Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-09-16

Ss14Ss = NSASA NAA6yH So W 0&yASG4 SObAG ~ ASSFJ
pot boiling Tor them without putting them to the
painful necessity Of working four hours = day.
WHERE ALL WORK TOGETHER.
In his address at Devils Lake a few days ago,
Governor Frazier declared that the bankers of the
state have done and are doing more harm and dam
age to the state that all the /. wv. w put together.
Those who have followed the utterances Of MI. Fra
zier have become familiar with this sentiment. II
has been expressed in varying language from time
to time tor severakyears. Sometimes il is the bank
ers who are attacked, sometimes other business men !;
but the general purpose is to cast odium upon alt
of those who happen to be in contdol5o f considerable
property interest and who have refused to turn over
the control Of their property to the gang whose ODE
dent servant Mr.. Frazier is.
The bankers Of North Dakota have had a diff.
cult task. By virtue Of their occupation they are
charged with the custody of q large proportional
the money and with the handling Of the greater part
of the credit Of North Dakota. They are expected
to perform their functions in such a manner that
money shall circulate as freely as the needs Of basil
ness require, and that credit shall At all times be
forthcoming when there is legitimate demands for it.
In the performance Of this work they have been con
fronted BY conditions, not the outgrowth Of natural,
and unavoidable causes, but the result Of foolish and
politicians with whom the governor Of the state is
in alliance. Their work has therefore been made
unusually difficult The public affairs of the state
have been administered in such a manner as to
bring the state into disrepute. Needing for the de-
velopnent of it's resources and the prosecution Of
its work large sums Of capital from the outside,
North Dakota's credit has been damaged by foolish
or malignant administration in such a manner that
there has been a constant drain of money from the
state and a constant and growing restriction of cred
it which is 50 badly needed. Under these conditions
the North Dakota bankers with a few exceptions
have performed their work admirably. They have
brought to bear all the influence possible with in
|~vestors OF money outside. They have used their
own funds and their own credit. They have dis
counted and rediscounted until the very limit of
safety has been reached. They have been tolerant
OF delays in the payment of obligations to them,
realizing the stress under which their clients were
|laboring, and they have performed a splendid pub
lie service. in preventing the utter disaster which
would undoubtedly have ensued had it not been,
for the courageous and intelligent effort which they
have put forth.
The bankers are not alone in this. Coupled
with them in the denunciation of the administra-
ton machine are the merchants of the state; and
yet what body OF men could have done more for the
state than the local merchants have done? Again
with a few exceptions North Dakota merchants
have spent the past several years working almost
exclusively in the interest of their customers. In
many cases profits have been non-existent. The
merchant has suffered as the farmer has suffered
from Unavoidable conditions, and on top Of this he
suffered from the discredit which is given to the
state through unwise political activities. The n,er-
chant has been liberal to the limit of safety, and
sometimes beyond il, in extending credit to his GUS
toners. In districts which have suffered from crop
failures he has waited patiently, refraining from
pressing his collections to the point where disaster
would be brought upon the debtor. And it may Be
asserted as . general fact that the North Dakota
customer who has shown a willingness to pay and
a desire to make the very best Of existing circum-
stances has had no difficulty in finding merchants
to carry his account to the very limit Of possibility.
Bankers and naerhaits in following this course
have simply acted in accordance with the theory
that they are intregai parts of the state, that their
prosperity and the prosperity of the customers are
one, and that the obligation rests on each individual
to do what he can to conserve the states resources
and to protect its credit to the very limit Of his
ability. This has not been done by bankers and
merchants alone. In every line Of activity there
have been found men who have stood loyalty by the
real interests Of the state and each within his own
sphere has performed the duties resting upon him
and it II becomes the governor Of the state or any
other man to stand forth and denounce. men in any
line Of labor who have performed such service at a
time when loyal service was badly needed.