Mr. Merchant: Mr. Banker, you spoke of belonging to a local association if you should go into the Aldrich scheme. How many of those associations would there be in the United States?
Mr. Banker: No one could tell until they got through organizing them. The banks now have about two billion dollars of capital, and two billion dollars of surplus, or a total of four billion dollars. The scheme provides that any number of banks representing $5,000,000 of capital and surplus could form an association. If they succeeded in driving all the banks of the country into it, as was evidently their intention, you see there could be about 800 of these local associations engaged in guaranteeing their associates, if they wanted to, after prying into their private business.
Mr. Merchant: That is the worst feature I have heard yet, because it would let all the cliques and cabals get together and run things by manipulation. Don't you think so?
Mr. Banker: I certainly do think so. Bankers above all things do not want to expose their business to their immediate neighbors in the banking business.
You will remember that in the plan that we have just submitted, we confined all knowledge to the boards of control, of which there is to be no more than forty-two, possibly only twenty-eight, and that we required all members of the Board of Control to disassociate themselves from all banking connections in their respective zones.
Mr. Laboringman: Yes, but you have seven districts in every one of your zones, don't you? That would make two hundred and ninety-four districts, if you should have as many as forty-two zones, would it not? Or one hundred and ninety-six if you have only twenty-eight zones. I am sure my arithmetic is right, for I am fairly good at figures.
Mr. Banker: Yes, your figures are right, but you must remember this—that the only purpose for the creation of the districts in our plan, as we have constituted them, is to prevent combinations and cabals, and guarantee a fair and evenly distributed representation of all parts of every zone.
These districts exist only for the single purpose of the organization of the commercial zones—the election of members to the Board of the Bankers' Council and to the Board of Control. When this is accomplished, their work is done.
Mr. Laboringman: Oh, I see, you would only have at most forty-two organizations in the United States that would have any actual business to do.
Mr. Banker: That is correct. Every zone would be so organized as to absolutely protect the confidences of the business world and the banking fraternity.