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Editorial
September 6, 1924
Iron County News
Hurley, Iron County, Wisconsin
What is this article about?
The editorial defends the need for experienced bankers on the Federal Reserve Board, criticizing political efforts to replace them with representatives of specific blocs, arguing that such changes would disintegrate the financial system and harm the nation's economy.
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Full Text
Banking a Science
The science of banking is not an accident. It rests upon principles as fundamental as the laws of the universe. Long, technical and practical experience is absolutely essential to the safe management of any financial institution, and yet what is the result of the political assaults that have been made upon the Federal Reserve, the greatest piece of financial machinery in this country? The people from time to time are electing to office men whose chief claim to their support is that they will see to it that every banker is driven from the Federal Reserve Board and that the Board shall be constituted in a majority or wholly of those coming from the particular bloc the politician alleges he represents.
There should be a diversity of interest represented upon the Board, but that the majority of the Board should ever be constituted of other than men thoroughly trained by practical experience in financial management is to me utterly unthinkable and if practiced will in the end lead to a complete disintegration of the strength of the System, if not to a worse conclusion.
We do not select bankers for our plowboys or bricklayers for our artists. We demand specialists for every character of specific activity, and the welfare of our whole population demands that the credit power of the nation, without which no business can live, must be committed likewise to the hands of experts in its use and distribution.
It is a pretty and catching phrase to declaim that if you destroy the agriculture of the country grass will grow in the streets of your cities, but it is no more true than to say that if you destroy the credit structure of your country the products of your labor will rot in the fields and the machinery of your industry and commerce rust into inactivity and decay.
Therefore, let us, who are in no small measure responsible for the banking and financial welfare of the nation, give unstintingly of our time to the propagation of sound economic policies.
The science of banking is not an accident. It rests upon principles as fundamental as the laws of the universe. Long, technical and practical experience is absolutely essential to the safe management of any financial institution, and yet what is the result of the political assaults that have been made upon the Federal Reserve, the greatest piece of financial machinery in this country? The people from time to time are electing to office men whose chief claim to their support is that they will see to it that every banker is driven from the Federal Reserve Board and that the Board shall be constituted in a majority or wholly of those coming from the particular bloc the politician alleges he represents.
There should be a diversity of interest represented upon the Board, but that the majority of the Board should ever be constituted of other than men thoroughly trained by practical experience in financial management is to me utterly unthinkable and if practiced will in the end lead to a complete disintegration of the strength of the System, if not to a worse conclusion.
We do not select bankers for our plowboys or bricklayers for our artists. We demand specialists for every character of specific activity, and the welfare of our whole population demands that the credit power of the nation, without which no business can live, must be committed likewise to the hands of experts in its use and distribution.
It is a pretty and catching phrase to declaim that if you destroy the agriculture of the country grass will grow in the streets of your cities, but it is no more true than to say that if you destroy the credit structure of your country the products of your labor will rot in the fields and the machinery of your industry and commerce rust into inactivity and decay.
Therefore, let us, who are in no small measure responsible for the banking and financial welfare of the nation, give unstintingly of our time to the propagation of sound economic policies.
What sub-type of article is it?
Economic Policy
Partisan Politics
What keywords are associated?
Banking Science
Federal Reserve
Financial Expertise
Political Interference
Credit Structure
Economic Policy
What entities or persons were involved?
Federal Reserve Board
Bankers
Politicians
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Importance Of Expert Management In The Federal Reserve
Stance / Tone
Strongly Advocates For Banking Expertise And Criticizes Political Interference
Key Figures
Federal Reserve Board
Bankers
Politicians
Key Arguments
Banking Rests On Fundamental Principles Requiring Long Technical And Practical Experience
Political Assaults On The Federal Reserve Lead To Electing Unqualified Members To The Board
Diversity Of Interest Is Needed But Majority Should Be Experienced Financial Managers
Specialists Are Demanded For All Activities Including Credit Power Management
Destroying The Credit Structure Would Cause Economic Decay Similar To Destroying Agriculture