October 02, 2008
On bailouts of the banking industry c. 1908

The irony discovered reading the paper from 100 years ago is sometimes too much, even for me. The October 2, 1908 NYT reports on the banking industry's take on a "bail out" plan, of sorts, proffered by William Jennings Bryan (and others):

The American Bankers' Association to-day adopted the following resolutions opposing the policy of guaranteeing bank deposits now being advocated by Mr. Bryan:

Resolved. That the American Bankers' Association is unalterably opposed to any arbitrary plan looking at the mutual guarantee of deposits, either by a State or the Nation, for the following reasons:

1. It is a function outside of State or National Government.
2. Is is unsound in principle.
3. Is is impracticable and misleading.
4. It is revolutionary in character.
5. Is is subversive to sound economics.
6. It will lower the standard of our present banking system.
7. Productive of and encourages bad banking.
8. It unjustly weakens the strong and unfairly strengthens the weak banks.
9. It discredits honesty, ability, and conservatism.
10. A loss suffered by one bank jeopardizes all banks.
11. The public must eventually pay the tax.
12. It will cause and not avert panics.

Later in the story we hear from Nathan Straus, "Chairman of the Business Men's Committee of the Democratic National Committee:"

He pointed yesterday to the recent failure of two small east side banks and the plight of the depositors as an object lesson of what evil is being wrought by lack of a guarantee for such deposits.

"The weeping women and children on the east side," said Mr. Straus, "present to my mind the strongest possible argument in favor of the guarantee of deposits as advocated by Mr. Bryan. If he had been President the failure of these banks would have been impossible."

The attention of Mr. Straus was called to the fact that Federal legislation couldn't possibly be passed to affect such institutions as the little private east side banks which closed their doors.

"How, then, could Mr. Bryan prevent their failure?" Mr. Straus was asked.

"Well, Mr. Bryan would have found a way to prevent it somehow," Mr. Straus replied. "When the appeal is to the heart, legal technicalities should not be permitted to become obstacles. It's all very well to talk about the inability of the law to reach these evils, but if you go down into those streets, the cries of these women and children will wring your heart, and if there is any humanity left in you, you will start out to brush aside these obstacles and get through a law that will be effective."

"Of course, all the big bankers who don't want to give the guarantee will be against such a bill. The rich always have the best of it. They have their lawyers and can fight; the poor can't help themselves. Every time there is a fight on I am for the under dog. If I had all the money people say I have I'd go down there and pay them off."

"But you don't charge these failures to the Roosevelt Administration, do you?"

"I don't say that these failures are chargeable to the Roosevelt Administration, but I do say that if Mr. Bryan is elected this won't happen. The poor people get the worst of it every time."

"If Mr. Bryan is elected will all the unemployed be put to work?" Mr. Straus was asked.

"Only God can do that," the merchant replied, "but I think that Mr. Bryan will do his best."


Discuss among yourselves.

Posted by Craig Depken at 11:20 AM in Economics

Comments

I'm not a regular commenter here but this post reminds me of the first presidential address on film with sound: Calvin Coolidge.

I think Don Boudreaux posted it on Cafe Hayek a while ago. Makes you wonder what happened..:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5puwTrLRhmw

Posted by: colson at October 2, 2008 12:12 PM

If I'm not mistaken, this was an early attempt at what eventually was implemented as the FDIC, not precisely a bailout in the sense of the proposed legislation.

I get the historical parallel (I like the irony as well), but are you asking us to discuss whether FDIC was a good or bad thing? Because I'd argue that is quite a different question from whether or not the proposed "bailout" is appropriate.

Posted by: William Polley at October 2, 2008 02:47 PM

Wow. We really are doomed to repeat history. I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Strangely enough, I feel like doing both.

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Posted by: jahqqgfnx at October 3, 2008 05:58 PM

Dear jahqqgfnx,

You must be a Keynesian.

But, more seriously, even wanting ever-so-hard with the purest of hearts will not suspend the laws of gravitation. Similarly, the laws of economics will be coldly enforced. On this matter, the public bears the punishment brought down by the noble spirit of the dreaming millionaires who pretend guard the common good.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to accept the laws--to the extent we understand them--in place of denying them? And to attack these anti-economic fantasies as ruthlessly as we attack a cancer or an axe-wielding psychopath?

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