The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
W EBSTER and ATLAS N A T IO N A L OF B O S T O N E S T A B L IS H E D 1833 199 W A S H I N G T O N S T R E E T , B O S T O N , M A S S A C H U S E T T S AT STATE STREET RAYMOND B. COX, p r e s id e n t A p r i l 21, 1 9 U Hon. M a rrin er S* E c c le s , Chairman F ed e ra l R eserve Board W ashington, D. C. My dear Mr. E ccless A tta ch ed h e re to i s th e l e t t e r which we have sen t t o M assachusetts b an k ers, accompanied by th e m a te r ia l w hich you k in d ly fu rn is h e d to me. T h is i s but a f e e b le e f f o r t t o arouse th e bankers t o th e im portance o f t h e i r a t t e n t io n t o th e banking system . I f enough o f us keep a t i t , p ro b a b ly something can be accom plish ed. W ith b e s t w is h e s , I sun, V ery t r u l y jlou^s, President E nclosures rbc / b BANK W EBSTER and ATLAS N A T IO N A L BANK OF BOSTON E S T A B L IS H E D 1853 199 W A S H I N G T O N S T R E E T , B O S T O N , M A S S A C H U S E T T S AT S T A T E S T R E E T RAYMOND B. CO X, PR ESID EN T BANKERS, PREPARE I To th e Bank and T ru st Company O f f io e r s o f M assachusetts? The few rem ain ing dem ocracies o f th e w o r ld , o f w hich t h is cou n try i s th e ou tstan d in g u n it , a re b e in g s u b je c te d t o what may p ro ve t o be th e supreme t e s t o f a l l tim e . I t i s n o t o n ly a p h y s ic a l t e s t o f n a v a l, army, and a e r i a l s tr e n g t h ; i t i s a t e s t o f s tr e n g th f a r more s e r io u s , though s u b tle . We may be a b le t o keep th e enemy’ s s o ld ie r s from our s h o re s , but w i l l we be a b le t o c o n tr o l th e enemies w it h in our b ord ers — th o s e most d e s t r u c t iv e enem ies, ig n o ra n c e , p r e ju d ic e , s e l f i s h n e s s , and fa n a tic is m ? Theso a r e th e r e a l opponents o f th o s e in s t it u t io n s which have made t h is demooraoy th e b le s s e d land in w hich we d w e ll. The baokbone o f e v e r y s o c ia l and economic ord er i s i t s f in a n o ia l system . T h e re in l i e s th e power f o r good o r bad, f o r ord er or chaos, f o r p r o s p e r it y o r p o v e rty . I t i s o f th e utmost v i t a l im portance th a t our f in a n o ia l system be g ird e d t o meet i t s supreme t e s t . I f we a r e t o p re s e rv o th e fundam ental p r in c ip le s o f our s tr u c tu r e we must p re s e rv e i t s f in a n o ia l s tr e n g t h . T h is can be done b y th e in d iv id u a l bankers th em selves through stu d yin g th e c o n d itio n s and a s s e r tin g t h e i r o p in io n s . We a r e prone t o c r i t i c i s e p o l i t i c i a n s and l e g i s l a t i v e b o d ie s f o r th e enactment o f f o o l i s h la w s . How ever, th e l e g i s l a t o r s alw ays w i l l l i s t e n t o t h e i r c o n s titu e n ts i f th e l a t t e r exp ress th em selves in s u f f i c i e n t number, o l a r i t y , and em phasis. Bankers f i r s t should study th e s it u a t io n and d e te r a in e what i t n eed s. They must a d ju s t th e d if fe r e n c e s o f o p in io n among th em s e lve s , oamprcsnise th e c o n f l i c t s betw een c i t y banks and cou n try banks, betw een b ig banks and l i t t l e banks. H aving le a rn e d what th e y need, u n itin g on a d e f i n i t e p o l i c y , and a o t i v e l y d e c la r in g th em s e lve s , each one t o h is l e g i s l a t o r s , th e system can be saved . Realizing these facts, the President of the Massachusetts Bankers Associ ation appointed the undersigned committee to arouse bankers to their responsibili ties, and to the dangers which confront them. Few have studied the conditions more carefullyf or from a better perspective^ than has the S. Eccles. Chairman of the Board, of Governors of the Federal Reserve System," "SnTTis address of November 28, 1940 he points out many of the dangers which lie ahead of us* ¿e oammend this^b^Se^S'eruT s%u5^a!^^^ffi1 ® 0^ ^® n i S S ^ c i m s e T t ’s. " MEMBER FEDERAL D E P O S IT IN S U R A N C E C O R P O R A T IO N W E B S T E R a n d A T L A S N A T IO N A L B A N K OF BOSTON On January 1 , 1941 th e r e was a s p e c ia l r e p o r t made t o Congress b y t h e Board o f G overnors o f th e F e d e r a l R e se rv e System, th e P re s id e n ts o f th e F e d e r a l R e serve Banks, and th e F e d e r a l A d v is o r y C ou n oil* T h is r e p o r t i s a m odel o f b r e v i t y and o l a r i t y , and i s an unusual e x h ib it io n o f u n ity and harmony* Our committee does n o t ta k e a p o s it io n on any o f th e reooramendations w hich i t makes, but we do u rge each banker t o study them o a r e f u l l y , t o a p p re o ia te t h e i r s ig n if io a n o e , and, a t th e p ro p er tim e , t o a s s e r t h im s e lf t o h is l e g i s l a t o r s * •While governor Ecoles« address and oopies of this report have been previously oiroulated, w e are sending herewith an additional oopy, in the hope JStad F a n ta s tic b i l l s a lr e a d y a r e b e in g in tro d u ced in Congress a f f e o t i n g th e banking s tr u c tu r e . H earin gs w i l l be s h o r t ly resumed in W ashington b e fo r e th e sub-ooramittees which a r e stu d yin g th e s it u a t io n . U nless eaoh banker i n t e l l i g e n t l y forms h is own con clu sio n s and exp resses them, an yth in g may come out o f th e s e in v e s t ig a t io n s , and th e s i l e n t or uninform ed banker w i l l have no one t o o r i t i o i s e but h im s e lf. Bankers, p re p a re ! V e ry t r u l y y o u rs , Raymond B. Cox, P r e s id e n t, W ebster and A t la s N a tio n a l Bank, B oston , Chairman W illia m S . Cook, P r e s id e n t, S a fe D e p o s it N a tio n a l Bank, New B ed ford F . W in ch ester D on io, V ic e P r e s id e n t, The F i r s t N a tio n a l Bank o f B oston A . B. Hathaway, P r e s id e n t, Cambridge T ru st Company W. J . M a rtin , P r e s id e n t, G ra n ite T ru st Company, Quincy G eorge E. P ie r c e , F i r s t V io e P r e s id e n t, The N a tio n a l Shawmut Bank o f B oston F » L . R ich ard son , E x e o u tiv e V io e P r e s id e n t, Newton T ru st Company A p ril 16, 1941
@FedFRASER