New-York tribune., 1922-03-03
Bankers Assail
lertificatePlan
To Pay Bonus
Not Obliged 10 Take Notes
Issued TO Soldiers. They
Say. and Us. Loan Agency
Would Be Sole Alternative
Injury to Business See
Device Branded as Mere
Atiemrt to Fool Our
selves. and Postpone Issue

Converaeut views were expressed by
New York bankers yesterday regarding
the latest bonus proposal. These were
10 ;he effect that the "adjUsted Serv-
ice certincate' plan. cutaiiing the is
suaNce Of interest bearing notes due
IN twenty years al considerably in eN-
cess of par. was merely an attempt to
fool ourselves or. conceding the ad
vantagcs such plan has over the cash
payment, i likewise would have
deterrent effect on the country's
business.
Another opinion conculred in by
members Of the banking fraternity
was that unless the government cstab-
hshcd its own agencies to make the
loans that arc assured to holders of
the certificates the nlan would prove a
failure.
c. Al Dant vice president of the
Chase National Bank. declared he was
opposed ~ bonus of any kind. tha
80 far as he knew other bankers feel
the same way about the bonus but
that If the Federal government thinks
II owes the former service men money
IT should step up to the desk and pay
them
The whole proposition is disgrace
tul said M Dahl from beginning
to end. It S petty, small minded
cncap business. No decent, respectable
business man would think Of involving
hlnself in such d policy as is pro
posed
Evasion Is Condemned
Why give oar former service mon
notes If VIC owe lhem money! If ;he
government owes them further com
pensaton it should be good enough 10
meet the obligatiou If ii cannot meet
The bonus payments that have been
urged upon II then il is not justified
I'm trying 20 do the same thing in an
othcr way. II the men themselves
would stop to think about il they would
foaIl1c tins they are placing a cheap
valuation en- their services when thov
tieure that service h terms of few
hundred dollars. The payment Of =
eonus ~ any form would bc class
legislation. 9s 'nadvisablo As was tho
Adamsou law. The certificate plan is
an attempt to fool ourselves"
feature OF tic plan agreed u0on by
the majority members Of the House
Ways and Means Committee Is THAI
tae notes or certificates would enable
the eN-scrVlco men after three wears
to borrow on them direct from the
United States Treasury. If he chose
TO borrow ON them Immediately after
+ tncIr issuance to him he would get NO
10 % per cent Of the facc value Of
the certificate. The loans would be
mauc by any bank
- strongly do New York bankers feel
concerning the payment Of bonus
that they doabt the WILLINGNESS of
banks generally TO make the loans
which arc provided for in tic House
committees plan. A bank is not Obliged
lc make any kind of loan. and it wa 8
pointed out that any dependence Of the
government on the banks to make the
.oanS M sht jeopardizc TIE whole
chemc % rar as the immediate loan
feature l. .NVoivod.
Loan Feature Important
The government. however. could So,
up it's own agencies for loan making.
which. 1t was said would be nccossarv
II the loan feature were not TO prove
failure. In this latter connection
Fianci4 H. Sissou, vice-rrcsidcut Of The
Guaranty Trust Company. sad such
agencies would. he thought have to be
created or the plan would not prove
successful as q whole"
The fundamenta object on~ to the
bonus have not been met by the lates,
plan. m the opinion Of Mr. Sisson.
~ would appesr from the accounts
o. the plan that the bonus, which in
ltseii is thoroughly uneconomic, is
simply being postponed, said Mr.
SiSSou.
"W hlc the immediate burden woulc
% some extent be lishtencd under the
certificate plan. i would have de-
terrcnt effect On business. Tno pla,
he's some advantages over tho casf
payment proposition. bat il does mo-
solve the economic problem involved. -
Another prominent banker said h'
tad net made q study OF tho certificate
pan As embraced III tho newspaper &C
counts from Washington. but that of
band ne thought the plan not great!
different from q bond issue. and tina
tncre might he considerable tendenc,
toward Initiation. once the notes wer,
foated