368 CONSOLIDATION OF NATIONAL BANKING ASSOCIATIONS 
developed satisfactorily. Of course, this is a big country. I do not 
believe you people in the East appreciate what it is to have a little 
$10,000-bank in a community Tike we do in the West, and like I 
have seen in the West. 
Senator Grass.- Do you mean, for example, up in the Minneapolis 
district where about 500 of them have failed in the last 18 months? 
Mr. PoweLL. Yes; but, Senator, that was no condition of theirs, 
much. That was almost like a flood that caused that. It is similar 
to the situation in the mining districts. If you are going to run a 
business, you have to take into consideration valuation to maintain 
it because it depends on valuation. There is one thing that I know 
from my own experience. We had one bank in Chicago that was 
taken over—I do not want to exaggerate—the Fort Dearborn 
National; it did not fail, it was taken over, but that one bank repre- 
sented in its assets, I presume, more funds than all the ndepeaies 
banks that have failed there, so far as my knowledge goes. For 
instance, take the Merchants Bank of Canada with 462 branches, 
and take the other bank, I can not remember the name of it now. 
Mr. Rarase. The Australian. 
Mr. PoweLL. Their banks are no stronger in my opinion than the 
small banks. Strength is a matter of relativity: it is a matter of 
ratio, and the small bank can be just as strong as the large bank. 
Another thing about it, I do not believe that Minnesota, Michigan, 
Illinois, and Iowa would be where they are to-day if they were 
depending on branch banks. They are just simply filling stations; 
they absorb the money without distributing credit. 
Senator Grass. I am not arguing for branch banks. TI am arguing 
for equality of competition; in other words, I am for what this bill 
retends to be for and is not for. I am for putting the national 
pr of the country under proper limitations, on a parity of com- 
petition with the State banks. 
Mr. Powrrr. I will tell you, Senator—— 
Senator Grass. And I have had nobody to justify to me as yet 
the proposition that Congress should give the nafional banks of 
22 States privileges which it denies to the national banks of 26 
other States, or, to reverse the proposition, to deny to the national 
banks of 26 States the privileges which it accords the national banks 
in 22 States. If you can justify that proposition go ahead. You 
will take a great weight off of my mind. 
Mr. PowgLL. I think, though, Senator, most of the legislation at 
some stages must be a matter of compromise. i 
Senator Grass. Yes; but a compromise ought not to involve as 
great an injustice as that. 
Mr. PoweLL. Let us take, for example, the national banks: all the 
National banks have automatically entered the Federal reserve. 
Senator Grass. But as to the State banks, Congress has nothing to 
do with them. : 
Mr. PoweLL. Take the national bank which I am connected with: 
it costs up as high as $15,000 or $16,000, or more than that, to be a 
member of the Federal reserve system. 
Senator Grass. Do you want to go out of it? ) 
Mr. Powerr. No. ‘And the State bank that I am connected with. 
Senator Grass. Do you want to go out of it? 
Mr. Power. No.