The New York herald., 1921-10-21
PEABODY APPROVES
RESERVE SALARIES
Director Demands Williams
Counterfeit Effect Of At
tack on Bank.

George Foster Peabody, a director OF
the Federal Reserve Bank OF New York
and chairman Of committee OF two
which fixes the Officially salaries of that
institution, in letter to John Skeltor
| Williams, formerly Comptroller of the
Currency demands that he do what ne
can to counteract the "evil effects OF
his usterance" with reference to extrava-
CANT salaries paid by the bank and re-
quests that he advise Senator Hefiin to
recall his attack in as public manner
as he made it. The Senate on October
IA passed resolution to investigate
charges made by Mr.. Williams.
| Declaring that Mr.. Williams's state
ments were without any justification
whatever, Mr.. Peabody said in his let
ter: Il have no hesitation in saying
that I do not believe any fairminded
study of the conditions by any one. no
matter how prejudiced in the beginning
could reach any conclusion but that the
salaries paid by the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York during the entire
seven years of its existence have PRO-
duced more and better service for the
money paid than in 80 per cent. of all
other corporations.
| "I beg to state therefore. In the most
positive fashion that possibly without an
exception every officer of the bank has
been rendering service at his own Pc
cuniary loss as compared with the finan-
cial returns that he could have assured
himself by accepting employment offered
TO him from other important corpora
tions 1t Is the fact that the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York from the be-
ginning with such as regards morale and
discipline that it, was a high credit mark
to every employee to have satisfactory
record of service with this bank. Be-
cause of this there were continually ap-
proaches made to employees and officers
to take other positions. Very many did
take advantage of these opportunities
and the bank allowed them to go with
a Godspeed, because. fortunately, its or
ganization enabled it to move up those
who had proved themselves competent.
There have been some cases, how
ever. among the officers where their
value to the bank was SO great that II
would have been difficult to secure TIT
successors for the vitality important SER
vices the bank was called upon to rem
der during the period of the war ana
the various crises following the armi-
stice. Those several gentlemen, now
officers of the bank, were so imbued
with the sense of their public trust that
thew declined these offers and remained
with the bank at large pecuniary sacri-
fees I know this of my own personal
knowledge.
"In view of the foregoing. 1t was a
peculiarly unpatriotic as well as unsocial
act for any one to make this attack, not
only upon the officers and directors. pu'
in effect upon all the thousands OF en-
ployees Of the Federal Reserve Bank OF
New York. 1t is not surprising. OF
c,,,raa that the Senator from Alabama,
without full knowledge. should have
voiced such an attack. but 1t is matter
of not only great surprise but OF extreme
regret to discover that the attack was
made by a former member Of the Federal
Reserve Board, who had every possibility
OF close and confidential access TO the
Government records. as to others. and
who had only to inquire into any specific
cases to have any common report ex-
rloded by the exact and unquestioned
knowledge that was obtainable."