The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-02-11
Annual Review of the Cur
rency Comptroller
U. S. ON SOUND BASIS
Record Cash institutions Cited;
Urged Publicity Pay Of
+. Bank Officials !
ASSOCIATED Press Dispatch.l

l1ASSSSAeosSe
Washington, d. c., February t.
The country is now in many respects
on sounder basis economically, than
it had been for years, Comptroller of
the Currency John Shelton Williams
informed congress today in what he
described as his seventh and last an
nual report following. "Defation, OBJ
liviously inevitable a year ago has
come" he said, "and price of many
basic commodities and raw materials
have returned TO pre- war levels or
below. 1t now remains for the mid
dleman,p 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 Must Act.
Labor" he said, must soon deter
mine whether shut down and idle
ness is preferred to lower wage
scale which takes into consideration
the lower living charges. Mills and
factories cannot afford to operate
unless they can turn out commodities
at prices the public can afford to pay"
he asserted, land it is better for the
manufacturers to operate and pro-
duce goods at cost or at very mar
row margin of profit than to close
down entirely. Participation by labor
with capital in the profits" he sug-
gested, as the only principle to re-
store business.
when conditions abroad became
more settled or stabilized" he de-
clared, land when at home much
needed adjustments are effected in
the costs to the consumer of steel and
at the twice their pre- war rate, 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 artificiaIly or
as a result of monopolistic control far
above the prewar figures, get back
to normal level, our country, resting
on a solid foundation, will be pre-
us hope, long enduring era Of pros
perity and healthy progress.
Splendid Record Of Banks.
During the fiscal year ended June
were S,157 national banks in opera
ton, the highest number ever report
ed, and despite the difficulties en-
countered they made the best ieco
in. immunity from failure in about
forty years. The percentage 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 sixteen times better
than the average for the entire fifty
the system. Combined resources OF
all banks in the country on June 80
1920, including national, state { ID
federal reserve, the comptroller said,
aggregated s59,153. 100000. Figures
showing for the first time the bust
ness of the principal borrowers from
national banks were presented.
Loans and discounts on November
Is, 1920" he said, aggregated $751;
764, 900 ,O00 Of which loans to farmers
and livestock raisers amounted to ST.
99S,000,0o0 or fourteen per cent:
loans to manufacturing concerns ap-
proximated $2,862, 100000 or twenty
one per cent; to merchants, mercan.
tile concerns and individual in job
bling business and trading Wholesale
and retail s3,581,000, 900 or twenty
six per cent; loans reported to bond
and stock brokers and dealers in in
vestment securities aggregated 1864,
100000; to railroads, shipping com
panies, electric light and power COM
panies $225,00C,C00; while the loans
to professional men, including doc
tors, lawyers, teachers, chemists, en-
gineers and clergymen amounted to
1876, 100000; miscellaneous loans
amounted to about $4,000 100000 or
80 per cent of the total.
Gross Earnings Banks.
"Gross earnings of the national
banks aggregated 81 ,109, 100000, while
of which SITS 100000 was for salaries
and wages and $2S7 900 900 was for
interest On deposits. National banks
the city of New York, showed
earnings on capital stock of 81 IL
per cetn; Philadelphia national banks
S3 IL per cent; Chicago "a per cent;
Boston % per cent; Cleveland "a IL
per cent; Minneapolis 81 IL per.
cent; st. Louis II 1-2 per cent; Rich
mond 20 IL per cent; Dallas 80 per
San Francisco Is per cent. Pueblo,
Colo, with IS per cent reported the
largest earnings in any reserve city;
Birmingham, Alabama next, 39N;
and Atlanta, 38A per cent. During
the past fiscal year, the comptroller
reported, three presidents, eight
cashiers of banks and thirty as
sistant cashiers, tellers, bnokkeepers
and others of national banks were
convicted Of criminal violations of the
banking DAVIS and sentenced to terms
OF Imprisonment running up to six
years and varying fines
Mr. Williams made public a table
showing the salaries paid the execu
tive officers by all national banks
whose resources were in excess of
$20,000,000 and showed the largest
salary paid any national bank presi-
dent to be 100000 a year.
Discussing excessive salaries the
comptroller declared, "such inequali-
ties would exist to much less extent
if the stockholders of banks were in
formed of the salaries paid to their
executive officers, but unfortunately
it is an exception rather than a rule
that the majority fthe stockholders
of the banks are so informed"
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