Full text of Central Western Banker : December 1929, Volume 24, No. 12

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D EC EM B ER

Nebraska Association Plans Regional
Clearing Houses

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Page 4

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This is the seventy-second Christmas
that we send holiday greetings to
our many correspondent banks and
friends . . . .

many of whom have

been our customers for more than a
half century.

Although our banking service has de­
veloped with our steady growth since
1857, the spirit of Christmas is un­
changed.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

C_ _ _

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First National
I Bankof Omaha
FIRST TRUST COMPANY

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Committee on State Banking Depart­
ments will be composed of the follow­
ing bankers:
Chairman, L. A. Andrew, president
Citizens S avings Bank, O ttum w a,
Iowa; F red J. P aro , vice-president
Mercantile Commerce Bank & Trust
Company, St. Louis; M. Plin Beebe,
president Bank of Ipswich, Ipswich,
S. D .; E. E. Crabtree, president Far­
rell State Bank, Jacksonville, Illinois;
and M. H. Malott, president Citizens
State Bank, Abilene, Kansas.

filiated banks and trust companies to
seventy-nine. Other Nebraska banks
affiliated with the Northwest Bancorporation include the United States Na­
tional and United States Trust Com­
pany, of Omaha, and the Stock Yards
National and South Omaha Savings of
South Omaha, together with the affi­
liated Cattle Feeders Loan Company.

A A. ZINN, vice-president of the
^
Comm erce Trust Company of
Kansas City, was elected president of
the Mortgage Bankers Association of
America at the closing session of their
Sixteenth Annual Convention held re­
cently in New Orleans. Mr. Zinn was
active in the Association during the
past year as chairman of the Cost Ac­
counting Committee.

T t/T T H the recent opening of their
* ^ new plant at Spokane, Washing­
ton, the Todd Company of Rochester,
New York, makers of safety check pa­
per and check protecting devices, com­
pletes the establishment of a chain of
check imprinting stations extending
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Twen­
ty-four hour imprinting service on
checks is now offered virtually every
bank in the United States by the Todd
Company imprinting stations.

T 'H E ELEVENTH annual mid-win^ ter trust conference, under the au­
spices of the Trust Company Division
of the American Bankers Association,
will be held in New York City Febru­
ary 18, 19 and 20 at the Hotel Com­
modore. The conference is national in
scope, more than four hundred trust
companies and banks from 33 states
being represented at the meeting last
year.

'T 'H E NATIONAL Bank of Lewis* ton, Montana, and the Merchants
National of Cavalier, N. D., recently
affiliated with the First Bank Stock
Corporation of Minneapolis, being the
62nd and 63rd units in the group head­
ed by the First National Bank of Min­
neapolis and St. Paul.

HTHE BO ARD of trustees of the TYAN V. STEPHENS, president of 'T 'H E M ISSISSIPPI Valley Associ1 Equitable Trust Company of New ^ the State Bank Division of the 1 ation closed its sessions at St. Louis
York has submitted to the stockholders American B ankers Association, has by reelecting W. R. Dawes of the Cena plan or recapitalization for the Com- announced the State Bank Division tral Trust Company, Chicago, as presipany involving an indent, and R. S. Hawes of
crease m the capital funds tiiiM
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a red u ctio n m the par
-Louis, as tieasurer. i ne
value of the shares, issuVOL. 24, No. 12
DECEMBER, 1929
delegates voted solidly for
ance of subscription rights
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flood diversion and for a
for additional shares, and
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h is I s s u e
nine foot waterwa
the creation of a securinel in the rivers comprist i e s corporation subsidiLast Minute N e w s ..........................................................-»
ing the inland waterways.
Ttic nmerram ic in
Nebraska Convention R e p o r t .....................................4
---------t U V w U f l e orevi
Who Are We - and Why? By Carl Ganz . . . .
B C LEV ELA N D , O hio,
keeping wit t p
Merges with Omaha N a t io n a l.....................................7
was d esig n ated for
Getting Back to Divi“
A
.......................... 10
the 1930 convention of
at the time oi t
Bonds and Invp«tmer»U
13 the A m erican Bankers
merger between the Sea^ v estm en ts . . . . . • • • ; ; ^
A ssociation by the adboard National Ban xam
Nebraska N e w s ..............................................................23
ministrative committee of
the Equitable Trust om- News of the Omaha Stockyards . . . . . . .
27 the organization, P re sipanySouth Dakota N e w s ................................................... 30
dent John G. L onsdale
m u r T7TUCT \ t a
Utah N e w s ........................................................................ 31
of St. Louis has announcT cP . C Je !VT, i A i Kansas N e w s ................................................................... 32
ed. The convention dates
, T IO N A L Bank and New Mexico N e w s .........................................................32
will be September 29 to
the F a irb u ry Savings Colorado N e w s ..............................................................33
October 2.
^ h ^ e S y t
come affiliated w ith the
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34

^ E N f ^ A L HANOVER BANK and

Banker, O m aha

P u b lis h e d m o n th ly a t 410 A r th u r B ld g ., O m a h a , N e b ra s k a
S u b s c rip tio n , 25 c e n ts p e r co p y ; $2.00 p e r y e a r.
E n te r e d as s e co n d -class m a tte r a t th e O m a h a postoffice.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

T ru st Company announces
the appointment to its new
business department of Will
Emerson and Thomas E

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Central Western Banker, December, 1929

4

l\/fORE than

1,300 delegates attended
the 32nd annual convention of the
Nebraska Bankers Association held
November 6th and 7th at the Paxton
Hotel, Omaha. This was a fine tribute
to the splendid program arranged by
association officials, and was aided, by
the fact that the diamond jubilee of
the state of Nebraska was being held
at the same time. This attendance, by
the way, was the second largest in as­
sociation history.

Second largest attendance in
history features 32nd annual
convention.

B y R. W . Moorhead
Editor

THOMAS B. PATON, JR., Assis­
tant General Counsel of the A.B.A.
made a fine address on Thursday on
the subject of "The Bank Collection
Code.” This act was passed by the last
Nebraska legislature largely through
the guidance of the Association’s Leg­
islative Committee, and Mr. Paton’s
office in New York City is, of course,
anxious that a similar act be passed in
all the states.

THE CUSTOMARY meeting of
the past presidents was held Tuesday
night preceding the opening of the con­
vention. The Executive Council also
held a meeting the same evening, at
which a special committee was ap­
pointed to arrange for retaining an at­
torney ast general counsel for the asso­
ciation. The Council also took steps to
increase the Association’s revenue ap­
proximately 25 per cent by rearrang­
ing the dues.
AT THE SPECIAL session of state
bankers held Wednesday morning, No­
vember 6th, Secretary Clarence G.
Bliss of the Department of Trade and
Comm erce, and H on. George W.
W oods, Commissioner of Banking,
A. N. M a t h e r s
were the principal speakers. This meet­
ing was one of the high spots of the President, Gering National Bank, New
convention in the matter of interest.
President of the Nebraska Bankers
Association
FORD E. HOVEY, Vice President
of the Omaha Clearing House Asso­
ciation, delivered the address of wel­ of the points of bank losses, and urged
come in his usual congenial manner, Nebraska bankers to check up and stop
and the response was ably made by these losses. His facts were based on
George H. Gray, President of the First nation-wide surveys that his organiza­
tion has conducted from time to time.
National Bank of Columbus.
COL. PH IL L. HALL of Green­
wood, retiring president, in his annual
address made a splendid talk on his
plan to promote the formation of re­
gional clearing houses through the
State. He announced the formation of
two new ones and plans for still a
third one. If Mr. Hall’s ideas are put
over Nebraska will be the outstanding
state in the union so far as regional
clearing houses are concerned, and it
appears to be a splendid step in the
way of better bank management.
H. N, STRONCK, Chicago bank
consultant, delivered a fine address on
bank operation. He pointed out some

ENTERTAINM ENT features were
well arranged with a theatre party at
the Orpheum Theatre, given Wednes­
day evening by Omaha and South Om­
aha banks and trust companies, after
which an informal dance was enjoyed
at the Hotel Paxton. In addition, the
customary tea, luncheon, and bridge
were given for the visiting women, and
delegates were guests of the Omaha
and South Omaha banks and trust
companies at the excellent horse show
at the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum on Thurs­
day night.
THE SELECTION of new officers
was made by a nominating committee

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

consisting of R. O. Marnell of Nebras­
ka City; R. K. Hancock of Tekamah,
W. F. Wenke of Pender, S. W. Gil­
bert of Curtis, G. J. Taylor of North
Platte, J. M. Flannigan of Stuart, and
T. L. Green of Scottsbluff. The choice
of officers for the ensuing year was a
splendid one and Nebraska bankers
are well pleased over the selection of
A. N. Mathers of Gering as the new
President succeeding Phil Hall.

ANOTHER PLEASING address
of the Convention was made by Sam­
uel P. Arnot, President of the Chicago
Board of Trade, on “The Federal Re­
serve System and Its Control of Cred­
it.” A big man with a big subject, Mr.
Arnot made a fine impression upon his
audience.
DUE TO COLD weather and the
fact that the convention was held la­
ter in the year than ordinarily, the an­
nual golf tournament was called off.
Consequently, the C e n t r a l W e s t e r n
B a n k e r golf cup is still in play since
only one Nebraska banker has two out
of the three legs on it that are neces­
sary for permanent possession. It is
planned to hold the convention at an
earlier date next year at which time
the weather will probably be more suit­
able for a golf tournament.
JULIETS H. BARNES, Chairman
of the Board of the United States
Chamber of Commerce, was unable to
deliver his scheduled address at the
Nebraska convention. He had been
called to Washington to consult with
President Hoover.
THE REPORT of the Secretary,
William B. Hughes, showed that the
Association has 823 members, of which
649 are state banks, 155 n atio n al
banks, and 10 savings banks. Member­
ship is thus 97 per cent of the total

banks in Nebraska. The report further
showed that a great development has
taken place in the matter of county or­
ganizations with 75 counties now or­
ganized, and of the 18 counties unor­
ganized 12 have so few banks that an
organization therein is practically un­
necessary.
THE COMMITTEE of Resolu­
tions passed on a very nice compliment
to the work of department officials,
c o n g ra tu la tin g Mr. Bliss and Mr.
Woods on their work, and pledging the
earnest cooperation of the Association
for furthering this work.
A RESOLUTION was also adopt­
ed recommending the adoption of a
schedule of maximum m em bership
dues which will give the Association
approximately $29,000.00 annual rev­
enue, thus permitting it to do some of
the things that Secretary Hughes and
officers have long had in mind.
THE NEW MEMBERS of the Ex­
ecutive Council named at the conven­
tion are as follows: Group No. 1, Jas.
T. Shewed, President of the Merch­
ants National Bank, Nebraska City;
Rollie W. Ley, President of the State
Bank of Wayne. Group No. 5, W. H.
McDonald, Chairman of the Board,
McDonald State Bank, North Platte;
Group No. 8, James F. Gallagher, Pre­
sident of the First National Bank,
O’Neill. Omaha Group, Howard O.
Wilson, Cashier of the Live Stock Na­
tional Bank, Omaha.
THE NEBRASKA Guaranty Law
was touched upon by only a few speak­
ers, and was probably best described by
Carl D. Ganz, Cashier of the Farmers
and Merchants Bank of Alvo, when he
characterized it as “a wayward child, a


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

New Officers of the Nebraska
Association
President—A. N. Mathers, Pre­
sident Gering National Bank
Chairman—A. O. Riley, Cashier
State Bank of Hastings
Treasurer—Denm an K ountze,
Vice President First National
Bank, Omaha.
Secretary — William B. Hughes,
420 Farnam Building, Omaha
New Members of the
Executive Council
Group 1—James T. Shewed, Pre­
sident M erch an ts N atio n al
Bank, Nebraska City
Group 3—Rollie W. Ley, Presi­
dent State Bank, Wayne
Group 5 — W. H. M cD onald,
State Bank, North Platte
Group 6 — James F. Gallagher,
President First National Bank,
O’Neill
For Omaha—H. O. Wilson, Cash­
ier Live Stock National Bank,
Omaha
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black sheep in an otherwise almost re­
spectable banking family which has
brought financial ruin upon those re­
sponsible for its creation.” He also
prophesied that the deficit caused by
its operation may never be paid off.
J. CAMERON THOMSON, Vice
President and General Manager of the
Northwest Bancorporation of Minne­
apolis, was in Omaha during the con­
vention and addressed a joint meeting
of officers of the Stock Yards Nation­
al, and the United States National
banks, two members of the Bancorpor­
ation. 300 guests were present. Mr.

Thomson said that a recreasing mar­
gin of profit in the banking business is
largely responsible for the growth of
group banking, and predicted that the
group banking will set new standards
of bank practices in the Middle West.
COL. PHIL HALL expressed the
general idea of the regional clearing
house in a nutshell when he said bank
losses can be reduced to the minimum
by general adoption of the clearing
house scheme which is nothing more
than a meeting of minds of the pro­
fession and the application of proper
bank management.
NEBRASKA officers of the A.B.A.
are as follows: Vice President for Ne­
braska, J. M. Sorensen, Vice Presi­
dent of the Fremont State Bank.
Members of the Executive Council
of the A.B.A., Elmer Williams, Pres­
ident of the Commercial State Bank
of Grand Island; G. H. Yates, Vice
President of the U. S. National Bank
of Omaha; and Woods Cones, Presi­
dent of the Cones State Bank p t
Pierce. Vice President of the State
Bank Section of the A.B.A. for Ne­
braska, A. M. Keyes, President of
the Bank of Holbrook. Vice Presi­
dent for the National Bank Section
of the A.B.A. for Nebraska, E. N.
Van Horne, President of the Conti­
nental National Bank of Lincoln.
Vice President for the Trust Com­
pany Section of the A.B.A. for Ne­
braska, D. J. Monen, Trust Officer of
the Omaha Trust Company, Omaha.
Excused
Indignant Parent (6 a . m . ) : Young
man, what do you mean by bringing
my daughter in at this hour ?
Flaming Youth: Well, I gotta be
at work by 7.

: THEY RE

I

j MAKIN' A
i S I S S Y OUT
v O' M E /

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P
W HAT TH E
L A M B IN W A L L ST.
W IL L W E A R .

' BRACELETS'WILL BE
THE THING IN SOME CIRCLES
W H A T T H E Y O U N G M A N A B O U T T O W N W IL L W E A R T H I S F A L L

— T a lb u r t in th e W a s h in g to n News.

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

6

Just Who Are We —and WHY
black sheep in an otherwise almost re­
spectable family, has caused those fin­
ancially responsible for it their entire
capital and run them in debt for prob­
ably twice as much besides, which said
deficit, gentlemen, may I remark by
way of prophesy, will never be paid.
The hard headed farmer will not pay
it and the attitude of the bankers will
be, millions for defense but not one
cent for deficit. All in all it was prob­
ably the most expensive effort yet
made by any state in which honest effi­
cient people have been called upon to
prove, at great expense, that the aver­
age politician’s theories work out to
the detriment of everybody but the
politicians themselves. I appreciate that
it has had its fond parents even in
banking circles. I have personally heard
bankers in this state from the smallest
to the largest appear before conven­
tions and legislative committees and
extol its virtues and I have always
been of the opinion when I heard them
to do so that they were either lying or
that as economists they would make
C arl D. G a n z
excellent ditch-diggers. You may ask
where does your honest and consis­
tency to the general public come in
ALL realize that it would be with regard to this. In my opinion it
the height of presumption for me comes in in this way—fully ninety per
to even attempt to tell you gentlemen cent of the bankers of Nebraska are
how to run a successful bank in this good enough economists to know that
day and age—if I did know I wouldn’t such a law was inherently bad form
tell you but would go East and sell my­ the start, uneconomic and bound to
self to J. P. Morgan. However, it has fail. Practically all of you have said so
occurred to me that I might give you privately time without number and you
my idea in a few rambling remarks as never paid a single assessment without
to what I think a banker’s attitude feeling that you were being robbed
ought to be in three respects, viz, his and yet for eighteen years you have
attitude toward the general public, met in solemn convention and the re­
especially the law-making bodies, his cords will show that not a single reso­
attitude to the profession itself, and lution was ever passed condemning it
lastly his attitude towards his patrons. as unsound banking. If you as bankers
These attitudes may intermingle to do not know what are unsound bank­
some extent and they are not meant in ing laws how in the name of common
any way to be exhaustive or1inclusive, sense are you going to expect the gen­
but I believe you will get my ideas.
eral public to know. You say it never
First as to the general public: It is had a chance to be repealed—you don’t
a trite thing to say th a t a banker know, you never tried—-you just took
should be honest and consistent in his some politicians word for that who
attitude towards the general public. didn’t know any more about a bank
You gentlemen will all agree with that, than a hog does about Sunday. And
and yet I dare say that there are not what if it couldn’t be repealed—is that
twenty men in this room, myself in­ any reason why you should not stand
cluded who cannot be indicted upon fearlessly in your annual conventions
that very charge. How, why, when and and tell the world what is good and
where? All right, I ’ll give you a couple what is bad so far as you know it.
of glittering examples. Some eighteen
years ago there was conceived in the
Three Years Ago
womb of a political necessity in this
state a so-called banking child by the
Did you ever stop to think that only
name of the Guaranty Law. In those three years ago at four different meet­
eighteen years that wayward child, that ings of the State Bank Committee in

Y ou

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

B y Carl D. Ganz
Cashier, Farmers and Merchants
B an\, Alvo, Nebraska
(F rom address before N ebraska B ankers
A ssociation Convention, Omaha)

We hear a lot about the words
“ service and responsibility ”
but exactly how do they fit us?
which over three-fourths of our state
banks were represented that this reso­
lution was practically unanimously
passed. “We reaffirm our strict adher­
ence to the Guarantee Fund law under
which no depositor in any Nebraska
State Bank has suffered loss. We are
opposed to any change in the lav/
which will in any wise tend to obstruct,
hinder or delay any depositor in any
Nebraska State Bank in the collection
of his deposit,” and that within two
years these same banks joined in a law
suit to set the law aside for a multiciplicity of reasons. Oh consistency,
thou art a jewel—can you blank the
general public or the legislature for
being against the banks — to all out­
ward appearances we were for the
damn thing for seventeen years and
told them so. In plain words, we lied
to the general public for seventeen
years for various reasons, political,
cowardice, and I am ashamed to say
many for selfish reasons, and, gentle­
men, take it from me, we are going to
be sometime living that lie down. No,
we were not honest nor were we con­
sistent—if we had been we would have
fought that law from its inception in
season and out of season and would
never have allowed a state convention
to pass without a resolution strongly
condemning the law because of its eco­
nomic unsoundness.
Do you want another example of
our honesty and consistency as bankers
towards the general public? All right,
last winter a boy from Pawnee City in­
toxicated with publicity introduced a
measure to appropriate $150,000 to as­
certain why banks failed. I wonder
how many of you gentlemen wrote the
governor or your members of the leg­
islature protesting against such a law.
I ’ll wager not ten per cent. Because
you were inactive and a loss of deposi­
tors in failed banks were caused to be
active by self-seeking notoriety-hunt­
ing politicians, this state is at present
throwing $150,000 down a rat hole and

7
a distinguished gentleman of this state,
whose past political life would not
cause him to be regarded as an econo­
mist of note regardless of how much
we may admire his other qualities, is
now repeatedly filling the daily press
giving the four or five reasons why
banks fail and there is not a gentleman
in this room who does not know and
always has known ever since he knew
anything about banking the four or five
reasons why banks fail. This state did
not need to spend $150,000 to tell the
general public why banks fail — we
bankers all knew that when the law
was introduced—if we had individual­
ly and collectively honestly protested
against its passage it would not have
passed and our state would be $150,000 richer than it is today.
In my arraignment of the bankingprofession of Nebraska relative to their
honesty and consistency towards the
general public I do not want to con­
demn any political party—the republi­
can party would have fostered the
guaranty law only the dem ocrats
thought of it first; nor do I want to con­
demn any individual banker personally
for I know that you all can in justice

islation. Now get these. First, no law
which violates fundamental economic
principles will be of any permanent
value. Second, shall sound banking
principles in Nebraska be sacrificed
forever upon the altar of political ex­
pediency? Third, in case unsound
banking legislation is passed, must we
stand like a bunch of sheep and be
sheared and sheared until the body is
incapacitated from growing any more
wool ?
The Banker’s Attitude

Snapped at the N ebraska convention:
L e ft, IV. F . W enke, cashier, P ender
State B a n k ; right, J. M . Sorenson, vice
president, F rem ont State Bank.

say to myself and to each other “et tu
Brutus.” But may 1 make an appeal to
you as to our attitude in the future. I
believe that if we can keep these three
thoughts' in mind, remember them, act
upon them individually and collectively
that we can be honest and consistent
with the public as regards banking leg­

Now, as to the bankers attitude to­
wards the profession itself. As a mat­
ter of fact in America, banking has
never been considered as a profession
but rather as a business or trade. It
has always been one of the unalienable
American rights for anyone who could
elect himself or induce others to elect
him to an officership in a bank to be
privileged to fill that office. As bankers
have we ever given a thought to what
qualifications a man should possess be­
fore he should be allowed to play with
other people’s money? Have we ever
done anything or said anything that
( C o n tin u e d

on

P age

10)

Peters National Merges With
Omaha National Bank
jy/JERGER of the Peters National
Bank of Omaha with the Omaha
National Bank, by a purchase of the
assets of the former institution by the
latter, was announced Thursday night,
November 21, by President W. Dale
Clark of the Omaha National Bank,
after directors of the two institutions
had approved the deal.
The merger was made effective the
morning of November 22, when 16
employes and several of the officers of
the Peters National were at the Oma­
ha National to take care of Peters cus­
tomers.
J. R. Cain, Jr., vice president of the
Peters National bank, was elected a
vice president of the Omaha National
Bank and will be active in that post.
W. S. Weston, vice president of the
Peters, was also elected a vice presi­
dent of the Omaha National, but is not
expected to be active in the bank.
H. H. Fish, president of the West­
ern Newspaper Union, who had been
a director of the Peters National
Bank, was elected to the board of di­
rectors of the Omaha National.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The deposits of the Peters National
Bank, in a recent statement, amounted
to $2,907,553 and those of the Omaha,
$35,321,328.
R. D. Miller, cashier and E. V. Horberger, assistant cashier of the Peters
National, were added to the staff of
the Omaha National. Other directors
of the Peters National, not included in
the merger of officers, are C. J. Claassem, E. L. Lindquest, Howard Ken­
nedy and W. J. Miller.
The stock of the Peters National, it
was announced, with a book value of
$161, will probably pay more than that
amount, when liquidation of assets is
completed.
The Peters National Bank was or­
ganized in 1920.
Mr. Clark’s statement of the merger
read:
“In conformity with the tendency
toward centralization of banking re­
sources in each community, the Omaha
National Bank has acquired the busi­
ness of the Peters National Bank. The
merger adds total resources of more
than two and one-half million dollars

to the assets of the Omaha National
Bank and gives us an opportunity to be
of service to a splendid group of cus­
tomers.
“We welcome depositors and custo­
mers of the Peters National Bank with
confidence that we will be able to give
them all of the service to which they
have been accustomed, plus a broader
service not available in a smaller insti­
tution.”
J. R. Cain, Jr., said:
“This action is the result of a desire
on the part of officers and directors of
the Peters National Bank to give their
customers the benefit of the complete
banking facilities afforded by a larger
institution. The Peters National Bank
was organized in 1920, and during its
lifetime, has devoted itself especially
to the handling of individual deposit
accounts.”
Walter W. Head, chairman of the
board of the Omaha National Bank,
came to Omaha November 22 to pre­
side at a directors meeting, and to ar­
range for completion of details of the
merger. Mr. Head is president of the
Foreman Bank at Chicago.

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

URINAL

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This is one o f a series o f advertisements in a na­
tional program o f advertising by the Northwest
Bancorporation. This advertisement appeared in
the Wall Street Journal for November 12th, reach-

aS ï 4 ^ g h Bs f S r S e
Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

. M a rk e ts
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ing the business executives of America and carry­
ing to them a message o f strength o f the Bancorporation and its importance to the territories
served by its affiliated institutions.

£

9

ROUP
BANKING
affo rd s s o lu tio n o f
N o rth w e st problem s
N the m id d le N orth w est for som e tim e past
there has been a g r o w in g need for a m odern
financial service adequate to the problem s o f this
fast d ev elo p in g territory. T h e founders o f the N o r th ­
w est B ancorporation, realizing this need, studied the
group banking idea and becam e convinced that this
financial set-up w o u ld afford a solu tion o f the
N o r th w e st’s b ank ing problem s.
T h e rapid grow th o f the N orth w est B ancorpora­
tion and other groups in this t e r r it o r y is offering
p ro o f o f the soundness and popularity o f this m odern
bank ing practice.
A key note to the objective o f the N orth w est Bancorp oration w as sounded by Mr. E. W . D ecker, p resi­
dent o f th e N orth w estern N ation al B a n k a n d th e
B an corporation , w h en he stated: “I am thoroughly o f
the o p in io n that, by grou p in g strong banks, these
in stitu tion s can serve in a larger way their respective
com m unities and provide a com p lete, safe and depend­
able bank ing service for their custom ers.”
T h e grow th in the num ber o f strong banks join in g
the N o rth w est B ancorporation, the increased number
o f stock h old ers, im proved bank earnings, and the
additional service rendered to lo ca l business m en and
d ep ositors large and sm all have brought new confi­
dence in the principal and in the future o f the N o r th ­
w est.

I

Northw
est Bancorporation
RESO URCES
OVER 4 6 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
DOLLARS
M I N


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

N

E

A

P

O

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1 S

, M I N

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E S O T A

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

IO

ï TNDER the interesting topic, “Pay­
ing Dividends,” Clarence G. Bliss,
secretary of Trade and Commerce, Ne­
braska, said in part, at the meeting of
state bankers at the Nebraska conven­
tion :
We are all very much interested in
dividends. The farmer is interested in
the earnings from his farm, the same
as the banker is interested in the earn­
ings from his bank, and private com­
panies and corporations are operating
their business so they may pay divi­
dends.
I come to you today, in connection
with the department of trade and com­
merce, with the thought in mind of
paying dividends. The dividends that
we are undertaking to pay at this time
are not so much confined to the actual
percentages in money as collected and
paid out in connection with the banks
under our supervision, but it also in­
cludes another type of dividend of in­
terest to you, and that is the showing
of the progress we are making, a divi­
dend that cannot be measured in dol­
lars and cents.
The Reorganization Law
You will recall that early last spring,
a bank reorganization plan was suc­
cessfully tried out at Elgin. After the
reopening of this bank, it was my plea­
sure to present the matter to Governor
Weaver, who suggested that we look
around and see what other states were
doing in this reorganization work. We
investigated the matter and found that
in Minnesota they had a specific sta­
tute relative to the reorganization of
banks. We later discovered that the

Minnesota statute was similar to one
operated in South Dakota and also in
Wisconsin. At the suggestion of the
governor, we secured a copy of the
Minnesota statute and gave it to the
legislative committee, and through the
help of the different committees, this
statute was enacted into law and ap­
proved by Governor Weaver on April
30.
The Minnesota statute provides for
depositors representing 90 per cent of
the total deposits, while the Nebraska
law, as passed, provides that 85 per
cent of the total deposits shall be re­
presented in the reorganization. The
theory of this law is that the deposi­
tors, through a depositors’ committee
on the one hand and the reorganizers
who furnish the new capital, on the
other hand, may enter into an agree­
ment for the purpose of removing the
slow and doubtful assets from the bank
and reopen the bank.
Since some eighteen banks have been
reorganized in Nebraska under that
plan, we have learned a great deal
about depositors meetings and deposi­
tors committees.

in all matters pertaining to the liquida­
tion of that bank.
This depositors’ committee elected
by the depositors, acts in an advisory
capacity, in assisting the assistant re­
ceiver in charge in making compro­
mises of the notes or sale of any of
the real estate. It is now the establish­
ed policy of the department to have ev­
ery recom m endation covering any
transaction in a receivership bank ap­
proved by the depositors committee.
When House Roll 249 was passed
for discontinuing the state operation of
banks as going concerns, immediately
there was turned over to our depart­
ment some sixty-one banks that had
been operated as going concerns. These
sixty-one banks were then placed in
receivership under the direction of the
court, as soon as a court hearing could
be held in the different districts where
the banks were located.
State Treasurer Depository
The funds on hand in these banks
all have been placed with the state
treasurer in an account which reads,
‘‘Treasurer, State of Nebraska, for
secretary, department of trade and
commerce, receiver.” These funds are
Depositors Committees
handled by the treasurer and are ful­
We have found that if a depositors’ ly protected as a state deposit. The de­
committee is helpful in the reorganiza­ partment maintains a complete book­
tion of a bank, that same is true with keeping equipment to keep all the
reference to a bank in receivership. books, with sufficient help, and the as­
Accordingly, in all the receiverships sistant receiver in the field makes re­
now under the direct supervision of ports and remittances which are then
the department, as turned over to us turned over to the state treasurer. This
this year, we have called a depositors’ system eliminates all duplicate book­
meeting and elected a d e p o sito r’s keeping and the handling of a checking
committee to represent the depositors of bank balances in different banks.

Who Are W e a n d Why?
( C o n tin u e d

fro m

P age

7)

would induce the general public to de­ college four or five years and then
mand certain qualifications of a man pass a stiff state examination and yet
before he should be permitted to say at the same time this same State will
“yes” and “no?” Our answers to those permit any Tom, Dick or Harry who
questions must be in the negative. Oh, might happen to inherit eight or ten
I understand that we have a license thousand dollars or who might be for­
law in Nebraska but if you can show tunate enough to marry the president’s
me where that law in itself has ever daughter, as I did, step right into a
raised the standard of the qualifica­ bank as an executive officer after a
tions of the bankers in Nebraska, then year’s work in the bank and invite the
you can say that hair isn’t gray but is general public to bring in their life’s
is pink. What I have in mind is this. In savings and leave it in his safe-keeping
this State before we allow a man to knowing full well that he is going to
put a pair of pliers in your mouth and loan it out as he may deem best. Do
pull out a tooth, a very simple thing in you think that that is a sufficient qual­
itself, we require that man to go to ification to permit a man to become a
Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

banker? We won’t let a man work with
a veterinary for a year and then give
him a license to go out and doctor cows
—then why should we allow a man to
run a bank without first qualifying
himself at least along the theoretical
lines of banking. I know that this idea
steps on the toes of most of you and
you can be sure that' I am stepping all
over my own toes but if each of you
gentlemen will just think for a mo­
ment of your own qualifications at the
time you became executive officers of
your bank I will warrant that none of
you were nearly as well qualified to
do your work as a doctor is when he

il

a new. moie convenient size
American
fipress
Travelers
Cheque

N response to the demand for a
smaller, more compact, more easily
carried form of travel funds, the
American Express Company has
reduced the size of its Travelers Cheque.
Travelers are heavily encumbered with
tickets, passports, money, licenses, and
other travel accessories. The 850,000
travelers—and particularly the women
—who in the course of a year carry
American Express Travelers Cheques, will welcome the
knowledge that they can secure at their banks conveniently
siz;ed Travelers Cheques which fit easily into their bags
and purses.
The new Cheque will conform in siz;e to the bank pocket
check recommended by the Bureau of Standards and it is
practically the sise of the new U. S. Paper Currency. Some
notable features are:
[1] The new Cheque is considerably smaller and has only
one fold, thus making a thinner, more compact wallet. [2]
The fold does not interfere with the two signatures. [3] The
cover in which the Cheques will be bound is thinner, more
flexible, and of a better quality material. [4} The Cheques
can be carried in the ordinary wallet or bilbfold designed
for the new small Government bills. [5] A woman will find

I


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

that a wallet of the new Cheques will
fit more easily into her handbag. {6}
They can be carried comfortably in a
man’s inside pocket. [7] They will enable the traveler to foreign lands to
carry an adequate amount of funds, and
the motor traveler to have with him
sufficient money for contingencies. [8]
No material change has been made in
the appearance of the Cheque. The
same familiar blue color and the same signature method of
identification are continued.
The new Cheque will be distributed to banks about the
first of the year, and previous issues will be called in. All
concerned are assured that all outstanding Cheques will be
paid on presentation as previously. The new Cheque will
not affect the negotiability of the present Cheque in any way.
Whether the bank’s patrons present the former issues or
the new, they will find extended to them all the helpful­
ness of American Express service offices at home and abroad.
They will continue to find these branches little American
oases at which they will be welcome and at which they
can secure travel accommodations, valuable information, and
other assistance in making their journey safer, more com­
fortable, and free from care.

A miricam
I xiress
C O M ÏA X Y

Central Western. Banker, December, 1929

12

28

Stocks in Trust for You
—In a Single Investment

’Y ^ H E N you invest in Corporate Trust
Shares, you participate in the earnings
and increase in values of the common stocks
of 28 of America’s greatest corporations,
listed below. The stocks are held in trust
for your benefit by The Equitable Trust
Company of New York, Trustee, and distri­
butions of earnings are made to you by the
Trustee twice each year—on June 30th and
December 31st. Had Corporate Trust
Shares been in existence during the past 16
years, returns to investors would have aver­
aged 14.6% per year on the average price
of the shares.
Common stocks of these 28 companies un­
derlie Corporate Trust Shares. No substi­
tutions are permitted in the list.
In d u strials
U n ite d S ta te s Steel
A m e ric a n Tobacco
In tern atio n al H arvester
Otis E le v a t o r
du P o n t
U n ite d F r u i t
A m e ric a n R a d i a t o r
W o o lw o rt h
In g e r s o ll-R a n d
E astm an K odak
N a tio n a l B iscu it
Standard Oils
S tan d. Oil (N ew J e r s e y )
S tan d. Oil of N ew Y o rk
S tan d. Oil of Ind.
S tan d . Oil of Cal.
T exas C o rp o ra tio n

U tilitie s and
Qua si-U tilities
A m e ric a n Tel. & Tel.
W e s t e r n U nion
W e s t in g h o u s e Elec.
Con. Gas. of N ew Y o rk
G e n eral E le c tric

R ailroads
N ew Y o rk C e n tra l
Illino is C e n tra l
U nion Pacific
S o u th e r n Pacific
L ouisville & N ash v ille
P e n n s y l v a n ia
A tch is o n

In v estm en t D ealers d e s i rin g to p a r t ic i p a te in t h e d i s t r i b u ­
tion of C o r p o r a t e T r u s t S h a re s sh o u ld c o m m u n ic a te w ith
e it h e r of t h e u n d e rs ig n e d .

SMITH, BURRIS & COMPANY
120 South La Salle Street, CHICAGO

LLOYD PHILLIPS & COMPANY, INC.
Union National Bank Bldg., FREMONT, NEB.

is allowed to commence experimenting
on the public or a lawyer when he be­
gins to practice with the other fellow’s
troubles. You say a doctor is dealing
with human lives—admitted — but I
say to you that a banker deals with
community life which he can kill with
incompetency just as quickly as a doc­
tor can kill a human life and I speak
from experience when I say that no
lawyer ever has anywhere near the op­
portunity to damage his clientele that
a banker has. Is it any wonder that
banks fail ?—it is the American miracle
that as many succeed as do. You hear
all the time that our' great trouble has
been too many banks—that is only a
small part of it, gentlemen, the large
part is that we have too many incom­
petent unqualified men posing as bank­
ers. Gentlemen, we must realize that
banking is not a trade or a business
only but that it is a profession, a high­
ly honored profession, one with serious
and grave duties and responsibilities
and I feel that we should take the lead
in educating ourselves and the general
public to so regard it and to initiate a
movement to require all applicants for
initiation into this profession to be as
well qualified and able to pass as strin­
gent an examination for it as we re­
quire of other professions of like
standing and responsibility.
You and Your Patrons
Now just a word in closing relative
to our attitude towards our patrons. It
would be presumptious for me to tell
you how to run your banks, how to
make more money or how to increase
your deposits. Banking magazines and
convention programs are filled with
numbers outlining the newest practices
and devices for this purpose.
May I say that while I agree with all
these profit making devices and try to
practice them as best I can, yet I feel
that as bankers we should be ever
mindful of the fact that we have a pro­
fessional duty to our patrons other and
beyond the building up of strong con­
servative institutions and paying rea­
sonable dividends to our stockholders,
and this duty we should never lose
sight of and which is what I would
call the duty of service we owe our
constitutency. The banking profession
like every other profession owes an
undefinable duty of service to its clien­
tele and it is largely this banking serv­
ice that we have rendered in a thou­
sand different ways in the past that
gives to us the position we occupy to­
day in our respective communities and
while we are instituting service charges,
overdraft charges, draft charges, ex­
change charges and all the other mul( C o n t i n u e d o n P a g e 16 )

Central Western Banker. December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

13

W hat Experience Has Taught U
About Bond Buying
amounts, with all his text books, the­
The country hanker has learned
\/E A R S would be required to read
ories and investment services, lacks as
from
experience
the
essential
facts
* all that has been written by able
does the country banker the informa­
about
bond
buying
and
has
accept­
writers on the subject of bonds. In the
tion he should have in order to buy
ed the responsibility of caring for
few minutes allotted to me on this
intelligently.
his
customers’
investment
needs
broad subject, I shall confine my re­
We have no law in this country com­
marks to “Bonds for Banks” having no
pelling
the publication of information
B
y
John
W
.
Black
specially organized bond department.
on
securities
as is required in England
Until the ap p earan ce of Liberty
President, J. W . Black Co.
under the provisions of the British
Bonds, few country bankers had a
Minneapolis
speaking acq u ain tan ce with bonds. (From address at Tri-state Conference) Companies Act. Its adoption here has
been urged from time to time; but ap­
They bought Liberties from patriotic
motives and thereby reduced their He first learned that his understanding parently the security handling frater­
dwindling revenues. “Liberty Bonds” of the word “bond” had a different nity is not yet ready for it.
The British Companies Act provides
looked well in the bank’s statement. meaning from that of the house orig­
—that
“information must be given as
They still do, for they represent the inating the issue.
to what actually is to b e­
best secu rity the w orld
come of the money paid
has ever known.
in; what p a rt of it goes
At the close of the war,
for services and the nature
shrew d, high-pow ered
of
the services. What pro­
salesmen entered the small­
“B eg in n in g from n ecessity rath er th an choice, th e country
portion
goes to promoters,
er towns in droves to trade
banker has developed a n ew lin e w h ich sh ow s in creasin g p rofits
bankers, underwriters and
individuals and banks out
and volum e. W hat h e lack s in th eory is more) than m ade up by
others”—all in order that
of their L ib ertie s for all
hard headed, in d ivid u al ju d gm en t. H is fra n k acceptance o f h is
the p u rch aser may have
sorts of merchandise, stock
p erson al resp on sib ility to th o se h e serves m ig h t w e ll be em u ­
the facts.
and higher interest bearing
lated by a ll th o se w ho d istrib u te in a w id er field in a larger
If this information were
securities. At this point the
w ay.”
forthcoming we would have
country b anker gradually
fewer heartaches in the se­
111111:1111111111111111111111111 1111111 111111111 111 1 1 1 11 111111
1111111111111111111111 111111111 11111111
11
became a student of bond
curity business.
values. He found himself
In my many conversations with coun­
Shylock says—“It is so nominated in
in a new and, to him, an untried field.
His task involved making selections the bond”-—indicating a definite agree­ try bankers on the subject of bonds, I
for his bank and his customers as well. ment — a sacred promise. Many issues have learned much and recommend
This new activity for his customers are marketed on a “when, as and if their observations to those whose busi­
ness it is to market securities.
placed a responsibility on him which basis.”
A Great Difference
practically amounted to a personal en­
The authorities I have read do not
dorsement of every security selected offer a solution of the small country
To the banker there is a world of
bank problem. Well balanced propor­ difference whether he buys a security
and sold.
tions of Liberties, municipals, rails, or has one sold to him. He now gives
A Good Teacher
The country banker, unfortunately utilities and industrials with selected greater consideration to security and
like many men in other lines, is not a timely maturities and geographical dis­ marketability than to rate. He finds it
reader nor a follower of text books. tribution, are not for the country bank­ advisable to confine his purchases to a
few reliable houses than to buy from
Experience is his time tried teacher. er.
The relatively small amount which each calling salesman.
The experience of many country bank­
He has learned too that even the
ers has been bitter, expensive and in may be carried in secondary reserve
some instances disastrous. However, when deposits are at their peak will best houses have bonds to sell and that
he has learned much and today he is a not permit the indulgence of this well once a bond is bought, he assumes the
canny buyer. He may be confused and balanced, universally approved prac­ responsibility of ownership. He has
learned to regard new and unseasoned
uncertain about what to buy, but to a tice.
The city buyer of securities in large issues with suspicion. He knows that
great extent he knows what not to buy.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Experience As A Teacher

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Central Western Banker, December, 1929

14
no salesman can afford to spend his
time and money calling on him to mar­
ket a security which can be marketed
over the telephone in his own office.
Therefore, he has come to regard
the financial sheet of his favorite city
paper as the best of all offering sheets.
In its columns he sees the world’s best
seasoned se c u ritie s, together w ith
prices at which the shrewdest investors
are willing to buy or sell.
Time was when so-called participa­
tions were offered and: eagerly accept­
ed by the country banker. The magic
word “participation” used by many to
market slow issues no longer has the
same appeal. I assume there is no ne­
cessity of elaborating on this phase of
the marketing of bonds. He sticks his
tongue in his cheek when a salesman
says “Here is a security you can put
away and forget.” He has learned that
all securities are sold “as is” and that
no bond house however reliable, can
foretell the future. In other words, a
regular check-up on each security own­
ed is his best safeguard.
If he could, the country banker
would put his tongue in both cheeks
at the same time when the salesman
says “Our house stands back of this
issue.” He does not dispute the state­
ment but has found that the house us­
ually stands too far back in a time of
need.
He has learned that tight money will
cause his good bonds to sag and by the
same token cheap money will cause an
appreciation in prices.
He is less concerned about the fluc­
tuation in prices of his good bonds
than formerly. If his needs are press­
ing during a temporary period of high

|

A Real Problem
One of his most perplexing prob­
lems during a temporary depression in
prices has been the Banking depart­
ments—state and national. Examiners
generally, are woefully lacking in bond
lore and until recently the heads of
these departments have failed to even
attempt to advise constructively on the
subject. As on all other matters in con­
nection with the operation of a bank,
the examiners have an abundance of
authority while they assume no respon­
sibility.
In justice to the banking depart­

For complete investment
facilities and sound
sincere, counsel.

R ufus
[

rates, he need not sell and take a loss,
but can use them as collateral on a sat­
isfactory basis with his big city broth­
er.
He has learned too that a good, well
secured, marketable bond, netting from
5 per cent to 5j4 per cent, will not go
out of style for any considerable per­
iod.
He has set up a secondary reserve in
accordance with his individual require­
ments. This varies from 20 per cent to
50 per cent of total deposits. Public
money goes into secondary reserves ra­
ther than to local borrowers. The sec­
ondary reserve fund may be split in
equal amounts among the five recog­
nized classifications.
That seasonal withdrawal of public
monies should be anticipated and pro­
vided for by a like amount of short
maturities.
He has learned that the test of a
bond is much like the standard he ununconsciously sets up for the individ­
ual — past performance is the best
known guide.

E.

L ee & C ompany

Investment Bankers

|

1116-1122 City National Bank Bldg,
i

Omaha

|

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Central Western Banker, December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

ments, and speaking from my own ex­
perience with both departments, I can
say in all sincerity that their supervi­
sion is now constructive. Furthermore,
these im p o rtan t departments would
and could do more for the banks and
their customers if not hampered by the
meagre appropriations granted them by
penny wise and pound foolish legisla­
tures.
The crooked salesmen of worthless
securities had more to do with forcing
the country banker to distribute good
securities than any other agency. The
country banker would not buy from
these tricksters, but they were selling
their wares to the banks’ customers,
with the result that both principal and
interest were lost to the individual, the
bank, and the community.
The average banker was disinclined
to deplete his time deposits through
the sale of securities. He soon learned,
however, that savings accounts are
built up for a purpose and that pur­
pose is not to be satisfied with 3 or 4
per cent. He learned too that if he fail­
ed to supply his customers with satis­
factory securities, others would satisfy
the demand with disastrous results.
And, so, the country banker has be­
come an important distributor of se­
curities.
Beginning from necessity rather than
choice, he has developed a new line
which shows increasing profits and
volume. What he lacks in theory is
more than made up by hard headed,
individual judgment. His frank accep­
tance of his personal responsibility to
those he serves might well be emulat­
ed by all those who distribute in a wid­
er field in a larger way.
ORDERS LIQUIDATION OF
PETERS TRUST COMPANY
Liquidation of the Peters Trust
company of Omaha was ordered by
District Judge Redick in the Douglas
county district court, on petition of
the state department of trade and
commerce, Monday, November 25.
The petition was filed, and the or­
der entered on request of the directors
of the company, under provisions of a
law adopted in 1929 by the Nebraska
legislature. An agent to supervise the
liquidation will be appointed by C. G.
Bliss, secretary of the department of
trade and commerce.
Deflation in farm land values dating
since 1920 was blamed for the condi­
tion of the company. It was empha­
sized that the principal loss would be.
stockholders in the company; that
there was a comparatively small sum
on deposit for investment that would
have the standing of unsecured debts,

15
and that the trust department under
Judge Howard Kennedy was entirely
separate from the other activities of
the company.
The principal officers of the Peters
Trust company are R. C. Peters, presi­
dent, and M. D. Cameron, W. S. Wes­
ton, C. J. Claassen, H. W. Potter and
Howard Kennedy, vice-presidents.
The following statement was is­
sued :
“Business of the Company was defi­
nitely divided into two Departments.
The Trust Department, under the di­
rection of judge Howard Kennedy
acted as trustee for estates, escrows
and other trusts involving in excess of
$12,000,000.00. Other activities of the
Company included the merchandising
of bonds and mortgages, the making
of farm and city real estate loans, the
writing of insurance and the renting
of city property.
“The two lines of activities were en­
tirely distinct and separate. Securities
and moneys belonging to trusts admin­
istered in the Trust Department under
Judge Kennedy’s direction were held
entirely separate from securities or
funds of the Company itself. Sepa­
rate safes were maintained for such
securities and officers of the Company
and the State Bankng Department em­
phasized the fact that these trusts are
in no way concerned or involved in
the general affairs of the Company.
“The action taken marks the termi­
nation of a situation which developed
as a result of the general agricultural
deflation of 1920. The Peters Trust
Company at that time was the largest
single maker of farm loans in Ne­
braska. It represented a number of
large insurance companies who invest­
ed their funds in Nebraska farm mort­
gages through the machinery which it
provided. In addition, the Company
placed farm mortgages with thousands
of local investors in this territory. At
the time that the prices of farm pro­
ducts and farm lands dropped in 1920,
the Company had outstanding mort­
gages with thousands of local invest­
ors in this territory. At the time that
the prices of farm products and farm
lands dropped in 1920, the Company
had outstanding mortgages with an
aggregate face value in excess of
$50,000,000.00. The rapid reduction
in the value of farm lands in a num­
ber of cases imperiled the security of
these mortgages. While the Company
was under no legal responsibility to
protect the interests of its investors in
such mortgages, inasmuch as it had
acted only as a broker in negotiating
them, nevertheless it made every effort
to protect the investments which its
customers had made through it. For

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

a considerable time, it made advances
of interest to its customers and also
provided funds for the payment of the
taxes and expense of foreclosure in
behalf of its customers.
“The price of farm lands continued
to decline for several years, contrary
to the general expectation of those in
touch with the farm situation. As a
result, the Company found itself bur­
dened with a considerable quantity of
real estate and slow mortgages. The
amount of these slow assets was such
as to seriously imperil the adequacy of
the Company’s working capital and it
was this lack which finally made it

necessary to put the Company in liqui­
dation.
“Considering the size of the Com­
pany’s operations, its liabilities are
relatively small and affect a compara­
tively few individuals. Total current
liabilities will not exceed $450,000.00,
nearly one-half of which are bank
loans properly secured by collateral.
“The Peters Trust Company was or­
ganized in 1907 under the leadership
of R. C. Peters who is now president.
Its last published statement showed a
capital of $600,000.00 and surplus of
$100,000.00. The invested capital
necessarily included assets carried at

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

16
a value beyond that at which they
could be immediately sold although
not necessarily beyond a fair value in
ultimate liquidation.
“The present action in no way af­
fects the purchase of the business of
The Peters National Bank by The
Omaha National Bank. The Peters
National Bank owned no stock of The
Peters Trust Company nor does the
Trust Company own any stock of
The Peters National Bank. The Peters
Trust Company was not a debtor of
The Peters National Bank. The only
connection between the two institu­
tions was that the same individuals
owned the controlling stock interest/'
Money No Object
A bank in New Jersey ran this ad­
vertisement in a local paper:

WILL

BE

OUR
MAILED

“Wanted—a clerk. Must be experi­
enced in foreign exchange. Salary, $15
a week.”
This is one of the replies received:
“Dear Bank: I would respectfully
apply for the position you offer. I am
an expert in foreign exchange, in all
branches. In addition, I converse flu­
ently in Gum Arabic, Zola, Georgonzola and Billingsgate. I write short­
hand, longhand, left-hand and righthand. I can supply my own typewriter
if necessary, and I may mention that
I typewrite half an hour in ten min­
utes, the record.
“I would be willing also to let you
have the service, gratis, of my large
family of boys, and if agreeable to
you, my wife would be pleased to clean
your office regularly w ith o u t extra
charge. The cost of postage for your

OFFERING LIST
REGULARLY UPON

REQUEST

A N ational S tandard
for S hort T erm In v estm en t
G M A C obligations have been purchased by
a clientele of nearly 8,000 banks, insurance
companies, institutions and individuals, the
country over. Their rating, as a national stand­
ard for short term investment, reflects estab­
lished public confidence in G M A C prestige.
offered at current discount rates

G
A

eneral

cceptance
OFFICES

Executive Office

CAPITAL,

-

IN

M otors
C o r p o r a t io n

PRINCIPAL

B roadway at 57 t h S tr eet

SURPLUS
OVER

-

Tffew T o r\C ity

AND UNDIVIDED
$ 6 6 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0

Central Western Banker, December} 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CITIES

PROFITS

answer to this application can be de­
ducted from my salary.
“Please note, that if you have a
back yard, I would make bricks in my
spare time.
“Awaiting an early reply, I am,” et
cetera.
WHO ARE WE—AND WHY
( C o n tin u e d f ro m

P age

10)

tidudinous charges in our banks we
should not lose sight of the value and
importance of real banking service.
May I emphasize the value of this
service, the nature of which I am sure
you all understand by this little story
and in that way bring out more clearly
what I mean. There was once a man
born in an obscure village. He worked
in a carpenter shop until he was thirty,
and then for three years he was an iti­
nerant preacher. He never wrote a
book. He never held an office. He nev­
er owned a home. He never had a fam­
ily. He never went to college. He nev­
er put his foot inside a big city. He
never traveled two hundred miles
from the place where he was born. He
never did one of the things that usual­
ly accompany greatness. He had no
credentials but himself. He had no
power except the naked power of his
divine manhood. While still a young
man, the tide of popular opinion turn­
ed against him. His friends ran away.
One of them denied him. He was turn­
ed over to his enemies. He went
through the mockery of a trial. He was
nailed upon a cross betw een two
thieves. His executioners gambled for
the only piece of property he had on
earth while he was dying—and that
was his coat. When he was dead he
was taken down and laid in a borrow­
ed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen wide centuries have come
and gone and today he is the centerpiece of the human race and the lead­
er of the column of progress. I am far
within the mark when I say that all
the armies that ever marched and all
the navies that were ever built, and
all the parliaments that ever sat, and
all the kings that ever reigned, togeth­
er, have not affected the life of man
upon this earth as powerfully as has
the “service” of that one solitary life.
His Satanic Majesty
Little Jane was severely reprimand­
ed by her mother for saying Devil.
The following Sunday when the lit­
tle Miss returned from Sunday school
her mother said, “What was the lesson
about today?”
“Why mother,” said Jane. “It was
about our Lord being tempted by—by
—by—the gentleman that keeps Hell.”

17
OPTIMISTIC FUTURE FOR IN­
SURED BONDS, SAYS EDLIN
An optimistic outlook for real estate
bonds, secured by mortgages on real
estate and guaranteed by surety com­
panies, for the coming year, is ex­
pressed by J. Kenneth Edlin of Chi­
cago, president of the Provident
States Securities Company. In an in­
terview he points out that no unfavor­
able reaction has been felt toward this
class of security in recent months.
“For the past year,” said Mr. Ed­
lin, “investors who had previously
confined themselves to prudent invest­
ments, have been carried away by the
wave of speculation that accompanies
every great wave of prosperity.
“This condition probably will al­
ways be correlated with times of pros­
perity, large earnings on the part of
corporations, and consequent easy
money. The general public in prac­
tically every nation of the world, has
taken the stock market into their own
hands and has bid prices of stocks and
other securities of like nature to ex­
tremely high levels.
“This situation had the tendency to
depress such fields of investment as
mortgages and bonds secured by im­
proved real estate, and other forms of
investment based on real estate. This
condition immediately following a per­
iod of abnormal activity in real estate
financing, where first mortgage bond
houses were heavily committed to un­
derwritings, led the houses to believe
that this activity would continue in­
definitely ; consequently, when the
public turned from conservative in­
vestments to speculative activity, the
houses of issue found themselves with
a large volume of frozen and partially
frozen paper, with the unfavorable re­
sult that, as money grew tighter and
bankers curtailed their loans, they
were unable to liquidate their holdings,
in consequence of which some of them
have experienced more or less trouble.
“The very fact that building was ex­
tremely active also had the effect of
over-building certain communities,
and it may be said that the curtail­
ment of building operation will, in the
long run, prove a blessing.
“The investing public is learning
that the surety companies, as a condi­
tion of placing their guaranty upon in­
sured bonds, insist upon requirements
that prevent the house of issue from
underwriting loans that are not of
the highest type and which are not
assured of success.
“In other words, they do not permit
the house of issue to underwrite, nor
will they guarantee, bonds secured by
a property that is to be used for some
purpose that has not been proven and
which has not demonstrated to be a
successful proposition. They will not

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

guarantee bonds secured by the type
of apartment building located in sec­
tions that cater to the transient type
of resident. They will not consider
cooperative properties, garage build­
ings or other types of property that
the fashions of the day may affect, but
which have not been proven to be de­
sirable over a long period of years.
Properties of the very highest type
may be located in sections of a city
that are in process of transition, but
not desirable as a place of residence
bv reason of the old buildings, such as
those devoted to light manufacturing,
garages and other structures that de­
tract from a neighborhood.
The strict zoning laws of the cities
that have been surveyed and approved

by the surety companies who guaran­
tee real estate bonds, protect the own­
er of the property against deprecia­
tion of income through the invasion of
undesirable buildings.
“In thus maintaining a strictly con­
servative attitude in the matter of
bonds which they will guarantee, they
compel the house to follow conserva­
tive lines and old landmarks, with the
result that the properties which secure
bonds which they have guaranteed are
always in demand.
“Combining all of the factors, in­
sured bonds offer to the individual in­
vestor, to banks and other institutions,
a safe form of real estate bond, and
assure him in advance of a high-grade
security yielding a liberal income.”

FOREIGN BONDS
Men who are following the financial situation very
closely have advanced th e opinion th a t good foreign bonds
will be selling within six months at prices on the average
of five to ten points above present quotations.
We have listed below those bonds which we believe
are exceptionally good purchases at present prices and
suggest the purchase of a bond of each issue for the pur­
pose of diversification:
A pproxim ate

Hate
City of Berlin
-6 %
Republic of Brazil
-Ai i/2
Department of Caldas_____ — 7«/2
_6
Unterelbe Power & Light
Agriculture Mortgage Bank of
6
Columbia
. 6
Republic of Peru
Rhine Westphalia Elec. Power_6
. -.7
Rio Grande de Sol

Maturity
1958
1957
1946
1953

Price
893/4
81
831/2
80

1947
1961
1953
1966

71
78
91
84 ft

Upon request we will purchase for you any number
of the above listed bonds at the then prevailing prices,
and we suggest an early purchase before these prices ma­
terially change.
Requests for bonds may be wired a t our expense.

SMITH, LANDERYOU & CO.
210 Farnam Building,
Omaha, Nebraska
Ja. 5065
Central Western Banker, December, 1929

18

Building Damaged

Increased Construction

Fire, believed to have been caused
by a blaze in a trash can, caused ap­
proximately $10,000 damage to the
rear part of the Pueblo, Colorado,
Trust and Savings Bank building, re­
cently, while firemen battled an hour
to extinguish the flames.
The building is one of the most
beautiful in Pueblo. Traffic in the en­
tire business district was tied up as
firemen stretched hose through the
streets. Dense smoke and water did
most of the damage.

Building construction and bank de­
bits showed big increases recently in
Colorado Springs reports reveal. Col­
orado Springs was one of 19 cities of
the tenth federal reserve district to
show an increase in individual bank
accounts, according to reports from
bank headquarters in Kansas City.
Building construction reports show
that 21 permits valued at $75,020, were
issued in September, an increase of 44
per cent over the same period last
year.

For the Convenience
OF IN D IV ID U A L A N D C O R P O R A T E

INVESTORS
PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENT OFFICES IN THE
UNITED STATES AND CANADA
A lbany, N . Y.
A tla n ta , G a.
A tlan tic C ity , N . J.
B altim o re, M d .
B irm ingham , Ala.
B oston, Alass.
Buffalo, N . Y.
C hicago, 111.
C in cin n a ti, O hio
C leveland, Ohio
D allas, T exas
D a v e n p o rt, Iow a
D en v er, Colo.
D e tro it, Alich.
H a rtfo rd , C onn.
H o u sto n , T exas

In d ian ap o lis, In d .
K a n sa s C ity , Alo.
Los A ngeles, C al.
Louisville, K y .
A lem phis, T enn.
A liam i, F la .
A lilw aukee, W is.
A linneapolis, Alimi.
N ew ark, N . J.
N ew O rleans, L a.
O ak lan d , C al.
O m aha, N eb.
P a sa d e n a, C al.
P h ilad elp h ia, P a.
P itts b u rg h , P a.
P o rtla n d , Ale.

P o rtla n d , Ore.
P rovidence, R . I.
R ochester, N . Y.
St. L ouis, Alo.
S t. P a u l, Alinn.
S an D iego, C al.
S an F rancisco, Cal.
S c ra n to n , P a.
S e a ttle, W ash.
Spokane, W ash.
T acom a, W ash.
Toledo, O hio
W ashington, D . C.
W ilkes-B arre, P a.
A lontreal, C a n ad a
T o ro n to , C a n ad a

FOREIGN OFFICES
L ondon, E n g la n d
A lanchester, E n g la n d
A m sterdam , T h e N e th e rla n d s

G en ev a, S w itzerland
T okio, Ja p a n
S hanghai, C hina

T h e N atio n al C ity C om pany
7\[a tio n a l C i ty B a n \ B u i l d in g , 7\[ew Y o r \
IN V E S T M E N T S E C U R IT IE S

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Increased Savings
The two Pueblo, Colorado, banks
specializing in Christmas savings ac­
counts, will pay out to Santa Claus
savers $100,000 Dec. 1. The sum will
be divided among 1,798 depositors,
which averages a little more than $55
for each check issued.
Depositors in Christmas savings ac­
counts at the Southern Colorado Bank,
numbering 698, will receive $35,000,
which is an increase of nearly 30 per
cent in both the number of accounts
and the total paid out last year.
The Pueblo Savings & Trust Co. has
carried 1,200 accounts in the Christ­
mas savings department this year, and
will pay out $65,000, a increase of 10
per cent over last year.
Merged
The American National Bank and
the new First National Bank of Silver
City, New Mexico, have been consoli­
dated.
The new institution will be known
as the American National Bank and
will be housed in the First National
Bank building and the personnel of the
entire institutions will be retained. The
officers and directors of the American
National Bank are now as follows :
J. B. Gilchrist, president; Frank
Light, vice president; W. S. Haston,
cashier; Paul S. Ashby, assistant cash­
ier; directors, J. B. Gilchrist, A. S.
Goodell, Leo J. Schiff, Lela A. Manville, P. M. Shelley, Ira J. Bassett,
Hugh McKeen, Ira L. Wright, Frank
Light, and Charles Stephens.
Deposits Increase
A substantial increase in deposits in
Centerville, South Dakota, banks is
shown in latest reports. Total deposits
of the two banks doing business in the
city is $1,551,641.
The current statement of the First
National Bank shows deposits in the
bank have increased $85,740 since the
report of June 29 last. Since October
3, 1928, deposits in the Bank of Cen­
terville have increased $147,334, and
now total $400,000.
Damaged by Fire
Fire believed to have started from
an overheated pipe caused damage es­
timated at $5,000 to Citizens Bank
building of Parker, South Dakota. The
entire basement was gutted and the
fire threatened the first and second
floors when it spread through a par­
tition.
The greatest damage was in the of­
fice of the Dakota Central Telephone
Company.

19

Insurance
INSURANCE
* sold for the pur­
pose of protecting
one’s business inter­
ests is called “Bus­
iness Insurance.” It
is also often refer­
red to as Corpora­
tion or Partnership Insurance. This,
however, is not a broad definition be­
cause Business Insurance protects any
firm, be it conducted by a corporation,
partnership, or individual.
Business Insurance selling differs
from the selling of personal insuiance
in that in the first case you are appeal­
ing almost entirely to reason, that is,
good business sense and judgment. In
the latter, your appeal is often largely
made to the heart—to a man’s love for
those most dear to him.
A great many life insurance sales­
men and Trust Companies have made
the mistake of neglecting the small
corporation or partnership. It is esti­
mated by Bradstreet that about ninety
percent of our business failures are
among firms having less than a twenty
thousand dollar working capital. This
is easy to see when you take into con­
sideration that the large firm has the
financial means to develop understu­
dies, hoping through this medium to
materially offset the loss of an execu­
tive. The small firm, due to its limited
finances, is unable to make any such
preparation.
A Few Hazards
The untimely death of a valuable
man often threatens a concern’s very
existence. Many adjustments must be
made. Some of the hazards that a cor­
poration may be forced to mount are,
as follows:

the corporation will
protect creditors as
well as stockhold­
ers. Bond and note
issues can be guar­
anteed by life insur­
ance on the life of
a key man.
It happens very often that the com­
pany has a contract or contracts where
the profit is entirely or largely depend­
ent upon the personal efforts of the
executive or executives. The death of
one may shake the faith of bankers or
business people generally in the strength
of the corporation but if this business
ability is fully protected by insurance,
the death substitutes financial power
for executive power. No medium sized
company can afford to enter upon a
period of expansion without due prep­
arations having first been made and
the most important of these is ade­
quate insurance.

The A B C s of
Business Insurance
B y Hi
President, M issouri State Life
Insurance Co., St. Louis
tecting both the interests of the living
and dead. This especially applies to
small corporations where there is no
ready market for the stock. These
closed corporations are virtually limit­
ed partnerships and the survivor owes
it to himself to see that he is protected

P a r tn er sh ip :

H

S tock P urchases :

Quite frequently it is necessary to
make a stock readjustment with the
heirs of the deceased member of the
firm. The surviving stockholders may
not wish the heirs to have any voice
in the firm’s operation. A controversy
may arise as to the final disposition of
the stock, and as a result some outside
interest may purchase the deceased’s
interest, which, of course, may cause
friction. This has happened in many
instances. Thus Life Insurance when
used for the purchase of the deceased
member’s stock serves a double pur­
pose. It guarantees control of the cor­
poration to the surviving stockholders
and it transforms the estate of the de­
ceased into a liquid asset, thereby pro-


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

illsm a n

T aylor

in his business, as well as to see that
the representatives of the deceased are
paid a fair and commensurate value
for the interest in the business.
E

x pa n s io n

P rogram :

The death of an executive may dis­
turb some expansion program, so the
firm needs to capitalize the brains of
management just as all other assets are
protected. Life insurance payable to
iiiiiimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiimimimiimmmiiimiiiiiiiiiiiimmii»

{From address before Trust Co. Division of the
A . B. A ., at San Francisco)

In the case of a partnership, the
death of one of the partners immedi­
ately dissolves the partnership. It can­
not be otherwise unless the partners
themselves provide for the continua­
tion of the business in a legal manner.
Each partner having a proportionate
interest in the partnership assets, the
interests of the dead partner naturally
passes to his estate. His heirs are not
entitled to the partnership assets, but
they are entitled to their share of the
assets liquidated by the surviving part­
ner. All partnership assets remain to
be administered by the surviving part­
ner. A surviving partner must per­
form each of the following duties :
1. An immediate inventory and ap­
praisement of the partnership assets
and liabilities must be made.
2. As the surviving partner, he is
not the owner of any part of the part­
nership assets. He has the responsibili­
ty of liquidating the business, selling
the assets for the best price.
3. Any partnership assets sold must
be subject to the approval of the Pro­
bate Court, executor or heirs of the
deceased. The surviving partner has
no priority over others.
4. He cannot incur any obligations
except those necessary to liquidate.
Solves the Problem
Partnership life insurance solves the
problem. In a great many instances, it
is advisable to have an outside party
named as trustee in the partnership

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

20

agreement. This second party should
render unbiased decisions and, of
course, will see that the articles of
agreement are all performed. Under
ordinary conditions, the average firm
is more interested in Ordinary Life
for business insurance purposes than
any other form of contract; the reason
being that it purchases maximum pro­
tection for the premium outlay and on
a permanent basis, thus creating a cor­
poration asset year by year, as shown
in the cash values of the contract.
Sometimes however, Term Insurance
is used to advantage and also Twenty
Year Endowment; the latter form of
contract may be used for the purpose
of retiring a bond issue.

The Magasine of Business, in a
study of businesses, has estimated that
only five and a half per cent of all bus­
inesses survive over a period of thir­
ty years, and that forty-five per cent
of all new business die within five
years. The Federal Trade Commis­
sion, a few years ago, estimated that
there were 250,000 businesses in the
United States. Of these concerns, 190,000 made less than $5,000 of profits;
100,000 of this 190,000 group made no
profit at all. In other words, about
seventy-six per cent of all businesses
are on the danger line where any un­
expected happening might throw them
into insolvency.
The small firm needs business in­

HE Federal Surety Com­
pany really recognizes the
agent as a partner. We rea­
lize that this company’s
growth is dependent upon
its agency force—and we are
determined to grow.

Federal S uretyCompanY
I

A N A T IO N A L IN S T IT U T I O N O F S E R V IC E _______________________

I

W. L. TAYLOR, President

C asualty Insurance

S u rety Bonds

HOME OFFICE

DAVENPORT, IOWA

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

surance most of all. Ninety-five per
cent of all businesses which fail have
little or no capital, ninety per cent
have less than $5.000 capital.
According to R. G. Dunn & Com­
pany, 390,000 commercial failures are
recorded for the United States in the
past 25 years. In practically every
case, these recorded failures are those
which involve loss to creditors. Those
where the owners absorbed the loss
them selves are not reported. From
this, we may gain a fair idea of the
hazard of investing money in business
or industry and, therefore, more clear­
ly see the need for business life insur­
ance.
When death removes the owner of
an Individual business, the executor
needs cash, or credit, or both in order
to carry on with the business—posses­
sion of capital or credit will prevent
heavy loss through the forced sale of
the business and will enable the exe­
cutor to carry on until a proper dis­
position of the business can be arrang­
ed. Credit at banks and with whole­
salers will be safeguarded.
In a partnership, death automatical­
ly dissolves the firm and requires that
the affairs of the firm be wound up.
Business Life insurance where the in­
surance is on the life of a partner en­
ables the survivor to meet the imme­
diate demands upon the business from
creditors and to satisfy major and
pressing obligations. Thus he is able
to discharge partnership obligations
and continue the business as a sole
owner or until such time as he may
wish to take another partner.
Corporations are becom ing more
and more liberal users of business life
insurance. The usual custom is to in­
sure the key-man or key-men of the
corporation — executives and others
whose removal by death would bring
great loss to the business. Immediately
upon the death of such a key-man, life
insurance would step in and absorb the
financial shock which otherwise might
result in ruin or near-bankruptcy. Life
insurance may also be used to adjust
stock interests in a corporation where
members of a family are in control so
that when a stockholding official dies,
the family control may be continued.
Business life insurance is designed
to accomplish three things: To protect
against direct financial loss through
death ; to maintain credit which might
be impaired ; and to create new credit
by establishing immediate confidence
in the ability of the business to suc­
cessfully carry on.
It is a remarkable fact that Ameri­
can Life Insurance enjoyed nearly a
half century of rapid development and
progress in its tremendous service to

21

mankind before the idea of Business
In su ra n c e took tangible form. But
there are a number of reasons to ac­
count for this delay in advancing this
important branch of the Life Insur­
ance business.
Idemnifies Against Loss
Business Life Insurance is simply a
special application of the general prin­
ciple of “Indemnity A g ain st Loss”
which is embodied in any real insur­
ance contract. It has, however, become
almost a separate branch of the busi­
ness requiring on the part of the life
insurance man a definite knowledge
both of business operations and the
details of his own contract and com­
pany practice.
F u n c tio n s D u r in g L if e
:

of

e. The funds are free from care and
require no thought or re-investment.
f. Such a reserve is available with­
out publicity and is a concealed asset.
g. It is constantly increasing with­
out loss to other operation of com­

pound interest and it is available at a
guaranteed low rate of interest.
Business insurance inspires in the
insured officer himself a sense of loy­
alty and enthusiasm which he might
not otherwise have. The very act of

The Time, The Contract
A n d The M an

I nsur­

ed

There are certain very important
benefits resulting from business insur­
ance even though the insured officer
or proprietor does not die but lives out
his normal span of usefulness to the
concern.
Business insurance safeguards the
reservoirs of cash and strengthens the
credit of carrying it in the following
ways:
a. By creating a favorable impres­
sion upon the banker because of its
indication of foresight and caution.
b. By providing through the loan
values of the policies, a sep arate
source of borrowing power when oth­
er avenues of credit may be closed.
c. By furnishing assurance that the
policies may be borrowed upon in
cases of emergency at reasonable in­
terest rates definitely stated in the
policy contract.
d. This ability to borrow upon the
business insurance policies may save
the concern from the danger of having
to borrow from individuals who are
seeking to get control of the company.
The carrying of business insurance
inspires the confidence of possible in­
vestors who otherwise might be repell­
ed through fear of loss in case of
death of “key-men” if not insured.
The particular advantages of an em­
ergency surplus created through busi­
ness life insurance are:
a. The funds are figured beyond
danger of loss because of the guaran­
tee contained in the policy contract,
supported by the millions of assets of
the Insurance Company.
b. Such a reserve is entirely sepa­
rate from the general assets or work­
ing capital of the concern.
c. It is always available even in
times of financial stress.
d. It is accumulated regularly be­
cause of the compulsion exercised
through the regular premium notices,
etc.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

W e might aid you in bringing
about the proper combination
of these three elements.

O m a h a L ife In s u r a n c e C o m p a n y
O m aha, N ebraska
H. E. WORRELL, Sec.-Treas.

The

SERVICE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
of Lincoln, Nebraska
B. R. BAYS, President

The Service Life is known as a company of Service,
Ideals and Aggressive Principles

WE STAND ON OUR RECORD
STARTED BUSINESS SEPTEMBER 20,1923
Standard B u sin ess in F orce

T otal A dm itted A ssets
$ 1 2 5,682.73

$ 1 4 0 ,7 3 7 .3 6

$303,724.87

$522,557.94

$767,380.73

D e c . 31, 1923

Dec. 31, 1 9 2 4

Dec. 31, 1925

Dec. 31, 1926

Dec. 31,1927

$196,000

$ 3 ,1 4 2 ,5 0 0

$7,058,600

$10,829,700

$13,071,662

$1,013,048.00 Dec. 31,1928 $15,506,000
Central Western Banker, December, 1929

22

insuring him is in itself definite ex­
pression on the part of his organiza­
tion that they regard him highly. It
also inspires loyalty in the junior offi­
cers and employees because of their
feeling of security and confidence in
the continuance of the business, even
in the case of the death of this officer.
Therefore, the carrying of business in­
surance by a firm has a tendency to
attract to it high-grade men who feel
a confidence in their loyalty toward a
business which is thus provided for in
its continuance.
Goes to Lincoln
D. E. Ruggles, until recently with
the Fred S. James Co., of Chicago, has
gone to Lincoln, Nebraska, to become
sales director for the Midwest Life In ­
surance Co. He takes over the sales ac­

an

tivities of Carl B. Newlon, secretary of
the company, now on an indefinite
leave in search of health. Mr. Ruggles
was with the Travelers life department
for a number of years at Pittsburgh
and Boston and later as agency mana­
ger at Cincinnati and Baltimore. Of
late he has worked on special lines
such as establishing life connections
with brokerage offices.
Likes Home Office School
A. B. Olson, sales director for the
Bankers Life of Nebraska, has been
completely sold on the home office
school for agents, a recent survey
showing that while this plan has been
in operation less than two years more
than 30 per cent of the total volume of
business is coming from the forty-odd
graduates of this school who are regu­

deal

lar producers. Sixteen men were grad­
uated at the term just closed. Only
those are accepted as students are re­
commended by general agents who pick
them among the more alert men with
whom they come in contact.
Travelers President Dead
Louis F. Butler, president of the
three Travelers insurance companies
of Hartford, died last month after a
two weeks’ illness.
Mr. Butler was the chief executive
of Hartford’s largest business enter­
prise and the world’s largest multiple­
line insurance organization.
He spent his entire business life of
nearly forty years with the Travelers,
having entered the employ of the com­
pany after his graduation from the
Hartford (Connecticut) Public High
School in 1890.

B ank

for

Bankers
* I ''HE I N I ON of th e S ta te B a n k of Chicago w ith T h e F o r e m a n Na1 tio n al B a n k a n d T h e F o r e m a n T r u s t & Savin gs B a n k is one of
v ital in te re st.
As a re s u lt of th is u nio n, th e n e w in s t i t u t i o n — w ith its in v es ted
cap ital of $ 3 8 ,0 0 0 ,000 a n d re s o u rc e s exceedin g $ 2 2 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 — t a k e s
its place as one of th e t r u l y c o m p lete b a n k in g i n s ti tu t io n s in th e
world.
T h ese tw o old b a n k s — b o th w ell k n o w n fo r t h e h ig h ty p e of
service r e n d e r e d to c o rr e s p o n d e n t b a n k s in th e p a s t— a r e no w co n ­
so lid a te d in to a la r g e r, g r e a t e r i n s ti tu t io n . I t will offer— in a d d itio n
to th e sa m e in d iv id u a l a t t e n t i o n — th e even g r e a t e r facilities m a d e
possible by t h e c o n so lid atio n of tw o larg e, exp erienced a n d h ig h ly
cap ab le staffs . . . th e com b in ed s o u n d co un sel of y e a rs of b a n k in g .
W e place th e s e co m p lete facilities a t y o u r disposal a n d in vite
you a n d y o u r b usin ess to th is id e a l b a n k fo r b a n k e rs .

The Foreman National Bank
T he F o r e m a n T r u s t A n d S a v in g s B a n k

St at e Bank

of

CHICAGO

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Ch i c a g o

23

........................................ .

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pected. The organization of the clear­
ing house was effected by a unanimous
decision of those present.

W M . 18. H U G H E S , S e c re ta r y
N e b r a s k a lBankers A s s o c ia tio n

Re-organized
The American State Bank of Kear­
ney, Nebraska, has been re-organized
and will be opened for business by the
first of December, with a capital of
$50,000 and a surplus of $10,000. It
will be operated by the following offi­
cers: Thomas Gass, president; R. H.
Barber, Paxton, vice - president and
Paul H. Kannow, Keyston, cashier.
These three men, with John A. Miller
and Horace Cary, Kearney, will form
the directorate.
Both Barber and Kannow have been
in the banking business over fifteen
years, holding executive offices in banks
at Paxton, Keystone and Arthur. The
list of stockholders in the new bank is
representative of the business interests
of Kearney.
Heads Clearing House
Phil Hall of Greenwood, past pres­
ident of the Nebraska Bankers’ Asso­
ciation, was elected president of the
second regional clearing house Asso­
ciation following its organization at
Lincoln recently. S. H. Buck of Otoe
was named vice president. Floyd Pope
of Lincoln, secretary, and E. C. Carter
of Seward, treasurer. Cass, Otoe, Sew­
ard and Lancaster are included in the
district.
J. M. Sorenson of Fremont, chair­
man of the regional clearing house
committee of the Nebraska Bankers’
Association, explained the work of the
Fremont association. Clarence Bliss,
secretary of the department of trade
and commerce, explained the re-organ­
ization work under way in failed banks
today.
L. C. Chapin, representing the Lin­
coln banks, officially joined the organi­
zation and offered the cooperation of
the city banks in the work.
M. Weil and Stanley Maly of Lin­
coln, and Con Classon of Omaha also
spoke briefly. Other speakers included
Fred C arsto n of H allam , Henry
Schneider of Plattsmouth, Will Moore
of Denton, Henry Guthman of Mur­
dock and a number of others.
Eighty bankers were present, twice
the number that originally were ex­


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

New Bank President
At the regular monthly meeting of
the directors and stockholders of the
First National Bank of Snyder, Ne­
braska, Edwin A. Duff was elected
president of that bank in place of the
late W. A. Cotton who passed away
some months ago.

community are to be directors and offi­
cers of the bank when it is reopened.
It is possible that the Normal State
Bank, acquired some time ago by Mr.
Barkley and others, will be consolidat­
ed with the one at Collegeview, though
this has not been definitely decided.
Under the agreement, the purchasers
will pay $20,500 for an equal amount
of good paper in the bank and $2,500
for its furniture and fixtures making
the total price $23,000. About $8,000
in cash collected by the state bank ex­
aminer in charge will be retained for
the depositors, giving them a total cre­
dit of $31,000 on the books of the bank
when it reopens.

Re-opened
With deposits amounting to $104,000 and an ample cash reserve, the
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Edi­
son, Nebraska, was reopened Commis­
With Bancorporation
sioner Woods announced recently.
Under new management, the bank
Two Fairbury, Nebraska, banks, the
has $20,000 capital and a surplus of First National and the Fairbury sav­
$5,000.
ings, recently announced their affilia­
The Edison bank, Mr. Woods stated, tion with the Northwest Bancorpora­
is the seventeenth institution reopened tion of Minneapolis, which controls
under the provision of a legislative en­ seventy - nine banking institutions in
actment permitting the depositors to the middle west. The Fairbury banks
undertake reorganizations.
are the first Nebraska banks outside
In this case, he said, depositors agre­ of Omaha to become affiliated with the
ed to accept a 60 per cent reduction in organization.
their respective accounts. They will re­
Luther Bonham, president of the
ceive in turn, all slow and doubtful two institutions, said the deal involved
assets for possible liquidation; in addi­ a consideration of $3,000,000. The
tion to the 40 per cent credit to each First National Bank was founded in
account.
1883 and the Savings Bank in 1892.
G.
E. Fritzer is the new president The total capital of the two banks is
and Merlin R. Garey is cashier.
$227,414 and their deposits $2,541,814.
Both banks have resources of $2,868,Applied Science
229.
“That was an excellent paper your
daughter read on The Influence of
Reopens at Clarks
Science as Applied to Practical Gov­
With the reopening of the Farmers’
ernment.”
“Yes, Helen is the pride of her class, State Bank at Clarks, Nebraska, the
and now that she has mastered The In­ list of institutions brought back to sol­
fluence of Science as Applied to Prac­ vent condition under the new law pro­
tical Government I hope she will be viding for composition settlem ents
willing to find out something concern­ with depositors holding 85 per cent of
ing The Influence of the Vacuum all claims is increased to 18.
The bank at Clarks had $180,000 of
Cleaner as applied to the Parlor Rug.”
deposits at the time it was closed. Un­
der the signed agreement which has
Buys Bank
Purchase of the Farmers State Bank been carried out, every depositor will
at Collegeview, Nebraska, by W. E. be credited with 60 per cent of his ac­
Barkley and Morris Weil of Lincoln count, the remainder being charged off
was announced recently as the outcome to balance the removal of bad and
of negotiations in progress with a com­ doubtful assets from the bajnk, which
mittee of depositors for some time are turned over to a committee/of the
depositors to realize whatever salvage
past.
The new owners will resubscribe they will bring. State Commerce Sec­
the $25,000 capital and $5,000 surplus, retary Bliss made the following an­
while the depositors committee will nouncement :
“The Farmers’ State Bank of Clarks,
take over all doubtful paper and real
has submitted all papers necessary for
estate.
Several citizens of the suburban reopening to the department of trade
Central Western Banker, December, 1929

24
and commerce and these have been ap­
proved.
“The bank will reopen with a new
capital of $20,000 and surplus of $5,000. The new officers are F. L. West,
president, and Vincent Douglas, cash­
ier.”

has announced that all proposals for
the sale of its stock has been abandon­
ed. The announcement followed a
lengthy meeting of the directors of the
Omaha National Bank, attended by
Walter W. Head, chairman of the
board, of Chicago. During the confer­
ence, Ford Hovey, president of the
Fourth Clearing House
Stock Yards National Bank, and GwyBankers of Pawnee county went to er Yates, vice president of the United
Humboldt, Nebraska, recently to attend States National Bank, both of which
a meeting called for the purpose of or­ Omaha institutions are members of
ganizing the fourth regional bank the Northwest Bancorporation, were
clearing house association in Nebras­ called into the discussion.
ka. The district will comprise four
Mr. Clark’s statement follows:
counties, Pawnee, Richardson, John­
“Inquiries have been made regard­
son and Nemaha.
ing current rumors as to the possible
The meeting at Humboldt was call­ affiliation of the Omaha National Bank
ed following discussions by bankers of with some one of the large bank groups
the counties interested at the state which have been formed in various
bankers’ convention in Omaha.
sections of the country. While, as I
Formal organization of the clearing stated some time ago, we have been
house district will be effected by elec­ approached by several such organiza­
tion of a president, board of directors, tions, these discussions have been defi­
and other officers, and the adoption of nitely abandoned. We are not consider­
a constitution and by-laws.
ing any plan which will change the
present control of our bank or its af­
AFTER D IS C U S S IO N S lasting filiated institutions.”
several weeks, President W. Dale
Despite this announcement, rumors
Clark of the Omaha National Bank continue in Omaha that the discussions

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ENDEAVORING AT ALL TIM ES TO
SERVE NEBRASKA BANKS AND BANK­
ERS IN THEIR INVESTMENT NEEDS

The First Trust Company
I

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of
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

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ALLEN-WALES CORPORATION
ANNOUNCES A COMPLETE L IN E OF THE MOST UP-TO-DATE, H EAVY
DUTY ADDING AND BOO KK EEPING M ACHINES E V E R O F F E R E D . D I­
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N EB R A SK A D ISTRIBUTO RS

C entral T y p ew riter E x c h a n g e , Inc.
1 9 1 2 F arnam St.

(E sta b lish ed 1 9 0 3 )

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OMAHA, N E B R .

might be resumed later. It was pointed
out that the drastic drop in New York
stock exchange prices had made the
banking situation uncertain, and Mr.
Head remarked, on his arrival in Oma­
ha, that he would prefer to own Oma­
ha National Bank stock, rather than
almost any other. It was also said that
as much as $600 a share had been of­
fered for the Omaha National stock,
during the merger discussions.
NEBRASKA’S third regional clear­
ing house association, which was form­
ed at Hastings by bankers representing
48 banks in Adams, Franklin, Kear­
ney and Webster counties, began oper­
ations with J. W. Ouderkirk, Ivenesaw, chairman; Vern Manahan, Hast­
ings, secretary.
DEPOSITS in the state banks of
Nebraska decreased approximately 2p2
million dollars between June 29 and
September 24, according to the report
of George W. Woods, state bank com­
missioner.
On September 24 the deposits were
$217,646,215 and on June 29 220 mil­
lion dollars. Twenty-one state banks
were closed and fifteen, reopened dur­
ing July, August and September, the
closings being said responsible, in large
measure, for the decrease in reported
deposits.
On September 24, Mr. Woods said,
individual deposits subject to check, in
the state banks, totalled $85’,520,364;
demand certificates of deposit, $16,738,290; time certificates of deposit,
$93,694,139; savings deposits, $15,710,913.
Loans and discounts totalled $151,945,997 compared to the previous total
of $156,498,766. Total resources of the
state banks on the date last determined
were $248,535,959.
OMAHA BANK clearings for Oc­
tober, 1929, to ta llin g $230,118,611,
were the largest for any single month
since the post-war boom days of 1920,
according to announcement of the Om­
aha Clearing House Association. In
March, 1920, clearings reached a peak
of $393,358,086.
The total for October, 1928, was
$219,214,148. The total for September,
1929, was $199,974,207.
Bankers said the large October clear­
ings were, for the most part, due to
heavy purchases in this territory of
live stock for feeding purposes, tran­
sactions incidental to the large turn­
over of stocks, and the normal fall in­
crease in business.
BYRON DUNN, banker of Lincoln,
Nebraska, was seriously hurt recently
when his car crashed into the supports

25
The second floor of the addition will
charge which arose from operations, it
is said, in which the bank lost nothing. connect with the present main floor of
To succeed Mr. Dunn the Hastings the bank, and the third with the bank’s
bank
named A. H. Jones, a director mezzanine floor.
REORGANIZATION of the Pot­
The First Trust Company, affiliated
for
the
past 11 years, president of the
ter State Bank, Potter, Nebraska, was
affected November 20, when the inter­ bank. E. E. Cushing was added to the with the First National Bank, recently
ests of C. A. Larsen, president and F. directorate in the vacancy made by moved to larger quarters in the First
National Bank building.
C. Harris, cashier, were acquired by a Mr. Dunn’s resignation.
local group who named the following
LEAVING the convention of the
A FIVE FLOOR addition to the
officers: N. H. Troelstrup, president;
Joseph Johnson, vice president; F. T. First National Bank of Omaha is be­ Nebraska Bankers Association at Om­
Enveldson, cashier; William Hagen- ing constructed, to cover 63 by 112 aha, A. N. Mather-a-of Gering, the
meister, Joseph N elson and F erd feet of ground on the west of the pre­ newly elected president of the group,
Wiekhorst, directors. The capital of sent building. The addition is to be called on Governor Weaver at Lincoln,
Nebraska, and told him that banking
the bank was increased from 20 thou­ completed May 1.
sand dollars to 25 thousand dollars.

of an overhead railroad bridge in Lin­
coln.

A REPORT by the American Bank­
ers Association on savings deposits for
the year ending June 29, 1929, lists
a loss of 102 thousand savings deposi­
tors in Nebraska for the year, over the
preceding year, and a shrinkage of $17
an average deposit.
In Omaha, however, the banks re­
ported a substantial increase in Christ­
mas savings funds, to that over half a
million dollars was ready to be paid
out in December.
The Omaha National Bank was first
in total of Christmas savings funds
with 190 thousand dollars, compared
to 165 thousand dollars the year be­
fore. The United States National Bank,
with 175 thousand dollars in such
funds, almost doubled its savings to­
tal over the previous year. The First
National Bank reported 50 thousand
dollars, an increase of 10 thousand dol­
lars. The First National Bank also
conducts vacation savings clubs, and a
public school savings account plan.
The total Christmas savings funds
in Nebraska this year was said to be
$2,710,000.
DEPOSITORS of the Irrigation Bank
at Scottsbluff, Neb., which has been
closed, decided, at a meeting Novem­
ber 16, to ask for receivership of the
bank. Attempts to reach an agreement
with James H. Casselman, president of
the bank regarding the management of
some property he had turned over to
the bank at the time of its closing, led
to the decision to ask for a receiver­
ship, and not to waive claim to stock­
holders and directors liabilities. No
further efforts will be made, it was
said, to reorganize the bank.
THE RESIGNATION of Neil H.
Dunn, president of the First National
Bank of Hastings, Nebraska, was ac­
cepted November 19. The resignation
followed Mr. Dunn’s indictment by the
federal grand jury at Lincoln, on
charge of mishandling bank funds; a


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The

Continental National Bank
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

“A B ank fo r B ankers”
Our consistent growth and progress, contributed to
largely by our correspondents throughout Nebraska, is
indicative of the careful service and prompt attention
rendered them.
We solicit the accounts of Banks and Bankers, offer­
ing every facility and service.
O F F IC E R S
C H A S . T. K N A P P , C h a irm a n o f th e B o a rd .
E D W IN N. V A N H O R N E , P r e s id e n t
W . S. B A T T E Y , A s s t . V i c e - P r e s .
T . B. S T R A I N , V i c e - P r e s i d e n t
R A Y C. J O H N S O N , A s s t . V i c e - P r e s .
E D W A R D A. B E C K E R , C a s h ie r
W H E A T O N B A T T E Y , A s s t. C a s h ie r.

I

National Bank
'.Trust Company
O M A H A

‘An Unbroken Record of Seventy Years
is a Guarantee of Safe and
Satisfactory Service”
OFFICERS:
M. T. B arlow , P resident o f the Board
R. P. M o r sm a n , P resident
G. H. Y a tes , V ice-P resident
R. R. R a in e y , Cashier
J. C. M c C lure , V ice-P resident
H. E. R ogers, A ssista n t Cashier
T. F. M u r p h y , V ice-P resident
E. E. L andstrom , A ssistant Cashier
C. F. B r in k m a n , A s s ’t V -P resident
A. L. V ickery , A ssista n t Cashier
P. B. H en d ricks , A ss’t V ice-P resident V . B. C aldwell , A ssista n t Cashier

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

26

£*■*

O F F IC E R S
F O R D E. H O V E Y , President
JA S. B. O W E N , Vice-Pres.
F. J. E N E R S O N , Vice-Pres.
W. H. D R E S S L E R , Cashier
L. K. M O O R E , Asst, to Pres.

OUR

B A N K IN G

M A IN

FLOOR

H. C. M IL L E R , Asst. Cash.
C.
O W E N , Asst. Cash.
H E N R Y A. H O V E Y , Asst. Cash.
T. G. BOGGS, Auditor

ROOM
RIGHT

In the very midst of the Omaha Live Stock
Market, stands this bank—a material fac­
tor in the production and distribution of
Live Stock.

Allow Us To Handle Your
Live Stock Proceeds

Stock Yards National Bank
of
S o u t h Omaha

Affiliated with the
Northwest Bancorporation
The Only Bank in the Union Stock Yards

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

conditions in the state are “decidedly
on the upgrade.”
He said improvement was due to a
general betterment in business meth­
ods, and to a raising of banking ethics
to a higher plane, and generally, the
exercise of more sound judgment.
“We have had some closings, it is
true, but they are the natural result of
an over-banked state,” said Mr. Math­
ers. “A banking business today, unlike
any other enterprise, is not easily dis­
posed of and closings have been the
eventual conclusion.”
Mr. Mathers said more efficient in­
spection and regulations have improv­
ed the condition of state banks in Ne­
braska.
Is Appointed Actuary
Announcement has been made of the
appointment of Waid J. Davidson as
Actuary of the National Life Com­
pany, Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. David­
son was born in Marion County, Iowa,
and is a graduate of the State Univer­
sity of Iowa where he majored in ma­
thematics. He is an associate member
of the American Institute of Actuar­
ies as well as a member of the Frater­
nal Actuarial Society. For the past two
and a half years he has been chief ac­
tuary of the Nebraska Insurance De­
partment.
Branch Office in Omaha
R. J. Schofield, formerly with the
Royal and Eagle Indemnity in Chica­
go, has moved to Omaha to open up a
new branch office for the same com­
panies, in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Ne­
braska and South Dakota. His offices
will be at 1504 Dodge Street, Omaha.
The new office will be a branch service
office for agents only.
Business Good
That the tone of South Dakota bus­
iness is uniformly wholesome is indi­
cated by the reports from scattered
parts of the state following interviews
with business men and bankers in their
respective communities.
In spite of the fact that “farm re­
lief” has not actually come, the agri­
cultural districts are reporting increas­
ed bank deposits. Running through
reports also is cognizance of the part
that dairy and poultry are playing in
giving an increased and steady income.
Irish Bull
: “Have you seen the new agent,
Mickey? Sure, he’s the thinnest man
I iver saw. You’re thin, and I ’m thin­
ner, but he’s thinner than the two of
us put together!”
P at

27

One-Quarter of Farm Income
Last year the farm value of dairy
products amounted to approximately
three billion dollars, according to fig­
ures compiled by the United States
Department of Agriculture.
“Many people fail to realize the size
and importance of this industry,” says
O. E. Reed, chief of the Bureau of
Dairy Industry. “It may help some to
a clearer realization of the dairying
business to learn that this three billion
dollars amounts to 26 per cent or a lit­
tle more than a quarter of the total
value of all agricultural produce. The
dairy cow accounts for about one dol­
lar as against three by all the other an­
imals and crops in the country.”
“This development,” Doctor Reed
says, “has been accompanied by an
ever increasing appreciation by the
public of the value of milk and dairy
products in the diet and their relation
to the health and general welfare of
the people.”
In the relative stability of the dairy
industry, Doctor Reed finds an obvious
explanation of the increasing number
of investors who are keenly interested
in the industry. “The stability of dairy­
ing,” he says, “has resulted in large
investments of capital, not only on
farms but in manufacturing, process­
ing, and distribution plants.”
It would be unfortunate, however,
Doctor Reed points out, if the present
favorable position of the dairy indus­
try should lead many producers to ex­
pand their business or if it should in­
duce many men not now in the busi­
ness to enter the field. Tn recent years
the domestic production of all dairy
products has amounted to about 99 per
cent of the demand, a close margin.
Output Per Feed Unit Increased
Illustrating the postwar increase in
the output of animal products per unit
of feed consumed, the United States
Department of Agriculture points out
that in Illinois, for example, the pro­

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

duction of milk increased 17 per cent
between 1919 and 1924, whereas the
number of cows and heifers kept for
milk remained stationary. In seven
Corn Belt States as a whole milk pro­
duction increased 20 per cent during
the same period, while the number of
cows and heifers kept for milk increas­
ed only 8 per cent. For the United
States as a whole milk production per
cow increased 12 per cent.
Output of hog products also increas­
ed. The average number of hogs on
farms January 1 in the period 19221926 was about the same as in the per­
iod 1917-1921. Between the same per­
iods the increase in pork and lard pro­
duced under federal inspected slaugh­
ter, which is nearly two-thirds of the
total slaughter, was 25 per cent. Allow­
ing for the increase in inspected
slaughter it is estimated the total in­
crease in the output of hog products
between these two periods was about
20 per cent.
The increase in the production of
beef and veal per head of cattle on
farms was less. Increase in production
per animal is, of course, much greater
than increase in production per unit of
feed consumed by the animals; but af­
ter allowing for the feed released by
the decline in horses and mules, it ap­
pears that whereas animal products in­
creased about 16 per cent the feed con­
sumed by the animals increased only
about 8 per cent between the two per­
iods five years apart.

The county of Stanton, jointly with
Louis Smithberger and Theodor Lammli, two prominent Stanton county
cattlemen, immediately filed petition in
error in the cupreine court of Nebras­
ka, and the attorney secured an ad­
vancement of the case for early hear­
ing. It was argued before the supreme
court, November 8th, and the decision
by the court was th at:
1. In crease in assessed valuation
cannot be made without notice.
2. Uniform increase in all counties
does not constitute equalization.
3. Procedure adopted was in contra­
vention of constitutional guarantees.
The above mentioned case was by
agreement made the test case, the re­
sult of which was to determine the val­
idity of the increase in all counties.
The increase would have resulted in
approximately $125,000 in extra taxes
upon the cattlemen of Nebraska, be­
sides a precedent dangerous in the fu­
ture if the state board could possess
such autocratic powers.
In the same order the board of
equalization, increases were also made
in telephone, telegraph and power val­
ues. These were of less importance
than the cattle increase. It was argued
to the courf that these utility compan­
ies would but raise their rates and
cause their consumers to pa}^ addition­
al taxes, where the cattle owners were
powerless to shift the burden of the
tax if it was legal.

Cattle Valuation Revised by Court
The recent ruling of the supreme
court of Nebraska in the matter of the
increased valuation of cattle in this
state for taxation purposes is of inter­
est to every stock grower in the state.
On August 2nd the State Board of
Equalization, without notice to any
one, entered an order increasing the
assessed values of all cattle in Nebras­
ka in the amount of 10 per cent. The
increase in assessed valuation was $9,843,480.00.

The Defendant
T h e J u d g e : “This lady says you
tried to speak to her at the station.”
S a l e s m a n : “It was a mistake. I
was looking for my friend’s sister,
whom I had never seen before, but
who’s been described to me as a hand­
some blonde with classic features, fine
complexion, perfect figure, beautifully
dressed an d -------- ”
T h e W it n e s s s “I don’t care to pro­
secute the gentleman. Any one might
have made the same mistake.”

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

28

W anted: —A Moses To Lead Us
Into the PROM ISED
LAND
With the problems of group
and chain banking, and trans­
formations on every hand, the
banking business is crying
out for great leaders. How
can we supply them?

B y John G. Lonsdale

President, American Bankers
Association
^HEVER was the time more favor­
able for the development of lead­
like to add thrift, honesty, and belief
ership. In the complexities of modern
in a Divine Power. There can be no
civilization, every hamlet, every city,
material success where thrift is lack­
every industry is crying for a Moses
ing, nor where inherent honesty is ab­
to lead it out of the wilderness. Where
sent. And it seems to me highly essen­
one leader was demanded three cen­
tial that we have faith in the wisdom
turies ago, thousands of them today
and beneficience of a Fligher Power.
find the golden opportunity to demon­
Honesty should be not only the best
strate their skill.
policy but the only policy for bankers,
Leadership and success, in a gener­
statesmen, merchants, captains of in­
al way, are synonymous. They are both
dustry, and all others. One phase of
founded upon simple codes of thought
honesty toward which all business men
and action; upon the realization that
should devote more attention is the
he who wins the laurels must be a
keeping of promises. Any business man
doer, not a waiter; that application of
who is cautious about making prom­
J o h n G. L onsdale
energy, not time or luck, is what
ises, and keeps every one he makes, is
counts most. A rabbit’s foot is a poor
building a powerful trade-mark for his
substitute for horse sense.
firm and in time will reap his reward
Roth success and leadership, if they cannot be done. Too many spend their in the form of increased patronage and
be of the highest quality, are the result time explaining why a thing can’t be good will.
of service to humanity. Service has done, instead of saying, with firm re­
Leadership is founded upon ability
been aptly described as “The supreme solve, that it can be done, and then go­ to think and to interpret. In my opin­
commitment of life.” Analyze the lives ing out and doing it. When Napoleon ion, the greatest need of the world to­
and times of all great leaders of his­ was advised by his engineers that it day is interpreters of our times—mod­
tory and you will find those whose would be impossible for an army to ern Daniels in agriculture, finance, pol­
names are enshrined in the hearts of cross the Alps in dead of winter, his itics, industry — who can see through
their countrymen are those who sought reply w as: “Impossibility is a word the fog and haze that enshrouds our
to render a needed service for the pop­ found only in the dictionary of fools. difficult problems and advise, instruct,
ulace.
Forward, march!” And over the Alps and influence those who are either in­
But leadership, like success, need went Napoleon and his army.
different or limited in their precepnot be international or na­
tions. And where could we
tional to achieve its great­
find a b e tte r re c ru itin g
est results. There is room
ground fo r in te rp re te rs
for each of us to be a lead­
th an am ong the A. I. B.
er in his community, in his
membership ? — the rising
work, in his church, and in
generation of bankers who
“T he q u ick est w ay to go to th e top is to go to th e bottom
various organizations.
in time must shoulder their
of th in g s. L et us hope th e A m erican In stitu te o f B a n k in g w ill
One of the indispensable
responsibilities as conser­
realize th is and th a t am ong its m em bers w ill be fou n d m any
qualities of leadership is
vators of public thrift.
w ho w ill not o n ly aspire to lead ersh ip but w ill be su ccessfu l in
the ability to persist stead­
Even nations, long after
reach in g th eir coveted g o a l.”
fastly in the face of dis­
the clouds of w ar have
couragements. If Napole­
van ish ed, have need for
on had not possessed th is
interpreters to sit at their
ability, he would not have
conference tables in seek­
become one of the great figures of the
Thus we demonstrate the principles ing to arrive at just reparation mea­
French Revolution. If George Wash­ that anything that ought to be done is sures.
ington had not possessed the quality of capable of being done. And anything
Through the thinker and the inter­
persistence, he and his soldiers would worth doing at all is worth doing well. preter, unknown situations are disclos­
never have survived the hunger and The fellow who handles a little job in ed ; or puzzling conditions explained in
privations which were theirs at Valley a big way is always on the road to logical light. The American people are
greater fields.
Forge.
so constituted that they can meet and
We have too many young men and
To the other fundamentals of lead­ combat any situation, once it is known
young women these days saying a job ership already enumerated I should and understood. It’s the unknown that
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illin iu m ..... ............................... m in m u il n iiiitiii in u tili Im in iiiiiiitiiiiiiii4iii in in tu ii m i lim ili I iiH iiiitiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiM iiiiiiiiii!i!itn m u „111111,1)1111 g„ illu n i u m ili,, K

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Central Western Banker, December, 1929

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

29
WHO ARE WE — AND WHY?
( C o n t i n u e d f r o m P a g e 12)

comes like the thief in the night and
brings disaster.
Someone has defined prosperity as
something the business men create for
the politicians to take credit for. But
America’s present-day prosperity can
be defined as a product resulting from
the business man’s ability to study and
to interpret. Huge corporations main­
tain research staffs and special bureaus
to interpret the times for them. Disas­
ter looms in the offing for any industry
that goes blithely on its way day after
day without due regard to significant
trends in trade and business. So rapid­
ly do changes come about, one cannot
afford to relax his vigilance, even mo­
mentarily.
What is true of industry is true of
banking. Leaders of finance have dis­
covered they cannot remain passive in
an age when all the rest of the world
is in a transitional stage. The modern
banker not only must know about the
changing styles in other lines of busi­
ness, but above all must be alert to the
transformations which are taking place
in his own.
He must be a man of keener, broad­
er vision, because the order of the day
is for larger units of service. Mergers
and consolidations have taken place in

convention in San Francisco. Time
was when savings went begging for a
place of deposit—the old sock, the su­
gar bowl, the opening in the hearth,
the hidden drawer—all came into use
as depositories because there were no
convenient banks doing a savings bus­
iness. It is different now, said Mr.
Durham, who is vice-president of the
First National Bank of Chattanooga,
Tennessee. Where once a sprinkling of
banks encouraged savings deposits, it
is estimated that 85 per cent of the
25,000 banks in the United States now
advertise for them.
Within the past ten years news­
papers have referred to savings de­
posits as “small savings,” he said, and
it is only in recent years that savings
became a recognized factor of size and
importance in economics. He quoted
the president of a large bank as say­
ing, in instructing one of his vice-pres­
idents to make a study of the savings
business: “I believe the savings busi­
ness is the best in banking. We are go­
ing into it strong.” Mr. Durham said
financial plans would change with the
Savings Deposits Now Popular
years but savings in some form would
The gospel of savings is spreading remain and continue popular.
and the savings deposit is now eagerly
sought by banks, said Taylor R. Dur­
Consider how few things are worthv
ham, president of the Savings Bank
Division in his address to the Division of anger, and thou wilt wonder than
at the American Bankers Association any fools be wroth.— Robert Dodsley.

great numbers. We now talk of bil­
lions where a few years ago we talked
of millions or only thousands. Where
we rendered one service a few decades
back, we now render a half dozen, or
more.
And perhaps we have only begun
our changes, for banking of today
faces many revolutionary transforma­
tions. What disposition is to be made
of the many problems, including chain
systems, group operation, and branch
banking, will depend in large measure
upon our leaders; upon the students
and the interpreters who can read ac­
curately the signs of the times so that
we may base future actions and hopes
upon their wisdom. Let us hope that
these 65,000 men and women of the
American Institute of Banking will
realize that the quickest way to go to
the top is to go to the bottom of things,
and that among them will be found
many who will not only aspire to lead­
ership but will be successful in reach­
ing their coveted goal.

BONDS
Government
Municipal
Railroad
Utilities
Industrials
WRITE FOR OUR

CAREFULLY SELECTED LIST

LIVE

STOCK

NATIONAL

BANK

Union Stock Yards
OMAHA
W. P. A DK INS, P r e s i d e n t

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A LV IN
H O W A R D O. W IL SO N, C ash ier

R. H. K R O E G E R , A sst. C a s h ie r


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E.

JO H N SO N ,

V ic e -P r e s id e n t

L. V. PU L L IA M , Asst. C ash ier
W. S. H OG U E , Asst. C a sh ie r

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

30
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South Dakota News
.... ..................... ......................................... ..........Ml...... ...... mm........mini....................... imnmmii........ ...........................mnmmmmi..... un,umilili..... .

Merge in Wolsey
Purchase of the Bank of Wolsey,
South Dakota, by the First State Bank
and consolidation of the two banks
into one institution was announced re­
cently by R. F. Chenoweth, president
of the First State Bank, who will con­
tinue as president. The new bank will
be known as the First State Bank of
Wolsey.
Cashier of the bank will be C. N.
Schnetzer. R. L. Atkinson, president

of the Bank of Wolsey, has announced
that he will retire, and probably will
move to a dairy ranch in the Black
Hills next spring. Mr. Atkinson will
remain at the bank for a time to help
in the reorganization.
Deposits of the combined institution
amount to about $300,000.
Locates in Illinois
Verne C. Bonesteel, one-time cash­
ier of the old James Valleyf Bank of

-th at's a ll
you need
to k n o w /

Eppley Hotels are known throughout the
country for hospitality, courtesy, service. If
it’s an Eppley Hotel “that’s all you need to
know!”

Omaha, N e b r a s k a .................................Hotel Fontenelle
Hotel Rome
Hotel Logan, Apartment Hotel
Lincoln, Nebr....................................................Hotel Lincoln
Hotel Capital
Norfolk, Neb....................................................Hotel Norfolk
Council Bluffs, la.................................................Hotel Chieftain
Marshalltown, la ............................................. Hotel Tallcorn
Cedar Rapids, la ................................................. Hotel Montrose
Sioux City, la....................................................Hotel Martin
Sioux Falls, S D................................................. Hotel Carpenter
Hotel Cataract

—
Operat ed by o ^
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E.C.EPPLEY, PRESIDENT

E X E C U T IV E

OFFICES

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

—

O M AHA

Huron, South Dakota, has been made
president of the First National Bank
of Aurora, Illinois, which has deposits
in excess of $6,000,000.
Mr. Bonesteel left Huron several
years ago to join the Security National
Bank at Sioux City. He became vice
president of the Sioux City bank and
served in that capacity for a number
of years before he left for Aurora
about two years ago.
Bank Clearings
Sioux Falls bank clearings for the
month of October aggregated $8,497,358.42, which is $1,239,755.66 more
than the Sioux Falls bank clearings of
October, 1928, when the total was $7,257,602.76. The total bank clearings
exceed those of the month prior by
$854,090.50. The bank clearings for
September were $7,652,267.92.
Vice-President
F. W. Ivoneman, Minneapolis, pres­
ident of the Citizens Investment Com­
pany of Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
and former, resident there, was elected
as one of the vice-presidents of the
Mortgage Bankers Association of Am­
erica at the closing of its annual con­
vention.
Others elected were: A. A. Zinn,
Kansas City, president; A. Y. Creager,
Sherman, Texas, vice-president; R. S.
Beachy, Kansas City, vice-president;
and E. H. Krueger, Cleveland, vicepresident.
New members of the board of gov­
ernors selected were: William H. McNeal, New York; E. C. Waples, Ced­
ar Rapids, Iowa; R. B. Bishop, Neve
Orleans; Byron V. Kanaley, Chicago,
and E. D. Schumacher, Richmond,
Virginia.
For Night Deposits
For the convenience and the safe
keeping of its customers’ money over
night the Security National Bank of
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has com­
pleted installation of an after-hour de­
pository, of steel and concrete, thus
giving those who do not wish to leave
money at their places of business after
the bank’s closing hours, a safe and
dependable means of having their
funds carefully protected.
The new deposit box is the latest
type of protective means, bank officials
state, and special electrical devices as­
sure the depositor that the money put
into the box will be received and
handled by the bank in the usual man­
ner. The customer calls at the bank in
the morning and the amount is deposit­
ed in the regular way.

31

Utah News
Resources Increase
Consolidated statements of 85 state
banks and trust companies in Utah at
the close of business September 28,
shows total resources of $134,916,596.24, an increase of approximately
$2,000,000 over the resources in banks
at the same time last year, it is found
in the statement issued by Walter H.
Hadlock, state bank commissioner.
Hold Bank Meeting
The employes’ club of the First Na­
tional and First Savings Banks of Og­
den, Utah, held a dinner meeting in
the Spanish room of the Flotel Bige­
low recently. There were over forty
members in attendance. In the absence
of President S. M. Watson, Vice Pres­
ident Leonard Wright presided.
W. H. Loos, trust officer for the
banks gave an interesting talk on the
trust division and its activities.
Pending Tax Suits
The Sanpete, Utah, county commis­
sioners, consisting of Junius Metcalf,
John Gunderson and G. E. Cook, wait­
ed upon the Utah county commission­
ers recently to discuss the pending tax
suits that have been instituted by the
banks of the various counties.
The visiting commissioners were in­
formed that the bankers in Utah coun­
ty had agreed to pay 35 per cent of the
taxes levied, but until the matter had
been decided by the courts, they had no
power of making such an adjustment.
The Sanpete commissioners stated that
they were of the same opinion.
Joseph R. Murdock, president of the
Provo Reservoir Company, also visit­
ed the commissioners in regard to the
proposed reclamation of the lands of
the west side of Utah lake. The com­
missioners assured him that they would
help in any way possible to put the re­
clamation project over, as far as it af­
fected these lands.
New Building
With the completion of the new
$30,000 Midvale, Utah, State Bank,
Salt Lake County has added another
modern establishment to the list of
complete structures started during the
summer.
The new building is a fireproof struc­
ture built entirely of firebrick and con­
tains one of the latest model safety de­
posit vaults in the state, according to
bank officials.
Officers of the bank, who had direct
charge of the affair, are W. S. Chip
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

man, American Fork, president; An­
thony W. Ivins, vice president; B. M.
Todd, cashier; Herbert J. Grant, Har­
ry T. McEwan, Joseph M. Holt, E. E.
Burgon, John A. Aylett, Walter Stead­
man and Janies S. Over, directors.
Trust Section Meets
The trust section of the Utah Bank­
ers’ Association held a dinner meeting
at Ogden. Covers were laid for 30 re­
presenting members from Provo, Salt
Lake, Logan and Ogden banks. Short

talks were given by O. J. Stillwell, of
the trust department of the Ogden
State Bank, and William H. Loos, of
the First National Bank trust section.
The meeting was presided over by Pre­
sident D. J. Barker, of Ogden.
Tricks of the Trade
“Great Cæsar’s ghost !” shouted the
editor of the tabloid newspaper. “I
can’t make head or tail out of this dis­
patch from our special correspondent
in South America.”
“Neither can I,” said his assistant.
“Jimmie,” called the editor to the
office boy, “ask the South American
correspondent to step in here a min­
ute.”

The problem s of our
co rresp o n d en ts are
viewed in the light of
the best banking pro­
cedure; given the im­
portance and individual
treatment to which each
customer naturally feels
his business is entitled.

THE NORTHERN
TRUST COMPANY
Northwest Corner LaSalle and Monroe Streets

CHICAGO

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

52

..................................................................... .

..................................................................

New Building
At Tribune, Kansas, plans have been
completed to begin work on the new
building for the First National Bank.

Hill. Harrell Thomas, who recently
took the cashiership of the Bucyrus
Bank is to be assistant cashier of the
new institution. Fred W. Sponable is
president.

A. I. B. Chapter
An A.I.B. chapter has been organiz­
ed at Hutchinson, Kansas, with about
fifty members. A. C. Hedrick, of the
Hutchinson State Bank is president,
Buford Hayden, of the Exchange Na­
tional is vice-president and Miss Anna
Waddle, of the Hutchinson State, is
secretary and Miss Millicent Phillips
of the Exchange National is treasurer.
Walter Huxman is instructor.

Total Dposits
Five banks in Meade County, Kan­
sas, had more than two million dollars
deposit, according to the last call. The
bank at Plains had total deposits of
$848,500, the two banks at Meade,
$724,000, and the two Fowler banks
nearly one half million.

Pioneer Dies
Daniel B. Mason, who was president
of the Jarbalo State Bank of Jarbalo,
Kansas, died recently. Mr. Mason, 77
years of age, was a pioneer resident of
Leavenworth County.
Elected Director
J. Ernest Jones, who is president of
the Merchants National Bank of To­
peka, Kansas, has been elected à direc­
tor of the Shawnee Building and Loan
Association to succeed the late W. H.
Eastman.

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you w ill render them a gen u in e service
j:AByCgiyingijtHeirn>tcards o f introduction to . . .

I X ! l i l T y F l K S T XATIONATj
s ffc v iv iiiD ife L o s A n g e l e s

S

This Bank has Branches, which are com ­
plete Banks, in all parts o f the Los Angeles
area, and in 61 com m unities in C alifornia,
extending from Fresno and San Luis
.Ohispo to the Im perial Valley.

Chairman o f the
Board

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Add to Force
Clyde Kirkwood has resigned as as­
sistant cashier of the American Na­
tional Bank of Tucumcari, New Mex­
ico, to accept a position as roadmaster
clerk in the Southern Pacific offices.
Two young men, Lawrence Poe of
McAlister and Harold Mundell of Tu­
cumcari, have been added to the cleri­
cal force of the American National.

^ ^ ^ i i e t n c 0 t n e y are com in g as perm anent residents, or

H E N R Y M. R O B IN S O N

Topeka A.I.B.
Topeka A.I.B. chapter has been suc­
cessfully inaugurated. Sidney S. Smith,
of the Central Trust Company, is pres­
ident. The chapter has more than sev­
enty members.

New Mexico News

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H W S iy O U CUSTOMERS
CALIFORNIA BOUND?

J . F. S A R T O R I

Remodeling
Improvements on the building occu­
pied' by the Prairie State Bank at Au­
gusta, Kansas, include erecting a new
white stone front and installing a new
vault.

<m .mu inn inni in in

Resigns
Merged
Patrons of the Star Valley State
Merger of the Bucyrus State Bank Bank of Springer, New Mexico, will
of Spring Hill at Spring Hill, Kansas, regret to learn that D. D. Lynch has
was completed recently. The consoli­ tendered his resignation to the board
dated bank will be continued at Spring of directors, to take effect about the

President and Chairman
o f the Executive Committee

Service Charge
A service charge of 50 cents a month
on all checking accounts of less than
$50 average balance was installed re­
cently by banks of Cherryvale, Kan­
sas.

W e have arrangem ents for giv­
ing inform ation, maps, etc., to
new arrivals in C alifornia which
m aterially aid th eir com fort and
pleasure w hile in the State.

first of the year, after having served
the people of Star valley for 22 years.
As a successor to Mr. Lynch the di­
rectors of the bank have been extreme­
ly fortunate in securing T. E. Madding
of Nampa, Idaho, who will take over
the management of the institution. Mr.
Madding comes to Star valley with 14
years of experience in the banking bus­
iness.
Meet in Taos
The Northern Group of New Mex­
ico Bankers held a meeting in Taos
recently when about sixty gathered at
the banquet at the Don Fernando Ho­
tel, over forty ladies being present. Af­
ter the banquet a business session was
held, President Van Houten presiding,
with members present from Raton,
Springer, Wagon Mound, Roy and
Clayton.
The next meeting will be held at
Springer, New Mexico, next January,
if the weather conditions permit.
Endorses Farm Activities
Hearty endorsement of the Roose­
velt County Dairy Association and
the other cooperative marketing asso­
ciations of Portales, New Mexico dis­
trict, is voiced by Arthur F. Jones,
cashier in active charge of the man­
agement of the First National Bank of
Portales, and chairman of the agricul­
tural committee of the State Bankers’
Association of New Mexico.
Not Exactly Downy
Mrs. Flanagan: “Was your old
man in comfortable circumstances
when he died?”
Mrs. Murphy: No, ’e was ’alf way
under a train.”

33

Attend Convention
Denver investment houses were well
represented at the annual convention
of the Investment Bankers Association
of America. The convention was held
at Quebec.
The list of Denver men who attend­
ed the week’s sessions includes O. F.
Benwell of Benw ell & Co.; P aul
Loughridge of B osw orth, Chanute,
Loughridge & Co.; Gray B. Gray of
Gray, Emery, V asconcells & Co.;
Charles B. Engle of the International
Trust Co.; Albert I. Peck of Peck,
Brown & Co.; Burdick Simons of Sidlo, Simons, Day & Co.; M. E. Traylor
of M. E. Traylor & Co., and Canton
O’Donell and Harold Writer of the
United States National Co.
Boettcher, Newton & Co. were re­
presented by Charles L. Stacy of the
New York office and E. H. Rollins &
Sons were also represented by the New
York office.
Put On Committees
Four Denver bankers have been ap­
pointed to committees of the American
Bankers Association by John G. Lons­
dale, president of the organization.
Those chosen are James Ringold,
president of the United States Nation­
al Bank ; C. G. Mitchell, vice president,
Denver National Bank; Ben B. Aley,
United States National Bank, and P.
K. Alexander, vice president of the
First National Bank.

More Dairy Cattle
Several months ago an eastern Col­
orado banker was holding an interview
with a farmer whose debts were far in
excess of what they should have been.
After talking the situation over tho­
roughly, the banker advised the pur­
chase of several dairy cows and agreed
to advance the money for the venture.
Today that farmer is rapidly paying
off the purchase price for the cows
th ro u g h the receipts from cream
checks. It is merely a matter of time
until his debts will be wiped out and he
will have a clean slate. The banker is
pleased with his loan and the farmer
is more than pleased with his new bus­
iness venture.
Christmas Savings
Denver banks will assume their an­
nual role as Santa Claus on Dec. 1.
In their holiday role, the banks will
pour nearly $1,000,000 down nearly
20,000 chimneys, as members of Christ­
mas Savings Clubs reap the benefits of
a year of thrift.

Virtually all banks specializing in
Christmas savings accounts show an
increase, both in the number of deposi­
tors and the amounts saved, over last
year.
The American National Bank re­
ported more accounts and an increase
in volume. It will mail out checks to­
taling more than $163,200 to 3,700 de­
positors.
Depositors in Christmas savings ac­
counts at the Colorado National Bank,
numbering 5,250, will receive $240,000,
an increase over last year.
The Denver National Bank will pay
$100,000 to 1,700 Christmas savers.
The International Trust Co., will
mail out checks totaling $80,500 to 1,200 depositors, also an increase over
last year.
The South Broadway National will
distribute $25,000 to approximately
650 persons, an increase over 1928.
The First National reported a sub­
stantial increase both in volume and
number of accounts, as did the U. S.
National which will distribute approx­
imately $250,000; the--National City
Bank of Denver, with accounts total­
ing approximately $40,000, and the
Central Savings Bank, with Christmas
funds of more than $70,000.

(Etjc
Cfjast Rational JSattfe
of the City of New York
P in e S treet corner o f N assau

A. I. B. Meets
Pueblo, Colorado, chapter of the
American Institute of Banking has
opened its 1929-30 school year. Ap­
proximately 15 members were present
at the meeting and received their books
and assignments. The course this year
is “Standard Economics,” and the text
used is the same as the one used in
Harvard university. Among the mem­
bers of the class are officers and em­
ployes of Pueblo’s banks, and two or
three prominent business men of Pue­
blo.
Officers for the ensuing year were
elected as follows: Val Smelich, presi­
dent ; F. W. Patchen, treasurer; Ka­
thryn McIntyre, secretary.
Val Smelich is from the Western
National Bank; F. W. Patchen from
the First National and Kathryn McIn­
tyre from the S o u th ern Colorado
Bank.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

C apital___________________________ $ 1 0 5 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
Surplus and P rofits______________
1 3 6 ,2 0 4 ,0 5 0 .4 7
D ep osits (O ct. 4, 1 9 2 9 ) _________ 1 ,1 3 2 ,8 2 8 ,9 8 3 .1 9
O F F IC E R S
A lb e r t H . W ig g in ,

Chairman of the Board
C h a rle s S. M cC ain

Jo h n M cH ugh

President

Chairman of the Executive Committee
R o b e r t L . C la rk so n

Vice-Chairman of the Board
Vice-Presidents
C a rl J . S c h m id la p p
R e e v e S ch le y
H e n r y O lle sm e im e r
Jam es T. Lee
S h e r r ill S m ith
A lf r e d C. A n d re w s
R o b e r t I. B a r r
G e o rg e T . W a r r e n
G e o rg e D . G ra v e s
F ra n k O. Roe
H a rry H . Pond
S a m u e l S. C am p b ell
W illia m E . L a k e
C h a rle s A . S a c k e tt

H u g h N . K ir k la n d
Jam es H . G annon
W illia m E . P u r d y
G e o rg e H . S a y lo r
M . H a d d e n H o w e ll
J o se p h C. R o v e n s k y
R uel W . P oor
E d w in A . L e e
L e o n H . J o h n s to n
W illia m H . M o o rh e a d
H o ra c e F . P o o r
E d w a r d E . W a tts
J. S p e rry K ane

F r a n k li n H . G ate s
T . A r th u r P y te r m a n
A m ro s e E . Im p e y
L y n d e S e ld e n
M a u r ic e H . E w e r
H u g o E . S c h e u e rm a n n
R a lp h L . C e re ro
J a y D . R is in g
H a r o ld W . V an d e rp o e l
J a m e s B ru c e
W a l t e r S. Je lliffe
A r th u r W . M c C a in
C la u d e H . B e a ty
F r e d e r ic k O . F o x c r o f t

Vice-President and Cashier
W illia m P . H o lly

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

34
.................. .............................................................................................. mu.... .

tendent of banks for Wyoming, and
Walter H. Hadlock, Utah state bank
commissioner, with a view of drawing
up uniform agreements for the inspec­
tion of building and loan companies
which operate in the three states.

Wyoming News

»IIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllMlllllllllllllllllllllllllimillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllMlllllllllllllimilllllllll

Heads State Council
S. Conant Parks, president, First
National Bank of Shoshone, Wyoming,
has been honored by appointment as
state chairman of the Federal Legisla­
tive council and the State Legislative
council of the American Bankers As­
sociation by John G. Lonsdale, newly
elected president of the organization
and head of the Mercantile Commerce
Bank and Trust Company, St. Louis,
Missouri. Mr. Parks has also been cho­
sen member of the committee on taxa­
tion.
Buys Banks
Purchase of the assets and fixtures
of the bank of Glenrock, Wyoming,
by himself and his associates, has been
announced by J. E. Scott.
Mr. Scott, during the past several
years, has purchased the assets of five
defunct Wyoming banking organiza­
tions for himself and others interested
with him. The following are the banks
which he and his business associates
now hold: Bank of Glenrock, Salt
Creek State Bank, Thermopolis State
Bank, First State Bank of Greybull,
and First National Bank of Gering,
Nebraska.
Start Savings Plan
Following the action taken by banks
in Casper and all over the nation, the
Wyoming Trust Company will early in
December inaugurate a Christmas sav­
ings club plan, it was announced by
Leo Dunn, cashier.

The club, which has been found suc­
cessful all over the country, will be
open to anyone who wishes to enter.
The Wyoming National Bank and
the Casper National Bank have had
the club plan in effect for the past
number of years.

Group Three Meets
Group number three of the New
Mexico Bankers Association has been
organized at a meeting of bankers at
Artesia, seven banks in the district be­
ing represented at the organization
meeting.
G. K. Richardson, of Carlsbad, was
elected president and C. E. Mann, of
Artesia, was elected vice - president.
Floyd Childress of Roswell was elect­
ed secretary. Bankers from all banks
in Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties
were present at the meeting.
The following banks and represen­
tatives were represented at the organ­
ization meeting:
First N atio n al Bank, Rosw ell,
Claude Hobbse, cashier; Jack Moore,
assistant cashier ; Floyd Childress, au­
ditor. Bank of Commerce, Roswell, W.
S- Hodges, assistant cashier; Wayne
Ake, teller. First National Bank, Hagerman, Peter Losey, cashier; R. W.
Conner, assistant cashier. First Na­
tional Bank, Artesia, J. E. Robertson,
president; L. B. Feather, cashier, W.
M. Linell, assistant cashier. Citizens
State Bank, Artesia, C. E. Mann, cash­
ier, Fred Cole, assistant cashier. Carls­
bad National Bank, Carlsbad, G. K.
Richardson, president; Burch Harri­
son, cashier; Roy Carey, teller. Lea
County State Bank, Lovington, D. C.
Berry, cashier ; J. L. Reid, director ; K.
F. Nutt, assistant cashier. National
Bank Examiners K. T. Witt and L.
Goldstein were also present.

Meet in Greybull
The members of the Big Horn basin
group of the Wyoming Bankers’ Asso­
ciation held their first meeting in Grey­
bull with George A. Hinman acting
as chairman and Tom V. Trimmer ac­
ting as secretary. This is the first of a
series of meetings to be held in Grey­
bull during the next few months.
Many matters of mutual interest
were discussed. The business condi­
tions over the basin are good and the
banks are all occupying strong posi­
tions and the banks of the Big Horn
basin are all keenly interested in futher development of the basin.
Leaves Position
Leland P. Draney, has left the First
Security Bank of Rock Springs, Wyo­
ming, where for a number of years he
was employed as assistant cashier.
Shortly he and his family will go to
Santa Fe, New Mexico, as representa­
tive of a large Denver investment com­
pany.
Hold Conference
Conferences are being held between
A. J. Lochrie, superintendent of banks
for Montana; John A. Reed, superin-

AUSTRALIA

BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES
E S T A B L IS H E D

( W i t h w h ic h is a m a lg a m a te d T H E
P A I D -U P C A P I T A L -------------------------------------------------R E S E R V E F U N D ___________________________________
R E S E R V E L I A B I L I T Y O F P R O P R I E T O R S __

f

1817

W E S T E R N A U S T R A L IA N B A N K
.

_________________________$ 37,500,000
_________________________ 20,500,000
_________________________ 37,500,000
$104,500,000

Aggregate Assets 30th Septermber, 1928, $444,912,925
A G E N T S — F IR S T

N A T IO N A L

BAN K, OM AHA, N EBR ASK A

HEAD OFFICE, GEORGE ST., SYDNEY

GENERAL

M ANAGER,

ALFRED

CH ARLES

D A V ID S O N —

LONDON OFFICE, 29 THREADNEEDLE ST., E. C. 2

548 B r a n c h e s and A g e n c ie s in a ll A u s tr a lia n S ta te s , F e d e r a l T e r r ito r y , N e w Z e a la n d , F iji , P a p u a , M an d a te d T e r r ito r y o f
N ew G u in ea an d L o n d o n . T h e B a n k C o lle c ts fo r and U n d e rta k e s th e A g e n c y o f O th er B a n k s , an d t r a n s ­
a c ts e v e r y d e sc rip tio n o f A u s tr a lia n B a n k in g B u s in e s s

THE CENTRAL WESTERN BANKER, OMAHA, P u b l i s h e d

by

D e P uy P u b l is h in g C o m pa n y

410 A rth u r Bldg., Omaha, N ebraska
C

l if f o r d

D

e

P

uy

,

P u b lis h e r

G

erald

A. S

n id e r ,

A ss o c ia te P u b lis h e r

W m . H . M a a s, 1221 F i r s t N a tio n a l B a n k B ld g ., C h ic ag o , V ic e -P r e s id e n t

Central Western Banker, December, 1929

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

R.

W.

M

oo rhead,

E d ito r

H.

H.

H

ayn es,

A ss o c ia te E d ito r

F r a n k P . S y m s, 25 W e s t 4 5 th S tr e e t, N e w Y o rk , V ic e -P r e s id e n t

Like Financial Giants
Insured Bonds
II 'eather

-.Every Storm
of Depression
and Inflation
HERE

ARE

SOME

OF

THE

REASONS

The house of issue is an important but
not a vital factor in the set-up of an In­
sured and Guaranteed Bond.

As a condition of guaranteeing a bond
issue, they insist upon the following re­
quirements :

The surety companies, who guarantee
the bonds by direct endorsement, are
compelled by law to set up adequate re­
serves for their own protection and to
safeguard their policy holders.

1. That the mortgaged property be situ­
ated in the choicest locations only.

They cannot misapply the investment
funds which they are required to deposit
with their home state insurance depart­
ments ; they are compelled to reinsure
their risks. They cannot accept extra
hazardous risks. They cannot speculate
or invest in speculative securities.
They demand and require the same
safeguards on the part of the house of
issue.
They will not permit the misappro­
priation or diversion of the proceeds of
the bond issue.

2. That the management be of the high­
est efficiency, to insure the success of
the property.
3. That the valuations be conservative
and based on competent appraisals of
men expert in that line.
4. That no inflation enters into land val­
ues, the building itself or its equip­
ment.
5. That sinking-funds
monthly.

be

deposited

6. That full insurance protection is at
all times carried by the Trustee.

They rigidly enforce these conditions for their own protection, as in safeguarding
their own interests they automatically make safe the interests of the bondholder.
Thus the owner of an Insured Bond has the assurance that two old-line surety com­
panies are at all times watching his interests, protecting his investment and guarantee­
ing the return of his investment capital.
We will be pleased to send you our booklet “Investment Safety in a Modern Form”
and descriptive circulars of current offerings.

Provident State Securities C o m p a n y


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

134 North La Salle Street
Chicago, 111.

THE OMAHA
NATIONAL BANK
Acquires the Business of

THE


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PETERS

NATIONAL

BANK

The Omaha National Bank announces
that it has acquired the business of The
Peters National Bank, of Omaha.
The transfer of business took effect No­
vember 22nd. Mr. J. R. Cain, Jr., and Mr.
W. S. Weston have become vice-presidents
of The Omaha National Bank.
The merged assets of the two banks con­
stitute one of the strongest banking institu­
tions in the middle west.

The Omaha
National Bank