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Show Comptroller Pleads for National Banks HIONItY M. DAWKS, comptroller of the currency, made an open appeal to the country In his annual report for the preservation and protection of the national na-tional hanks. The national banking system, he said, deserves more consideration than It recently has received. Hp insisted It Is now a question for congress to decide whether the several unfavorable unfavor-able factors bearing on the system shall continue or whether "we shall sit Idly by and apathetically watch its relrogration." One of the principal influences cited by Mr. Dawes was the "persistent suggestion" sug-gestion" that the ollioe of comptroller of the currency he abolished. Another Anoth-er factor characterized as equally important im-portant Is the agitation over branch hanking. The comptroller, Mr. Dawes asserted, assert-ed, possesses many powers susceptible suscepti-ble of arbitrary and rigid enforcement, but lie declared it Is not now the policy pol-icy and never has been to employ them In any way that would not further the blinking interests of the country He declared the comptroller always should act as a co-ordinator and usp his broad powers only for the specific purpose of .seeing that the affairs of the na tional hanks are administered in accordance ac-cordance with the laws and to protect pro-tect the national Institutions from encroachment en-croachment of other banking interests against whom they have been powerless power-less because of federal limitations. "The office of the comptroller of the currency has to be organized for quick and summary decision." said Mr. Dawes. '"A mob of depositors is never complacent enough to await the de-i de-i liberations of a town meeting. "If we are to have a national banking bank-ing system over which the government govern-ment exercises supervisory control, that control must be in the hands of an Independent executive and not the representative of a preferential creditor. cred-itor. The only fair and only logical thing to do is either to continue the present system with an independent comptroller or abolish the system entirely. en-tirely. A man cannot serve two masters, mas-ters, and a trustee who will act for two conflicting Interests is ipso facto incompetent either mentally or morally." mor-ally." The branch hanking problem, the comptroller said, presents a clean-cut issue as to whether the country prefers pre-fers a system of privately owned branch hanks or a reserve system under un-der federal control. |