Evening star., 1933-01-17
PROTEST ON BANK
TAX HLAUNCHED
Mckee and Others on Pro.
gram at MidWinter Meet
ing Here.
BY EDWARD c. STONE.

BY EDWARD c. STONE.
Taxes levied on Washington banks
rsre scored at the Midwinter meeting
OF the District of Columbia Bankers
Association at the Willard Hotel last
night by Chairman H. H. Mckee OF the
Taxation Committee; a brilliant resume
OF the views of the American Bankers
Association on pending legislation III
Congress was presented by Robert Y.
fleming chairman of the National
legislative Committee: while Francis
G. Addison, jr., chairman Of the local
associations committee on law ana
LEGISLATION offered his committees opin-
icns on questions sent out BY the
United States Chamber of Commerce
relative to the most vital banking is
sues now before Congress.
IN addition to these intensely inter-
es.ing reports. Albert w Atwood, fan
cial editor OF The Saturday Evening
T1st. spoke on Elements Of the Present
Economic Situation" reaching the con-
clusion that most Of the present eco
ncnlic difficulties are solvab.c. AS
climax to the meeting, the bankers
turned in on the radio address of Sec
retery Mills on Balancing the Budget
and listened intently to his discussion
o. Z subject in which every banker in
the United States is deeply concerned
His address is printed in full elsewhere
in The Star
Taxation Protest Entered.
Chairman Mckee referred to the four
IL Et!Cn bills before Congress known as
/ l5apes bills, The manae- il which
tl.2 House passed these bills. without
& ing local bankers d chance to appear
q, hearings and protest against them,
caused considerable Indignation at the
time. The bills are expected to come
before the Senate District Committee
sacrtly. A resolution passed last eve
ming instructs the associations COM
Init.ees on law and legislation to seek
hearing and vigorously protest against
the passage o. these measures. Chair
man Mckee stated that local banks are
forced to pay high taxes on every
dollar of gross income than any other
banks in the fifth Federal Reserve dis
trict and most of the banks in other
parts of the United States.
IN reviewing the present economic
situation, Mr.. Atwood told the local
fnsnciers that it is the duty of bankers
to oppose cheap money and infiationary
oeTices, which DO not go to the roots
of world troubles, and make new diff
culties greater than the ones we now
have. He added:
Il an afraid that bankers were not
leaders IN trying to check the initiation
Of 1928 ard 1929, and I ask you the
question, are bankers really trying to
prevent further disastrous liquidation
now? Surely recovery cannot begin
unless all elements move. Bankers
have a duty to be leaders, perhaps
bold leaders, as well as a duty to con-
serve. Your deposits will shrink to
nothing; the whole financial system
will shrivel up if everybody, and I am
not speaking of bankers alone, con-
tinues to wait for somebody else to
break the Jam, or to change the figure
Of speech, to lead US out of the Wild
erness.
But there is another side to the
story. If bankers have been somewhat
remiss in failure to provide bold leader
ship, they have acted, they are acting
as necessary guardians of that essential
stability and sanity which is Just as
necessary as leadership. We must have
elements among the upper levels of
population who are not carried away
by fads, who keep fairly true per-
spective
National Election Halted Recovery.
I'VE all know how business started up
last September, how the rise in COM
modities and securities removed for
time the paralyzing fear that no recov-
cry could occur We all know also that
II there had been no election this re-
oovery would still be under way. I am
not saying that Mr. Roosevelt may not
make a better President than Mr. Hoo
yer; express no opinion on that point
But am making direct economic and
financial statement, which is that the
future business trend depends in con-
siderable part upon public policies. for
eign and domestic, which have not yet
shaped themselves. Until these policies
OF the new deal appear, until it is
known how conservative or radical, how
wls3 or unwise they are, there can be
no confidence in this country, and it is
lack of confidence which holds the
country back. When the policies are
known the country will probably ad-
just itself to them and confidence is
more likely to appear.
Most of our problems are solvable,"
said MIR Atwood in conclusion. They
were not brought upon us uy Nature or
by God. We brought them upon our
selves. If we have the right attitude,
first of humility for our mistakes and
dishonesty and sins and then the
unity, determination and willingness of
common purpose, we can work our way
out without either revolution or die
tatorship."
Explains A. b. A. Banking Views.
Chairman Fleming Of the American
Bankers Associations National Legis-
latiye Committee touched briefly on
some OF the most important banking
problems now holding the attention of
Congress. The great national organi-
zation is opposed to giving the con-
troller of the currency the right to
take action against inefficient bank
officers and also to sit on the commit
tee acting on such charges 1t makes
the controller both judge and jury
giving him too much power
The association is opposed to the bill
favored by the Postmaster General
which would permit an increase in in
diVidual postal savings accounts to
$4,000. II is felt that this limit would
be too high and act against the bank
ing interests Of the country.
Again, the national association is
strongly opposed to any measure guar
anteeing bank deposits. This bill calls
for the raising Of large sum of money
by all the banks to meet any emer-
gency in any individual bank. 1t is OPP
posed because it is not considered fair
that a well managed bank should be
forced 10 pay out money to depositors
in g bank in which the sound bank
las never had a word to say about the
management or known anything about
the weak banks affairs
The association favors legislation
making $4,000 the amount Of capital
required for opening q new bank A
great many OF the small bank failures
in the past few years have been due
almost wholly 10 too small capitaliZa-