| Show DUTY OF THE BANKS IS POINTED OUT BY COMPTROLLER Jan jn 1 W. W W. W B B. B comptroller of tho the currency has bas made a statement dealing largely I with financial conditions durin during the year car 1907 1007 in which bo ho says that the conditions which m made mado do this crisis possible ble blo arc the accumulated composite re e e. suIts suIts' of n m ninny many years cars of business The whole world has been over ocr trading and expanding and nowhere has bas it been more rampant than in the tho United States Tho The reaction was inevitable and though it might not havo have taken the form of ofa a bank panic had we wo been better bet bet- ter prepared with such sueh a n bankin banking and currency system as we c should have the I time h has s come coma when some somo or all alJ must pay par for our over It is tho duty duty of the tho banks bankst says saS the tho comptroller to to restore bus business mess to normal conditions by resuming their functions as promptly and as DS fuJI fully as possible Fortunately thero there is not only the strongest desire desiro and disposition on tho the part of the banks to do this but conditions are arc such as to make it t Comparatively comparatively com corn easy and to lead us to expect ex cx a much more mOTe prompt recovery than has hns followed other similar t financial crises The Tho reports to the comptroller show that tho the reserves in in the central reserve cities were but 22 per cent against the le legal al requirement of 25 5 per ci nt The rho forty reserve cities show 2472 per cent of le leg legal al reserve of almost the tho full legal minimum while their total cash h Ul means are 2655 per cent of their C deposits S Of OC f the tho fo ty io tv cities twenty one show legal reserves above p 25 per cent while ten of 01 them show over o 30 per cent of or le legal 31 reserve e and all nil but ei eight ht of them show moro more than 2 25 5 per cent of total cash ln aUl The Tle lar largest elt reserves are iu lit the Texas cities Galveston and San Ant Antonio nio showing over o 30 per cent of or legal reserve o and Galveston over 48 per cent of total cash means meana The returns as DoS tabulated b by States are arc also significant and reassuring as asto asto asto to the thc general conditions There is not ono Stout Stint which does hoes not show an ex ox- cc cc's s of r reserve ser e above le legal l requirements requirements require require- ments of 1 If 15 per cent and an increase in legal rt reserve fc and total cash eash means moans on December 3 above o tho those thoc held on August 22 2 In In the sub division by States tho the Pacific States show the thc largest est legal r servo reserve of per cent while whilo the Western States show the tho largest cash means menns 21 I per cent The most important im int in- in significance of these fi figures ure i is ii that the tho of bank reserves Las has pJ place tr with so few bank fail 11 urea ures From October 20 to December 30 50 1907 there have been but sixt sixteen en sus- sus pC pensions or failures of national banks bank Of these two have resumed and sever severa a. a moro more should do so 80 in the very cry near fu fu- fu ture The r reports ports of condition of the ua na pon l banks show that h from All August 22 2 I I I I to December r 3 5 S individual deposits decreased de dc- creased but H or about 3 per cent while whilo the decrease a c in cashon cash cashon on band hand wa was but and the increase in bills payable and nd nd rediscounted rediscount rediscount- ed cd was about We have a vcr very serious bank panic It would have been much worse orse but for the aid given iven b by the Treasur Treasury Department Depart Depart- ment an and some of the leadin leading financial Ime me men of the country It will nom probably ne never ner r be known how much credit is due to toa toa toft a ft few fow men who furnished vast alt sums of or mone money and sup BUP- supplies plies plied credit from their enormous resources resources re reo re- re sources in iu the tho patriotic effort to sto stop the panic and relieve situations which i miJ might tt lann led lell to far tar greater ter r disasters I I t if they y had not been so II promptly ansi and so 80 successfully handled bandIed From rom these thesa fa facts ts in re regard ud to he bankin banking situation it would seen seem bu a fair conclusion that the acute b ut lc trouble is past but values alues of 01 all ki hi ds will wm have havo to be he rearranged We Ve s si ill LII have moro more failures and probably s si I nomore no ne nemore more bank batik failures but these will wil je e individual cases the result of oC part parti u ular u- u lar conditions We Ire have havo been going oin oo 00 fast business iri nil all classes of j 0 plo pic have been living hin too an y v. v It will be good for all aU of us to lo ch k this |
