The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1923-07-12
INTERNATIONAL
BANKER" 4 Myth
Otto n. Kahn Refutes Idea That
Foreign Finance Activities Ouu
Allegiance to America.
BANKING REFLECTS BUSINESS
.lRteenstloaal Farmer" end othss
0vsinsss Men Whs esil % Fees,sn
Markets cesats Demand Ses lWtee.
aationaI FInaneisl ossvIea.

rhs idea that bankers engaged IN
dancing foreign trade and IN han.
ding foreign bond aotaious are par.
:icular cult OF 'intsrnational bankers"
actuatsd By motives diRering from
those Of other banker. was refuted
recently By Otto H. Kahn Of New
York. in IN address before the Roch.
ester Chamber Of Commerce.
There 70 no such thing - a. In
tefnational Banker In America. a. the
meaning Of the term 10 generally
understood" Mr.. Kahn said. "Hs exists
In the Imagination Of people all too
numerous, but he does not exist In tbs
aesh. You might Just - we'll speak
II the International Farmer because
the farmer sells Z certain perceutag.
Of his crops to Europe. or Of the In
ternational Manufacturer
-The banker maintains. and ca.
maintain. International contact. an
conduct international business. only to
the extent that American Industry,
commerce and agriculture are inter.
national True. the banker must take
within his purviev continuously the
conditions Of affairs and the curren,
Of things throughout the world. but
20 must the exporter and importer.
and 70 must the farmer take into &C.
count the prices and tendencies Of the
world market In Liverpool.
Banking Mostly Home ouslnsss
The American bankers market is
the home market His success ts con.
ditioned upon the capacity and will
ingness OF the American investor 10
absorb the securities which he offers.
His very existence depends upon the
confidence and cooperation Of the
public and Of his fellov.bankers-and
any banker whose activities would
Justly create the impression that he
was actuated BY cosmopolitan rather
than BY American interests would
very soon lose that confidence and
following.
Tho business which he does for his
own account in. with. or for Europe.
Is inconsiderable as compared to the
business he does in America. His prin.
cipal functions In relation 70 Europe
are to provide the requisite banking
facilities for export and import and
for travellers. That part OF his fnnc-
tons which consists in financing loans
Of foreign governments or industries
has hitherto been, with sporadic ex.
ceptions. Of relatively fnconsiderable
proportions as compared to the vast.
ness Of the volume of his transactions
In financing American Industry. com.
merce and enterprise.
Necessity for Foreign Credits
"In saying this. I do not mean to
imply that there is anything that calls
for apology in the floating Of foreign
loans In America and in the loaning
0. American funds to Europe, provid-
ed such loans are considered sound ~
to security and are made for legiti.
mate, constructive purposes. Indeed.
such loans ought to. and believe will,
be made in increasing measure. when
conditions In Europe will have become
such as to warrant It.
1T Is manifest that the promotion
Of our export trade. including. Of
course. the export of farm products.
requires US. under the clrcum stances
Is they now are and are likely to
remain for some time. to aid the pur.
chasing power Of other nations by ex.
tending to them financial facilities to
. reasonable extent.
ut is the function Of the banker to
be instrumental in carrying out such
transactions. In doing so, he is the
means Of serving Z useful national
purpose. Just as he served a useful
indeed a highly important national
purpose. In being the means Of attract
Ing and bringing European capital to
America in former years when coudi.
tons were reversed and such capital
was nothing less than vital to the de.
velopment Of this country and the