Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-16
BANK AND
POLITICS


United States was framed ant
put on the statute books of the ma
ton by a democratic congress ant
a democratic president. But it wa
designed to be thoroughly non
partisan in its management and op
Grafton. 1t has been. A consider
able majority of its high executive
officers we're republicans in theil
personal political affiliations. Per
haps that came about because
considerable majority of the biz
bankers of the nation were repub'
licans, and the Wilson administra'
ton were looking for successful
bankers to run the reserve bank
system rather than politicians. The
majority of the governing board Of
the system have been and still are
republicans. The subject is Of some
importance just now because the
term of the governor of the federal
board. Mr. w. P. c. Harding, is
about to expire, and an effort is
under way to persuade his name
sake, President Harding, to replace
him with a republican, because
Banker Harding comes from Ala
bama, and is a democrat. This
causes the Boston Herald, itself a
republican newspaper and a sup
porter of this administration, to
remark:
The official term of the gov
ernor of the federal reserve board,
w. P. G. Harding, will expire the
coming August. To party politi-
clans this may seem to present an
interesting situation. He is an Ala
baman and a democrat. Already
suggestions have been made that he
should be replaced by a republican.
We trust that it is not necessary
to say this, but nevertheless, we
cannot emphasize too strongly III
conviction that the federal banking
system is a department where party
politics or group distinctions should
never enter. To admit them is to
strike a serious blow at the spirit
and integrity of the system itself.
How sensitive is the business com
munity to this fact was in evidence
only recently when the effort was
made to secure a farmer on the
board as a definite representative
of group interest. Experience and
demonstrated ability are the tests
Governor Harding has shown the
possession of such ability in as try
ing a time as will ever come TO any
banker. He has o the right to
reappointment. He ought 10 re-
ceive 1t. Should this question of
change be pressed upon the presi-
dent, the business men of the COM
munity will watch his attitude
thereon most closely, and rightly
so, for involved within the matter
is one of the vital factors Of sound
banking"
The Boston newspaper says that
it trusts it is not necessary to say
what it says above. BY that it
means that it trusts that President
Harding will have backbone enough
to resist partisan pressure for fed
eral jobs for hungry republican
politicians when the good will Of
the nation is involved in retaining
competent democrats in their
places. Well, we hope so too, but
we cannot say we have any great
trust that such will be the case.
The record of the president in the
past gives no ground for such con-
fidence.
Already pressure has been
brought to bear on the president
to put a dirt farmer" on the board.
1t has also been suggested that he
put a union labor representative
on the board. No doubt later he
will be asked to put a representa-
tive of the woman's clubs on the
board, and a representative of the
soldiers legion, and the prohibi-
tionists, and any other class that
votes to spare.
There is only one way in which
the benefits Of the e bank
system can be preserved and that is
to put on the governing board only
the best bankers the president can
find, regardless of their political
or their views on dis
nNfed social ;aeu.. Th. -a.&l