the
money itself that is shifted. but
credit. ownership Of the money and
most of the millions by wire and
without the actual shipment Of a
cent
Banks keep big reserves with the
twelve regional reserve banks and
their branch institutions. They may
al bank and depositing for their
credit in one of the other banks in
the system, where they need the
funds. They may have one regional
bank credit cash to any one of the
others and charge to balance with
that bank.
These transfers are accomplished
with electrical speed over the wires
Of the federal reserve system. and
cost nothing. The Chicago merchant
on New York. the Chicago banker
wanting to send $1,000. 900 to New
York will tell the Chicago reserve
bank to make the remittance and
charge his account-all in a moment
by wire.
There is . gold settlement fund
with the Treasury of the United
States, part of the reserve of the
twelve regional banks and branches.
Taking from and adding to each of
these banks shares of this $3.50. 900. 900
gold fund is 4 daily operation.
The shipping bank takes a debit. and
the receiving q credit-the fund is
unchanged. An enormous saving of
interest results from this settlement
fund.
Every day the gold settlement fund
works for the entire country. It is
part of the great system that has
revolutionized the American currency
and banking system.
Settlements via this fund have in
creased with each year from 1915.
$556,O0O,0O0 to $1,933, ,0OO, 900 in 1919,
A tithe of the old-time interest or
exchange charges on the enormous
volume of business may well be i'm
agined, and should be credited to the\
great system.
An average Of 712 wires transfer
ring (?) money pass through the New
York Federal Reserve Bank daily.
Elected q Director.
Charles w. Darr, well known at
Of the District National Bank.
Personal Mention.
H A. Offutt, jr., cashier Of the
District National Bank, has returned
from . ten days outing. during which
he motored to Buffalo. and attended
three sessions of the Reserve Cities
Banksrs' Association.
Local secuRities.
As . rule local securities during
the past week have acted well. There
has been no sympathy with the weak
ness in New York. Our market. how
ever, has been a local utilities mar
ket only, with utility stocks and
bonds moving rather freely at steady
prices.