RUNNING THE BANKS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 194, 2 September 1937, Page 13

RUNNING THE BANKS

Local Directors to Take Over in Aiberta SOCIAL CREDIT CRISIS The question is being asked if Mr Aherhart. •Social Credit Premier ofAlberta, is rising for a fall, says a Vancouver Exchange. Most people in Canada would answer "Yes," aftei studying the Acts recently passed by his Government. The new legislation is 60 tantastic that tbe Federal Government lias had demands from all parts of Canada for its intervention. But it will move slowly. It feels that Mr Aberhart knows he is at a dead-end and passed his Acts for the very purpose of having thcm vetoed and making political capital out of the veto, He would then appeal to the electors, saying that he had tried to give them Social Credit, but was prevented by the bad bankers and their friends in the Federal Government. A situation, in fact, is developing in Aiberta not unlike that which was seen in New South Wales when Mr Lang was in power. Forced by Radicais. With the Social Credit regime failing to accompiish the results promised two years ago, the Radicais — extreme Left Wing — within the group seized power and forced Mr Aberhart, rather agpinst his better judgment into very unexpected legislation. Therq had just closed in Edmonton the shortest legislative session on record in Canada. It covered three days, in which 12 enactments were passed all designed to iorce the chartered banks to provide ample credit fpr aJl operations of the Government, including the payment of £6 5 /- a month as a Social Credit diyidena to everyone over 18. The most novel provision is that local directorates shall have charge of every one of the several hundred branch banks in the Province. Three or five local directors from among leading citizens, who would naturaily be Social Credit believers. will be nomi nated. They will act with the bank manager, and, as they will composo the majority on the boards, they will have the power to supervise, direct and control the policy of the banks, including the granting of loans and the fixing of interest rates, No Provision for Appeals. The present managers of the banks must take out licences, and power is vested in the Provinciai Credit Commission to cancel licences. Cancellation of his licence would automatically eliminate the banker from banking business. Should a banker promise to mend his ways and resuine operations according to the instructions of the Aberhart Board, lio could gie.t a renewal ot hi.s licence on payment of a fiue not exceeding £25,000. In some quarters it is assumed that the Government exj>ects that the commercial banks will close; in which case the Rrovincial Government will taka control with a currency of its own. The legislation also closes the Courts to appeals by bankers or anyone else against the new enactments. Mr J. W. JbLugill, Attorney-General in Mr Aberhart's Cabinet. resigned as a protest against this Bill. The best lawyers in Canada have no doubt thaf all this legislation is preposterously illegal, because control of banking is the prerogative of the Federal Government and not of the Provinciai Governments, t-paroff jcOsbldehm Appealc