Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1938-09-01

life Of a ponllcian WIN opposes
spending is a hard road. But II
the average citizen is touched by
some new taxes, he will not be half
as anxious to support the candi-
date who promises pork, projects
and patronage-anything that sends
money back into the home district.
l would just hazard guess that
the amiable and very clever Sem
ator Harrison is going about the lat
ter job in the only way that it can
be accomplished.
I give him praise and wish him
success, for preservation of our
government is of considerably more
moment than a few political lives.
This Is No Joke to
Bankers of Country
Some time ago, / reported the ex-
istence within administration poll
cies of quite contradictory plans.
Here is new one, and one that to
me is quite laughable. It probably
is not at all humorous to the bank
ers of the country, whether they be
big bankers or little bankers in
small towns. OF course, bankers do
not always have a sense of humor;
nevertheless, I believe they may be
forgiven for failing to laugh at this
new condition.
To have a clear understanding of
the circumstance, it Is necessary to
line up the several developments in
the order Of their appearance as
government or administration pol
icy.
First, it will be remembered how
President Roosevelt ordered all
banks closed (and some stayed
closed) at the beginning of his adj
ministration. He followed that with
legislation by congress that placed
new restrictions on how the banks
could loan money. It was a pretty
good law since it prevented some
sharp practices of which some bank
ers had been guilty.
On top of this law, some 10 or IL
months later, Mr.. Roosevelt lam
basted the bankers for not making
loans to business. He charged them
with locking their vaults, called
them towards and what-nots, trying
to force money out into the channels
of trade when there were few bust
ness men doing enough business to
pay interest on the money they were
using.
Then, the urge came for deposit
insurance. Mr.. Roosevelt was not
enthusiastic about any federal de-
post insurance scheme, but Senator
Vandenberg, Michigan Republican,
had developed terrible desire to
have it. He forced it through con-
gress, and Mr.. Roosevelt signed the
bill. think the time will come
when the country will regret that
law, but that is neither here nor
there. It is on the statute books,
and the federal deposit insurance
corporation has a function to see
that banks are properly run.
Another Depression
Vas the Result
There came the time when Mr..
Roosevelt's policies failed to work
any better than those under Presi-
dent Hoover, and we had another
depression on our hands. Mr.. Jesse
Jones, chairman of the Reconstruc-
ton Finance corporation, either of
his own volition or by White House
urging, made several speeches and
statements to the bankers as the de-
preston got really bad. He sought
to stem the tide by persuading the
bankers to make more loans. Some
Of us here got the impression that
Mr.. Jones wanted the bankers to
shove out the money and ask later
on whether they could get it back.
Anyway, the sum and substance OF
the situation was that Mr.. Jones
was urging the banks to find ways to
loan money.
Then came the climax, the peak.
and the laugh. Hardly had Mr..
Jones concluded his series of lee
lures to the bankers (who, accord
ing to the Jones picture, really did
not want to make money! when an
other government agency gets into
the play. The Federal Deposit In
surance corporation had something
to say about the bankers, and Chair.
man Crowley issued a statement to
all and sundry bankers.