Evening star., 1934-10-23
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Member Of the Associated Press.
The Bankers Role.

The Bankers Role.
There is no reason why gathering
Of the Nations bankers should not
produce healthy criticism and, in spots,
outright condemnation of some New
Deal policies. The same thing would
be true of a gathering of lawyers or
doctors or grocerymen. But, as out
lined in the convention keynote speech
by Francis Marion Law, president of
the American Bankers Association,
the chief role of the banker today Is
to lead in the movement to reawaken
business confidence and initiative"
The fulfllment of that role, as Mr..
Law sees it, is cooperation and the
maintenance of harmonious relation
ships with the constituted agencies of
Government in matters affecting sound
banking. Bankers as body have not
been concerned so much, Mr.. Law
points out, with whether the Govern
ment was of this party or that, and
not whether it represented certain
type of social philosophy against any
other type"
The 5anker has peculiarly vital
interest IN SOUND recovery, and bankers
have evidenced their cooperation with
Government and their faith in the
countrys credit, Mr. Law points out,
by their purchase of Government Sc
curities and by their absorbing some
10 per cent Of the ten billion-dollar
increase in the public debt since De-
cember, 1929. There is no better in
vestment in the world today than Sc
curities of the United States Govern
ment." While the banks have been
criticized for their failure to loan
freely, Mr.. Law declares there is
'hardly sane banker in the country
who is not only willing, but anxious
to make good loans" The trouble is
not with the banks. but with the bor-
rowers, he believes. for many lines
of credit put at the disposal of busi-
ness men by banks are lying unused.
1t remains for business men to shake
of their timidity and uncertainty and
to indicate willingness and ability to
borrow
BY indirection. Mr.. Law mentions a
balanced budget as one of the essen
tials of recovery, quoting Mr.. Rich
berg's recent utterances on the de-
STABILITY of a balanced budget "at
the earliest possible moment" And
in selecting with approval an excerpt
from the Presidents last "hreside"
radio address-''We count in the fu-
ture, as in the past, on the driving
power of individual initiative and the
incentive Of fair private profit
Law emphasizes his belief and the be-
lief of bankers and business men that
"a recognition of the vital need of in
dividual initiative and of fair profit
Is the sine qua non of recovery"
With other things, Mr.. Law men,
tions a development of foreign trade
as one of the factors that will spell
the end of unemployment and the
doom Of the depression" And he sug-
gests guiding principle for the bank
er, in his efforts to aid recovery, that
applies as well to all citizens. "All of
us want to help the other fellow. As
a people we must realize that our
social, business and political interests
should all be considered and brought
into accord. Bankers, in common with
other thoughtful and forward looking
business men, agree to the principle
that sound, liberal business doctrine
and rational humanitariaaism should
go hand in hand in any real program
Of real and permanent recovery"