Full text of Central Western Banker : May 1928, Volume 23, No. 5

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

amant

erving Nebraska
Since 1857

------------

The First National Bank of Omaha is
the oldest bank in the state of Nebras­
ka, having been organized seventy-one
years ago as Kountze Brothers.
It has the oldest national charter in the
state, and is one of the oldest banks in
the middlewest.
For seventy-one years it has been of
service to its customers. Some of its
correspondent banks have been doingbusiness with the First National Bank
of Omaha for more than half a century.

Specialized in vestm en t se rv ice and
advice is offered to our correspondent
banks through the First Trust Company


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

FIRST TRUST COMPANY

3

cist/

vY*

minute

sinks

NEW d
^ H E South Dakota Bankers Asso­
ciation will hold its annual con­
vention June 7 and 8 at Sioux Falls.
Secretary George A. Starring an­
nounces, in addition to a big banquet,
music, stunts, dance, theatre party,
sight-seeing tours, the following
speakers : Thornton Cooke of the A.
B. A. ; Dean Dan H. Otis, A. B. A. ;
Fred R. Smith, South Dakota bank­
ing superintendent; F. J. Parry, vicepresident, American Surety Co. ;
Henry D. Baker, editor, Commercial
West ; and a representative of the
Bureau of Aeronautics.
A L E G R A H A M , vice-president of
the Mississippi Valley Trust Co.,
St. Louis, has been elected assistant
vice-president, the National Park
Bank of New York. He is a past
president of the St. Louis chapter,
American Institute of Banking, and
was a member of the faculty at St.
Louis University.

D

TAM ES R. C O N NELL, a lifelong
resident of Omaha,
has been appointed
district representative
for the bond depart­
ment of the Illinois
M erch a n ts
T ru st
com pany, C h icago,
and has opened on o f­
fice in the First Na­
tional Bank building,
Omaha. His terri­
tory will include west­
ern Iowa and all of
Nebrska.

J

D E U B E N A .
1X LE W IS, Jr., has
oeen appointed deputy
manager of the A. B.
A. and secretary of
the Trust Company
D iv isio n . H e was
fo r m e r ly connected
with the New York
Journal of Commerce.

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I

UCIUS TETER, president of the
Chicago Trust Company, has re­
turned from a three months European
trip, during which he visited England,
France, and Italy.
C E C R E T A R Y John Romersa, of the
^ Montana Bankers Association, an­
nounces that organization will hence­
forth pay a two thousand dollar re­
ward for dead bank bandits. Mon­
tana bankers are convinced the only
good bandit is a “ dead” one.
'T H E Chicago Trust company cele1 brated its 26th anniversary. The
bank now has over five hundred em­
ployes and resources exceeding fortytwo million dollars.
'T ’ LIE expected melon cut recently by
the American Telephone and Tele­
graph company, which voted $185,000,000 of new stock to stockholders
at $100 a share, in a ratio of one to
six, carried a value of about $154,000,000. Small stockholders may pay
for the new stock in installments.

r \ AN V. STEPH EN S, president of
E ' the Fremont State Bank, an­
nounces the formation of the Fre­
mont State Company, with headquart­
ers in the rear of the Fremont State,
which will make small personal loans,
without collateral, on the same plan
as was recently announced by the Na­
tional City Bank of New York. R. A.
Johnson, formerly athletic director of
the Fremont High School, will be
manager. Mr. Stephens is president
of the new company.
jVyj ERGER plans adopted by the
boards of the Bank of America
National Association, the Bowery and
East River National Bank, and the
Commercial Exchange National Bank
of New York
have been approved
by the stockholders of the Bank of
America. A. H. Giannini, president
of the Bowery and East River, nd
chairman of the Bank of America,
will continue in those offices after the
consolidation.

T H E First National Bank of Chi"*■ cago and affiliated institutions, the
First Trust and Savings and the Na­
tional Safe Deposit
com pany, re cen tly
open
ed their new
M AY , 1928
Vol. 23 No. 5
banking rooms and
vaults. The complet­
ed 18 story structure
alteration cost in ex­
Page
cess of eight million
Under New Management ........................................................ 4
dollars.
Predict Good Business Y e a r ...................................................6
Giving the World a “ Great Idea” ........................................9
IWTAX F. ROESTI
Will Send Judging Champs to E n g la n d ...........................10
has been elected
The Bank is L i a b l e ................................................................. 11
vice-president of the
National Shaw m ut
The Oldest State Bank in N e b r a s k a ................................ 13
Bank of Boston. He
The Securities Market and a Growing Nation . . . 15
will represen t the
By JOHN L. MOODY
bank in Europe.
What Insurance Means to N e b r a s k a ................................ 21

In Th is Issue

By HON. JOHN R. DUMONT

Nebraska N e w s ...................................................................... 24
News From the Y a r d s ...........................
27
South Dakota N e w s .................................................................29
Kansas N e w s ................................................
30
T he Central W estern B anker of O m ah a
Published monthly at 416 Arthur Bldg., Omaha, Nebraska
Subscription, 25 cents per copy; $2.00 per year.
Entered as second-class matter at the Omaha postoffice.

EN EW ED efforts
to get favorable
action on the Good­
win bill to permit tax­
ation o f national
banks by states, have
been made in Wash­
in gton b e fo r e the
house committee on

R

(Continued on Page 14)

Central IVestern Banker. Mav. 1928

4

Central W estern Banker
Under New Management
Magazine in Its Twenty-Third Year is Purchased
by the DePuy Publishing Company

W ITH

this

the C e n t r a l
of Omaha is
published under new management.
The magazine is now owned by the
DePuy Publishing Company of which
Clifford DePuy, Des Moines, is presi­
dent. It was purchased this month
from C. C. Jones, L. B. McBride and
associates of Kansas City, Missouri.
At the same time the Western Finan­
cier, a companion publication, was sold
to G. D. Mathews, of Kansas City.
The C e n t r a l W e s t e r n B a n k e r
will be continued as a monthly publi­
cation, published and printed in Oma­
ha, for bankers of Nebraska, Kansas,
Colorado, South Dakota and adjoin­
ing states. Under the experienced
management of the DePuy PublishingCompany, a great many improved fea­
tures will be added from month to
month, including attractive new cov­
ers, a monthly legal department, a
bond and investment section, insurance
section, improved news service, to­
gether with a greatly enlarged feature
section. Omaha offices of the C e n ­
tra l W estern
B a n k e r will remain
at 416 Arthur Bldg.
W estern

T he

issue

B anker

C entral

W estern

B anker,

now in its twenty-third year, has a fine
historical background of service to
bankers of the central west. It was
originally started as the Western
Banker by the late Clement Chase of
Omaha, in 1905. Mr. Chase also
started the Central Banker of Chicago.
The two magazines were later con­
solidated as the C e n t r a l W e s t e r n
B a n k e r of Omaha.
Upon the death of Mr. Chase the
magazine was purchased from the
Chase estate by C. C. Jones, L. B. M c­
Bride and associates, from whom it
has now been purchased by Mr. Depuy.
Mr. DePuy needs no introduction
to bankers of the central west. Six-

G . A. S n i d e r
Associate Publisher

R. W.

M

oorh ead

Editor

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

teen years ago, at the death of his
father, Emerson DePuy, he became
publisher of the Northwestern Bank­
er, Des Moines, the oldest banking
publication west of the Mississippi
river, now in its 33rd year. He is a
past president of the Des Moines
Chamber of Commerce, the Des
Moines Advertising and Rotary clubs,
and was recently national treasurer
of Sigma Delta Chi, national journal­
istic fraternity. He is also publisher
of the Underwriters Review, a bi­
weekly insurance publication published
at Des Moines, and publishes the Iowa
Bank Directory in conjunction with
the Northwestern Banker.
The C e n t r a l W e s t e r n B a n k e r
of Omaha will in no way be connected
with the Northwestern Banker, but
will be published and edited separately
with especial emphasis on Nebraska
and adjacent teerritory. Its editorial
and business staff will consist of the
following members: Associate pub­
lisher, G. A. Snider; editor, R. W .

CLIFFORD D E P U Y
Publisher

OU R PLEDGE!
“ To present timely news of
banks and bankers in Nebraska
and adjoining states, to offer them
an opportunity to discuss in the
columns of this magazine their
intimate banking problems, and to
render them a truly informative
service at all times, will be the
aim and inspiration of the new
management of the C e n t r a l
W e s t e r n B a n k e r of Omaha.”

Moorhead; associate editor, H. H.
Haynes; vice-president, Wm. H.
Maas, Chicago.
The new management of the C e n ­
t r a l W e s t e r n B a n k e r takes pride in
the appearance and context of this,
the first issue under DePuy manage­
ment. The publisher is confident that
the magazine is serving a very import­
ant banking field, and is now enthus­
iastically planning to make it of real
service and inspiration to the large
clientele it is now serving.
Since the announcement of the pur­
chase of the C e n t r a l W e s t e r n
B a n k e r of Omaha, by the DePuy
management, many letters from bank­
ers in Nebraska and adjoining states,
have been received, anticipating the
benefits they expect to derive from
future issues and welcoming the new
publisher into their midst. “ W e in
Omaha,” says Victor B. Smith, vicepresident of the Omaha National
Bank, “ are very much interested in
the purchase of the C e n t r a l W e s t ­
e r n B a n k e r by the DePuy organiza­
tion. W e know what to expect from
the new ownership and from our con­
tacts with members of the organiza­
tion we look forward with pleasure to
the closer relationship which will ne­
cessarily come as a result of their
activities in this territory.”
I. R. Alter, vice president of the
First National Bank of Grand Island,
a former president of the Nebraska
Bankers’ Association, says: “ Just a
congratulatory work on your acquisi­
tion of the C e n t r a l W e s t e r n B a n k ­
e r of Omaha.
If ever Nebraska need­
ed the dissemination of educational,
intelligent and constructive banking
matter, it needs it now and a mighty
good opportunity exists for you. Here
are the best wishes of the First Na-

H. H. H a y n e s
Associate Editor

W

m

. H.

M

aas

Vice-President

5
tional Bank of Grand Island for your
success!”
P. R. Easterday, vice-president of
the First National of Lincoln, says:
“ W e have just learned of your pur­
chase of the C e n t r a l W e s t e r n
B a n k e r of Omaha, and extend our
congratulations.
Your organization
knows how to publish good magazines
and we have no doubt of your success
with the new addition to your opera­
tions.”
“ I want to congratulate you,” says
C. A. McCloud, veteran president of
the First National at York, Nebraska,
“ on your purchase of the C e n t r a l
W e s t e r n B a n k e r of Omaha.
You
are now in an excellent position to ren­
der most valuable service to Nebraska


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

bankers. Here’s wishing you suc­
cess !”
Fred W . Thomas, vice-president of
the First National of Omaha, writes:
“ W e are much pleased to learn that
you have acquired the C e n t r a l W e s t ­
ern
B a n k e r of Omaha.
W e know
from experience with your other pub­
lications that you will make the newly
acquired magazine a good, live, de­
pendable publication. The bankers of
this territory have long needed such
a publication and I know that the
C en tral W estern
B a n k e r , under
your direction, will achieve great suc­
cess.”
There is a definite need in Nebras­
ka for such a publication as is plan­
ned by the DePuy organization in

the newly acquired C e n t r a l W e s t ­
B a n k e r of Omaha, in the opin­
ion of C. J. Claassen, vice-president
of the Peters National Bank of Oma­
ha. He adds: “ Those of us in Ne­
braska who have our noses to the
grindstone to figure out what is best
to do with conditions as they are (not
as they used to be or ought to be)
have been getting much gratification
and considerable inspiration from
reading a bank journal that reflects
our conditions and understands our
local problems. I congratulate you
upon your purchase of the C e n t r a l
W e s t e r n B a n n e r and also the bank­
ers of this territory whom you will
serve through your new medium.”
ern

(Continued on Page 36)

W hat Our R eaders Say

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

6

Bankers of Central W est
Prospects Fine for Good Crop Year
By C. F. Anderson, Assistant to President,
State Bank o f Omaha

I have your favor of May 4th, ad­
vising that in your next issue you
plan an article dealing with Nebraska
1928 business outlook, and request me
to give you a few words as to our
viewpoint of the outlook, etc.
Last year Nebraska enjoyed abund­
ant crops with good prices, which re­
sulted in payment of a large amount
of old indebtedness and carry-over
obligations. As a whole, country
banks are enjoying good deposits, are
borrowing very little money and many
of them have good secondary re­
serves. So far, prospects are good
for another crop and indications are
that fair prices will be obtained.
Country merchants are reporting sat­
isfactory sales and collections good.
In the city of Omaha, the same
condition seems to prevail among the
retail trade, however, some complain
of keen competition which does not
auger so well on the profit sheet. A p­
proximately $16,000,000.00 of new
building will be erected in the city
during the year— much of which is
already under way. The employment
situation seems to be good and wages
satisfactory. I can see nothing on
the horizon to indicate anything but
a good year in our section.
Northeastern Nebraska Sees
Another Banner Year
By E. C. Davenport, Nebraska State Bank,
Valentine, Nebr.

The spring business of the retail
merchants has opened up very satis­
factorily and records of the leading

Farm Conditions Are Good, Mercantile Business
is Fair and There Are Indications that Nebraska
and Adjoining States May Experience Another
Banner Year in 1928.
merchants, compared with their rec­
ords of a year ago at this time, shows
a substantial increase in business. It
would be safe to say that a 10 per
cent increase in business has obtained
in all lines of business since the first
of the year, although unseasonable
weather conditions, during the month
of April, retarded the volume of sales
which ordinarily would have been re­
corded under favorable weather con­
ditions.
Spring farming operations are be­
ing conducted on a larger scale this
spring, as compared with a year ago,
on account of the large number of
tractors which are being used in the
farming operations and the favorable
outlook which we have in this terri­
tory, due to an abundance of mois­
ture from recent rains. Contracts are
being made now, throughout our
range country, for fall delivery of
cattle to the purchaser at higher prices
than held a year ago, and the range
cattle are all in good condition, due
to a favorable winter, with plenty of
feed, and the fact that a large per
centage of our cattlemen are now
feeding cotton seed cake to their cat­
tle during the winter months.
W e are experiencing a better de­
mand for money at this time, to care
for the spring farming operations and
to meet the demand for increased cat­
tle loans, till liquidation may be had
in marketing the cattle next fall.
Northwestern Nebraska has a favor­

A Fine Dairy Herd and Barn in Nebraska

Central Western Banker, May, I92S

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able outlook for another banner year,
this season, and we are glad to re­
port that the improved conditions are
carrying with them a conservatism
on the part of the people, which will
not permit them to make a repetition
of the mistakes which occurred dur­
ing easy period of a few years ago.
Business on a Fair Basis
By J. Wcir Dobbin, Cashier First State
Bank, Bertrand, Nebr.

Our prospects at just this time are
very good, having had two very good
slow rains the last month. Wheat is
advancing very fast and has practical­
ly enough moisture to assure a crop.
Corn planting is well started.
Our customers are not buying ex­
cept as needed, hence business, while
not slow, is not going big but is be­
ing done on a better basis.
If our pet project for the “ TriCounty Irrigation” would only be ap­
proved, we would always have good
spring prospects and good crops from
the otherwise flood waters of the
Platte.
Conditions Appear Very Fair
By I. R. Alter, Vice-President, First
National Bank, Grand Island, Nebr.

Spring business right here in Hall
and contiguous counties is mighty
backward. The recent rain— practic­
ally the first which this immediate vi­
cinity has had for over thirty days—however, did very much to improve
the psychology of the merchant and
the farmer. There has been some
little damage to wheat fields, but at
a time which will permit of a substi­
tution in crops.
Farm conditions might be classed
as moderately satisfactory for while
a few of our farmers failed to rea­
lize a profit from their hog feeding
operations, a number of them did
make some money in that line, while
all of them who have fed cattle in­
dicate a very satisfactory profit.
Taken as a whole and contingent on
favorable weather from here on it
would appear that conditions should
be termed as satisfactory.
Nebraska’s derogatory Banking
conditions, however, while not af-

7

Predict G ood
Business Y ear
By the Editor
Central]Western Banker
fecting this immediate vicinity, are un­
doubtedly beginning to be reflected
in business as a whole over the en­
tire state.
Conditions are Above Normal
By I. A. Goff, Cashier, First National
Bank, Hay Springs, Nebr.

Conditions in the Hay Springs ter­
ritory are opening up very nicely this
spring, with prospects very good for
crops. Winter wheat is looking fine
with a heavy acreage mostly on newly
broken land, spring grains are start­
ing good and everything is looking
good for the farmers.
Business with the local merchants
is very good with a tendency on the
part of the farmers to want credit.
Demands for loans is very heavy,
due largely to the fact that a large
number of emigrants are coming in,
both buyers and renters, who need
money to continue their farm opera­
tions.
On the whole conditions here are
above the normal and prospects very
good for the year 1928.
Farmers are Liquidating
Through Marketing Livestock
By C. A. Phillips, Cashier, Cambridge
State Bank, Cambridge, Nebr.

There is ample hay and feed on
hand owing to a rather mild and open
winter and some fewer stocker cat­
tle on the farms. W e had about the
usual number of cattle on feed the
past feeding season with a few still
on hand for late shipment. Feeding
profits have been satisfactory even
though the price of hogs has been
discouraging. A liberal holdover of
corn is on hand. Its quality will per­
mit holding for an almost indefinite
time. The rising price has aided this
some. Corn reserves tend to even
the flow of business. Ours should be
fairly good all summer. Local mer­
chants report above average sales.
The marketing of cattle, hogs and
crops has reduced indebtedness some.
A few farms have passed into hands
of owners who expect to live on them.
W e like that, as we believe that farms
operated by the owner are better for


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general development of any country.
Large numbers of cattle are fed
here, making it necessary to go out­
side of our own community for credit
assistance at times each year. Our
good crop of corn in 1927 shortened
the period when such assistance was
required this time and we found our­
selves with liberal reserves on hand
early in February. W e have not been
able to secure a sufficient number of
farm mortgages for the funds of our
customers who prefer that type of in­
vestment to those of the market. De­
velopment of interest in investments
in “ municipals,” “¡industrials,” and
other low rate market offerings has
been slow. In fact there is very lit­
tle money invested in such offerings by
our people. W e are no doubt some­
what to blame for it as we encourage
farm loans and government bonds,
and Federal Land Bank bonds. These
are the only kind of securities bought
by ourselves. Money is plentiful
here and will likely continue to be so
all summer.
Conditions Show Improvement
By W. R. Banning, Cashier, Bank of
Union, Union, Nebr.

Business conditions in Nebraska
are picking up, mercantile conditions
are fair, but could stand some im­
provement. Farming business is in
the best shape that it has been for
years, and farmers in general are in

THANK

YO U !

E ditor’ s N ote : The valuable
business survey on these and fol­
lowing pages has been gleaned
from sources of letters received
from accommodating readers of
the Central W estern Banker
in Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas,
and adjoining states. The editor
is grateful for all the splendid in­
formation so furnished.

better financial condition than in the
past, and have met their obligations
promptly in all cases. While the price
of hogs has been low, they are at the
present time better, and farmers are
encouraged. Prices for corn has im­
proved, and while the greater portion
of the corn has moved at lower prices,
the present prices are satisfactory to
the corn raiser. Demand for loans
is the lowest that we have had in
years, and most of the Banks are
carrying a large reserve, and in some
cases are buying commercial paper.
Not much real estate is moving, but
what land has changed hands is mov­
ing at fair prices.
Farmers Marketing Much Old Corn
By O. J. Irwin, Cashier, Genoa National
Bank, Genoa, Nebr.

A two-inch rain recently has placed
the soil in fine condition for corn
planting. Wheat and small grain has
suffered some on account of the dry
spring but now promises about the
usual yield with favorable weather.
Merchants have been complaining
some of seasonable merchandise not
moving as fast as was expected. The
demand for money is light with plenty
available for all legitimate needs.
Considerable old corn being placed on
the market lately attracted by the
high prices.

Some Noisy Reasons for Optimism Regarding Nebraska's 1928 Farm Outlook

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

Nebraska Farmers Hope fo r Another Banner Wheat Crop in 1928.
Above, a Field of 1927.

Borrowers are Liquidating
By C. F. Roe, President Bank of Benning­
ton, Bennington, Nebr.

Business generally in and around
us is better than it has been for sever­
al years past, due to good crops last
season with generally good prices.
This is true both as to farming and
mercantile business. Collections are
fair to good, the demand for money
is not heavy, the people generally are
more conservative in their buying and
those who are in debt seem to want
to liquidate as fast as possible, most
of our loans this spring are made for
90 days at request of the borrower.
Report General Prosperity
By Niels C. Andersen, Cashier, American
State Bank, Kearney, Nebr.

It was with considerable hesitancy
that I am attempting to write regard­
ing conditions in this territory. W e
have been so swanmped looking af­
ter conditions within our own four
walls we have scarcely, and regretably
given attention to the general trend
of events. On this date in 1924 our
deposits were $202,000.00 ; today they
are over $700,000.00. These figures
merely are to prove our assertion that
we have been busy.
The trade territory contiguous to
Kearney is an average fertile valley.
To offset the average rainfall hazard,
the progressive farmers have installed
approximately two hundred irriga­
tion wells. The banks have assisted
in this program, and we believe it to
be the foundation of stabilized crop
income in the valley. Last season’s
good crop was largely applied to li­
quidation of debts. The purchasing
power in the territory is apparently
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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high, judging by the increases in
sales reported by our merchants. One
merchant stated his sales for the first
quarter this year were $5,OCX).00 more
than a year ago. Another merchant
has shown an increase of $1,000.00
to $3,000.00 for each month over last
year.
The demands for money indicate a
conservative attitude and all legiti­
mate needs are met by the local insti­
tutions. Splendid reserves are main­
tained by the banks controlled by pur­
chases on the bond markets.
Kearney boasts a progressive popu­
lation of 9,000 in the heart of “ The
Agricultural W est’’— s acclaimed by
every citizen and visitor as indeed
“ The City Beautiful” and its resour­
ces are its friends who till the soil and
pail the cows.
N. D. is Very Optimistic
By E. J. Weiser, President First National
Bank, Fargo, N. D.

In reply to your inquiry of the 25th
of April, I think I can fairly say that
conditions in North Dakota this spring
are better than they have been for
many years. W e are told by old
farmers that the crop has never gone
into the ground under such favorable
conditions as it has this spring. An
early and favorable seeding is a good
start, at least, towards a crop, and
while it is a long ways until harvest,
we feel that we are on our way under
better conditions than we have been
for many years and that we are as­
sured of at least a fair price for what
we may raise.
The progress which the state is
making in diversified farming and the
raising of livestock, poultry, and dairy
products is so great that we are not,

as we were some years ago, depend­
ent upon our wheat crop, and a great
many of our farmers are no longer
dependent for their living and expen­
ses upon small grain.
Business is quite satisfactory, with
only a modem: ; demand for money,
which is in plentiful supply. Depos­
its, particularly savings, have been
gradually but constantly increasing,
and the general credit situation is
much improved over a few years ago.
There is beginning to be a very
marked demand for farm lands, and
the records of the Greater North Da­
kota Association indicate that 350,000
acres of North Dakota farm lands
have been sold at an approximate
price of $10, 000,000 within the last
four months; and we believe from
the inquiries which are coming into
the state, that in the neighborhood of
1,500,000 acres of land will be sold
during the current year. A good
many of the purchasers are coming
from other states and are making
very substantial payments on the
farms which they are buying. A l­
together, the situation in North Da­
kota is very much better than it has
been for many years.
In Best Condition of Many Years
By G. W. Broadlmrst, Cashier, Bank of
Kimball, Kimball, Nebr.

W e are glad to say that the out-look
at the present time is very promising.
W e have a large acreage of winter
wheat in excellent condition. The
acreage has been increased over last
year ten or fifteen per cent, but there
is a small percentage of damage on
account of the very dry winter. Pres­
ent prospects are that we will have
at least as much wheat as last year.
The situation is about the same with
regard to cattle and hogs. The num­
bers of these have not been decreased
and they have all come through the
winter in excellent condition. The
acreage of potatoes for seed will be
doubled and the commercial crop will
be increased very largely. On account
of the mild, open winter and spring,
the spring crops are in good season
and coming along very nicely.
Deposits in the banks have in­
creased and loans have decreased, and
on the whole, we think our territory
is in much better condition than it
has been for several years.
Farmers Optimistic Over
the 1928 Outlook
By Vernon Rice, Cashier, Farmers State
Bank, Chapman, Nebr.

Farm conditions in this territory
are gradually working better, and if
the progressive move continues it will
(Continued on Page 31)

9

The Town That Gave the World
A

“Great Idea”
VT O T every town can give the world
^
a “ great idea.” In face, the aver­
age hamlet can’t even present the uni­
verse with the germ of an idea.
Therefore one’s hat must be doffed
to a splendid little Nebraska town, Ne­
braska City, by name, as the birthplace
of A rbof Day, for it was in this town
that J. Sterling Morton, nurseryman
and lover of nature, conceived the idea
of a national Arbor Day, when every
good American plants a tree for future
generations to enjoy.
The authenticity of this story is
vouched for by R. O. Marnell, cashier
of the Merchants National Bank of
Nebraska City, which tells the world
about it by carrying on every check
and letterhead of the institution, a
round trademark with an evergreen
tree in the center around which is the
slogan, “ Nebraska City, Nebraska—the town that gave the world a Great
Idea— Plant trees.”
Mr. Morton, by the way, was sec­
retary of agriculture in Cleveland’s
administration and died some ten years
ago. He came to Nebraska in 1854
and lived there during the greater
part of his life.
Nebraska City is ideally located in
the midst of a great apple and cherry
growing section, according to A. E.
Stocker, cashier of the Otoe County
National bank. It is a great cherry


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canning city, and most of the apples
grown there are sold direct for com­
mercial use. The Joy Morton Orch­
ard Company, one of the greatest con­
cerns of its kind, is located at Ne­
braska City, and has almost 300 acres
of orchards, mostly apples. Both cli­
mate and soil are ideal for fruit grow­
ing. The soil is the famous Loess soil,
such as is found in very few places,
with unlimited fertility.
In addition, a great deal of wheat
and corn is grown near Nebraska
City, according to Mr. Stocker. Hogs
and cattle add to the farmers’ scheme
of diversification. Mr. Stocker is a
great friend of the cattle feeder, al­
though admitting that the cattle busi­
ness has had terrific ups and downs
the past ten years. He predicts a
general shortage of cattle for the
next half decade, although hesitating
to urge farmers to buy cattle at their
present high prices.
Some land sales near Nebraska
city are reported by Mr. Stocker. Ne­
braska city bank deposits are in ex­
cess of three million dollars and one
building and loan association there has
over a million dollars. There is not a
single vacant store or house in the
city, a remarkable feature in a town of
7,500 population. “ Our deposits,
which are now a little more than
$717,000, show steady growth,” says

Mr. Stocker. He reports little demand
for bonds from customers, although
reporting that farm mortgages are a
popular type of investment there.
There is no service charge at Nebras­
ka City, most of the bankers there fav­
oring it but no one has taken the ini­
tiative to install it. The banks are
paying three per cent on deposits. Mr.
Stocker also reports that his bank
does a substantial amount of “ for­
eign” business, one girl devoting her
entire time to out of town items. Ne­
braska City has a trading radius of
about fifty miles.
Greatly diversified farm production,
combined with the fertility of the soil
in the vicinity of Nebraska City, has
contributed to the community’s con­
sistent prosperity, in the opinion of
J. R. Stevenson, cashier of the Farm­
ers Bank, who stresses the production
of wheat, corn, oats, alfalfa, fruit, etc.
Incidentally, J. H. Catron, president
of the latter bank, is an extensive fruit
grower, making that his hobby. Mr.
Catron has 900 apple trees and 5,000
new trees, both apple and cherry. Ne­
braska City boasts a large canning
factory, the Otoe Food Products com­
pany, a year-round concern, employ­
ing from fifty to three hundred peo­
ple constantly. Their products in­
clude corn, hominy, fruit, pork and
beans, etc.

Scenes in Nebraska City, the “ town that gave the world a Great Idea.”

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

10
The Farmers Bank, according to
Mr. Stevenson, was established in
1884 by J. H. Catron, Sr. Mr. Cat­
ron, Jr., has been its president since
1914. Mr. Stevenson, born in Ne­
braska City, has been with the bank
since his return from service in the
navy in 1919. The Farmers Bank, by
the way, with footings of $1,288,061,
according to a recent statement, has
cash or its equivalent of more than a
million dollars, or 87 % of its deposits
which are slightly over $1,200,000.
“ Bob” Marnell’s bank, the Mer­
chants’ National, has footings of more

than $775,000, with deposits of around
$613,000. It is an honor roll bank,
with capital of $50,000 and surplus
and undivided profits of more than
$63,000. “ O f course,” observes Cash­
ier Marnell, “ I ’m just a young man in
the banking business— started in the
bank in 1886, along with F. J. Homeyer, a director, who was wise
enough to quit banking and go into
the shoe business after fifteen years
in the bank.”
“ However,” adds Mr. Marnell, “ it’s
not so bad to be a banker in a town
that ‘Gave the world a great idea,’ like
Nebraska City.”

The Merchants National Bank of
Nebraska City, carries the above
“ trade mark” on checks and letter­
heads.

Will Send Judging Champs to England
A M E R IC A ’S 4-H club champion
dairy cattle judging team, who
live at Albion, Nebr., will be sent to
the International dairy judging con­
test at Wye, Kent, England, this sum­
mer if the money can possibly be
raised to send them across the water,
it was decided at a conference at Lin­
coln recently.
It will take about $3,000 to finance
the trip, it is estimated. Much of the
amount will be raised in Nebraska, al­
though some has been promised from
national organizations outside the
state. Various dairy and business in­
terests and the boys and girls 4-H
clubs of the state will be asked to con­
tribute to the fund.
L. H. Daft, president of the Ne­
braska state dairymen’s association,
A. W . Lamb, vice-president of the
state board of agriculture, and T. A.
Leadley, managing editor of the Ne­
braska Farmer, have been chosen as
the committee to handle the organiza­

tion supporting the trip. Mr. Leadley
will act as treasurer.
Jesse Bilyeu, Joe King, and Russell
Hughes of Albion are the three boys
on the team which won their county
contest, then the state fair contest,
and then the national contest at Mem­
phis, Tenn., last year. They have been
coached by C. C. Girardot, their local
club leader and Smith-Hughes, in­
structor of Albion, and by M. L.
Flack of the agricultural college ex­
tension service.
Mr. Bilyeu won the high individual
honors at the national contest also. He
brought home most of the ribbons and
medals awards for individual excel­
lence. Mr. King is an old-timer in
club work of Boone county, starting
at the age of seven and completing 18
different club projects at the close of
1927. Russell Hughes is a young
farmer living near Albion who has
been in dairy and pig clubs for the
past three years.

L eft to right, club members: Jesse Bilyeou; Joe King; Russell Hughes;
C. C. Girardot; and M. L. Flack, o f the State Agricultural college,

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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The team will leave on June 22 and
enter the contest on July 5. America
has won five of the seven contests
there, but the English teams have kept
the gold cup at home each of the last
two years. This means that the A l­
bion boys will have stiff competition
for the highest honors in their line in
the world.
“ The entire state of Nebraska
should be behind the efforts to send
the team over,” the committee states.
An opportunity of this kind to adver­
tise the dairy excellence of the state
comes only a few times in a lifetime.
No other state has failed to send its
team to the international contest, it is
said.
Makes Regular Report
The regular report of the financial
condition of the 777 state banks of
Nebraska made public by Clarence
Bliss, head of the department of trade
and commerce the last of April was
the occasion for considerable opti­
mistic feeling among bankers. The
highest average cash reserve shown
by banks in years, 22 per cent, was
shown, having grown from 18 per
cent in December, to 22 per cent on
March 10th.
The March statement shows loans
and discounts of 189 million dollars,
in comparison with deposits of 270
million dollars. For the quarter pay­
ments to the state guaranty fund to­
taled 251 thousand dollars. Capital
stock, surplus, undivided profits and
unpaid dividends totaled 30 million
dollars.
The report is in line with the re­
cent statement made by Secretary
Bliss that “ the disastrous bank fail­
ures experienced are now past and
losses from now on will be small.”

11

The Bank Is Li able!
C 1V E R Y day banks in all parts of the
^ United States receive deposits from
their customers by means of the bank’s
regular deposit slips. Often times, a
deposit includes a check drawn on an
out of town bank.
If the out of town bank collecting
this check fails before its check is
paid, can the depositor recover the
amount of the check from his bank?
A transaction which would result
in this question arising can occur as
follow s:
Details of Transaction
The Rotex Mfg. Company received
a check for $800.00 irom Dix, one
of their customers, drawn upon the
Exchange Bank in payment of manu­
factured goods purchased from the
firm by Dix. The Rotex Company
who had, for over five years been a
depositor in the First National Bank,
deposited the check received from Dix
endorsed in blank by the company
with this National Bank, the amount
of which was immediately passed to
the credit of the deposit account of the
Rotex Company. The deposit was
made by means of the bank’s regular
deposit slip, upon which was printed
in small type, at the foot of the slip,
the following:
“ Items payable out o f town, whether
credited upon receipt or not, are re­
ceived and collected only at risk o f the
depositor. W e are not responsible for
losses in the mail and do not guaran­
tee the banks to which we send such
items, and in collecting them this
bank acts only as your agent, and the
responsibility for such must remain
with the depositor until this bank has
received final payment o f check sent
us in return for same.”

The National bank promptly trans­
mitted the check for collection and re­
mittance to the Bank of Nippon, a dif­
ferent bank from the Exchange bank,
the drawee bank.
The Bank of Nippon received the
check in due course, presented it to
the drawee bank, the Exchange Bank,
received the cash for it, and, in remit­
ting the proceeds to the First National
Bank used its own check or draft
upon the Continental Trust Company.
The depository bank then forwarded
the check or draft of the collecting
bank on the Continental Trust Com­
pany for collection, but before the
collection could be made the collectingbank failed, and its check or draft was
dishonored by the Continental Trust
Company. The First National Bank


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The Bank is Liable!
“ The bank receiving a draft
for collection is liable for neglect
of duty occurring in its collec­
tion, whether arising from de­
fault of its own officers or from
that of correspondent, in the ab­
sence of any express or implied
contract varying such liability,
since it is presumed to act as de­
positor’s agent and to be respon­
sible for inurious act of the sub­
agent, the collecting bank” !

at once charged back the amount of
the check which it had received from
the Rotex Company to the Rotex Com­
pany’s account.
Legal action was brought in Court
by the Rotex Company claiming that
the depository bank had received the
amount of the check through its agent,
the collecting bank, and had no right
to charge the amount of it back to
the plaintiff’s account, in other words,
that the collecting bank was the agent
of the depository bank, which latter
bank should be liable for the failure
of the collecting bank to make proper
returns of the collection, admittedly
made by it; that the loss was the re­
sult of the negligence of the deposit­
ory bank in the selection of a collect­
ing agent, which was at the time heav­
ily indebted to the depository bank,
and that the depository bank, famil­
iar with the affairs of the collecting
bank, knew or should have known that
it was an unsafe agency to intrust
with the collection of the check.
One defense of the First National
Bank was, that under the stipulation
or notice contained in the deposit slip,
the depository bank was relieved of
all responsibility under the circum­
stances, in the absence of an allega­
tion of negligence in the selection of
the collecting bank as the agency of
collection.
The Main Question
The main question considered by
the Court upon the facts presented
was whether the depositor was bound
by the printed notice upon the deposit
slip, the effect of which is that the
depository bank received the item
“ payable out of town,” passed to the

credit of the depositor or not, for col­
lection, “ only at the risk of the de­
positor” ; that it did not become liable
for the loss of the item in the mails;
that it did not guarantee the bank to
which the item might be forwarded
for collection; that in collecting, the
depository bank acted only as the
agent of the depositor; that all re­
sponsibility for its action remained
upon the depositor until the depository
bank “ received final actual payment
of check sent in return for same.”
This printed notice upon the de­
posit slips is as strong apparently as
it could be drawn to establish the re­
lation between the depositor and the
depository bank as that of principal
and agent, and not of indorser and
indorsee, seller, and purchaser, and to
relieve the depository bank of all pos­
sible responsibility for loss not due
to its own negligence. Viewing the
transaction as largely a matter of con­
venience to the depositor, in which the
bank ordinarily receives no compensa­
tion beyond the general deposit ac­
count of the depositor, which, how­
ever, is a sufficient consideration for
the undertaking of the bank, it does
not appear to be an unreasonable pre­
caution for the bank to take, limiting
its undertaking by such a stipulation,
provided that it has become a matter
of convention between the bank and
the depositor.
In 1884, the Supreme Court of the
United States rendered the decision
that “ a bank receiving a draft or bill
of exchange for collection is liable
for neglect of duty occurring in its
collection, whether arising from the
default of its own officers, or from
that of its correspondent . . . . in the
absence of any express or implied con­
tract varying such liability.”
There is no evidence in the facts
presented to establish an express as­
sent of the Rotex Company to the
stipulation printed on the deposit slip,
and the question is, Does the stipula­
tion alone conclusively establish his
implied assent?
It is presumed to have acted as the
agent of the depositor and to have be­
come responsible for the injurious acts
of its subagent, the collecting bank.
The effect of the stipulation, if as­
sented to by the depositor, completely
reverses the established law ; it makes
the depository bank simply a forward­
er of the check for collection to the
collecting bank, as the agent of the
depositor, and relieves the depository
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

12
bank of all responsibility in connec­
tion with the collection or its remit­
tance.
The stipulation authorizes the de­
pository bank to accept the check of
the collecting bank in remittance of
the collection, when under ordinary
conditions, it is not authorized to ac­
cept anything but money.
There can be no question as to the
correctness of the principle that, if the
parties agreed to the stipulation alter­
ing the prevailing rule, they will be
bound thereby.
One Court that had a similar mat­
ter presented to it for consideration,
stated that: "There is no reason, so
far as we know, why a depositor may
not make such an agreement if he de­
liberately chooses to do so, unreason­
able as it is. But it is evident that
. . . . before such statement can be
given effect as a contract binding upon
the depositor and changing in a sub­
stantial particular the relation which
presumably he thought he was enter­
ing into, it must appear affirmatively
that he consented and agreed to it

either by being required to sign it or
by having his attention particularly
called to it.”
A comparative stipulation of this
nature exists where a passenger on a
railroad, who paid full fare for a
general ticket, is not bound by limita­
tions printed thereon, unless his at­
tention has been especially called to
them and he has assented thereto.
The contract is in fact made when the
ticket is purchased, and, if it is dif­
ferent from what the law would im­
ply, it must be so stated and assented
to when the ticket is delivered.
A Simple Matter
It would be a simple matter, as is
frequently done by some banks, to ob­
tain the express assent of the deposit­
or to such a stipulation. If it does not
do that, it makes the chance of estab­
lishing before a jury, the depositor’s
implied assent to a stipulation which
reverses the incidents of the relation
between the parties established by
law.
The decision of the Court in this
matter was that the stipulation on a

S c h u y le r B u sin e ss
“ J^FSIN ESS in and near Schuyler
is fairly good,” says R. O. Brow­
nell, cashier of the Schuyler State
Bank and the Schuyler Savings Bank
of Schuyler, Nebr. Combined re­
sources and liabilities of the two in­
stitutions are $1,267,321, with deposits
of $1,187,623, according to a recent
statement of condition.
Mr. Brownell adds that the late
spring has damaged the wheat and oats
to a certain extent, but possibly not
more than the damage by winds blow­
ing dirt on these two crops. Farm­
ers there are in fairly good shape, he

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

r o sp e rm g

says, with considerable dairying and
cattle feeding to aid diversification.
He reports some land sales, at
around two hundred dollars an acre,
mostly purchased by permanent own­
ers.
The two banks have a strong bond
account, almost $300,000. O f this,
$70,000 is in government securities,
and remainder in good general bonds,
of a conservative type. “ Most of our
bonds show some appreciation,” says
Mr. Brownell. The banks do not
have a bond department, but he re­
ports considerable demand for bonds
among his customers.

Looking south at Schuyler, Nebraska

deposit slip that collection of drafts
were at depositor’s risk held insuf­
ficient to show as matter of law that
such agreement was entered into with
depositor, and question of implied as­
sent to stipulation was for jury, since
it is presumed that depositor acted
under established law, making the
bank liable for neglect of duty.
It is not unreasonable precaution for
bank collecting for depositor check
drawn on out of town bank to limit
its undertaking by stipulation that col­
lection is at depositor’s risk, provided
that such limitation has become mat­
ter of convention between bank and
depositor.
Bank receiving draft for collection
is liable for neglect of duty occuring
in its collection, whether arising from
default of its own officers or from
that of correspondent, in absence of
any express or implied contract vary­
ing such liability, since it is presumed
to act as depositor’s agent and to be
responsible for injurious act of sub­
agent, the collecting bank.

There is no great demand for local
loans, says Cashier Brownell. “ Our
merchants are pretty well capitalized
and are doing fairly well.”
There is no service charge at Schuy­
ler, bankers there being unable to get
together on this proposition. They are
paying four per cent on deposits, but
in Mr. Brownell’s estimation, would
like to go to 3jd. Most of the loans
there are made at 8%.
The Schuyler State Bank is one of
the veteran banks of the state. It was
organized in 1874 as a private bank.
It was made a state bank in 1916.
“ Our deposits are about normal and
we feel that we are experiencing a
rather steady and consistent growth,”
says Mr. Brownell.
Officers of the banks include: Presi­
dent, Frank K rejci; vice-president, F.
W. Shonka; cashier, R. O. Brownell;
assistant cashiers, F. W . Shonka, Jr.,
Jos. M. Rogers and John A. Dworak.
In Auto Wreck
John Changstrom, assistant cash­
ier of the Omaha National Bank, had
an exciting and not altogether pleas­
ant experience recently.
Enroute
to Atlantic, Iowa, to attend the Iowa
group meeting, he was in an automo­
bile crash near Atlantic, in which
neither the occupants of his own or
the other car were injured, fortu­
nately.

13

A Visit to the Oldest State Bank
Nebraska state history
is replete with the ro­
mance of man’s eternal
pioneering spirit, and
his success a g a i n s t
great odds . To a visitor
from the old world it
might be hard to realize
that the now thickly set­
tled Nebraska landscape
w i t h i t s magnificent
wheat field, its waving
corn, its lowing herds,
was preceded not over
half a century ago by
covered wagons, home­
steaders— and Indians.
In the history of the
Cornhusker state, the
development o f t h e
country near Columbus
has been closely inter­
woven with the history
o f Nebraska’s oldest
state bank, the Colum­
bus State Bank. In this
institution are two or
three men who have wit­
nessed the swift transi­
tion of the state from an
unsettled to prosperous
commonwealth.
The Columbus State,
according to President
M. Brugger, and VicePresident H. A. Clarke,
veteran bankers, was
originally started by
Gerard and Reed, as a
private bank, in 1871.
The
M. Leander Gerard was
the first member of the
firm and the father of C. L. Ger­
ard, vice-president of the Columbus
State, who died recently at the age of
56 years. In 1872 Turner and Hulst
founded another private bank at Co­
lumbus and the following year the two
private banks were consolidated un­
der the name of the Columbus State
Bank, now ranking as the oldest state
bank in Nebraska, with Charter No.
97. There were some few older banks
in the state, according to Mr. Clarke,
but they have either gone out of ex­
istence or become nationalized.
In the early seventies, say Colum­
bus State officers, their business was
done with the homesteaders, who
would bring their wheat to Columbus
from distances of 60 or 70 miles.
They tell of seeing strings of wagons,
half a mile long, drawn by oxen and
loaded with wheat. Interest on loans
was very high— usually two per cent
per month, and sometimes much more.

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Germans and Swiss were
particularly thrifty. One
township, Bismark town­
ship, in Platte county, is
reported to be the weal­
thiest per capita in the
country, according to
Mr. Clarke, who says
this of the early settlers
there: "The Irish in the
early day were strong
for ‘sales.’ After a few
free-for-all fights among
themselves, they would
come to town and liter­
ally fight to go on each
other’s notes. Eventually
this type of good fel­
lowship put them in hot
water and many of them
lost their farms.” (M r.
Clarke adds that the cus­
tom of fighting to go on
the other man’s note is
no longer so popular in
that community.)
The Pawnee Indian
reservation was just
west of Columbus, and
the Indians were gradu­
ally won over to ami­
ability. In fact, Paw­
nee scouts were used to
protect the workmen
when the Union Pacific
railroad w a s b u i l t
through the state.
"The oldest s t a t e
bank in Nebraska” is
now more than a mil­
lion dollar bank, with
home of the “ Oldest State Bank in Nebraska’
deposits of a million.
Farm conditions a r e
g ood.
The bank had no large deposits and very
There
was
little
conducted mainly a loaning business,
inflation of farm values during
the bank practically loaning its capi­
the boom days of a few years ago.
tal.
Columbus banks have deposits of four
The Indians were troublesome and million dollars and building and loan
the homesteaders had to build their associations there have another two
houses and barns together for pro­ and a half million. Mr. Clarke says
tection. It was not safe to leave the there is merely the ordinary demand
women and children behind when
for local loans, with the prevalent in­
taking their wheat to market.
terest rate at seven per cent. Some
Among the early discouraging fea­ of the smaller banks of the country
tures of Nebraska was the grass­ charge eight. All are paying four on
hopper scourge. Mr. Clarke was not deposits, which, in Mr. Clarke’s esti­
in Nebraska during the grasshopper
mation, is too much. He is an advo­
days, but can recall seeing the appara­ cate of a uniform three per cent rate,
tus that had been used by the home­
and says he will try to get such legis­
steaders in a futile attempt to curb
lation through the Nebraska legisla­
them. The apparatus consisted of
ture at its next session. He points out
galvanized iron tanks, containing tar, the average cost of doing business for
in which the grasshoppers were sup­
Nebraska state banks is 2.25%, al­
posed to collect. The grasshopper though national banks may run lighter.
Columbus banks have a service
years were 1874-76.
The early settlers near Columbus charge on accounts averaging less than
fifty dollars per monthly balance.
were Irish, German and Swiss. The

in Nebraska

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

14
and efficiently operate the ones we now
have.

Last Minute News
(Continued on Page 3)

banking and currency. Senator Geo.
H. Sullivan of Minnesota, chairman
of the Minnesota interim committee,
appeared before the committee, ask­
ing for action on the bill.
I E STE R J. SH ARP, trust officer of
^ the Security National Bank of
Sioux Falls, died recently, in that city.
p R A I G B. H A ZE L W O O D , Chi^ cago, vice-president of the A. B.
A., was a speaker at the Oklahoma
bankers convention. He said the
great banking problem now is not to
establish more banks, but to organize

T H E American Bankers Association
1 1928 convention committee is
now at work on plans for the conven­
tion to be held in Philadelphia, Oc­
tober 1 to 4. The executive commit­
tee consists of chairman, Joseph
Wayne, Jr., president of Philadelphia
National; vice-chairman, Harry J.
Haas, vice-president First National of
Philadelphia; Chas. S. Caldwell, presi­
dent Corn Exchange National; Thos.
S. Gates, of Drexel & Co., Herbert
W . Goodall, president Guarantee
Trust and Safe Deposit Company;
Arthur V. Morton, the Pennsylvania
Company for Insurance on Lives and

Granting Annuities; secretary, Francis J. Rue, vice-president Philadel­
phia National Bank.
C O N S O L ID A T IO N of the Detroit
Trust Co. and the Security Trust
Co. into the Detroit and Security
Trust Company was approved by the
boards of directors of the two insti­
tutions at meetings held recently. This
merger will give to Detroit the larg­
est trust company in the United States
from the standpoint of invested capi­
tal, doing exclusively a trust business.
The consolidation will result in an in­
stitution with a total capital fund of
more than $13,000,000, consisting of
capital of $3,000,000, surplus of $7,000,000 and undivided profits in ex­
cess of $3,000,000.
Will Remodel.

W hen your depositors
seek investment advice
It is well to back up your good
advice to depositors with a helpful
bond investment service. By relying
on National City bond lists you can
always offer your depositors a wide
choice of desirable issues without
carrying a heavy bond portfolio of
your own. Our special Bankers’
List will keep you informed on rec­
ommended new issues. It may be
had for the asking.

The National City Company

The First National Bank of Lin­
coln plans to remodel its home at
once, giving the institution additional
lobby space. The transient depart­
ment is to be moved to the second floor
of the building, thus giving the en­
tire lobby over to bank customers.
The work will require about thirty
days’ time.
This expansion is necessary since
the City National Bank of Lincoln was
recently consolidated with the First
National, making it a fifteen million
dollar institution.
HE GOT THE MONEY!
A customer went into a bank
and asked the cashier for a loan
of $500. The cashier said he
thought that would be OK, but
since the directors were in ses­
sion in the back room it might be
a good idea for him to talk the
matter over with them. After
the usual questions one of the di­
rectors said, “ And who will sign
this note with you?” The cus­
tomer got sore, said he had done
business with the bank for a long
time and had always paid his
debts and expected to pay this
one. “ Yes,” said the director,
“ but suppose you die, then
what?” “ Well, if I die and go to
heaven I’ll send you the money.
If I go to hell, I ’ll just hand it to
you.” He got the five hundred.

National City Bank Building, N ew York
Offices in more than 50 leading cities throughout the world
BONDS

'

SHORT

TERM

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

NOTES

-

ACCEPTANCES

On Trade Tour
R. H. Kroeger, cashier of the Live­
stock National Bank of Omaha, spent
a week on the Omaha Trade Excur­
sion Tour.

15

The Securities Market and a
John L. Moody Says W e May Have Our
Recessions But the Market Trend is Upward.
“

A LL types of securities, the high* * est grade securities, the second
grade, third and fourth grade securi­
ties, have recorded an almost constant
climb from 1920 up to the present
time,” declared John Moody, of
M oody’s Investors Service, in an ad­
dress last month before the Nebraska
Investment Bankers’ Association.
After giving considerable time to
discussing the various banking eras
prior to 1920, Mr. Moody made the
following comment, in part, by way
of explaining this supposed phenome­
na :
“ Since 1920 this nation has been
paying taxes such as it never dreamed
of paying before the war. The whole
world has been turned upside down.
Europe is still suffering. All the
world is still carrying the effects of
the Great War, and struggling under
the weight of the disaster which oc­
curred at that time, and yet we have
had nothing but constructive trends
in the security markets practically,
with very brief interruptions, since
1920. W hy is it that that turn came
about at that time and has been main­
tained ever since.
“ Well, in the first place, this is not
the same world that we lived in in
1920, and the United States of Amer­
ica are not the same nation ,that is,
in relationship to the rest of the
world, that we were occupying before
the war. Our relationship to the rest
of the civilized world has been exactly
reversed. In those earlier days we
were always a debtor nation. W e
were also doing business to a large ex­
tent with foreign capital. The whole
country had been developed for a
hundred years largely with the aid of
foreign capital. Our great railroad
systems prior to 1920 had been com­
pleted largely with foreign capital.
Our Civil W ar debt was largely fi­
nanced by foreign capital. And for­


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Growing Nation

eign countries had held investments in
America in many forms, and taking
profits out of America in many ways
for many years. That is the condition
of any new nation. Any new people,
before they have developed their own
resources and built up their wealth
and resources to a position where they
can completely pay their debts, must
be a debtor nation. W e were always
in debt to others, but the war changed
all that. W e suddenly turned around
in a few years to a position which we
probably would not have reached for
twenty years, hut we would have
reached it for twenty years if it had
not been for the war. Foreigners
liquidated their investments in Amer­
ica, and began to finance foreigners.
W e did an enormous amount of the
war financing, as we all know, and
after the war we continued to finance
Europe and other parts of the world.
And from that day to this we have
been continually increasing our in­
vestments in foreign lands until today
we have something like fifteen billions
of capital invested in various nations
of the world outside of the United
States itself. That is a changed re­
lationship. That has placed the United
States in a position of stability, and
credit, and resourcefulness that it
could not have had otherwise. That
is one of the factors that brought this
about.
“ One of the other outstanding fac­
tors that we did not have before the
war is a sound banking system. It is
the first thing that a modern nation
needs to have. A modern civilized
nation needs to have a sound banking
system. Now, in 1913 we were for­
tunate enough, in one of those disast­
rous Democratic administrations, to
put through in this country the most
constructive banking bill that had ever
been seen in the Lhiited States or pos­
sibly in any other country of the

world. So after all, the poor Demo­
crats did something wonderful for
America when they created the Fed­
eral Reserve Law. Now, that bank­
ing law, after a few years began to
function and have its effect, and since
the conclusion of the war it has had
an enormous effect. It has been the
most far-reaching thing possible for
the stabilization of industry, for the
maintenance of and development of
confidence and faith in the country.
In the world generally, and in human­
ity, and in modern methods of wealth
production, at the basis of the whole
thing there should be a sound, effect­
ive modern banking reserve system
such as we have today.
The Biggest Factor
“ Now, that accounts more than any
other factor probably for the period
that we have had since 1920 of con­
structive credit and prosperity and
stability in the United States. It is
the biggest factor of all in making the
average thinking man look confidenti­
ally into the future of this country.
That we have nowadays a thoroughly
tested out banking system, which is
not the football of politics and which
is functioning and being managed and
controlled sanely and safely and prop­
erly in the interests of the great and
growing credit civilization in which
we live, is a big factor.
“ And then another factor which
people generally overlook is this: W e
all agree nowadays and have agreed
ever since we got into the war that
whatever happened in a foreign coun­
try is more important to us than it was
in the days before the war, that the
world has grown so much smaller,
that the interdependence of the na­
tions has increased and will increase
as the world grows smaller and small­
er. Therefore, since we have become
a credit nation, and have been obli­
gated to invest our funds in foreign
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

16
countries, what happens in other parts
of the world reacts more and more di­
rectly upon our own affairs. Now, a
great many people in this country have
taken the view, (most superficially, 1
think, at different times) in the first
place that it did not make any differ­
ence to us what happened in Europe,
or if they thought it made a difference
to us they jumped to the conclusion
that the war had ruined Europe and
that Europe could not possibly come
back, that she was a back number in
the world, that her civilization would
never be restored to its former condi­
tion, and that the only thing we could
look forward to was the possibility
that as soon as the European coun­
tries were able to function at all again
they would have another quarrel prob-

ably and get into another war which
would be just as disastrous as the last
one. That is the view of a lot of peo­
ple who have not studied the situation
or given it much reflection.
“ Now, one of the constructive fac­
tors which has affected us and had a
great deal to do with the long period
of prosperity and stability that we
have had in the United States since
1923 is the fact that Europe has been
steadily coming back since 1923. I
have been going to Europe at least
once a year since 1921. I have been
in every capital of Europe. I know
a great many people over there, and
I have talked to a great many people,
bankers, politicians, and ordinary peo­
ple, and tried to absorb the atmos­
phere and get a fair view of the situa-

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Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

N ew York City

tion without prejudice; and every
time I have come home I have felt
more optimistic and have felt that
every country practically was making
progress in returning to a more nor­
mal condition; whereas, some coun­
tries were making remarkable strides
in getting away from the war. And
the most striking thing that I have
noticed in Europe year after year is
the attitude of European people, es­
pecially in eastern Europe, toward the
idea of war. I do not believe you can
find any militarists, so-called, of the
old fashioned type, except a few
cranks that we always have, and which
we have in this country too. They are
more anxious to have peace, and per­
manent peace, than we are anxious to
have it in this country. Now, that ap­
plies not merely to the British, who are
somewhat like ourselves, but it applies
to the Belgian and the French and the
German and the Austrian and the
Hungarian, as far as I have been able
to come in contact with them since the
war days, and especially does it apply
to the Germans and to the French.
Now, as they go along in Europe, and
live down the effects of the war, and
are getting their countries stabilized,
and their currency stabilized, and
slowly but surely restoring their
credit, they are getting more and more
away from the idea of war, and re­
venge, or anything of that kind; and
I have been more and more impressed
with that every year. They are all
coming back. I think any sane man
who will view the European situation
without prejudice and think it through
will be strongly inclined to feel that
there is little danger but that the
next generation in Europe, at least,
will be a people of unrestricted peace,
given over to the wiping out of old
animosities, the adjusting of differ­
ences, to the building up of wealth
and production, and to the raising of
the standard of living of the people.
They are all burdened with tremen­
dous taxes. They are all burdened
with things that we do not know any­
thing about. Now, that is a factor
that works for confidence in America.
More so even than it was before, be­
cause our relationships with Europe
are so much closer than they were in
the old days.
Other Reasons
“ Now, those are the big outstand­
ing reasons why they have this con­
structive period since 1920. Why,
with the stabilized credit and growing
confidence, and growing faith in our
civilization, with more and more peo­
ple willing to trust the future and,
therefore, more people who have
money to invest or money to put in

17
business enterprises and into industry
and development and everything, and
more and more appearing on the hori­
zon all the time the fact that the risk
is getting less and less to invest their
money in long term securities and in
good securities— all of these factors
have tended to maintain this upward
trend in security values which we
have seen going on in the past eight
years.
"W ell now, I have given the story
of what has happened in its mere out­
lines. Now, I want to, for a little
while, give my view, at least, of what
ought to happen, what I expect to hap­
pen during the coming years, whether
it is three years, five years, ten years,
makes no difference. It is just the
general trend that I see ahead and my
reasons for why I think that I am
right. I do not look forward to any
reversal of this recent trend I have
been describing in the United States.
I do not look forward to any real re­
versal of it for many years to come,
five years, ten years, perhaps longer.
There may be interruptions. W e all
know that everything in life is uncer­
tain. W e have things happen that we
cannot forsee at all. It is a rash man
who guarantees the future at all. I
am just reasoning from cause to effect,
telling you what, from things we
know, ought to happen during the
next few years. I think that insofar
as securities are concerned, the item
we are so directly interested in, that
its turn in the trend of bond prices,
for instance, has not anywhere near
reached its culmination. I believe five
years hence it is entirely possible that
men who today are satisfied with get­
ting five per cent or four and a half
per cent on the best security will be
trying to invest their money with equal
security at four per cent or three and
three-fourths per cent. I believe the
men who are buying good bonds and
securities and accepting what they
can get on their coupons in return,
whether it be four and a half or five
per cent, are the far seeing wise men,
who, half a dozen years hence will
look back and realize that they were
very far seeing and shrewd when they
invested their money at those prices,
just as do the people today who were
wise enough in 1923 to invest their
money, we will say, in French Govern­
ment eight per cent bonds at 90 cents
on the dollar, or in French Govern­
ment seven and a half per cent bonds
at 87 cents on the dollar, or the Den­
mark six per cent bonds at 91 cents
on the dollar, or Swiss eight per cent
bonds at 96 cents on the dollar, or one
of the typical American railroad, pub­
lic utility, or industrial bonds, or
South American Bonds in such coun­


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

tries as Argentina and Chile. Just
think what a laugh they have on their
neighbors who told them that they
were crazy, who told them that they
were taking a risk in buying any Eu­
ropean bonds at any price. I believe
that that thing is going to repeat it­
self. When it comes to the question
of values, and when it comes to the
question of, well, are these bonds
that are selling on a four per cent
basis really worth that, can it be pos­
sible that they can raise any higher?
Why should not they raise higher? If
New York Central three and a halfs
could sell at 114 in 1902, when this

country had not anything like the in­
dustries that it has today, when its
system was not as well organized,
when we had no sound banking sys­
tem, when we had all sorts of corrup­
tion in industry as well as in politics
(we always have had corruption in
politics, it is not limited to this by any
means, but almost from the beginning
of time, possibly), when the earning
power of the New York Central was
not half what it is today, why should
not they rise higher? They are selling
at 92 or 93, or whatever they are sell­
ing at, in spite of the fact that the
individual investor of large income

Competent
Investment Council

CLARKE, LEWIS & CO.
IN VESTM EN T EONDS

230 PETERS TR U ST BU ILD IN G

OMAHA

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

18
still has a substantial tax to pay on the
income. Certainly that difference is
not covered entirely by the difference
in taxation, and we all feel that we are
living in a time now when we hope
that somewhere in our lifetime we will
see taxes reduced to some extent. If
we are looking for long term invest­
ments for our children and grandchil­
dren, I think I may say that at least
our grandchildren can see some in­
come tax reduction from what we
have to meet today.
“ So I take the view, we are still in
a constructive period in this country.
W e are not likely to have a return to

the kind of conditions that we had
before the war in commerce, indus­
try and finance; and we are not likely
to have financial panics of the type we
had in the old days because we have
eliminated the chief panic breeder.
W e are likely to have reactions, de­
pressions in business. The so-called
business cycle has some truth in it,
but the great extreme fluctuations
which were characteristic of the per­
iod before the war, between the Civil
W ar and the Great W orld War, par­
ticularly in the United States, are not
likely to return again. W e will have
our recessions. W e had one last year.

R ufus E. L ee & C ompany
Investment Bankers
204-210 City National Bank Building

Omaha

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Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Some people have not known of it be­
cause some of you have been tremen­
dously prosperous, but some of us in
the East have felt during the past
year, since last spring, that there has
been a business depression in our
part of the country, but it has not
been an extreme depression. It has
been a slowing up, and already there
are signs that it is at an end, and we
will go into a further period of ex­
pansion again. And I think that is
the type of thing that is going to hap­
pen with the upward trend and the en­
larged trend, because after all as the
country grows in the diversion of
wealth, and the wealth of its popula­
tion goes into the development of its
resources, it is undisturbed by radi­
cal political changes. If it is undis­
turbed by any normal events or de­
velopments, there is really no reason
why we should not go on along the
path we are following for a great
many years to come.
Trend Will be Upward
“ Now, those are the great funda­
mental factors in the situation which
I think justifies the same common
sense man for having confidence in the
future and for believing that the trend
of security prices is going to be up­
ward. The past trend which we have
witnessed in the last seven or eight
years in decline in the interest rate
and the decline in commodity prices
is going to continue for a long time
to come.
“ There is a new tendency which has
been functioning for a long time now,
in the United States especially; it is
a tendency toward development of ef­
ficiency and production; efficiency in
industry, or adoption of new and
modern methods of cutting out the
waste— waste of effort, waste of dup­
licating effort, waste of time ;the elimi­
nation of all this has had its effect on
wealth production in this country.
This is the primary reason probably
why the United States has forged
ahead in so many things much more
readily, much more rapidly, than some
of the older civilizations have.
“ Now, in Europe, if you study con­
ditions in Europe, especially business,
agricultural, and commercial condi­
tions in Europe, you will soon see why
it is that they progress slower than the
American people are progressing.
That is, making full allowance for
their financial, political and other
handicaps, the European has not as
yet adopted what we call modern
methods in large scale production to
any great extent. He has been slower
in adopting them. True, in Germany
they are beginning now and do al­
most everything the American way. If
you give the Germans five or ten

19
years, they will probably astound the
world. The French are making pro­
gress. The Belgians and Scandinavi­
ans are adopting all kinds of machine
methods of doing business. The Eng­
lish are just thinking over the question
of whether they will adopt the Ameri­
can method. They are very much
slower. They are a very bright peo­
ple, but at the same time they have
not learned yet how to cut out waste
of time.
“ Let me illustrate something to
show you what is the difference be­
tween the British method and the
American method of doing something
constructive. Now, downtown in New
York City there is being built for the
Chase National Bank a thirty-six story
modern building, and it covers a whole
city block. They began to demolish
the old buildings on the site just about
a year ago, and on the 1st of May,
last year, they began to build the
building. It is tbirty-six stories high,
covering the entire block. The Chase
National Bank is going to move into
that building the 1st of May of this
year. There is one year consumed
in building a thirty-six story sky
scraper of the modern type in every
possible respect. Now, as contrasted
to that let me tell you about a building
that is being erected in London.
Lloyd’s Bank which is one of the old­
est banks in the world is building a
new bank building in the Mart called
Cornhill in downtown London. In
November, 1925, I opened a small o f­
fice just across the way. At that time
that site was covered with some old
three-story buildings, and there was a
sign up stating that these buildings
will be demolished for the New
Lloyd’s Bank Building. In June of
1926, I went to London again. I
found that this old building was de­
molished, but they had not as yet got­
ten the foundation of the new build­
ing laid. In June, 1927, I was there
again. They had the foundation in,
but they were not up to the street level
with the steel frame. In November,
1927, the manager of my London o f­
fice was in my office and I asked him
how the Lloyd’s Bank Building was
progressing. He said, “ They are just
above the street now, and they have a
sign up stating that the building will
be finished sometime in 1930.” It is
eight stories high and it is a fine build­
ing, but it has taken them three or
four years to build it. That is one of
the reasons why they have a long way
to go to do things the way Americans
do. They have not yet learned to
cut out the waste.
“ Now, we have learned to cut out
that waste, and we have learned it all


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

through the United States, and busi­
ness everywhere, production, distribu­
tion and everything is being developed
along more scientific lines. W e are
developing these enormous chain
store systems, which we did not have
as an important factor ten years ago.
There are great steel plants, electric­
al plants, and every other kind of

manufacturing plant adopting more
and more efficient methods of de­
velopment, and devising new ways of
cutting out waste, and turning losses
into profits; and because business is
going into such large units, so the
great organizations, the great purchas­
ing organizations, the combination of
hundreds of millions of capital, with

GARARD
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Investment Securities
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SMITH, LANDEROU & CO.
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O M A H A , N E B R A SK A
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

20
great resources and great equipment,
their experts can study out and spend
millions and millions of dollars in
studying out new and better ways of
doing things, and more economical
ways. And that factor is working out
from Maine to California as a farreaching factor in stabilizing the civi­
lization in which we live.
In Charge of Omaha Office
J. D. D. Marcellus, who for five
years has held an important position
with the Garard Trust Company, well
known investment bankers of Chi­
cago, has recently taken charge of the
company’s Omaha office at 314 Union
State Bank Building.
Mr. Marcellus spent twenty years
of the early part of his life in Ne­

braska and is therefore at home in
Omaha. He was educated in Crete
High School, Peru State Normal and
University of Nebraska. Leaving
Lincoln in 1916, he entered business
in Indianapolis. Eight months later
he joined the First Officers Training
Camp. Coming to Chicago immedi­
ately after his army service, he en­
tered the investment banking business,
to which he has since devoted himself
exclusively.
A man of fine personality, of high
moral integrity and keen analytical
mind, thoroughly conversant with
every phase of the investment bank­
ing business, Mr. Marcellus was
chosen to represent Garard Trust Co.
in the Omaha district in the expectationo that he will extend the com­

pany’s business not only in Nebraska,
but in western Iowa.
Associated with Mr. Marcellus in
the sale of Garard securities in Oma­
ha, is H. A. Manning. Mr. Manning
has been connected with Garard Trust

J. D. D. M A R C E L L U S

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Capital, Surplus & Undivided
Profits - $50,62.6,000

Company for some time and previous­
ly was a special representative of the
Marine Trust Company of Buffalo,
New York, one of the twenty-five larg­
est companies in the United States.
Garard Trust Company is an origi­
nating house and has a wide patronage
among investors of the conservative
type, who give preference to securities
which combine safety of principal with
dependable and attractive income. Its
loan department is composed of men
who have had long experience in ori­
ginating bond issues, and includes sta­
tisticians, engineers, architects and
lawyers, as well as men prominent in
the banking world.
During the past fifteen years the
company has distributed securities ag­
gregating many millions of dollars,
consisting of public utility, municipal,
industrial and first mortgage real es­
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chased not only by individual invest­
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companies as well.
Columbus Banker Dies
Clarence L. Gerrard, 57, member
of a prominent family of Columbus
pioneers, died at an Omaha hospital
recently, result of nephritis, a malady
from which he had suffered for sev­
eral months. He was born February
4, 1871, in Lincoln while his father,
Leonard Gerrard, was serving in the
state legislature. He received his
early education in the Columbus
schools, graduating in the class of
1887, and also Nebraska University.
When men are friends, there is no
need of justice; but when they are
just, they still need friendship.
— Aristotle.

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

21

W hat Insurance Means to the
State of Nebraska
Few People Realize Its Magnitude or the
Benefits It Renders to Humanity
T N SU RAN CE in its many branches
A
and numerous ramifications, has
crept into the dealings of man so quiet­
ly and unobtrusively that few people
fully realize its significance or import­
ance to the public institutions, financial
enterprises and ordinary every-day
movements of the entire citizenry— in
fact, it has become so universally ac­
cepted that insurance is now taken for
granted by most people.
Much mystery has surrounded the
institution of insurance in the past,
much more, I believe, than reasonably
should have. Possibly the fault lies
with the companies and agents in not
explaining the contracts of indemnity
when these were sold. Fundamental­
ly, insurance is merely a contract de­
vised to save or indemnify a person
from possible loss up to the amounts
stated in the contract. The definition
given in Section 7743, Compiled
Statutes of Nebraska, is so simple that
anyone should easily understand it.
I quote from the same as follows :

By Hon. John R. Dumont
Nebraska Insurance Commissioner.

some figures from the last annual re­
port of the Nebraska Insurance De­
partment. These, I believe, will give
some idea of the place which insur­
ance has taken in the realm of busi­
ness in the United States, and especi­
ally in the State of Nebraska.
At the close of the year 1926, there
were 564 insurance companies of all
kinds licensed to transact life, fire,
tornado, automobile, casualty, plate
glass, health and accident, fidelity,
surety and the many other lines of

“ ‘Insurance’ is a contract whereby
one party called the ‘insurer,’ for a
(Consideration,
undertakes
to
pay
money or its equivalent, or to do an
act valuable to another party called
the ‘insured’ or to his ‘beneficiary’ up­
on the happening o f the hazard or
peril insured against, whereby the party
insured or his beneficiary suffer loss
or injury.”

No matter how large the project, or
important the institution or individual,
or no matter how small and insignifi­
cant, none can do without some form
of protection. When those in charge
of our banks, trust companies, bond
houses, factories or mercantile estab­
lishments, stop to consider, they must
realize that little credit would ever be
extended in these days were there no
opportunity to obtain the guarantee of
insurance in one form or another.
Few Vision Magnitude
Few of our citizens have any real
conception of the marvelous growth
that insurance has made in such a
comparatively few years nor can they
Visualize the present magnitude of
this business. To illustrate, I will cite
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

domestic institutions controlling 6
6/10 per cent, or approximately 126
million dollars. The net premiums
collected in the state by all insurance
companies for the year 1926 exceeded
48 million dollars, of which Nebraska
companies secured over 26 per cent, or
nearly 13 million dollars. Premium
taxes and fees paid to the State of
Nebraska by these companies totalled
approximately one million dollars. In­
surance in force in Nebraska on all
lines which can be computed totalled
approximately four billion dollars, of
which the Nebraska companies carried
one billion, four hundred million dol­
lars, or 34 per cent.
No estimate can be made as to the
amount of liability of these companies
for such coverages as accident and
health, workmen's compensation, fi­
delity or surety, because of the nature
of the contracts which do not have a
stated principal sum. The figures
given cover, therefore, only the life,
fire, tornado, and hail business.
Totally Stupendous.

MON. JO H N

It. D U M O N T

insurance business in the State of
Nebraska. This group of companies
was divided as follows: 133 were Ne­
braska corporations and 431 foreign
companies. The domestic companies
composed 23 jT per cent of the total
number. The admitted assets of all
totalled over 15 billion dollars, the Ne­
braska companies having 1 3/10 per
cent of this total, or 194 million dol­
lars.
Capital and surplus of these insur­
ance companies amounted to the tidy
sum of nearly two billion dollars, the

The data submitted so far applies
only to Nebraska risks. One may go
farther afield and take into considera­
tion the entire United States . The
totals are stupendous. Take only Ne­
braska domestic companies and it is
found that business in force in the
United States as limited by what can
be actually ascertained reached more
than two and one-half billions and
premiums collected by these Nebraska
companies amounted in the year 1926,
to 45 and one-half millions. The to­
tal insurance in force, on the same
basis, of all companies operating in
the state, reached the huge sum of 260
billion dollars at the close of 1926
and the premium income amounted to
over four billions for that year. I al­
ways hesitate to quote figures, but
there seems to be no better way to
bring before business men the picture
of the insurance business.
Considering that the premium in­
come is only part of the total income
of these companies, as the interest
from billions of dollars of reserves

must be also added, it is hardly pos­
sible for the average person to vis­
ualize the vastness of this business.
Financial men can at once see the
importance of the constant turn-over
of these funds. What would happen
to the country, should such a business
suddenly start liquidating? By the
very nature of the business, a large
amount of the premiums collected and
interest earned must be invested and
be held as reserves for future contin­
gencies. The laws of the various
states, while quite different, are all
very stringent and limit the class of
securities which may be purchased and
carried as admitted assets by insur­
ance companies.
In Nebraska, the funds are largely
invested in farm mortgages, city,
county and school bonds, irrigation
bonds, warrants and securities of the
United States or District of Columbia
or any of the states of the United
States, and in fact, practically any
public improvement bonds. These
funds have enabled the communities
to grow and make necessary improve­
ments. Where would all of these im­
provement bonds have been disposed
of and how could the farm, dwelling
and city real estate mortgages have
the number and amount of personal
insurance funds? Can you imagine
the number and amount of personal
real estate loans which would be
been handled without the aid of these
and real estate loans which would
have been defaulted had these not
been protected by insurance contracts
of one kind or another?
What of the expense to the com­
munity for the care of widows and
orphans and aged persons, were the
life insurance contracts unavailable?

generally supervises all insurance busi­
ness in this state.
The business of insurance is grow­
ing rapidly in the State of Nebraska
and statistics prove that it is one of
the most outstanding and important
branches of business in this state Thir­
ty companies have home offices in the
city of Lincoln and thirty-five in
Omaha. These sixty-five companies at
the end of 1926 showed capital and
surplus of 124 million dollars, admit­
ted assets of approximately 192 mil-

Absorbs Conservative Life
A merger of interest in the insur­
ance field has been revealed in the
announcement by J. J. Shambaugh,
president of the Des Moines Life and
Annuity Company that his company
has absorbed the Conservative Life In-

Must be Properly Controlled
Such institutions which are dealing
with the savings of the public, natur­
ally must be properly controlled. The
public is entitled to protection against
unscrupulous parties and also the
companies are entitled to like protec­
tion; consequently, many specific laws
have been enacted for this purpose.
The state has set up a law enforce­
ment department commonly known as
the State Insurance Department. This
department has general supervision
control and regulation of insurance
companies, associations and societies
and the business of insurance in Ne­
braska, including companies in the
process of organization. The depart­
ment makes periodical examinations
of these companies, issues licenses,
passes on policy forms, holds hearings
and consultations, computes reserves,
makes valuations, collects taxes and
Central Western Danker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

lion dollars and insurance in force
amounting to two billion three hun­
dred million dollars. No one can dis­
pute the fact that insurance has be­
come a great benefactor in many ways
to the State of Nebraska and to its en­
tire citizenry. The insurance business
has stood the test of time, contending
against mud slinging, slander, vicious
attacks from many sources and
through all this, has gained the confi­
dence and respect which it deserves.

J.

SHAM BAUGH

surance Company of Sioux City,
which was organized in 1919. This is
the most recent of a number of pro­
gressive development steps taken by
the Des Moines Life & Annuity since
April, 1914, when the Preferred Risk
Life and the Des Moines Life and An­
nuity were consolidated and Mr.
Shambaugh became chief executive
officer. The effective date of reinsur­
ance was as of May 1. The total
assets of the Conservative Life as of
January 1, 1928, were $115,997 with
insurance in force of $1,838,000. Fig­
ures for the combined companies re­
veal two impressive totals in business
in force of $32,250,000 and admitted
assets of over $4,500,000. Burton E.

Saxton, president of the Conservative
Life will become associated with the
Des Moines Life and Annuity in an
executive capacity, and the Conserva­
tive Life agency force will be contin­
ued as a part of the Des Moines Life
and Annuity organization.
Mr. Shambaugh, when announcing
the merger, expressed himself as well
please with business and the prospects
for the future. He said “ this consoli­
dation gives us more high class busi­
ness and additional splendid agents in
a productive part of our territory.
Our agents under the direction of H.
B. Bossert are giving us a nice vol­
ume of direct business. March was
one of our best months. Conditions
in this rich agricultural territory are
rapidly adjusting themselves, and
there should be an increasing amount
of good business written. W e intend
to get our share.” Officers of the Des
Moines Life and Annuity Company
are:
J. J. Shambaugh, president; George
Cosson, vice-president and counsel; F.
J. McCormick, vice-president; L. O.
Shaffer, vice-president; E. L. Shinnick, secretary actuary; R. J. Bannis­
ter, counsel; L. M. Barlow, treasurer,
Dr. Frank W. Chase, medical direc­
tor; H. B. Bossert, agency supervisor.
Convicted of Fraud
Louis Stopa was convicted in the
Federal Court in Kansas City, Mo.,
recently on a charge of using the
mails to defraud in connection with
a plot to get about $40,000 from life
insurance along with two others, who
were found not guilty. The case ori­
ginated on the complaints of several
insurance policies on a certain Pete
Glumicich, who died about two years
ago. It was charged that a group of
people of which Mr. Stopa was one
had taken out life insurance on
Glumicich with the American Nation­
al Reserve Life, American Insurance
Union and Mutual Life of Baltimore,
when they knew he had only a short

23
time to live. They substituted others
who appeared for physical examina­
tions under the name of Glumicich.
It was the discrepancy in the ap­
pearance of these persons that led the
insurance companies to become suspi­
cious.
The charge of using the mails to de­
fraud was in connection with the
mailing of an affidavit claiming the
money on a policy with the National
Reserve Life of Topeka. The sen­
tence was three years.
Tornado Damage in Nebraska
Damage totaling $150,000 resulted
from a tornado that struck Clarks,
Nebraska, and vicinity on the eve­
ning of May 3. Eight business houses
were partly or wholly wrecked, 24
houses were blown down and a num­
ber of others badly damaged.
All
windows in houses and stores were
broken. Many houses escaped only
with roofs gone. Several farms in
the vicinity were denuded of build­
ings and at the small town of Havens
about $5,000 damage was done by the
wind. Very few persons were in­
jured.
Enters Iowa
The first Iowa office of the Lffiion
Pacific Assurance of Omaha has been
opened in Sioux City by William

Baron. He will cover northwestern
Iowa and northeastern Nebraska.
The company has been licensed in
Iowa, and will organize agencies in all
large cities in that state. The Union
Pacific Assurance, while operating
only seven months of 1927 and being
the youngest company, wound up the
year as 21st in the production of
business in Nebraska, passing 96 com­
panies in the state.
Lincoln Agent Head
John Carr, 65, who had been en­
gaged in the general insurance and
real estate business in Lincoln for the
last 35 years, died at his home there
May 4. Mr. Carr retired from busi­
ness two years ago because of ill
health.
Inspects Tekamah
In cooperation with the Lions Club,
the Nebraska State Fire Prevention
'association made an inspection of
Tekamah, May 22. Arrangements
was being made to have the school
children assemble in the afternoon at
local theater, where a short talk was
made by a member of the association
and a fire prevention film was shown.
Ask Ruling
Commissioner Baker of Kansas has
asked the attorney general for a rul­

P

ing on who is to receive the registra­
tion fees for life insurance policies
in Kansas. Under the new insurance
code those life companies domiciled
in the state may register* their policies
with the secretary of state or the in­
surance department. If with the in­
surance department there is no fee
and if with the register of deeds the
fee is 5 cents a policy. A transcript
of the registration is forwarded the
insurance department.
The register of deeds in the two
large counties with insurance com­
panies are keeping the fees for their
personal use. The counties think the
fees ought to go to the county
treasury.
The insurance department believes
the law ought to be repealed and that
all registrations should be exclusively
with the department. There have been
several instances where there have
been duplicate registrations, substitu­
tions of policies and other changes
made and the department had no way
of checking this information from
the transcript sent in.
To be ignorant of one’s ignorance
is the malady of the ignorant.
Eloquence shows the power and
possibility of man.— Emerson.

rotection

P

lus

Guarantee Fund Fite Protection Pins Accumu­
lation Endowment policies have non-forfeitable
Cash Values beginning with the second year which,
in event of death, are paid to the beneficiary in
addition to the face of the policy.
Under this unique insurance plan, the policy­
holder may withdraw his cash accumulations and
retain his insurance protection by paying the Ordi­
nary Fife rate.
Many other attractive options. Special parttime contracts for Banker Agents are available.
Fiberal Commissions.
G uarantee

F

und

L

if e

B

Write

u il d in g

18th and Douglas Sts., Omaha

W e Also Write
O R DIN ARY LIFE
ENDOW M ENT AT 65
ENDOW M ENT AT 70
Y E A R L Y REN EW AL TERM
TERM INSURANCE FOR 5, 10, 15
20, 25 AND 30 YEARS
DOUBLE IN DEM N ITY
D IS A B IL IT Y BENEFITS
W A IV E R OF PREMIUM
JUVENILE INSURANCE


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Guarantee Fund

LIFE ,

A ssociation
OMAHA
-

-

Assets Exceeding $12,500,000.00

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

24

Neb ras ka N ews
cording to Secretary Bliss of the de­
partment of trade and commerce, at
no time was suffering for lack of re­
serve.

C. A. S M IT H , P re sid e n t
N e b r a s k a H a n k e rs A s s o c ia tio n

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

The Illinois Merchants Trust Com­
pany of Chicago has appointed
James R. Connell representative of
its bond department, with an office in
the First National Bank building of
Omaha. His territory includes the
western part of Iowa and all of the
state of Nebraska.
Mr. Connell, for the previous six
months, was connected with the Illi­
nois Merchants Trust Company in
Chicago, studying the bank’s methods
and policies in connection with the
purchase and sale of investment se­
curities. His appointment was an­
nounced by T. J. Bryce, vice-president
of the bank in charge of the bond de­
partment. Mr. Connell, a lifelong
resident of Omaha, a graduate of Yale
University, was formerly in the real
estate business.
Murlin F. Brock, former cashier of
the Citizens State Bank of Giltner,
Neb., now closed, has been appointed
head of the insurance department and
assistant chairman of the farm loan
department of the First Trust Com­
pany of Aurora, Neb.
The Bank of Cedar Bluffs, Neb.,
after being operated for a time by the
state department of trade and com­
merce, has been turned back again to
the stockholders. They levied a 200
per cent assessment on themselves,
paying into the bank $40,0000 in cash
which was used for the purpose of
taking out slow and frozen assets of
the bank which had been criticized by
the examiner. The bank has approxi­
mately $400,000 in deposits, and, acCentrai Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The Omaha chapter of the Na­
tional Conference of Bank Auditors
has elected its officers for the coming
year, as follow s:
L. M. Brown, United States Na­
tional Bank of Omaha, president; E.
H. Spetman of the Council Bluffs Sav­
ings Bank of Council Bluffs, la., first
vice-president; T. G. Boggs, of the
Stock Yards National Bank of Oma­
ha, second vice-president; John Kelsen of the State Savings Bank of
Council Bluffs, secretary; W . J. Sellner, of the First National Bank of
Omaha, treasurer.
Van E. Peterson, secretary of the
state guaranty fund commission, has
announced the payment of $278,323.83
to depositors in seven banks which
are being operated by the commission.
All of the money paid to the deposit­
ors was derived from collections on
the assets of the banks. No money was
drawn from the guaranty fund. The
payments were :
State Bank of Wolbach, Wolbach,
$35,938.55 ; Farmers State Bank,
Petersburg, $44,179.26; Citizens State
Bank, Petersburg, $47,812.77 ; Strang
State Bank, Strang, $17,375.23; Farm­
ers State Bank, Hazard, $23,887.20;
Mitchell State Bank, Mitchell, $69,558.59; First State Bank, Pawnee
City, $39,572.23.
P. R, Williams of Los Angeles,
Cal., national president of the Ameri­
can Institute of Banking, was a guest
of the Omaha chapter at its annual
meeting at the Blackstone Hotel, May
4, when two hundred attended.
“ In our educational work among
adults,” Mr. Williams said in an ad­
dress, “ no university or college can
point the finger of disdain at us. W e
feel that we are providing the finest
courses in banking that it is possible
to offer.
“ Times have changed— financial in­
stitutions have established credit de­
partments, unheard of a quarter of a
century ago. But we have kept pace
with the times. Today, before a stu­
dent can graduate from us, we require
210 hours of lectures, and this stand­
ard has recently been changed, requir­
ing 336 hours of lectures, gradually
to become effective within the next
five years.”

The Omaha chapter of the Ameri­
can Institute of Banking elected four
members to the board of governors
recently, as follow s:
Arthur D. Anderson, United States
National Bank; Clarence R. Ander­
son, Federal Reserve Bank; Karl
Kalde, First National Bank; G. F.
Kroeger, Peters Trust Company.
The defeated candidates w ere: W il­
liam Derr, Live Stock National Bank;
E. J. Horacek, Union State Bank; H.
C. Miller, Occidental Building and
Loan Association; Thomas Walsh,
Packers National Bank.
Mrs. Herman Konntze, widow of
Herman Kountze, pioneer Omaha
banker, died, at the age of 75, May 8,
in Omaha. Mr. Kountze died in 1906.
W . D. Longyear, treasurer of the
American Bankers Association, and
Grant McPherrin, president of the
Central State Bank of Des Moines,
la., were passengers on the giant trimotored Fokker airplane that made a
transcontinental flight to the Pacific
coast, to be put in passenger service
between Los Angeles and San Fran­
cisco.
E. D. Morcom, treasurer of the
Federal Land Bank, returned to his
duties the first of the month after an
absence of six weeks because of ill­
ness, part of this time being spent at
Excelsior Springs, Mo.
Samuel Burns, senior member of
the firm of Burns-Potter & Company,
brokers and investment bankers, died
at Roosevelt Hospital, New York City,
April 28th, after an illness of several
weeks.
A group of Omaha and Nebraska
bankers who are members of the E x­
ecutive Council of the American
Bankers’ Association left Omaha
April 12th to attend the annual “ spring
tonic” meeting of the Council held at
Augusta, Ga. In the delegation were
Andrew Kopperud, manager of the
Omaha Lederal Intermediate Credit
Bank; Gwyer H. Yates, vice-presi­
dent United States National Bank;
James L. O ’ Donnell, cashier Nebraska
State Bank of O ’Neill, and John M.
Flannigan, president Citizens Bank of
Stuart, Neb., who is a member of the
agricultural committee.
Through arrangements made by
Walter Head, president of the Oma-

25
ha National Bank, a compromise
agreement was reached last month
whereby Omaha banks will pay 2 per
cent on deposits of county funds, and
the county will pay the premiums on
surety bonds, which heretofore have
been paid by the banks. This com­
promise settles a disagreement which
came about January 1st when the
banks announced they would pay only
\y2 per cent on county deposits, but
the decision is virtually a victory for
the banks inasmuch as the premiums
on surety bonds ordinarily amount to
about Jd per cent on the deposits.

elected president of Group One of the
Nebraska Bankers Association, at the
meeting in Lincoln May 17. Carl D.
Ganz, cashier of the Larmers and
Merchants Bank of Alvo, was made
vice-president ; and J. O. Peck, assist­
ant cashier of the Dawson Bank, Daw­
son, was made secretary.
The principal topic for discussion
was the problem of agriculture, and

the group adopted a resolution frown­
ing upon direct buying of livestock on
the farm, by the packers, and advo­
cating the passage by Congress of
legislation which would preserve for
farmers and stockmen the continu­
ance of competition in the open mar­
ket.
P. H. Stewart, agronomist at the
State College of Agriculture, discussed

Bank clearings in Omaha for
April were $12,069,701 more than
April, 1927, according to figures com­
piled by the Omaha Clearing House,
the totals for this year being $177,891,427.
Frederick H. Davis, president of
the First National Bank of Omaha,
left in May, for a trip to Europe. He
plans to spend three months abroad.
Mr. Davis’ wife and daughters will
accompany him on the trip, which be­
comes an annual vacation for him.

E L IM IN A T E T H E W O R R Y
resulting form delays in the collection
of your live stock proceeds, by dele­
gating that authority to a bank that
specializes in this line.

Omaha bankers were prominent
among the business man who toured
northeastern Nebraska, and the Rose­
bud country in South Dakota, on the
annual Omaha Chamber of Commerce
trade excursion, May 14 to 19. The
representatives of the various banks,
who renewed acquaintance with coun­
try correspondents on the tour, were
as follows:
First National Bank: Denman
Kountze, E. F. Jepsen.
Omaha National Bank: John A.
Changstrom.
United States National Bank: Perry
B. Hendricks.
Stock Yards National Bank: C. L.
Owen.
Live Stock National Bank: R. H.
Kroeger.
Burns, Potter & C o .: Guy Hoffer.

OURS IS SUCH A BAN K

STOCK

OF SOUTH OM AH A
O F F IC E R S
F O R D E. H O V E Y , P res.
JA S . B. O W E N , V ic e -P r e s .
F . J. E N E R S O N , V i c e - P r e s .
W . L. P IE R , V ic e -P r e s .
W . H . D R E S S L E R , C a s h ie r

T. H. Wake, president of the Jones
National Bank of Seward, Neb., was

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

L.
H.
C.
T.

K . M OORE,
C. M I L L E R ,
L. O W E N ,
G. B O G G S ,

A ss t, to P res.
A ss t, to C ash.
A ss t. C ash.
A u d ito r

National Bank
.TrustCompany

After an absence of five weeks, due
to an injured knee, hurt when he was
playing handball, Gwyer Yates, vicepresident of the United States Na­
tional Bank of Omaha, is again at his
desk.
The department of Trade and Com­
merce, according to an announcement
by Secretary Clarence Bliss, has is­
sued a charter for a new bank at
Burchard, Neb. The State Bank of
Burchard begins business with a capi­
tal stock of $25,000.

YARD S NATIONAL BANK

O M A H A
‘An Unbroken Record of Seventy Years
is a Guarantee of Safe and
Satisfactory Service”

O F F I C E R S

G.
J.
T.
C.
R.

:

M. T. B arlow , President o f the Board
R. P. M orsman , President
P. B. H endricks, Assistant Cashier
FI. Y ates, V.-Pres. and Cashier
H. E. R ogers, Assistant Cashier
C. M c Clure, Vice-President
E. E. L andstrom, Assistant Cashier
F. M urphy , Vice-President _
A. L. V ickery, Assistant Cashier
F. B r in k m a n , Ass’ t V -President
V. B. Caldwell, Assistant Cashier
R. R ainey , Assistant Cashier

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

26
the problems of corn growing and told
the result of soil and cultivation ex­
periments on crops in various areas of
the state.
G. Smrha, president of the Farm­
ers and Merchants Bank of Milli­
gan, gave a talk on “ Tooting Your
Own Horn.”
‘‘There are but two professions left
that do not advertise,” he said, “ the
doctors and the bankers, and as a re­
sult the unethical doctor gets business
that he should not get, through his ad­
vertising. The business will not come
to you. You have to go after it and
the only way you can do this is by
effective advertising.”
Mr. Smrha advertised the publica­
tion of a detailed report of the bank’s
standing, showing every bond and
paper held.
T. B. Strain, vice-president of the
First Trust Company of Lincoln,
Neb., spoke on “ Bonds as a Bank In­
vestment.” E. F. Folda, manager of
the bond department of the Stock
Yards National Bank of Omaha, con­
ducted a round table.
“ The Beef Cattle Business in East­
ern Nebraska” was discussed by H. J.
Gramlich, chairman of animal hus­
bandry of the state university.
President C. A. Smith of the state
association warned the bankers of the

OUR

approaching legislature, and urged
them to forget petty differences.
Van E. Peterson, secretary of the
of the Nebraska guaranty fund com­
mission since its organization in 1923,
is not to be a candidate for re-election
to the commission when his term ex­
pires in July, he has announced. The
decision, however, is not expected to
affect his status as secretary of the
commission, which does not need to
engage a secretary from among its
own members. Mr. Peterson’s sal­
ary as secretary, is $7,500 a year.
His reason for deciding not to be a
candidate for the commission he gives
as follows:
“ The appointment is to be made for
a three-year term, and I do not wish
to continue my service on the commis­
sion as long as that.”
W . B. Hughes, the secretary of
the Nebraska Bankers Association,
who recently was in Oakland, Calif.,
chose the airplane to make the return
trip to Omaha. The trip was entirely
without incident until the plan reached
Nebraska, when heavy fog was en­
countered east of North Platte, and a
landing was made at Grand Island for
an hour, until weather conditions
cleared.

J. F. Coad, of the Packers National
Bank of Omaha, is encouraging the
formation in Omaha and in Nebraska,
of savings clubs by American Legion
members who wish to attend the na­
tional convention of the Legion at
San Antonio, Texts, October 8 to 12.
Mr. Coad is a director of the national
“ Save-to-Travel” association.
Future group meetings of the Ne­
braska Bankers Association have been
fixed as follows: June 5, Hastings,
Neb.; June 6, Cozad; June 7, Cozad;
June 8, Chadron.
The short term of H. C. Peterson
of Chappell, on the state guaranty
fund commission, is to be filled by
election at Scottsbluff ; and the suc­
cessor to J. C. Hill, will be named at
the meeting at Chadron.
The Merchants National Bank of
Nebraska City, Neb., celebrated its
seventy-first anniversary, Sunday,
May 13. It is said to be the oldest
bank in Nebraska, in continuous ser­
vice. It was organized in 1857.
Practical success in art must come
from every-day ambition and experi­
ment.— Ntedman.

BOND D E P A R T M E N T
Organized to Care for the

Investment Needs of Our Customers
Reliable Information Furnished on A n y
Security for A n y Bank

LIVE STOCK NATIONAL BANK
Union .Stock Yards
OMAHA
VV. P. A D K IN S , President
R. H. K RO EG ER, Asst. Cashier
L. V. P U L L IA M , Asst. Cashier
A L V IN E. JO H N SO N , Vice-President
W . S. HOGU E, Asst. Cashier
H O W A R D O. W IL S O N , Cashier

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

27

News From the Yards
FACES PIG SHORTAGE
The middle wests has prospects for
a bumper corn crop and a shortage
of pigs, in the estimation of W . J.
Kennedy, live stock authority of St.
Joseph, who said in a recent inter­
view :
“ W e have just completed a rather
careful and fairly complete survey of
the 1928 pig crop. W e have been
gathering this information each spring
for over 15 years, and have been
very close to actual conditions.
“ These figures are gathered through
our branches, county farm bureaus,
state departments, large dealers and
from my own personal contact with
the farmers.
“ Everything indicates a rather
marked shortage of pigs this year. As
compared to the 1927 figures, Neb­
raska has an increase of 15 per cent,
Kansas an increase of 10 per cent,
and South Dakota about the same.
But these are the exceptions.
“ Minesota has a 10 per cent de­
crease, Iowa over 10 per cent decrease,
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio from 20
to 25 per cent decrease.
“ The acreage of corn will be much
larger due to frozen out wheat, alf­
alfa, clover and oats. This will mean,
if weather conditions are favorable,
one of the largest corn crops in
years.
“ With a hog shortage and lots of
corn, hogs will be on a very porfitable
basis for October, 1928, throughout
the entire year of 1929.
“ It is too bad that farmers are
rushing out of hogs just because the
corn market has been higher than the
hogs market during the past few
months. The man who stays by the
hog will win in the end.”

New Trucking Record
Another trucking record was set
this month at the Omaha yards when
2,088 head of cattle and calves reach­
ed the yards “ on rubber.” This is 210
head more than the former high
mark of cattle receipts made in
February of this year.
Meet June 21-22
Omaha will be host to the National
Live Stock and Meat board when its
members assemble for their annual


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

meeting on Thursday and Friday,
]une 21 and 22.
This meeting will bring to Omaha
leaders in the principal cattle, swine
and sheep growers’ association, as
well as representatives of the pack­
ers, retailers and commission men.
They come from 11 states, embracing
a territory from Ohio west to W yo­
ming and Utah, and from Nebraska
south to Texas.

Half a Million People
According to a recent survey made
by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce,
there are 516,000 persons in Omaha’s
retail trade territory. This covers a
radius of 50 miles in all directions.
Farms in the 50-mile radium re­
present an investment of $973,267,000,
the report stated and average value
of farms is $27,731, compared to
$12,084 for the country as a whole.
Average bank deposits are $1,963 per
family and there is one automobile
for each 4.2 inhabitants. There are
but eight towns with populations
above 5,000 in the district but 443,356 of the inhabitants live in cities
or towns, including 211,000 in Oma­
ha, The district has 253 banks with
total deposits of $235,539,000.
Of
thefarms, 88 per cent have telephones
'and are served by eighteen news­
papers.
Omaha’s wholesale trade
territory has a population of 6,325,000, according to the chamber’s esti­
mates.

“ Will Win in the End”
Professor W . J. Kennedy has al­
ways been something of an outhority
on hog marketing as well as on hog
diseases. He has made a careful sur­
vey of conditions and prospects in
the corn belt and figures that there is
a prospective increase in corn acre­
age. “ With a hog shortage and lots of
corn, hogs will be on a very profit­
able basis for October, 1928, through­
out the entire year of 1929,” con­
cludes the professor. “ It is too bad
that farmers are rushing out of hogs
just because the corn market has
been higher than the hig market dur­
ing the past few months. The man
who stays by the hog deal will win
in the end.”— Editorial, Omaha Daily
Stock Journal.

The Live Stock Trader
The National Live Stock Traders’
Exchange held its thirteenth annual
convention in St. Louis last Friday
and Saturday with delegates present
from ten market centers. Sometimes
the trader, as he functions at the live
stock market, is not understood and
given the proper recognition as an im­
portant functionary in the great mar­
keting scheme, says the St. Joseph
Stock Yards Journal. His presence in
the market increases competition and
helps to stabilize prices. The trader
matches his skill and experience
against the uncertainties of the trade
and thus helps to create a demand
for the shippers’ stock. Plus all this
he has voluntarily bound himself un­
der stringent rules for the protection
of all interests that have dealings
with him. And just now the Traders’
Exchanges are lined up and fighting
with the Live Stock Exchanges and
their patrons— the live stock shippers
and feeders— for the preservation of
the open market.— Editorial Omaha
Daily Journal-Stockman.
Hot Weather Precautions
With a few hot days registered in
May, Omaha shippers and live stock
men were passing out to shippers hot
weather loading precautions.
In the first three days of this week,
29 hogs reached market dead in the
cars, as compared with 19 head for
the same days a week ago, and 12
head in the corresponding days three
weeks ago. Veterinarians here attri­
bute the increase mortality in ship­
ment to the rise in temperature. Cat­
tle and sheep were not affected so
much by the hot weather, and losses
were no heavier this week than they
have been.
For the past several years stockmen in the territory tributary to Oma­
ha have demonstrated that stock can
be shipped safely in the hotest wea­
ther if the proper precautions are
taken. The loading rules are simple
and easily followed. Here are the
most important steps for the ship­
per to guard against summer shipping
losses, as outlined by Dr. C. H. Hoekstra, chief veterinarian at Omaha for
the Western Weighing and Inspection
Bureau:
1.
Do not over-load any kind of
stock.
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

28
2. Load stock in clean, newly
sanded cars.
3. Hogs should be wet down, and
if possible the cars in which they are
shipped should be iced.
4. Do not load stock in cars with
an accumulation of heavy winter
bedding.
Simple, isn’t it? And the saving of
just one hog is worth more than the
expense and time required to ice sev­
eral cars.
Club Members Active.
More than 1,200 baby beeves are
now on feed and being cared for by
boys and girls club members of Ne­
braska. This is by far the largest
number that have ever been fed in the
state, according to C. S. Maddox, as­
sistant extension agent of club work.
The calves belong to over 800 mem­
bers in 77 clubs scattered over prac­
tically every county of the state where
any cattle are fed. Most of the mem­
bers will exhibit their calves this fall
at the Nebraska State Fair, the new
Ak-Sar-Ben stock show at Omaha,
and the Sioux City and St. Joseph
shows.
Many of the calves went on feed
last fall and all the baby beeves that
will be exhibited at the state fair
were on feed by January 15. Fat
heifers for the state fair show were

on feed by March 1. Baby beeves for
the Omaha show went on feed before
March 15 and fat heifers for that
show were started before May 1.
With less than half the enrollments
in the office for the pig clubs of 1928,
925 members have started in 123 clubs.
It is expected that more than 2,000
boys and girls will be in this club this
year. Hog prices have not been as
encouraging as they might be during
the past year, but the market fore­
casters say the slump is over and the
boys and girls can look for better
prices when their pigs are ready to
sell next fall.
It is thought that these forecasts
will tend to keep the pig club enroll­
ment at about normal this year in
spite of past low prices. Low market
prices has kept the prices of good
breeding stock down to a point where
boys and girls wanting a good start
with purebred stock have been able
to invest in the best breeding at very
reasonable prices. This condition
should have benefited the youngsters
and helped them start a good founda­
tion for their future herds.
Most of the pigs are exhibited at
local and county fairs. Only about
400 are shown each year at the state
fair, and a good share of them come
from Lancaster and adjoining coun­
ties. Most of the members raise

breeding hogs rather than market
hogs, so their show does not exactly
compare with the baby beef and
auction sale. A new fat barrow show
at Omaha this fall is already creating
a lot of interest, however.
An Honest Man!
Go to Diogenes and tell him to cast
his lantern beam on Minnesota. For
there lives an honest man.
Discovery of this honest man was
made recently by Harry W . Kavel,
general agent of the Aetna Life In­
surance Company at Minneapolis. As
evidence, Mr. Kavel cites the follow­
ing letter, sent to him by Hans B.
Kromann, honest m an:
“ I am returning herewith check of
March 31st which I, according to our
contract, feel that I am not fully en­
titled to, due to the fact that I have
been doing some work part of the
past month, although I have not been
able to work in the open in cold wea­
ther, and according to my doctor’s ad­
vice must be careful and avoid ex­
posure to cold wind as much as pos­
sible, wherefor I have had to hire
extra help to do the work in the
open.
“ If, under such circumstances, I
should be entitled to part disability, I
would consider that with apprecia­
tion.”

® f)E
At the

N ebra ska

G roup

CfwSe Rational Jiatib
M e e tin g s

of the City of New York
57 BROADW AY

Lincoln, May 17
Hastings, June 6th

Capital_______

_____________________$ 50,000,000.00

Surplus and P rofits________
Deposits (F eb ru a ry 28,

Cozad, June 7th

T h e C om m erce

OFFICERS
Albert H. Wiggin
Chairman of the Board
John McHugh
Chairman of the Executive Committee

Will be represented by
Mr. Fred B. Brady, Vice-President
Richard Dunlap

Commerce Trust Company
Resources Exceed 100 Millions

K A N SA S C IT Y

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

57,462,411.15

1 9 2 8 )_ 857,757,013.97

Samuel H. Miller
Carl J. Schmidlapp
Reeve Schley
Sherrill Smith
Henry Ollesheimer
Alfred C. Andrews
Robert I. Barr

Robert L. Clarkson
President

Vic e-Presid ents
George E. Warren Hugh N. Kirkland
George D. Graves
James H. Gannon
Frank O. Roe
William E. Purdy
Harry H. Pond
George H. Saylor
Samuel S. Campbell M. Hadden Howell
William E. Lake
Joseph C. Rovensky
Charles A. Sackett

Vice-President and Cashier
William P. Holly
Second Vice-Presidents
Frederick W. Gehle Franklin H. Gates
T. Arthur Pytermar
Edwin A. Lee
Arthur M. Aiken
Ambrose E. Impey
Alfred W. Hudson
S. Frederick Telleer Robert J. Kiesling
James L. Miller
Otis Everett
Lynde Selden
Benjamin E. Smythe Wm. H. Moorhead Thomas B. Nichols
Joseph Pulvermacher Harold L. Van Kleeck George S. Schaeffer
Leon H. Johnston
Comptroller
Thomas Ritchie

29

Expects a Good Year

South Dakota News
County Bankers Meet
A meeting of the Day County
Bankers’ Association was held re­
cently in Webster, South Dakota.
Bankers present included C. B. Knott
and Albert Lundeen of Bristol; J.
Schad of Roslyn; J. A. Anderson of
Peirpont; Edwin Carlson of Holmquist;.. Andrew Hedman, E. M.
Hanse and W . B. Stevens of W eb­
ster.
Andrew Hedman of Webster was
elected president, and J. A. Anderson
of Pierpont, secretary and treasurer
for the ensuing year.
The association plans to hold regu­
lar monthly meetings, which will prob­
ably be held in the evening, preceded
by a dinner.
First Foreclosure
The Menno State Bank of Menno,
South Dakota, which has been doing
business in Hutchinson county for the
past thirty-two years, has loaned mil­
lions of dollars on real estate in that
section of the state, reports that this
spring it was forced to make the first
foreclosure ever made on a loan in
that institution. The foreclosure was
made on account of conflicting claims
against the land.
Meet in Dell Rapids
Bankers of Dell Rapids, South Da­
kota, gathered recently for the annual
convention of group No. 2, South Da­
kota Bankers association, which was
held in the park pavilion.
The program consisted of an ad­
dress of welcome by Mayor L. K.
Larson; response by Ira A. Moore,
Sioux Falls, president; address by
George A. Starring, secretary of the
state association, on “ Public Relations
and Advertising” ; addressed by M. I.
Orms, Sioux Falls, on “ The Service
Charge and Analysis of Accounts” ;
address by Harry Yaeger, deputy gov­
ernor ,federal reserve bank, Minne­
apolis, on “ The Future of Branch
Banking;” remarks by Harry M. Grif­
fith, president of the state association;
and a question box conducted by J.
L. Mitchell, president of the First
National bank of Sioux City.
There was a dinner meeting at 6 :30
with Mr. Moore acting as toastmaster.
Group Nine Meets
The Seventh annual meeting of
Group Nine of the South Dakota
Bankers’ Association was held re­


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

cently at Bonesteel. John H. Meyhaus, president of the Dakota State
Bank of Bonesteel presided, and R.
J. Taylor, vice-president of the Da­
kota State Bank acted as secretary.
The address of welcome was given
by P. J. Donohue of Bonesteel, and
the response made by R. E. Mont­
gomery, cashier of the Tripp County
State Bank of Colome.
Addresses were made by Guy C.
Kiddoo, vice-president of the Omaha
National Bank, and A. B. Beck, judge
in the Ninth judicial circuit.
Officers elected for the coming year
were Robert Jones of Winner, presi­
dent; H. E. McKee of Gregory, vicepresident ; and Lloyd Mengle of W in­
ner, secretary.
The Group chose Winner as the
meeting place for next year.
In Watertown
Bankers of Group Two of the
South Dakota Bankers Association
met recently in Watertown, and elec­
ted the following officers for the en­
suing year; C. H. Lockhart of Watertown, president; J. A. McGillivary, of
Clark, vice-president; and E. R. John­
son of Brookings, secretary.
The gathering decided to hold the
meeting next year at Brookings.
Heads Group Three
L. M. Larson, Wessington Springs,
was elected president of group three
of the South Dakota Bankers Associa­
tion at the closing of the group’s an­
nual meeting in Mitchell recently. Mr.
Larson succeeds J. S. Smiley of A l­
exandria. E. A. Loonier of Mitchell
was elected vice-president, and D. V.
Smith of Mitchell, secretary-treasurer.
The executive committee comprises
a banker from each county in the
group and includes : G. Gerhart, Au­
rora; F. S. Stowell, Brule; J. M.
Newell, Davison; W . S. Hille, Han­
son ; Roy Klatt, Hutchinson ; K. T.
Aisenbrey, Jerauld; C. E. Lange,
Jones; Thomas McMuggan, Lyman,
and T. M. Brisbine, Sanborn.
Pioneer Dies
Frank H. Johnson, long associated
with South Dakota banking activities,
died recently at Hot Springs, South
Dakota. His death was thought to
have been caused by heart trouble. In
the past he had been associated with
banks at Armour, Geddes and Sioux
Falls.

By Carl E. Voigt, cashier, National Bank
o f Huron, South Dakota

The outlook for Huron, S. D., and
its trade territory is very promising.
In spite of the coldest April weather
which has ever been recorded by the
local weather bureau, the farmers
have not been delayed to any extent
in their spring work. The latter part
of March was ideal from an agricul­
tural standpoint, giving the wheat
growers an opportunity to do their
seeding early. Nearly all the spring
wheat seeding was finished by April
10th, followed by the seeding of oats
and barley. Due to the extreme cold
weather which caused considerable
freezing during the month of April, it
is estimated that the small grain has
been delayed from a week to ten
days, but inasmuch as the soil and
moisture conditions are promising,
the crop should make rapid advance­
ment with a little warm weather.
The present estimates are, that
there is about an average acreage of
wheat, oats and barley. If any
change, it is possible that there is a

C A R L V O IG T

little more barley, due to the better
price. A few scattered reports state
that some of the early oats has been
hurt by the continued freezing, and
that these fields are being seeded to
barley. This, however, effects only
a small percentage and no cause for
alarm. There is very little rye and
winter wheat in this section. The
(Continued on Next Page)

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

30

Kansas News
To Promote Safety
The Clearing House Association of
Kansas City, Kansas, recently pro­
moted a campaign for the use of safe­
ty deposit boxes, calling special at­
tention to the fact that during the
summer, while persons are away on
vacations, it is especially dangerous to
leave valuable in the vacant house. A
safety deposit box is a very simple
solution.

J. A. Middlekauf of Douglas, was
elected president. W. S. Marshall of
Leon becomes vice-president, and Jay
Thomson of Eldorado, secretary.
New Vault
The Columbus State Bank of Co­
lumbus, Kansas, has recently installed
a new vault of the very latest type in
efficiency and safety. The complete
vault weighs more than twenty-eight
tons.

Contest Shoot
The banks of Coffey county, Kans.,
will hold their vigilante contest shoot
sometime in August. The winner of
this contest will attend the state meet
next fall, where he will compete with
the winners from other counties
throughout the state.

Succeeds Father
Ames P. Rogers is the newly elec­
ted president of the Abilene National
Bank of Abilene, Kansas. He suc­
ceeds his father, the late G. A. Rog­
ers. A. P. Rogers was formerly vicepresident of the bank.

Buy Machine Gun
The Merchants National Bank of
Topeka, Kansas, has recently pur­
chased a machine gun as a further
protection from bank bandits. The
outiiit is the same style as that in
regular use in the U. S. Army, and
also by the Kansas National Guard.

In Marysville
Marysville, Kansas, was the recent
meeting place of the Marshall coun­
ty Bankers’ Association. W. J. Burr,
cashier of the State Bank of Blue
Rapids, was elected president, and O.
Deibert of the Winifred State Bank,
secretary.

Heads County Bankers
At a recent meeting of the Butler
county, Kansas, Bankers’ Association,

Reorganized
The Caldwell State Bank of Cald­
well, Kansas, has been reorganized

Above, Governor Ben S. Paulen of Kansas, photographed at Grove Park
Inn, Asheville, North Carolina during a recent visit he paid the “Land of
the Sky” in company with members of the American Bankers’ Association.
L eft to right, Mrs. M. II. Malott of Abilene, Kansas, Mrs. Ben S. Paulen
and Governor Paulen.

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

with a capital of $35,000. The bank
is now controlled by John T. Stewart
of Wellington, who is the new presi­
dent. A. E. Bower of Wellington is
vice-president, and F. Wynn of Cald­
well is the new cashier.
Greenwood Bankers Meet
The Greenwood County Bankers’
Association held their recent annual
meeting in Eureka, Kansas. A Eu­
reka banker, G. F. Akright, was
chosen as president for the ensuing
year, and John T. Marshall, of the
same town, becomes secretary.
Elected to Board
Charles Casswell succeeds Jess M or­
rell as a member of the board of di­
rectors of the Kanopolis State Bank of
Kanopolis, Kansas. Mr. Morrell was
formerly cashier of the institution.

Expects Good Year
(Continued from Page 29)

corn acreage will probably be about
the same as last year.
Producing More Corn
This community is producing more
and better corn each year, which is
evidenced by the fact that this coun­
ty is nearly in the center of the corn
belt of this state. Most of the farm­
ers have ample corn to take care of
their present needs, and some of them
are fortunate enough to have a sur­
plus and are taking advantage of the
advance in price, which is better than
90c per bushel at this time. Avail­
able reports show that South Dakota
shipped 500 per cent more grain from
August, 1927 to March 31, 1928 than
during the same period for the previ­
ous year. It is also estimated that
there is about 400 per cent less grain
on the farms at this time than a year
ago, and about 200 per cent more in
the elevators. This is attributed to
the short 1926 crop, and to the fact
that farmers a year ago were short
of feed and seed and were not dis­
posing of their grain. The farmers
have a vision of duplicating their last
■year’s record, providing they have
continued favorable weather condi­
tions.
Many farmers are taking advant­
age of the fact that the swine indus­
try is passing through the period of
a hog price cycle and are stocking up
with feeders and brood sows. Gov­
ernment figures show that as a whole
there was an increase of hogs of six
to eight per cent in 1927 over those
raised in 1926; local conditions like­
wise show an increase. Therefore, it
is quite probable that the 1928 crop
(Continued on Page 37)

31

Predict Good Business Year
(Continued from Page 8)

not be long until the deflation period
will be forgotten. I do not know of
any pending foreclosures, and the
heavily involved are few and far be­
tween. The local mercantile condi­
tion is very good, hut the merchants
are proceeding cautiously.
The demand for money has been
very meager this spring, even though
we had a short crop last year, farm­
ers are not anxious to increase their
indebtedness. The crop outlook for
this year has been somewhat ham­
pered by the recent high winds and
dry weather and no little damage was
done to the small grain. However,
recent rains have put things in very
good shape and believe that in a few
weeks time the majority of the dam­
age will not be noticeable, provided
favorable weather prevails. The farm
work has progressed well and the
farmers are very optimistic over the
outlook.
Spring Work in Good Shape
By R. C. Peters, Farmers State Bank,
Glenvil, Nebr.

Spring business in this section is
opening up in fine shape. The ground
is in execellent condition for corn
planting and we expect many to start
planting at once.
The demand for money here is
rather light. W e believe this is due
to the results of a good crop last year
a little of which has been held over
by most farmers and is now being
marketed at good prices.
Bank Deposits are on Increase
By Geo. J. Kunze, Cashier, Citizens State
Bank, Lewis, la.

Conditions in this section of the
state are much improved as compared
with those of the past few years.
Ours is strictly an agricultural com­
munity and the unusually cold spring
has delayed farm work so that crops
are about two weeks behind normal.
But even with this discouraging con­
dition, there is a decided feeling of
optimism among our folks which is
refreshing after the period of depres­
sion from which we sincerely believe
we are emerging. And it is this
changed mental attitude and spirit
that is one of the outstanding signs
of the times.
Land is slowly coming back into its
own and is again being considered an
asset rather more than a liability.
There are very few land mortgage
foreclosures. The prosperity of our
merchants depends on that of our


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

farmers and most lines report a very
good trade with collections good.
Demand for money has been less
than usual this spring and banks have
enjoyed a very substantial increase in
deposits.
W e have a justified faith in Iowa,
her land, her institutions, and her
people, and are glad of the privilege
of being a part of the great common­
wealth.
Minnesota Conditions Fair to Good
By A. V. A. Peterson, Vice-President,
Farmers and Merchants State Bank,
Austin. Minn.

Spring work has been somewhat de­
layed because of the unusual weather
conditions, but it appears that the
early crop that was sown before the
snow and cold weather that followed,
has not been injured except in low
places. Most of our small grain crops
are now in, and work is commencing
in preparing the soil for the corn.
Generally speaking, farm conditions
are about the same as they were a
year ago, except that a demand for
feed money has developed in a small
way. The soil is in a very good con­
dition for a crop, and if warm wea­
ther will set in the lateness of the
season will not affect the crop ma­
terially.
Busines conditions hereabouts are
fair to good. Credits are being taken
care of in the ordinary course, and
demand for money is about as usual.
Speaking in a larger way, agricultur­
ally and commercially, Austin and its
tributary country is about normal, and
movement of land has manifested it­
self in a small way, but at prices
higher and better than maintained a

year ago. The Federal Land Bank
has little or no delinquency of inter­
est in this county, and where business
has been handled in a conservative
manner, credits are well taken care
of.
Farmers Hesitate to Buy Cattle
By E. L. Johnson, Cashier, Peoples State
Bank, Wolbach, Nebr.

Conditions in this part of the coun­
try are very favorable at the present
time. W e had quite a long dry spell
which kept the grass back, and also
the alfalfa, and damaged some of the
wheat, but we had a good rain four
or five days ago and as far as any
damage to the crops, we think there
is very little.
There is very little demand for
money. People seem to be afraid to
take hold of cattle at the going prices.
There is no demand for farm loans,
or very little. Most farmers seem to
expect a lower rate of interest.
Are Anticipating Average Crop
By IV. R. Pettee, Cashier, Farmers and
Traders Bank, Waco, Nebr.

Spring wheat has been set back­
ward somewhat on account of the
cold, dry weather and high winds
which we had all the month of April.
However, since the first of May we
have had an inch of rain which has
made a big difference in the fields.
With favorable conditions from now
on, we can look for an average crop
of wheat in this community.
Money is easy here. The demand
is not heavy as yet and we have a
good surplus on hand. There is still
quite a lot of old corn on hand and
also wheat, which the farmers are
holding for higher prices. There is
also quite a number of car loads of
cattle and hogs just about ready to
go to market. The farmers here are
not complaining of hard times. Most

Nebraska is rapidly developing its dairy herd industry.
Above, a fine Nebraska herd.

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

32
of them are doing well in spite of the
fact that politicians are trying to make
them believe that they are not having
a fair deal.
Farmers Learning to Smile
By Geo. F. Smith, Vice-President, Waterbury State Bank, Waterbury, Nebr.

The spring prospect for fairly good
business is more flatering than it was
one year ago.
Farmers are much farther ahead
with their work and prospects for a
good crop are promising.
Plowing is all done and corn plant­
ing is now under way— the click of
the planter is heard in all the land.
Ample and timely rains guarantee a
good hay crop and pasture.
If we get through without another
frost we are assured a big fruit yield.
In view of all this, therefore, the
farmers comes to town with a smile
that seems to be contagious.
Credit, however, is not expansive.
The banks have been hard hit and
obliged to call for the liquidation of
some of their loans. Deposits have
been withdrawn, apparently to finance
business and farming operations, but
not to any great extent. These with­
drawals from the banks have been due
to normal conditions only and not to
any nervous tension on the part of
depositors.
While some of the banks have been
taken over by the P>anking Depart­
ment of the state, yet this does not
seem to have created a lack of confi­
dence on the part of our depositors.
There is plenty of work and everyone
seems to have a job and are apparent­
ly working at it. People are more
careful about buying than they were
formerly, usually confining their pur­
chases to necessaries.
Business men are generally opti­
mistic concerning the outlook for
them. They are more careful about

extending credit and more vigorous
in the matter of collections.
I am advised by the lumber and
hardware men and building contract­
ors, that very little building is con­
templated as yet for the coming sea­
son. This, however, is not an indica­
tion of fear or nervousness or lack of
hope. It is simply a precaution,
farmers not being inclined to give or­
ders for building material until the
coming season indicates what it will
do for them; and the necessities of
the business people in town are al­
ready provided for so far as new im­
provements are concerned.
Money
is not particularly plentiful, although
there has been sufficint in this im­
mediate locality to finance all neces­
sary requirements.
On the whole, we are optimistic
here, we are hopeful, we are looking
forward to better conditions. Our
people are of those who are ever
ready to roll up their sleeves, face the
battle and take the shots as they
come, and in the meantime do the
best they can.
The Outlook in Northeastern Nebr.
By J. H. Welch, Cashier, Elkhorn Valley
State Bank, Stanton, Nebr.

Northeastern Nebraska is looking
forward to 1928 with a good bit of
optimism with respect to the business
outlook. The good crops of last year,
together with fair prices, have en­
abled the farmers to reduce their in­
debtedness to such a point that they
can safely operate for another year
and with the prospect of having some­
thing to spend other than for their
debts. The present high prices for
products
will
bring
coniderable
money into this region as large quan­
tities of corn and live stock are still
to be marketed. O f course this money
will come to the more independent
class of farmers but at that it will help
the financial situation greatly as it

will assure the banks of funds to
loan to those who are in need of
credit and who are worthy of it.
It is too early to forecast much with
reference to this year’s crop. The
winter wheat, which goes to market
early and relieves the mid-season
strain when the crop is normal, has
largely been killed out and a high
percentage of the acreage will be put
into corn. Oats will be thin on ac­
count of the late frosts, but on the
whole the crop is quite satisfactory.
The soil is in excellent shape for the
planting and listing of corn and this
phase of the farm work is being
pushed at this time. Much alfalfa
has been winter killed and this will
add to the corn acreage in these parts.
Farmers, on the whole, are hope­
ful of better times. More improve­
ments in the way of repairs and paint­
ing of farm buildings are being made
than have been undertaken for some
years. Many new automobiles are
being sold and farm machinery is be­
ing freely bought.
The retail business is not flourish­
ing in some localities, especially in the
small towns. This seems to be due
to the tendency of people to trade in
the larger towns and cities. Mail or­
der houses are doing a good business.
Chain stores are affecting the small
town merchant and with higher over­
head and increased cost of doing busi­
ness it would appear that fewer
stores per capita will be able to live
as time goes on. Success will prob­
ably come to the merchant who can
make a big turn over at a small profit.
Competition will not allow an undue
profit in most localities.
Banking conditions are sound, there
is plenty of money to take care of
the legitimate needs of the commun­
ity and it appears at this time that 1928
will be a normal year in every way
and possibly somewhat above the last
few years have been.
This community needs above every­
thing else a revival of the belief that
a farm is one of the best possessions
a man can have, especially if he is
able to live on it and make it his
home. With better prices for his pro­
ducts and more renumerative returns
for his labor in every way the farmer
is soon going to want these lands
again and when he does there will be
a great improvement in all lines of
business.

Farmers Are Buying Liberally
By T. M. Johnson, Cashier, Chappell State
Bank, Chappell, Nebr.
Near Beatrice, Nebraska, “ Beatrice on the Blue” river.

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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The past winter was unusually mild
and open, but very little snow or

moisture of any kind, and some wheat
killed out, whether from dry weather
or freezing, no one is able to say
definitely. W e probably lost 20 per
cent from this cause, but the wheat
that is left looks well and with the
increased acreage over last year Deuel
county should produce as much wheat
as she did last year when we market­
ed more than two million bushels. W e
have had close to two inches of rain
the past week, so with the exception
of wheat being about ten days to
two weeks late, I would say that con­
ditions were ideal at this time.
This is distinctly a wheat country
and the condition of our wheat crop
reflects the general business outlook.
Our farmers are buying liberally and
are placing orders for new and im­
proved harvesting machinery, our
merchants are stocking up to take
care of the trade and placing orders
for their harvest needs.
W e are not having a building boom
but two new business buildings and a
number of new and substantial resi­
dences are under construction at this
time and more are contemplated.

normal and those who are heavily in
debt are resigned to the fact that they
will have to work their way out un­
der continuing conditions as they are
now. There are still some people who
will have to lose their land— the same
as in most communities, and land
prices are still lagging somewhat.
There is plenty of demand for
money locally at country banks and
the people are going ahead with their
operations in a wholehearted and opti­
mistic manner. Retail mercantile
business is also satisfactory and as
near normal as one can imagine.
It is our belief that local conditions
in rural communities depend largely
upon the banking situation in that
particular community. For that rea­
son conditions in Nebraska are some­

what spotted and will continue that
way for a while.
Outlook for 1928 is Very Good
By F. D. Burgess, Jr., President, Farmers
State Bank, Kern, Nebr.

W e have about an average of fat
cattle in the feed lots, and while
bought at a seemingly high price dur­
ing the fall, practically all of our
feeders should make a fair net profit
if the cattle prices are maintained at
the present level.
The fat hogs are mostly sold at a
figure which left a very narrow mar­
gin of profit to the farmer. However,
the new pig crop is coming along
fine and from reports is about normal.
The first four months have been
dry and as a result leaves us with

Our Antiquated Tax System
By J. G. Hohl, Cashier, Farmers and Mer­
chants Bank, Prague, Nebr.

Farm conditions in our community
are very satisfactory. Wheat is do­
ing fine and corn planting is now in
full swing. Farm loans are being
liquidated very rapidly and demand
for new money is very slow.
I believe farm values have reached
bottom and will soon be on the in­
crease.
The farmer who can shape situa­
tions to his liking is succeeding; the
farmer who is the victim of circum­
stances fails.
The one real danger to the farmer
is our antiquated tax system of prop­
erty taxes. The plain fact remains
that real estate— the visible portion
of property— pays over 80 per cent
of all property tax. Here is where
the farmer gets his, because all he has
is in sight. W e call ourselves pro­
gressive, but in the matter of taxation
we are far behind.
Conditions Seem Quite Normal
By F. W. IVenke, Cashier, Pender State
Bank, Pender, Nebr.

In our community business gener­
ally, and farming conditions as a
whole, are very much like the past
several years. Probably 80 to 90 per
cent of the people here are in a po­
sition where they need not worry
about debts any more than they had
to years ago, when times were sup­
posed to be normal. In fact our peo­
ple are realizing that times now are


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Central Western Banker, May, 1928

34
about a 50 per cent wheat crop in
sight.
Oats were hurt but seem to be mak­
ing good progress since the inch and
a half of rain during the first week
in May. This rain put the ground in
ideal condition for corn planting and
nearly all of our farmers started to
plant on May 7.
The present outlook for a good
corn crop is fine.
Our Merchants have found a good
spring trade in nearly all lines, and
have had medium good collections.
As our farmers are principally in
the business of raising corn, hogs,
and cattle, the 1928 business outlook
is exceptionally good at this time.

much of a crop. Most of the tree
fruits have been at least partially
killed by late freezes, although there
will be a very fair crop of grapes and
small furits. In general we should
see a very prosperous year, I be­
lieve.
I have been very much interested
in your letters received as to what
makes up good farm loans. To me
it seems that a well managed country
bank should demand security that
will be ample to pay the loan should
the bank desire to liquidate the loan,
or sufficient to meet the requirements
of the city correspondent, should it
desire to sell the paper. I can see no
reason why a crop mortgage loan is
not good security. I can see every
reason why it would not be in a coun­
try where the crop failure is expected
every few years.

Good Spring for Farm Work
By H. R. Dressier, Cashier, Bank of N e­
maha, Nemaha, Nebr.

This community has experienced an
exceptional spring for getting farm
work in shape. While there has been
sufficient moisture to put the ground
in excellent shape for spring planting,
there has been but very few days dur­
ing the entire spring that the fields
could not be worked. The winter
wheat looks good. Much of the corn
has been planted and alfalfa will soon
be ready for the first crop. A large
per cent of the oats was frozen after
it came through the ground and it
looks very doubtful if it will make

Need Moisture at Western
By Geo. F. Sawyer, President, Saline
County Bank, Western, Nebr.

1 have lived in this county fiftyeight years. The year 1926 was un­
usually dry. Farmers had to buy
feed and seed with which to com­
mence the 1927 crop. The 1927 crop
was unusually good and prices were
satisfactory, but farmers are holding
back, fearing another dry year. Have
had but little moisture since October,
1927.

Business in consequence is slow and
I think will continue so until another
crop is assured.
Little Demand for “ Farm Relief”
By A. J. Jorgenson, President, American
Bank, Sidney, Nebr.

Winter wheat is our principal crop.
Feed crops, such as barley, oats, rye,
and corn make up less than half of
our total crop.
Our winter wheat shows a presentloss due to dry winter, of about 25
per cent. Moisture supply at present
is sufficient and wheat is making good
progress. Partly as a result of the
injury to winter wheat, feed crop
planting has been increased over last
year. As this territory is well sup­
plied with good breeding stock in the
way of hogs, sheep and cows, I be­
lieve any loss we may sutler due to
a smaller wheat harvest, will be more
than made up by live stock feeding
and dairy products.
Merchants are lightly stocked and
report business slower than a year
ago. That is especially true in lines
that would not be termed “ necessi­
ties,” such as musical instruments,
automobiles, etc. Implement lines have
enjoyed a very good spring business.
This territory is well supplied with
credit facilities and bank loans are
about 20 per cent lower than a year

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Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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ago. Deposits show 15 to 20 per cent
increase over a year ago.
On the whole, business men and
farmers are pretty well satisfied with
present conditions and prospects for
the season, and there is very little
“ demand” for “ farm relief” among
farmers and business men. Both
classes, however, look hopefully for
lower prices on manufactured articles
and lower taxes.
Mercantile Business Seems
to be Only Fair
By E. M. Black, Cashier, First National
Bank, Fullerton, Nebr.

Mercantile business has been rather
slow with the retail merchant in this
as well as surrounding towns, the
trade seems to not have the money to
spend, being the reason that most
store men have for the condition of
business.
The spring here has been very dry
and cold and until the third of this
month we have had no spring moist­
ure to start the pastures, alfalfa and
spring sown grains. However, since
a good rain on the third everything
has come out in nice shape and with
the present nice weather the pastures,
etc., will be up to normal for this
time of the year.
This community has a large num­
ber of dairy cows through it, and
it is very noticeable that as soon as
dry weather effects the pastures it
has a tendency to slow up the mer­
cantile business.
The demand for money has not
been unusual, just the ordinary de­
mand for the spring season in get­
ting the crops sown, on account of
the dry weather, the demand for
money to purchase automobiles, etc.,
has been very light.

Business Seems to be Improving
By IF. G. Pratt, President, State Bank of
Hastings, Hastings, Nebr.

The retail business has been rather
slow this spring and there has been
very little building.
However, business is picking up a
little and there is a prospect for a
very fair amount of new building this
spring.
After about six weeks of very dry
weather we experienced a fine rain
and conditions are generally favorable
at this time. The winter wheat is
backward but apparently in good con­
dition and should make a fair crop.
The ground is in an excellent condi­
tion for corn planting.

Customers are Optimistic
Over 1928 Outlook
By M. E. Isaacson, Cashier, First National
Bank, Marquette, Nebr.

Although we have had a very dry
spring, which has possibly hurt the
wheat crop a little, we received an
inch and a quarter of rain last week,
which is very beneficial to our wheat
crop. The ground is in very good
condition and with a few rains be­
tween now and harvest, we should
have a fair wheat crop. W e have had
no demand for money this spring
whatever. The farmers as a whole,
liquidated their debts to a great ex­
tent, out of the 1927 crop.

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By

Howard Johnson, Cashier, Farmers
State Bank, Hendley, Nebr.

Our farmers generally are well
pleased with prices of grain and live
stock the past few months.
Good moisture late in the winter
made the outlook good the fore part
of the year. But our dry, cold and
freezing in April made things look
doubtful until the past week when
our section of the country was fav­
ored with a fine, two-inch rain which
gave us about a normal prospect up
to this time for the season.
B'armers seem to be cautious this
season and our demand for money is
light. W e have a strong cash re­
serve and are unable to build up our
loans on a discount basis that will off­
set the cost of our time money. W e
think our neighboring banks are ex­
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Central Western Banker, May, 1928

36
Farmers Must Become
Business

Men

By Leo Ryan, Cashier, Hazard State Bank,
Hazard, Nebr.

Trade seems to be dull in all lines
of business up this way. Not much
demand for money. People seem to
be hard up in a way. Seems as
though their earning capacity barely
makes the modern-day living expen­
ses. The margin of excess security
on the average farmer’s note has de­
creased and in our section, it was be­
cause of the small returns from hog
raising this past season. W e received
a nice rain lately and prospects for
crops are average for this section.
.Present arrangements indicate that
only the farmer who is saving, who
arranges his business so that he has
a cream and egg income and uses his
head in buying and selling at favor­
able periods, is the farmer who is
going to stay in the game. In other
words, it has come to the point where
they must be as efficient in their line
as the business man needs to be in
his.
Farmers Liquidating Indebtedness
By H. H. Peters, Cashier, Bank of Yutan,
Yutan, Nebr.

The trend of conditions in this
county is toward an abundance of
money and farmers who know their
business and were not too heavily in­
volved, are liquidating their indebted­
ness. Our deposits were higher and
loans lower the past winter than for
some years past and additional money
is coming every day. About forty
thousand bushels of dollar corn is be­
ing delivered at this time, many farm­
ers having had two crops on hand.
Our feeders have made money this
year and optimism prevails. W e be­
lieve our policy of insisting on con­
servatism has been a real benefit to
the community, for nearly all have
been able to weather the ordinary
price fluctuations in the past and this
spring, many of our customers, whom
we have carried for years, have been
able to liquidate entirely.
The general mercantile situation is
optimistic, although not as much so
as the farming industry, the small
town, as a rule, being over-supplied
with small retail establishments, and
clothing and other trade going to the
larger towns.
Good rains recently have also
brightened the prospect for a good
1928 crop.
Conditions Near Norfolk
Are Very Good
By Jabe B. Gibson, President, Nebraska
State Bank, Norfolk, Nebr.

Conditions in and about Norfolk
are very good. Alfalfa and oats look
Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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fine, and the corn ground is in excel­
lent condition for planting. All the
large stores report an increase in
business for the month of March and
April over a year ago. This is due
to two things; first, the roads have
been passable every day and second,
we had a good crop over this entire
territory in ’27, while in ’26 we had
a short crop.
/ There is very little demand for
money, in fact, less than 20 per cent
of our deposits are local loans. The
condition of the banker was never
better as there is not much wild specu­
lation and not much money is bor­
rowed now unless the borrower knows
how to pay it back.
Backward Season But
Outlook is Good
By C. A. McCloud, President, First Na­
tional Bank, York, Nebr.

February and March were very
mild months. W e had April and May
weather in these two months, with
only a fair degree of moisture. April
was a very dry month with u s; very
little moisture fell during the month
of April; however, the farmers were
busy in putting in their spring crops
and preparing the corn ground.
The season has been rather back­
ward and cold, especially the last 30
days. However, the farmers are well
advanced with their work, more than
half the corn is in the ground and
that has been in for the past few days
is germinating in fine shape, as the
weather has moderated and last week
we had about a two inch rainfall
which pleases everyone and we feel
in fine spirits and look forward to a
normal crop.
The cattle feeders, most of them,
have disposed of the cattle they put
in the pens last October and have all,
so far as reported, had a fine game
and a good product. The hog men
have not fared so well.
Business conditions locally are bet­
ter than normal since the first of
January. Our city of York is mak­
ing the best growth that it has made
for years. At least $500,000 worth
of business houses and dwellings have
been contracted since January 1st.
Money matters are easy, all the banks
have a surplus lot o f money. No
business failures among our mer­
chants during the last year. While
some of them have not been overly
prosperous, still they have been in a
position to meet their bills.
The wheat crop is about 90 per
cent of what it was last year. Oats
notwithstanding the dry and freezing
weather, are showing up fine, and we
look forward to a good year for 1928.

Under New Management
(Continued from Page S)

Andrew J. Kopperud, manager of
the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank
of Omaha, adds his congratulations to
the new management, saying, ‘W e
have just heard that the DePuy or­
ganization has purhased the Central
W estern Banker of Omaha. For the
past several years, we have watched
the success and progress of your or­
ganization and wish to congratulate
you on your most recent move. W e
are also happy to learn that you will
publish the Central W estern Ba n ­
ker as a separate and distinct bank­
ing magazine, with particular em­
phasis on Nebraska territory.”
E. C. Davenport, president of the
Nebraska State Bank of Valentine,
offers his congratulations. “ I have
just learned that your organization
has purchased the Central W estern
Banker of Omaha and wish to ex­
tend to you my congratulations and
best wishes for success in your pub­
lication of this magazine. This will
permit you to take a very intensive
interest in the banking affairs of
Nebraska and render a real service
to bankers of the state. The close
personal contact which you main­
tain with your banker friends and
jthe interest you arouse in their
everyday problems, together with the
energetic direction of your business,
will make the Central W estern
B anker a publication of which we
shall all be proud.”
From Alvin E. Johnson, vice-pre­
sident of the Live Stock National
Bank of Omaha, comes the following
friendly word: uW e are delighted at
the news that you and your associates
have purchased the Central W es­
tern Banker of Omaha
and will

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publish it as a separate and distinct
magazine. Having watched the pro­
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that our local magazine has come in­
to your hands. W e wish you success
and if we can serve you at any time,
please feel free to call upon us.”

Expects Good Year
(Continued from Page 30)

will show a decrease generally, due
to low prices and an over-production.
In view of this it is quite possible
that farmers will receive a better price
for hogs this summer and fall. While
the ratio of prices for hogs and corn
have not been favorable, nevertheless,
due to the ample supply of corn,
farmers have made some money and
with a slight adjustment of prices,
which I feel is coming, will make
feeding profitable.
The dairy industry in this com­
munity has shown a very marked im­
provement, and all indications are
that the coming year will lead to
some interesting figures. With prac­
tically three crop failures in the past
four years, the farmers in this com­
munity realize more and more the im­
portance of diversification and the
dairy cow. While available figures are
not at hand, there is a good percent­
age of increase in dairy cows this
year. This statement is corroborated
by the increase in business that the
dairies and cream station are enjoy­
ing. Considering the fact that there
is an ample supply of feed and roughage and dairy products at a good
price, dairying is proving very pro­
fitable.
Conditions Satisfactory
Business conditions in the city of
Huron and its trade area has been
very satisfactory. A conservative esti­

mate shows that business has in­
creased better than 10 per cent for
the first three months of this year
over the same period last year. This
increase is contributed entirely to vol­
ume and not price, as prices are ap­
proximately the same as a year ago.
The business has been well in advance
of the seasons and the merchants are
very optimistic of the coming year.
Bank deposits show about a 20 per
cent increase the past year with the
favorable prospects that they will
no doubt continue in their growth.
There has been very little demand for
money this spring in comparison with
a year ago. Last spring many farm­
ers needed money for seed, feed and
taxes. This year, the majority of
them were able to care for their own
needs. The few who were not, were
able to get assistance from their local
banks. Another indication of better
times and reason for optimism is due
to the fact that there are very few un­
employed and the waiting lists are
practically without applicants. There
is a fine building program underway
with building permits showing a big
increase over former years. Many
new homes are being built and vacant
houses are at a premium.
The automobile industry has shown
a big percentage of increase over the
same period a year ago, which no
doubt is an indication that people have
a little more money and that money
conditions are a little easier.
Taking into consideration that ag­
ricultural, dairying, business, banking,
building and labor all show marked
improvements and prospects favor­
able, I connot help but feel optimistic
over the coming year.

URGES KEEPING STEP
WITH THE TIMES
Guy C. Kiddo, vice-president of the
Omaha National Bank, spoke at the
group meetings at Norfolk, on April
23rd, and at Bonesteel on May 9th.
The general theme of his remarks was
the importance of bankers keeping
abreast of new developments, and ad­
justing their practices to conform to
the new problems and changing con­
ditions which confront them.
He suggested that the banker who
hopes to invest his secondary reserve
intelligently must know something of
the investment possibilities and rela­
tive merits of foreign securities, which
have been sold in such volume in this
country in recent years.
He mentioned also a number of
striking changes which are taking
place in business and industry, such
as the growth in chain stores, improved
methods of communication and trans­
portation, and the tendency toward
eliminating the middleman, all of
which the banker must have in mind
in analyzing the business of his com­
munity.
He urged that bankers should con­
tinue to give constant and earnest

N A T IO N A L B A N K O F C O M M E R C E
IiW C O L J f, N E B R A S K A
M. W E I L , P r e s id e n t
C A R L W E IL , V ic e -P r e s id e n t
E R N E S T C. F O L S O M , V i c e - P r e s i d e n t
B Y R O N D U N N , C a s h ie r
B . G. C L A R K , A s s ’ t C a s h i e r
C a p ita l $.‘500,000.00
S u rp lu s $100,000
U n d iv id e d P ro fits $100,000

BANK OF NEW SO U TH W ALES
AUSTRALIA
P A I D -U P
RESERVE

$37,409,800

C A P I T O L ________________
F U N D ___________________

2 8,250,000
3 7 ,4 09,800

R e s e r v e L ia b ilit y o i P r o p r ie to r s .
E S T A B L IS H E D

181Î

____ $ 1 03,069,600

$438,905,640

Aggregate Assets 30th September, 1927
A G E N T S — F I R S T N A T IO N A L H A N K . O M A H A , N E B R A S K A
G E N E R A L M A N A G E R , O S C A R L IN E S

HEAD OFFICE, GEORGE ST., SYDNEY
516

B ranches

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

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


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

38
study to new developments and prob­
lems concerning agriculture, such as
transportation costs, the possible bene­
fits of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Canal and river transportation, vari­
ous proposals for marketing of the
farm surplus, and the effects of direct
buying of hogs by the large packers.
He also touched upon some recent
tendencies and new problems in bank­
ing which are worthy of serious study,
such as the growth of branch and
chain banking.
Well informed opinion was quoted
to the effect that over a period of
years interest rates will probably de­
cline, resulting in lower gross reve­
nues for banks. In order to obtain
fair net earnings, without which no
bank can hope to grow and serve the
banking needs of its community, new
sources of revenue, through service
charges and a careful analysis of ac­
counts, must be found; and interest
paid on time deposits must be reduced.
It was suggested that cutting the in­
terest rate on time money might pos­
sibly, in many communities, result in
an indirect benefit to the bank through
stimulating the purchases of land.
Mention was made of the regional
clearing house plan as a means for
reducing losses and securing more ef­
fective co-operation among banks.
In closing Mr. Kiddo said, “ I be­
lieve banking conditions in this west­
ern agricultural territory are steadily
improving and the banks which have
survived the deflation period now have
the opportunity to develop a substan­
tial and profitable business if carefulstudy is given present day problems.”
Mr. Kiddo will also appear on the
programs for Group Five at Cozad,
Nebraska, on June 6th, and Group
Seven at Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on
June 7th.

showed only 17 non-members of the
Association in the state. Consider­
able discussion centered on the mat­
ter of taxation and resolutions were
adopted protesting against the move­
ment now being brought about by
the introduction of certain bills in the
legislature tending toward the disccriminatory taxation of money invest­
ed in the banking business.
The Council expressed itself in
favor of the policy of refusing char­
ters to new banks where banking fa­
cilities are adequate
Assumes New Position
Raymond A. Bauer came from
Paris May 15, to assume his new du­
ties as vice-president of the Omaha
National Bank and the Omaha Trust
company. Mr. Bauer for nearly six
years has represented the Sinclair Re­
fining Company in Paris.

Thank on, Mr. Stephens!
“ The DePuy Publishing Co.,
Des Moines, la.
Gentlemen :
‘‘I have read with a great deal
of interest the announcement of
your expansion through the ab­
sorption o f the Central W est­
ern Banker and the nezv plans
that you have for the future of
the magasine.
“ You are certainly justified in
feeling pride in the splendid
publications that you are issu­
ing from month to month for the
benefit of the bankers of this
section. I always read them with
a great deal of interest indeed
and I feel that it is worth a great
deal to our bank and to our of­
ficials and employees.
“ I extend to you our best
wishes for a successful realisa­
tion of your ambition and assure
you of our cordial support.
“ With kind regards, I am,
Your friend,
F rem o n t S tate B a n k ,

Dan V. Stephens.”

Is Reorganized

Hold Spring Meeting
The regular annual spring meeting
of the Executive Council of the Ne­
braska Banker’s association was held
recently in Omaha at the office of Sec­
retary Hughes. Plans were discussed
for the forthcoming convention of the
Association in the fall and Omaha
was chosen as the meeting place, the
date and further details to be decided
later. Every member of the Coun­
cil was present as well as several
committee chairmen and others not
members.
The Secretary’s report

RAYM OND

A. BAUR

The new vice president of the Oma­
ha National Bank is 31 years old.
Raised in his childhood in the mid­
dle west, he went abroad when his
parents moved to France from the
United States in 1910. He is a gradu­
ate of the University of Lausanne,
Switzerland, and during the world
war he served in the ambulance corps
and in the navy.
Mrs. Baur is the former Vernelle
Head, daughter of Walter W . Head.

TH E C E N TR A L W E ST E R N B A N K E R OF O M A H A ,

P u b l is h e d

by

The Seven Valley State bank of
Callaway, Nebr., has been reorganized
with the following officers in charge :
S. C. Waldron, chairman of the board
of directors; J. I. Christiansen, presi­
dent; M. Weil, vice-president; E. R.
Logan, cashier; Joseph Boyer, assist­
ant cashier, and Wm. C. Schaper, at­
torney and director. The above men
are all known to the community with
the exception of Mr. Logan, who
comes from Oberlin, Kans., previous
to his location there having been the
cashier of the Max State bank of
Max, Nebr. S. C. Waldron, the new
chairman, has been president of the
bank for the past year, and M. Weil,
who is well known as president of the
National bank of Commerce of Lin­
coln, succeeds Dr. R. D. Bryson as
vice-president.
Love, beauty, joy, and worship are
forever building, unbuilding and re­
building in each man’s soul.
— Plotinus

D eP uy

P u b l is h in g

Com pany

416 Arthur Bldg., Omaha, Nebraska
C l if f o r d

D

eP uy,

Publisher

G erald

A.

S

nyder,

Associate Publisher

R. W.

M

oorh ead,

Editor

Wm. H. Maas, 1221 First National Bank Building, Chicago, Special Representative

Central Western Banker, May, 1928

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

H.

H.

H

ayn es,

Associate Editor

Devoted to the
Banking, Investment, and Insurance
Interests o f the Central West

The Central Western Banker
OF OMAHA
41 6 Arthur Building
Subscription
$2.00 per Year

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

Issued
Monthly

A R E Y O U A M B IT IO U S ?
Opportunity Awaits the Banker W ho Possesses
Courage, Capital and Ability
A FEW

O F F E R IN G S S U G G E S T T H E

M W A — O n ly b a n k in s m a l l e a s t e r n M i s s o u r i t o w n .
T w e lv e
sh ares
o f f e r e d a t $2,500.00
(a p p r o x im a te ly
b o o k v a l u e ) c a r r y i n g - c a s h i e r s h i p a t $1,200.00 a n d o u t ­
s id e e a r n i n g s o f s u b s t a n t i a l l y s a m e a m o u n t .
D H B — In v estm en t
of
$5,700.00
p u rch a ses
c a s h ie r ’ s
s t o c k a n d w it h it p o s it io n a n d o u t s id e e a r n in g s th a t
h a v e b e e n y i e l d i n g o v e r $3,600.00 p e r a n n u m .
P B B — 70 s h a r e s o f s t o c k o f f e r e d a t $120.00 in b a n k
h a v i n g d e p o s i t s o f a b o u t 9 0,000.00.
L o c a t e d in s m a l l
e a s te r n K a n s a s t o w n h a v in g e le c t r ic lig h t s , h ig h
s c h o o l, g o o d s u r r o u n d in g t e r r it o r y , p a v e d r o a d to
s p le n d id c it y .
H S A — $ 10,000.00 w i l l p u r c h a s e
s it io n o f c a s h ie r o f o n ly b a n k
sou ri tow n .
B an k has over
d o l l a r s in d e p o s i t s a n d e a r n e d
S to c k o ffe r e d a t s u b s t a n t ia lly
H P B — 147 s h a r e s
S o u th e rn K a n sa s

25 s h a r e s c a r r y i n g p o ­
in s m a ll, w e s t e r n M i s ­
on e h u n d red th ou sa n d
38 p e r c e n t l a s t y e a r .
i n v o i c e v a lu e .

o f s t o c k a r e o f f e r e d a t b o o k v a lu e .
t o w n o f 400 p o p u l a t i o n .
B a n k has

V A R I E T Y O F O P E N IN G S A V A I L A B L E
c a p i t a l o f $25,000.00, s u r p l u s a n d p r o f i t s
d e p o s i t s a b o u t $190,000.00.

of

$13,500.00,

K O B — A $20,000.00 s t a t e b a n k in s m a ll, o n e b a n k ,
ea stern K a n sa s tow n .
D e p o s i t s a r o u n d $200,000.00.
M in im u m e a r n i n g s f o r a n y c a l e n d a r y e a r d u r i n g p r e s ­
e n t d e c a d e , 1 9 )4 % .
E a r n e d l a s t y e a r _ 2 7 .9 % ._
104
sh a re s, c a r r y in g m a n a g e m e n t, o ffe r e d w it h r e s id e n c e
o f c a s h i e r a t $24,500.00.
E B B — A n a t i o n a l b a n k w i t h $25,000.00 c a p i t a l a n d
a b o u t $ 240,000.00 d e p o s i t s in g o o d s o u t h e r n I o w a t o w n
o f 500 p o p u l a t i o n .
130 t o 150 s h a r e s o f s t o c k , carry­
in g p o s it io n o f p re s id e n t, ca n b e b o u g h t a t a p p r o x i­
m a t e ly b o o k v a lu e .
A t t r a c t i v e s a l a r y a n d “ s id e l i n e ”
e a r n in g s .
H G B — 1T h is b a n k h a s c o m b i n e d c a p i t a l a n d s u r p l u s o f
$50,000.00 a n d d e p o s i t s w e l l in e x c e s s o f a h a l f m i l ­
l i o n d o l la r s .
L o c a t e d in g o o d , K a n s a s c o u n t y s e a t
tow n .
A n n u a l e a r n in g s m a k e s p le n d id r e t u r n
on
p r ic e a sk ed .
R e q u i r e s i n v e s t m e n t o f a r o u n d $ 50 ,-

000. 00.

BANKERS BROKERAGE CO.
“ B a n k S to c k C a r r y i n g P o s i t i o n s ”

ALWAYS CONFIDENTIAL - ALL WAYS
919 Baltimore Avenue

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Kansas City, Missouri

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

Essentials
of Banking Service
Experience

62 years active partici­
pation in the develop­
ment of I n d u s t r y ,
Trade and Commerce
in this territory.

Resources

Total assets of over
$50,000,000 available
for the requirements
of our customers.

Desire

A Willingness and a
Readiness t o devote
energy, time and re­
sources to the further
advan cem en t of its
cu stom ers, and its
community.

The Omaha National Bank
The Omaha Trust Company
Farnam at 17th Street

Omaha, Nebraska