0 Friedman: A classic example of how this system could and did work properly can be found over 2,000 miles from New York near the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Here is an excellent example of how the system could work and did work. This is an example of how the system worked properly. It took place over 2,000 miles from New York. It happened in the state of Utah, near the Great Salt Lake.

a classic example = A very good example that could be used in a textbook to teach how this should be done.

could and did work The verb do can be used with the simple Present and Past tenses for emphasis. (I do believe you. He did arrive on time but didn't do any work.) Here it is used for stylistic reasons: could work and worked sounds awkward.

14.95721393034826 In the early 30's some banks in Salt Lake City and surrounding towns began to get into difficulties. The owners of one of them were smart enough to see what had to be done to keep their banks open and courageous enough to do it.
It was in the early 1930s. Some banks in Utah began to have difficulties. They were banks in Salt Lake City and in towns around it. Those banks began to get into difficulties. The owners of one of those banks were smart enough to see what had to be done to keep their bank open. They were smart, and they also had courage. They were smart enough and courageous enough to see what had to be done.
the early 30's = The first 2-3 years of the decade that began in 1930.
30.053731343283587 When fearful depositors began to clamor to withdraw all their money, one of George Eccles jobs was to brief his cashiers on how to handle the run.

Some depositors were aft raid that they were going to lose their money. They were fearful. They began to demand all their money. They clamored to withdraw all their money.

One of the owners of the bank was George Eccles. It was his job to explain to the cashiers how to handle those fearful depositors. He briefed them on how to handle the run on his bank.

fearful = Somebody who is afraid, full of fear.

clamor = Loudly demand something.

brief X on how do to Y = Give X instructions on how to do Y.

39.47960199004976 George Eccles: Well, then we called all our employees together. And we told them to be at the bank at their place at 8:00 a.m. and just act as if nothing was happening, just have a smile on their face, if they could, and me too.
We asked all our employees to come together for a meeting. We called a meeting of all our employees. We told them to be at the bank at their place of work at 8am. We told them to act as if nothing was happening, even though some depositors had already withdrawn all their money. We told them to act as usual and smile, have a smile on their face. And I was going to have a smile on my face, too.
have a smile on your face = Make an effort to smile and look polite and happy.
58.64179104477613 And we have four savings windows, and we said: "Never leave the window. Lunch hour, anything else, we must have every window open all day." But, the important thing was: we knew you would have a big line there so there was no use trying to hurry, because the line was going to continue.
The bank has four windows for saving accounts. We said: "Never leave the window. If it's lunch hour, or any other reason, we must have every window open all day." But the important thing was to do things slowly. We knew that there would be a big line. We knew that the cashiers would have a big line. So there was no use trying to hurry because there would be a line anyway. The line was going to continue.

Lunch hour, anything else He probably means: "If you have to go to the bathroom, make sure there is somebody else at your window."

we knew you would have a line Eccles switches to reported speech in the past, which results in a tense change. (What he said was: "We know that you will have a line.") Inconsistently, he keeps the pronoun "you" instead of changing it to "they."

80.04776119402985 So we said, now, when you get a withdrawal slip and the passbook, go back and check the signature. Even though you know your friend John Jones, just to delay time, just to mark time.

Explanation: Each customer has a little book that show the history of deposits and withdrawals. It is called a passbook. The book also shows the the current balance: how much money the customer has. Requests to withdraw money are written on standard slips of paper. Customers write on a slip who they are and how much they want to withdraw; then they sign the slip. The bank keeps examples of signatures of all depositors. They are kept in files that are in the back of the room, behind the cashiers. The cashier has to get up and walk to where those files are and find the right file in order to check the signature.

Eccles: So we said to the cashiers: "Now, when you get a withdraw slip and the passbook, go to the back of the room and check the signature. Even if you know the customer. Even if he is your friend John Jones. Go back and check the signature, simply to delay, to spend some time."

mark time = Delay, spend time doing nothing, simply waiting for time to pass.
93.95920398009952 And then when you pay the money out, we are not going to pay in $100 bills. We are going to pay in fives, tens and twenties. And count it twice and hand it out with a smile.
(Eccles talking to cashiers) When you give the money out, don't give it in $100 bills. Pay it in $5, $10 and $20 bills, in fives, tens and twenties. Count the money twice before you give to the customer, and give it out with a smile.
hand out = Give out
106.83482587064678 Friedman: The banks survived the morning. But they didn't have enough cash left, so in the afternoon they called for more from the Federal Reserve Bank.
The bank did not die in the morning. It survived the morning. However, the bank didn't have enough cash left. In the afternoon, they telephoned the Federal Reserve and asked for more money.
survive Continue to live in spite of great danger. Here, it is used metaphorically: the bank didn't have to close.
115.66467661691543 Eccles: So the Federal Reserve sent up the armored car; two big sacks full of currency was brought in by the guard crowded through the crowd and the assistant manager, Morgan Kraft, came in also.
The Federal Reserve sent an armored car to the bank. The car brought two big bags full of currency. The guard who came with the car brought the sacks into the bank. He had to go through the crowd. He had to make his way through the crowed. The assistant manager of the Federal Reserve, Morgan Kraft, also came in the armored car. He also came into the bank.

sent up The Federal Reserve is more "down," closer to the center; the bank is "up."

two big sacks of currency was brought in The verb should be were: Two big sacks were brought in. Currency is a mass noun: A lot of currency was brought in.

currency Here money.

made his way through the crowd = Walked with difficulty through the crowd.

132.19701492537314 So Mariner (my brother) grabbed Mr. Kraft, and he says, now, get up on this marble counter and tell these people that you brought up a lot of money and there's more where that came from! And he did.
My brother Mariner was also there. He grabbed Mr. Kraft and said: "Now, get up on this marble counter and tell these people that you brought up a lot of money and there's more where that came from! And Mr. Kraft did so.

grabbed Probably put his arm around his shoulder, or held him by the elbow.

brought up a lot of money See sent up above.

143.5960199004975 And then Mariner got up and said: Now you've heard that story, we're not going to close. We're going to stay open as long as any of you people want your money. So don't worry about it at all.
Then Mariner got up on that counter and said: "You've heard what he said. You've heard the story. We're not going to close. We're going to stay open as long as any of you want your money. So don't worry about it at all."
you people = You. This is a colloquial phrase that stresses contact with the audience. Sometimes "you guys" is used for the same effect, even by women talking to women.
153.82985074626868 Well, of course, you had one other bank in the city and we called him and told him he couldn't close either. He said well I can't I haven't got any money to stay open. So we made him a temporary loan.
We had one more bank in the city. We called the manager and told him that he couldn't close, either. He said: "Well, I can't stay open, I have no money to stay open." So we gave him a loan. We made him a short-term temporary loan.
We had one more bank The pronoun"we" probably stands for "Mariner and I." It is not clear whether it was a branch of the same bank or a different bank.
163.68457711442787 Because if we had another bank closed while this run was going on the psychology of the public would be such that they'd ... we'd never break the run in our bank. Everybody would come until they got all of their money out.
We made him a loan because if another bank closed while this run in our bank was going on, we would never break the run. The psychological effect on the the public would be such that they would all come to our bank demanding their money. They would keep coming until everybody got all of their money out.

If we had another bank closed = If there was a closing of another bank.

the public = The people

If we had a bank closed ... we'd never ... everybody would ... Several examples of conditional in these sentences.

175.38308457711443 Friedman: The bank survived the first day's run. It was time to change psychology. The second day was to be very different.
The bank survived the first day's run. It was time to change the psychology of the public. The second day was going to be very different.

survived See above.

was to be = was going to be. This is the plan and the prediction.

183.71343283582092 Eccles: So that evening we called our employees all together because we knew that the next day ... that people had been working during the day and would have heard about this and the next morning we'd have them with us.
In the evening of that day, we again called our employees all together. We knew that people had been working during the day. They probably would have heard about possible trouble at the bank, and the next morning some of them were going to come to the bank.
would have heard In the middle of that day, Eccles would have said: "During the day, the people will have heard about it." Since this is already evening, he says "they would have heard."
195.01293532338312 So we figured now we can't let a crowd build up in the lobby. So we told our tellers, I sez now, you pay out this money just as fast as you can. So when anybody comes in the front door they don't see a line.
So we decided that we didn't want a crowd build up in the bank. We couldn't let a crowd build up in the lobby. So we told our tellers: "In the morning, we told you to delay, to mark time. Now I'm telling you, pay out the money as fast as you can, so when anybody comes in, they don't see a line. When they come in the front door, they don't see a line."

we figured = We decided after some thinking and reasoning.

I says now Colloquial for "I say; I'm telling you." The instructions now are the opposite of what they were in the morning of that day: do not delay, pay out as fast as you can.

you pay out = Pay out. The pronoun is used in commands and requests to make them stronger, more urgent.

211.59402985074627 You pay out in $100 bills and don't let any line ever develop at your window. Well it never did. So along about noon time people were just coming and going in a normal fashion and the run was over.
Pay the money out in $100 bills, and don't let any line develop at your window." Well, no line ever developed. It never did. By about noontime, people were coming and going in a normal fashion, as on a normal day. The run was over.
it never did No line ever developed.
227.47761194029854 Friedman: It was all a question of reassuring the public that they could get their money. The Federal Reserve System was there to insure that this happened by supplying cash to the banks.
Dealing with runs was a question of public psychology. It was all about making the public feel sure that they could get their money. It was a question of reassuring the public. The Federal Reserve System was created for that purpose. It was there to insure that the public felt reassured. To insure that this happened, it would supply cash to the banks. It would keep the public reassured by supplying cash to the banks.

It was all a question of reassuring the public = The solution to the entire problem of failing banks was to answer this question: How do you reassure the public?

The Federal Reserve System was there to insure = The FRS was created and existed in order to insure

by supplying cash A Gerund phrase

239.21592039800998 Why didn't this system prevent The Great Depression after 1929? Because from 1929 to 1930 after the stock market crashed, the Federal Reserve System allowed the quantity of money to decline slowly thereby throttling the monetary structure.
Why is it that the FRS did not prevent The Great Depression? Why didn't it? Because it allowed the quantity of money to decline. From 1929, when the stock market crashed, to 1930 the quantity of money slowly declined. This throttled the monetary structure of the economy. The FRS throttled the monetary structure by allowing the quantity of money to decline.

throttle = Stall; cause to stop. Usually said about an engine.

thereby throttling By that action throttling

258.20895522388065 By December 1930, the quantity of money had fallen by 3% which may not seem much, but a growing economy needs additional money in order to prevent deflation and problems.
By December 1930, the amount of money had fallen by 3%. This may not seem much, but the important thing was to have the economy growing, and a growing economy needs additional money. It needs additional money to prevent deflation and other problems.

had fallen Past Perfect tense of the irregular verb fall (fell, fallen). Past Perfect is used because the falling took place over a period of time ending with December 1930.

which may not seem much Falling by 3% may not seem much. The pronoun "which" refers back to the entire sentence.

but a growing economy needs additional money Friedman misses a couple of steps in his argument. After the market crash, the US economy started to decline. The most important task was to reverse the decline and start the economy growing. However, a growing economy needs more money, not less.

deflation and problems

270.96417910447764 Given this throttling of the monetary system, what happened after that was more or less inevitable. If the Bank of United States had not happened to fail, some other bank would have been the victim. It would have failed and would've set off the runs.
This throttling of the monetary system had to result in a severe depression. It was more or less inevitable. It so happened that the Bank of United States failed. If it had not happened to fail, some other bank would have failed. The economy did not have enough money in it, and one bank or another would have been the victim of this shortage of money. It would have failed and would have set off the runs on other banks.

more or less inevitable Not 100% inevitable, but close to that.

the Bank of United States happened to fail in 1930. It so happened that the bank failed in 130. A doctor happened to be at the place of the crash. = It so happened that a doctor was at the place of the crash.

set off = start, cause

286.55920398009954 Once the runs started, the Federal Reserve could have prevented them from having the disastrous consequences they did by stepping in and providing the banking system in general, through creating new money, with the cash it needed to meet the demands of the depositors. After all, once depositors start trying to take their money out of the banks, there is a strong tendency for the quantity of money to fall.
When the runs started, the Federal Reserve could have prevented their disastrous consequences. The Federal Reserve could have prevented them from having the disastrous consequences that they had. It could have done so by stepping in and providing the banking system with new money. It could have stepped in and provided the banking system with the cash it needed. It needed the cash to meet the demands of the depositors. Cash was needed especially because the quantity of money was falling. Once the depositors start taking their money out of the banks, the quantity of money tends to fall. There is a tendency for the quantity of money to fall.

Once = When; as soon as

prevent X from having Y Make sure that X does not have Y. Prevent a patient from having a heart attack. More generally, prevent X from doing Y = make sure X does not do Y. Prevent the depositor from withdrawing their money. Prevent the demonstrators from looting the wine store.

could have prevented one of several Past Conditional forms in this passage.

by stepping in and providing the banking system, through creating new money, with the cash There are three Gerund phrases here. This could have been said more simply.

provide X with Y = Give Y to X; make sure X has enough Y.

new money To create new money, the government has to print it and then find a mechanism of giving the money to commercial banks. One such mechanism that Friedman mentions is to buy government bonds back from commercial banks.

311.94925373134333 Each dollar of cash which is withdrawn from a bank had been backing several dollars of deposits.
A bank has cash on hand and it has obligations. It owes money to depositors. As we explained, the total amount of deposits is greater than the amount of cash on hand. However, cash on hand cannot fall below a certain percentage of deposits. If, for example, that percentage is 25% or one fourth, then each dollar of cash backs $4 of deposits. Each dollar of cash withdrawn from a bank means that the bank can no longer support $4 of its deposits. Its ability to support money has fallen.
had been backing several dollars Past Perfect tense because the complete sentence would be: It had been backing several dollars until it was withdrawn.
319.3731343283583 If the Federal Reserve had stepped in, bought government securities on a large scale, provided the cash, the depositors would have found that they could get their money, and they would have stopped asking for it.
Most banks invest some of their depositors' money in government securities. Government securities are papers that the government sells pays back with interest over the years. If the Federal Reserve had stepped in and bought back those securities from the banks, the banks would have received cash. If the Federal Reserve had bought those securities on a large scale, it would have provided a lot of cash to the banks. The depositors would have found that they can get their money, and they would have stopped asking for it.
If the Federal Reserve had stepped in, bought ..., [and] provided ..., the depositors would have found ... and they would have stopped ... . This sentence is a good example of using Past Conditional forms.