Bankers Ask Federal Cuts In Spending
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24 Last year the nationÛªs bankers met in Chicago and one after another pleaded for freedom to raise interest rates as the i marketplace dictated.</br></br>Today they met in San Francisco and were noticeably silent on the same subjectÛÓ after increasing loan rates across the board three times in the last 10 months.</br></br>For much of the last year the powerful American Bankers Assn, has given the strong impression ÛÓ seconded by many of its members ÛÓ that the Government should raise income tax rates to take some of the pressure off the banks for controlling inflation.</br></br>Now the association, meeting here in its annual convention, has apparently softened its position and wants to think about it a while.</br></br>It only seems to be longer than a year ago that Treasury Secretary Henry H. Fowler stood before the bankers and advised great caution in raising interest rates and suggested that bankers shouldnÛªt ÛÏjump to conclusionsÛ about ÛÏunjustifiedÛ fears of inflation.