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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1904)
?& 14 The Commoner, VOLUME 4, NUMBER 48 plenishing reserve and reducing lla Nilities. During the summer months of the current. year banlc reserves in creased and interest rates were corre spondingly low. but this very plethora of money resulted in an Increase of national bank circulation. When be low .and the price of bonds normal, it is profitable for national banks to maintain circulation. To moot a demand for paper money of small denominations, referred to olsowhero in this report, I recommend that national banks bo permitted to issue a larger proportion of their au thorized circulation in denominations of $5, and that authority be given to issue one-eighth of the aggregate vol ume of gold certificates in denomina tions of $10. Within the last few years trust com panies have made a relatively much larger growth in all the large cities than national banks. There were twenty-seven trus,t companies and forty-nine national banks in New York city ten years ago,. The same city now has forty-seven trust companies and only forty-one national banks. Ten years ago the aggregate capitalization of the New York City trust companies was $26,400,000, and of the national banks $50,700,000. Now the trust com panies are capitalized at $54,900,000 and the national banks at $110,300,000, showing about the same relative in crease. But the difference in the growth of deposits is marked. Trust com panies in New York City held less than $200,000,000 ten years ago, and thoy now hold more than $875,000,000, while deposits in national banks have in creased from more than $550,000,000 to a fraction less than $1,100,000,000, ThusV trust company deposits show an ag gregate growth of $65,000,000 more than national bank deposits, and a growth of 240 per cent, as against 100 per cent in national banks. In Chicago the number of trust com panies has increased In ten years from eight to twelve, while tho number of national banks has decreased from twerity-bno to twelve. Tho capitali zation of trust companies in Chicago in tho same period has increased from $4,000,000 to $20,000,000, or 400 per cent, as against an increase of 25 per cent in the capitalization of national banks. Deposits in these trust com panies have increased Irom $15,000,000 to $230,000,000 in ten years, and in na tional banks from $130,000,000 to $280, 000,000, or an aggregate increase of $215,000,000 in trust companies as against $150,000,000 in national banks, and an increase of 14,000 per cent in trust companies as against 115 per cent in national banks. Other large cities exhibit similar conditions. Many trust companies hold commercial accounts and are regularly er gaged in discounting paper, and they hold in the aggregate more than $2, 000,000,000 in deposits. Few, if any, of the states have any statutory re quirement respecting reserve, and few of the companies are members of clear ing houses. It Is manifest from the foregoing data that these institutions in our great cities, helpful as they have been to American development and com merce, unless conservatively managed, may become an element of dangsr to our financial system. They are al ready national in character, and sev eral of them are of international in fluence. I suggest the propriety, there fore,, of a law giving trust companies of large capitalization in largo cities the privilege of incorporating under federal law with corresponding super vision. If such right were extended, the more conservative would probably avail themselves thereof, and this would compel others to cultivate con servatism. It would not be necessary to extend to them the distinctive pre rogatives of national banks beyond the capacity of being designated financial agents of the government, thereby jus tifying federal jurisdiction; nor should thoy bo brought into competition with commercial banks, but they should bo required to keep an appropriate, though relatively small, reserve within fcheir own vaults, lest in times of financial distress their larger deposits with na tional banks increase rather than diminish the evils of financial panics. These great concerns, if properly and conservatively conducted may prove of great and even unforseen advantage to public as well as private interests; and tho best time to safeguard tho' country is when skies are clear. Tho following statement shows in brief the operations of the life saving service during the fiscal year: The documented vessels which suf fered disaster within the scope of the service numbered 359. There were on board these vessels 2,525 person. ? whom only twenty-oneostSr L The value of tho vessels is estlmS at $4,698,855 and that of their X? at $1,757,925, making the to a S of property inperiled $6,456,780 o this amount $5,098,950 was saved in, $1,366 830 lost, while tho number o vessels which were a total loss were mty. Among the smaller class of veasek not documented sail boats, row boats etc. there were 411 casualties, involv ing a total of 803 persons, of whom thirteen were lost. The value of these smaller craft Is estimated at $248 7K0 of which $240,130 was saved and $8,620 lost. v u Don't Do Just Enough To Earn Your Pay Among the young men who are fond of making sarcastic references to Fate because they have not been more suc cessful this expression is very com mon: "I'm earning all the money I'm get ting. I don't intend to do any more work than I'm paid for." This rule a great many men follow very carefully. They estimate what they think they ought to do to earn their salaries, and they do that and no more. They feel that they are abso lutely just to their employers because they are conscientious in their effort to earn exactly what is paid for. This logic may be sound, although usually .a man's estimate of what his work is worth is not very accurate; but it is about as dangerous a mental atti tude as a wage earner well can take. If a man is not worth more than ne is getting, it stands to reason that he will never get more. As long as he is earning his present salary, his employers have no object in paying him one which he doesn't earn. When a man who owns a business raises a salary, he does it because he finds it profitable to himself to do so. There is very little sentiment con cerned in the transaction. The employer doesn't pay a lazy man any more money in tho hope to mako him industrious. That hope would never be realized. He does not advance the salary of a man in the expectation that the man will be worth more to the concern. The employer knows that an expecta tion of that kind would be Idiotic. ' When salaries are raised, they are raised to meet the growing value of NER.VOVS DYSPEPSIA. A-spooniulof Dr. Miles Restoratlvo Ncrvlno after meals for a few day9 la almost sure to re lieve this distressing complaint. It strengthens the nerves of tho stomach, stimulates the secre tions, and accelerates tho progress of digestion. Try it. If first bottlo does not benefit, you got your money back bo it-costs you nothing if it fails. . , --- a B M "iw h ,i ' NOW READY. ..Mr. Bryan's New Book.... ...UNDER OTHER FLAGS'..., A collection of the articles written by Mr. Bryan while in Europe, Cuba and Mexico, to gether with a number of recent speeches, and lectures never before published in - bok form. The character of the work is indicated in the following table of . On the High Seas. Tariff Debate in Em-.iand. Ireland and He Leaders.' Growth of Municipal Ownership. "' Thanksgiving Address (London, -Eng.), France and Her Peopje. r . Republic of Switzerland. ' ''v , "v Three Little Kingdoms. Germany and Socialism. . v. . ,. .4 ONTETSTT Russia and Her Czar. Rome, the Catholic Capital. ' Tolstoy, the Apostle of Love. Notes on Europe. Pearl of the Antilles. Birth of tho Cuban Republic. Mexico First Visit. Our Sister Republic Mexico. Value of an Ideal. A mKV j V. A Conquering ,Nation. V ? Attractions of Farming.. '.;- ;4 Holland Society Address.";' . Imperialism. . " "' . "I Have Kept the Faith:" . p,v . (St. Louis Convention S'peech;)- ' Naboth's Vineyard. n ", , British Rule in India. V . . Philo Sherman Bennett. - Wonders of the West. .,. .,., , ! I.. ., ... , ...i,, M . ij$, "" Not, 400 Pages, Handsomely Bound, Octavo tkivc; A flNlWD ATHKD HI ArtC DA.t.,v D.M i-c- V viftAE viuia iiwiuj, luaiage iimu ty . witk THE COMMONER, m year, $i.75 vt XJTETHERAGS 1mmaKe AN ACCEPTABLE cuiusTMAs gift.' Let us mail it for you Send name and addreae of your friend with order: and we will n wi, ...... , n . ""-.;"' mvv. jueu ueiore JuecemDer 25th. AGENTS WANTED v mi m mm . - emitUBM Must Accompany all Orders TI-1 13 rr mat AirikTr VA Send Draft w P. 0. Moiev 0rdr to lilC LA 9 J VI 1 1. 1 r H I- . - 7 " Y - ' . , , Lincoln, Neb. !oO '. ,-"' .-- '.-r-"r" tj :M&.