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Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives mm*- H fr+ j [.D7MSW3 * Z -"*1 FACTS ABOUT HOUSTON OFFERED IN EVIDENCE AT HEARING BY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE AUSTIN, FEBRUARY NINTH AND TENTH NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN Reproduced from the Unclassified / Declassified Holdings of the National Archives FACTS ABOUT HOUSTON OFFERED IN EVIDENCE AT HEARING BY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE AUSTIN, FEBRUARY NINTH AND TENTH NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN HCt -h 1 « 2 .D7U5TH3 Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives H O N O R A B L E W I L L IA M G. M cAD O O , Secretary of the Treasury, H O N O R A B L E D . F. H O U S T O N , Secretary of Agriculture, H O N O R A B L E JO H N S K E L T O N W IL L IA M S , Comptroller of the Currency, Sitting at Austin, Texas, February 9th and 10th, 1914. Honorable Sirs: In presenting the claims of Houston as a location for a Head quarters Bank, under the Federal Reserve Act, and fixing the bound ary lines of a Regional District to be served by such a bank, the local committee, acting jointly for the Houston Chamber of Com merce and the Houston Clearing House Association, has been guided solely by its conception of the kind of information desired by you as disclosed by your announcement in Washington of the primary factors for solving your problem. The contents of this document are arranged under the three topics, with appropriate sub-headings, about which concrete sta tistical data have been compiled and particularly exhibited by means of several maps. Further, undertaking to be informed by and to take advantage of previous hearings by your Honorable Committee, we have refrained from the publication of memorials, resolutions, and arguments, and purpose hereby to introduce only verifiable data, which we are desirous of elaborating to any degree and extent requested by you. L Y N N P. T A L L E Y N . E. M E A D O R y E. A. PED EN X W . C. H O G G Committee Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives OUTLINE Geographical convenience, involving trans portation facilities and easy and rapid com munication with all parts of a proposed District. II Industrial and commercial development and needs, involving the general movement of commodities and business transactions within a proposed District and the transfer of funds and exchanges of credit that result. Ill Established customs and trend of business as now developed by the existing system of bank reserves and checking accounts. Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives I (a) L IST OF R A IL W A Y S : Houston & Texas Central R. R. Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Ry. Texas & New Orleans R. R. Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western Ry. Houston East & W est Texas Ry. International & Great Northern R y. International & Great Northern Ry. (Ft. Worth Division) Trinity & Brazos Valley Ry. San Antonio & Aransas Pass Ry. Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Ry. (Victoria Division) Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Ry. Missouri, Kansas & Texas R y. International & Great Northern Ry. (Columbia Division) St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Ry. Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio R y. Galveston, Houston & Henderson Ry. Galveston-Houston Electric Ry. Total mileage of above roads............ 7,764.26 Out of total mileage in Texas........... 15,283.59 79 mail trains daily, in and out of Houston. 106 passenger trains daily, in and out of Houston. Reproduced from the Unclassified / Declassified Holdings of the National Archives I (,b) W A T E R T R A N S P O R T A T IO N F A C IL IT IE S Houston Ship Channel, utilizing Buffalo Bayou from the Gulf of Mexico to Houston Turning Basin, is in process of completion under contract specifying an average depth of twenty-five feet and an average width of one hundred feet at the base. This work is being done by the United States Government and the Houston Navigation District. Houston, as a shipping point, is five hundred miles nearer the granaries of the W est than the Atlantic and Pacific ports and three hundred miles nearer than New Orleans. The Inter-coastal Canal is completed from Galveston Bay to Corpus Christi. In the proposed District, tributary to Houston, are the follow ing ports: Aransas Pass, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Galveston, Texas City, Point Bolivar, Port Arthur, Beaumont, Orange and Morgan City. (c) TELEGRAPH A N D TELEPHONE The Western Union, Postal and Mackay telegraph systems and the Bell and Independent telephone systems, with expeditious long distance service, connect Houston with every banking point in the entire District. Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives II (a) M IS C E L L A N E O U S D A T A C O N C E R N IN G D IS T R IC T Square miles..................................................................... 475,934 Population......................................................................... 6,674,183 Railroad mileage............................................................. 22,403 Assessed valuation of wealth............................ $3,510,000,000 (.b) P R O D U C T IO N 1— Cotton Bales................................................................................ Value............................................................................... Gross bales handled through Houston............... Net bales handled through Houston.................. 7,123,000 $410,682,000 3,324,000 1,301,750 The Houston Cotton Exchange with forty-seven member-firms is devoted to the marketing of the cotton crop of this District. Houston Factors handled 223,679 bales in 1912-13. This busi ness is peculiar to Houston and Galveston and represents cotton consigned upon advances from all parts of the District as shown on map, later sold in the local market upon a commission basis. There are no available statistics showing the number of bales exported but it is conservatively estimated that 85 per cent of the net volume handled by Houston cotton firms is exported, valued at $66,389,220, against which foreign exchange is drawn and sold from Houston through local and eastern brokers. Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives (ib)— Continued II 2— Cotton Seed Products Tons crushed for manufacturing purposes. . . . Value............................................................................... 1,933,623 $46,406,952 Tons used for feeding, fertilizing and planting Value............................................................................... 1,627,277 $43,939,179 Value of manufactured products......................... Exported........................................................................ $62,942,313 17,982,694 Consumed in territory reaching Arizona on the west, Kansas on the north, Porto Rico on the south and the Atlantic seaboard on the east................................................................. $44,959,619 The six Houston oil mills purchase and crush 7 per cent of the seed of this District used for manufacturing purposes and turn out a greater volume of manufactured products than any point in the South, the value of which is $15,500,000, including the oil refined. 3— Certain Farm Products Corn, wheat, oats, hay and other feed crops were produced in 1912, valued at $188,743,000. 4— Live Stock The cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep and goats in this Dis trict are valued at $477,938,000. Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives (.b) Continued II 5— Lumber Estimated stumpage (in feet) Value 150,000,000,000 $750,000,000 Output 1913 (in feet) 6,313,000,000 Value $88,382,000 A great part of this is handled by forty-eight lumber companies in Houston, employing a total capitalization of $21,835,000. 6— Petroleum It is estimated that thirteen oil fields located in Texas, pro duced in 1913, 15,500,000 barrels of crude petroleum, valued at $15,800,000, and eight oil fields in Louisiana produced, in 1913, 14,000,000 barrels of crude petroleum, valued at $14,000,000; total production for District, 29,500,000 barrels (or 81,000 barrels daily) valued at $29,800,000. During 1913 it is estimated that the Gulf Ports received from Mexico, 8,500,000 barrels of crude petroleum, valued at $6,500,000. This proposed District contains fourteen oil refineries, repre senting an investment of $13,000,000, exclusive of pipe lines and stocks of oil, and manufacturing refined products of a gross value of $84,000,000, at least 40 per cent of which is exported via Port Arthur. Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives (b) — Continued II In Houston there are twenty-eight incorporated oil companies, capitalized at $88,526,000, producing and marketing the greater part of this output. 7— Rice In 1913, 772,800 acres of rice land in this District produced 6,149,000 bags, valued at $23,000,000. This is 90 per cent of the crop of the United States, of which 3.8 per cent goes to foreign mar kets, 21 per cent to Porto Rico, and 75.2 per cent consumed at home. 8— Sugar In 1913, 359,350 acres were devoted to sugar raising in this District, producing sugars valued at $15,000,000. 9— Truck It is estimated that in 1913, farms in this District produced truck and potatoes, for marketing purposes, valued at $25,000,000. (c) E X P O R TS A N D IM PO R TS The Federal Reserve Act seemingly contemplates the expansion of foreign exchange dealings by providing a wider market for such transactions and permits the purchase of foreign bills of exchange and bank acceptances, involving exports and imports; therefore, Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives (c) — Continued II the location of a Federal Reserve Bank at Houston would fulfill this banking function of the District favorably, because there are so many ports adjacent. The volume of exports and imports are as follows: Galveston, including Texas City and Point Bolivar........................................................... $289,278,496 Port Arthur........................................................... 27,538,586 Work is being done now by the government in the development of new ports along the Gulf Coast, as Aransas Pass, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Beaumont, and Orange. The Houston Ship Channel will give Houston easy access to the inter-coastal canal and adjacent ports for the development of coastwise trade. As an evidence of the service of the Ship Channel, the value of traffic on that waterway, during 1913, totaled $35,930,800. Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives II (d) MISCELLANEOUS D A T A C O N C E R N IN G HOUSTON Population of Houston Census 1890 Census 1900 Census 1910 27,557 44,633 78,800 By Charter Amendment last year, certain suburbs were in cluded within the present city limits. The City Directory estimates the population for 1913 at 129,570, based on actual count of names (and number in each family) published in the City Directory. As of January 13th, 1914, Houston’s banking capital was $13,716,000; banking resources, $62,711,000. As of June 4th, 1913, the national banks of Houston compared to those of other cities in Texas: Loans and Discounts City Houston. . . . Dallas.......... Ft. W o rth .., San Antonio $26,558,128 20,810,446 14,750,672 10,236,131 Lawful Individual M oney Deposits Reserve $2,249,381 $23,961,558 2,274,892 20,605,291 1,286,698 12,027,117 1,267,292 10,343,009 Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives II (d)— Continued Houston’s Wholesale and Jobbing Trade, in 1913................................................................. $113,376,000 Houston’s Retail Trade, in 1913....................... 56,856,000 Houston’s Manufactured Products, in 1912.. . 51,350,000 Houston’s Postal Receipts, in 1910.................. Houston’s Postal Receipts, in 1913.................. 400,800 552,011 Houston’s Assessed Valuation of Property, in 1913................................................................ $110,000,000 0) HOUSTON F R E IG H T RATES Houston Freight Rates Compared with Competitive Cities, Showing W hy Houston is the Logical and Actual Wholesale and Manufacturing Center in the South West. Classes 1, 2, 3, and 4 axe Less Than Car Lots. Car Lots. Classes: New York to H ouston. New York to Dallas and Fort W orth....... New Y ork to Waco. . . . New York to Austin. . . New York to San An tonio........................... Seaboard Territory to Houston.................... Seaboard Territory to Dallas, Fort Worth, W aco and San An tonio........................... Seaboard: Territory to Austin........................ 1 92 5, A , B , C, D, andE are 4 51 5 40 A 45 B 40 C 33 D 32 E 32 172 145 120 109 159 135 116 105 153 129 111 100 84 78 75 91 84 81 80 76 73 67 63 61 55 53 52 49 48 48 164 139 119 108 80 86 78 65 54 49 60 48 52 48 41 40 40 172 145 120 109 84 91 80 67 55 49 168 141 120 109 83 89 80 67 55 49 1 2 141 116 3 94 4 76 107 2 73 85 3 60 70 Classes: Pittsburgh to Houston Pittsburgh to Dallas, Fort Worth, W aco, Austin and San A n ton io...................................................... Buffalo to Houston....................................................... Buffalo to Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin and San Antonio............................................................... 197 170 136 119 135 110 92 74 197 170 136 119 Reproduced from the Unclassified / Declassified Holdings of the National Archives III (a) N um ber of B an k s in D istrict C a p ita l Surplus Deposits $25,873,929 25 $50,499,000 6,691,710 5,651,700 2,215,000 5,146,365 746 $70,203,775 $26,870,829 T e x a s .. . . O k la ........ L a ............ A r k ......... N . M ex. . 857 49 #33 »383,500 4,107,250 18,913,400 9,131,000 1,582,130 $10,425,000 $100,234,000 14,861,000 27,966,800 26,368,000 451,482 5,616,262 T o t a l.......................... 1,463 $67,117,280 $10,876,482 N a t ’l N a t ’l N a t ’l N a t ’l N a t ’l T e x a s ----O k la ........ A r k ......... N . M ex... L a ........... 519 i 37 25 40 T o t a l.......................... S tate S tate S tate S tate S tate B anks B an ks B anks B anks B anks B anks B anks B anks B anks B anks 220 177 160 $252,574,323 21.394.000 19.917.000 996,900 16,309,250 17,836,130 $328,030,703 $175,046,062 REGIONAL B A N K — PROPOSED DISTRICT F rom N ation al B an ks Alone: C a p ita l........................................................................................................$5,824,476 Deposits, B ased on R equired Percentage from M em ber B a n k s . . . . 17,562,803 From N ation al B anks Alone, Including E n tire S tate of Louisiana: C a p ita l........................................................................................................ $6,331,776 D eposits, B ased on R equired Percentage from M em ber B anks.. . . 19,436,377 From N ation al B anks and 20 per cent of S tate B anks: C a p ita l........................................................................................................ $6,760,401 D eposits, B ased on R equired Percentage from M em ber B anks. .. . 19,313,267 Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives III (b ) CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT SIX N A T IO N A L BANKS OF HOUSTON, JANUARY 13, 1914 Combined Assets Loans and D is c o u n ts....................................... . $24,182,021.89 ... 4,700,000.00 . . O verdrafts........................................................... U. S. Bonds to Secure C ircu lation ................ 439,684.49 Prem ium on U. S. B o n d s................................ 7,513.48 Bonds, Securities, e tc ....................................... 1,131,532.33 U. S. Bonds to Secure U . S. D e p o sits.......... . . . . Other Bonds to Secure Postal Savings D eposits. 75,000.00 B an kin g Houses, Furniture and Fixtures. . . 2,524,100.12 Other R eal E s ta te ............................................. . . . . 604,225.00 D u e from B an ks not R eserve A g e n ts ........... — 5,228,390.46 D u e from A pp roved R eserve A g e n ts ............ — D u e from U. S. T reasury 5 per c e n t............. 160,000.00 . . . 5,191,796.37 . 221,150.00 D u e from U. S. Treasurer............................... . . . . 44,850.00 N ation al B a n k N otes, e t c ............................... . . . . 4,868,848.27 B ills of E xc h a n g e .............................................. — 1,743.197-95 $51,122,310.36 Combined Liabilities C a p ita l S to c k ..................................................... . . . . $5,300,000.00 Su rp lu s................................................................ . . . . 1,825,000.00 U ndivided Profits.............................................. 730,119.34 — C ircu lation.......................................................... . . . . 4,681,600.00 D ue to B a n k s..................................................... — 11,113 ,6 17.2 5 Individual D ep osits.......................................... — 21,252,959.67 Certificates of D ep o sit..................................... — 2,886,767.93 Certified C h e c k s ................................................ — 31,816.52 Cashiers’ C h e c k s ............................................... — 1,101,383.95 U . S. D ep o sits.................................................... — 119,926.45 U . S. D eposits, P ostal Savings D e p t ............ — U . S. Deposits, U . S. D isbursing Officers. . . . . . . 45.536-46 28,034.09 D ividen ds U n p a id ............................................. — 3,725.66 R eserved for T a x e s ........................................... . . . . 41,396.25 Bonds B orrow ed................................................ . . . . 365,000.00 Other L iab ilities................................................ ___ B ills P a y a b le ...................................................... . . . Bills R ed isco un ted............................................ — . 36,288.88 1,200,000.00 359,137-91 $51,122,310.36 III (c-i) Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives COMBINED FIGURES FROM N A T IO N A L BANKS OF H O U S T O N — 1913 Percentage B a n k Loans to T o ta l Loans B a n k D eposits Individu al D e p ’ts T o ta l Deposits Loans to B anks A verage D a ily A verage D a ily A verage D a ily A verage D a ily Ja n u ary........................... F eb ru a ry......................... M a rc h .............................. A p ril................................. M a y ................................. Ju n e................................. J u ly .................................. A u g u s t............................. Septem ber....................... O ctober............................ N ovem b er....................... D ecem ber........................ $ * 7 -337-595 15,814,646 15,160,661 14-056,835 12,891,875 10,238,589 9,168,505 9,202,802 $23,704,724 $41,042,319 39,156,009 39,601,608 38,175,147 38,132,039 34,135,184 $2,346,755 3,063,768 3,838,432 4,885,906 5,445,043 6,185,510 32,176,525 32,220,938 36,506,050 37,521,122 36,539,329 36,893,082 7 ,635,433 7 ,679,473 13.583,965 14,312,630 13,010,774 12,441,959 23,341,363 24,440,947 24,118,312 25,240,164 23,896,595 23,008,020 23,018,136 22,922,085 23,208,492 23,528,555 24,451,123 6,808,096 5 , 719,572 5,265,606 5,391,034 25 30 32 27 21 20 21 D a ily A vge. for Y e a r . . . S 13 , i o i ,73 7 $23,739,876 $36,841,613 $ 5 ,355,376 20 Loans on C o tto n A verage D a ily 8 12 15 19 20 $ 5 ,97^,876 5,111,83 5 4,095,384 3,450,206 2,883,288 1,894,536 937-052 787,993 2,681,298 4,472,450 4,509,072 3,617,356 $3,368,195 III ( C -2 ) C O M B IN E D FIGURES FR O M N A T IO N A L BAN K S OF H OU STON — 1913— Continued T o ta l Loans Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives A verage D a ily Ja n u ary........................... F eb ru a ry......................... M a rc h .............................. A p r il................................. M a y ................................. Ju n e................................. J u ly .................................. A u g u s t............................. Septem ber....................... O cto ber............................ N o ve m b e r....................... D ecem ber........................ $28,368,297 25,946,616 26,401,350 26,213,080 26,707,622 24,719,852 25,066,658 24,987,197 25.901,536 27,627,294 26,909,108 25,886,551 D a ily A v g e . for Y e a r . . . $26,227,929 T o ta l R em ittan ces Cu rrency Shipm ents Cu rrency Shipm ents for Correspondents to O utbound C en t. Reserve C ities Inbound $253,716 380,565 634,292 634,292 570,862 697,925 1,001,085 1,079,210 507,433 507,433 807,360 840,875 4,841,465 3.171.458 2,790,883 $490,030 919.555 $7,074,050 6,341,650 7,490,814 7,253.06 3 8,257,850 6,504,550 7,008,600 585.729 4 , 55 i ,355 2 , 559.525 761,130 888,042 1,265,255 995,689 7 , 596,445 9,490,250 i 3 , 535 .45 o 12,288,202 8,120,925 $20,049,329 $100,961,849 T o tal, $12,685,835 T o ta l T ran sit Item s $56,395,219 49,654,329 4 9 , 333,319 56,495,222 56,595,220 42,471,516 42,782,427 56,295,224 70,619,026 84,742,831 77,680,928 63,125,001 $706,190,262 Reproduced from the Unclassified I Declassified Holdings of the National Archives (d) III Chairman Houston Committee, Regional Bank Matter, Houston, Texas. January 30th, 1914. This is to certify that the total clearings as reported to the Clearing House b y the members composing the Association, for the year 1913 were as follows: January.................................................................... $37,890,336 February.................................................................. 39,735,897 M arch................................................................. .. 49,527,018 April.......................................................................... 35,863,674 M a y........................................................................... 39,137,386 June........................................................................... 30,127,485 32,582,477 July........................................................................... August...................................................................... 36,239,707 September................................................................ 48,935,743 October..................................................................... 49,864,334 November................................................................ 45,115,291 December................................................................. 41,862,958 $486,882,306 These figures were reported in accordance with the methods adopted by the American Bankers’ Association. Yours very truly, H. B. FINCH, Manager.
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