The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1921-02-07
COUNTRY IS ON
S0UNDER BASIS
Than 1t Has Been for
Years, Declares Comp
troller Shelton
DEFLATION HAS
BEEN EFFECTED
1t Now Remains for Mid
dleman to Adjust His
Profits

Washington, d. C., Feb. THE coun
try is now in many respects on sound
er basis, economically than il has bee
for years, Comptroller of the Currenc.
John Skelton Williams informed Con
gress to-day in what he described a
his seventh and last annual report"
Defation, obviously inevitable a yea
ago, has come, he said, and prices o
many basic commodities and raw mate
rials have returned to pre-war levels o.
below. ut now remains for the middle
man" he declared, ''to adjust his profits
to the new prices before the ultimate
consumer will receive the benefit of the
reduced cost of living
Labor, however, he said, must soor
determine whether shutdown and idle
ness is preferred to lower wage
scale which takes into consideration
the lower living charges, Mills and fac
tories cannot afford to operate unless
| they can turn out commodities at
prices the public can afford to pay, he
asserted, and it is better for the manu-
faeturers to operate and produce goods
at cost or at a narrow margin OF profit
than to close down entirely. Partieipa-
tion by labor with capital in the prof
its he suggested as the only principle
to restore business
when conditions abroad become
more settled or stabilized he declared
in a summary OF the present outlook,
"and when at home much needed ad
iustments are affected in the costs to
the consumer of steel and iron prod
nets. which are still quoted about twice
their prewar prices. and when coal, for
which the government itself has paid in
recent months as much as four times
the pre.war price, and certain other
commodities which are now being kept
up artifieally or as result of mc>>p
olistic control far above the pre-war
figures, get back to normal level, our
country resting on a solid foundation,
will be prepared to enter upon a new
and, let us hope, long enduring era of
and healthy progress.
During the fiscal year ended June 30,
1920, there were s,l57 national banks
in operation, the highest number ever
reported and, despite the difficulties en-
countered, they made the best record in
immunity from failure in about 40
years, the report said The ratio of the
capital of failed banks TO the total
capital of all banks. he explained, was
about two one .thousandths of one per
cent or l6 times better than the aver
age for the entire 81 years since the in
auguration of the system
Bank Resources.
: Combined resources of all banks in
the country on June 30, 1920, including
national, state and federal reserve, /
were $50, l53, 100000
Figures showing for the first time
he business of the principal borrqEers 1
rom national banks were presented by 4
he comptroller Loans and discounts I
)n Nov. -, 1920, aggregated Sl3,I64, /
100000. OF which loahs to farmers and I
livestock raisers amounted to 81 0SS,. /
100000, or IL per cent; 70 manufactur
ng concerns S2,s62 100000, or 2I per
ent TO merchants. mercantile con
erns,' individuals in the iobbing busi
less and trading, wholesale and retail
'3 ,5Sl ,0O0.000, or 26 per cent: to bond
md stock brokers and dealers in in
'estment securities. $644 900, 900; to
ailroads, shipping companies, electric
ight and power companies, S225 ,000,
100, TO professional men, including doc
ors, lawyers, teachers, chemists, engi
eers and clergymen. $4,000 600:
miscellaneous. S4,000,0O0,OOO, or 30 per
ent.
Gross earning Of the national banks
uring the past fiscal year aggregated
i 100 0O,000 while their total eX
enses were S736.OO0.00O of which
l75.OO0, 600 was for salaries aud wages
nd S2S7 100000 WAS for interest on de.
osits. National banks in the city II
lew York showed earnings on capital
tock of 81 per cent, Philadelphia ma
ional banks 36Ia per cent; Chicago "a {
er cent; Boston % per cent Pueblo, |
oil. with - per cent. reported the
Irgest earnings in any reserve city. I
Ala. was next with 39s. Z
er cent, and Atlanta third with -3Ss,
er cent. q
During the past fiscal year three c
residents. eight cashiers and % assist
NJ cashiers. tellers. bookkcepers and +,
her employers Of national banks were :
,nvicted Of criminal violations of the !.
,nking law and sentenced 10 terms 81 3
nprisonment running up TO siN years I
I'd varying fines.
Mr. Williams made public table
rowing the salaries paid the executive
iicpr- by all national hanks of the
untry whose resources were ~ excess
S20.OOO.0O0 and showed the Iarg !
{ salary paid any national bank pres Z
ent 70 be SlO0000 = year
Discussing excessive salaries the {"
mptrolier declared such inequalities
oul3 exist 70 much less extent II the q
ockholders n hanks were informed ~
the salaries paid O. their executive &,
icers, but unfortunately u Z an * u
ption, rather than = rule. that the n
jority II The ockholders N the e.
nks are - informed d
- -. I'd