Salt Lake Telegram | 1934-04-03 | Page 6 | Why Not Do Something?

wily WHY NOT DO SOMETHING WAS IJAS it Bert Williams one of the better IT comedians of another day dar who used to sing the once popular o ode e to laziness I Troubles Trouble Til Trouble Troubles Trou- Trou bles bics Mo Io I 1 Its It's an old song quite old which suggests that it may have been something like a 8 th theme me song fo for the state banking depart depart- for these se many many years car Sonic ome songs are arc like they that will run through the head for no particular reason at all distracting ting one from work that should be done The The- state Tho-state tate banking department it would seem tHrough many administrations has fol lowed the philosophy of laissez z faire with respect to its supervision of building and amI andl l gemen it hasn't as trou I bled trouble until trouble caught up with iti it- it i and then it has had troubles end It has now It is up Ui to its cars in in trouble and so soRro aro the investors and depositors who thought tile the was on to protect them One h 1 one companies ha have 0 folded up the tho banking department has rushed it with its belated effort to conserve o assets protect pro pro- the public and mul carr carry out reorganization plans which would have luno been unnecessary if it lied had been on the job as s the peoples people's watchman It is to be presumed that the wrecked companies com coni- panics employed ed good bookkeepers If they ther did the has some ground to believe that they may have o been accepting deposits and n soliciting after they themselves knew they were insolvent nut But tile the banking depart depart- ment did not know it It The department has Ims claimed that it didn't 11 have o a the money with which to conduct proper audits Perhaps it did lil not hut bitt passage of the new IlCi Jaw b by the last le legislature L took care of that point md and A A. Malia lInlia the present state blink commissioner said that upon its effective date be different Things can be different without being better hetter The rhe thing that is different is that now the theold theold old will have to make way for a new one TIle The thing that is no DO better is that the public has no more information about the condition con con- of the building and loan concerns than before the new law Jaw wn ways s 's and amI means for conducting examinations and audits The rhe public huts has no assurance whatever that its interests in- in are arc being protected by the state banking banking bank bank- ing department On tile the contrary with the crash of the latest two concerns it may be excused if it feels certain that they arc not Thiat companies were solvent after the banking holiday of a year n ago o f Which ch were not solvent 7 Are there any insolvent compa- compa flies operating now 1 Are Arc there nn any solvent companies doing business 1 How many companies corn com panics can live up to the guarantees of maturing matur- matur fag ing contracts and how many cannot 1 The state banking department cannot say sar because it does docs not know lenow The public has to take talie the word of officers or salesmen for the tho separate companies A few fe weeks ago the public thought the two companies which have jm just t been closed up were as good as any others in the field Now they know better Are there any other concerns in precarious condition condition condi condi- tion Nobody but their Own wn officers would know The banking should be able to answer such questions The fact that it cannot cannot can can- I not should cause Governor Blood much concern con con- cern ina inasmuch as the commissioner is his own appointive creature responsible to the tho through him The situation appears to suggest suggest sug- sug gest th advisability of n a conference between the attorney general and and th the governor to chart charta a course to be followed by specific directions to th the banking department to go to work on the tho job placed upon it b by statute The department is e to offer n a measure of protection to the public in this and other states So far it has contented itself with locking the stable after the theft of the horse Here is a clear need for n a little trouble shooting