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NUARy
1941

A W IN T E R V IS T A IN G R E E N W O O D PA RK, D E S M O IN E S

How O ur Bank Solved the W age-Hour Problem


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Page 11

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NEW

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YEAR

A new year means new responsibilities and new efforts on our
part to increase our service to our correspondent banks.
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Because of our efficient transit departm ent, our carefully
trained personnel, our close association with banks for more than
59 years, and our eagerness to render unusual service, the
Merchants National Bank is your logical correspondent in Cedar
Rapids in 1941.

V

A CEDAR R A P ID S BA N K

CEDAR

RA®
DIOS

SERVICING A LL IOWA

MERCHANTS
NATIONAL BANK
OFFICERS

4

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J am es E. H am ilton , Chairman
S. E. Coquillette , President
H. N. B oyson , Vice President
R oy C. F olsom , Vice President
Mark J. Myers , V. Pres. & Cashier
George F. M iller , V. Pres. & Tr. Officer
M arvin R. S elden , Vice President
F red W. S m it h , Vice President
J o h n T. H amilton II, Vice President
R. W. Man att , Asst. Cashier
L. W. B roulik , Asst. Cashier
P eter B ailey , Asst. Cashier
R. D. B row n , Asst. Cashier
0 . A. K earney , Asst. Cashier
S tanley J. M ohrbacher , Asst. Cashier
E. B. Zb a n e k , Building Manager
m

5 Ê*

4m

Cedar R apids

Iow a

Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

N orthw estern Banker, published m onthly by the D e Puy P u blishing Company, Inc., at 527 7th Street, D es M oines, Iowa.
Subscription, 35c per copy, $3.00 per year. E ntered as second-class matter at the D es M oines post office. Copyright, 1941.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

V

S T A T E M E N T OF C O N D I T I O N
December 31, 1940

"Iowa's frien d ly Bank"

CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK
AND TR U ST COMPANY
of
M E M B E R

F E D E R A L

D e s U lo in e s

D E P O S I T

I N S U R A N C E

R E SO U R C E S

C O R P O R A T I O N

L IA B IL IT IE S

Cash and d ue from
F ed era l R e s e r v e
and oth er B an ks_$10,944,448.58
U n ited States G ov­
ern m en t secu rities 3,556,137.09

D em an d D e p o s it s __$21,502,063.18
S avings D e p o s it s ___ 2,285,931.31
P u b lic D e p o s i t s ___ 4,096,243.88
“ $27,884,238.37
$14,500,585.67

M u n icip a l S ecu rities ____________
1,314,885.46
M arket B o n d s ___________________
1,524,488.81
S hort T im e S ecu rities____________
2,305,339.09
Loans and D isc o u n ts_____________ 10,045,243.32
O verdrafts ----------------------------------5,150.50
S tock F ed eral R eserve B a n k _____
43,500.00
A ccru ed In terest R ec eiv a b le_____
109,007.18
B an k P rem ises and E q u ip m e n t___
296,610.85

D isco u n t C o lle c t e d ______________

118,715.84

C om m on S t o c k ______ $660,000.00
P referred S t o c k ______ 340,000.00

1,000,000.00
S urplu s __________________________
U n d iv id ed P r o f it s ________________
R eserve for R etirem en t of P re­
ferred Stock ___________________
O ther R e s e r v e s __________________

T o ta l __________________________ $30,144,810.88

T otal

460.000. 00
254,078.81
340.000. 00
87,777.86

$30,144,810.88

U n ite d S ta te s G o v e r n m e n t a n d o th e r s e c u r iti e s c a r r ie d a t $953,817.00 a re p le d g e d to s e c u r e p u b lic a n d tr u s t
d e p o s it s a s r e q u ir e d b y la w .

D IR E C T O R S

G. E. BRAMMER

MARK L. JO H N SO N

B R A M M E R , B R O D Y , C H A R L T O N & PA R K E R

E. F. BUCKLEY
V IC E P R E S ID E N T

HARRY GOLDMAN
P R E S ID E N T , C. C. T A F T CO.

WM. J. G O O D W IN
C H A IR M A N , B O A R D O F D IR E C T O R S

H. F. GROSS

REAL E ST A TE

GUY E. LOGAN
P R E S ID E N T , S T A N D A R D

C H E M IC A L CO.

W A LTER E. MUIR
P R E S ID E N T

LUTHE HARDW ARE

C O M PA N Y

GEORGE A. PEAK
REAL E STA TE

JU LIA N A. P E V E R IL L
P R E S ID E N T , H U D S O N -J O N E S A U T O C O M PA N Y

CHAS. N. PIE R C E

SE C R E T A R Y , IO W A M U T U A L T O R N A D O
IN S U R A N C E A SSN .

V IC E P R E S ID E N T , L A N G A N P A P E R CO.

JO H N A. GUNN

G IB S O N , S T E W A R T & G A R R E T T

P R E S ID E N T , E M P L O Y E R S
M U T U A L C A SU A L T Y CO.

W. E. TO N E

GROVER C. H U BBELL

HEN RY M. W ILSO N

T R U S T E E , F. M. H U B B E L L E S T A T E


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

W A LTER L. STEW ART
REAL ESTA TE
V IC E P R E S ID E N T C U S H M A N -W IL S O N O IL CO.

The Legions of Credit
are Mobilized
Behind the vast production machine of

service at costs to the borrower lower

national defense, now beginning to mesh

than ever before in the nation's history.

into gear, stand billions of credit dollars

The Chase N ational Bank, in its rela­

mobilized in the commercial banking sys­

tio n sh ip s w ith

tem of the nation.

th ro u g h o u t the country, is earnestly co­

T his g re a t arm y of c re d it d o llars

c o rre s p o n d e n t banks

operating in the effort to

make our

assures industry of sufficient funds to

^dollar arm yy/ effective and useful, to the

meet the demands of our national de­

end th at the needs of the nation may

fense program. It answers the call to

be m et swiftlv and fully,

THE CHASE NATIONAL BANK
OF

THE

C!TY

OF

NEW Y O R K

Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

N orthw estern B anker

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January Î9M

5

INSURANCE PROTECTION

M -U -L-T -I-P -L-I-E -D

iJ HA% T t#peP f
COV&M6* ■

-T"i

Business men, bankers, credit executives and all others
who are interested in safeguarding property values
— whether theirs or others’— know that the safest,
most complete protection is afforded in the Extended
Coverage Endorsement. This elastic coverage is added
to the regular fire policy at a very slight cost increase.

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toleres'5'

EXPLOSION
VEHICLE
DAMAGE

E*'ende
tteans S

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plied P'

O íV a A C fí

WINDSTORM
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h a il

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SMOKE &
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RIOT
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T U I ? U U M 1 ? INSURANCE
1 11 Ih LI U iVI h c o m pa n y
N E W YORK
F IR E -A U T O M O B IL E — MARINE

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

a nd

ALLIED

LINES

OF

INSURANCE

La M onte

was i n v e n t e d i t ' d ‘»tro 11
the found« of out Company,

through constant «search
aftd manufacturing
ovements in fo rm u la e
brought to tbcu

i tim e onward

. o u t p ro d u cts have k een

itate of effectiveness.
c to feel that the

icuotiahle instruments. a«o
^
a valuable
papers.
W becnava
r\o in America-

N orthw estern B anker

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19b l

•

n o r%h w e / t e r n

•

J A N U A R Y

19 4 1
FO R TY-SIX TH Y E A R

NUM BER 642

Oldest Financial Journal West of the Mississippi River

IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials
Across the Desk from the Publisher.
C LIFFO RD DE PUY

Feature A rticles

Publisher

R A L P H W. M O O R H E A D
Associate Publisher

H EN R Y H . H A Y N E S
Editor

J. STUART D A V IS
Associate Editor

Frontispiece ..................... ..............................
How Our Bank Solved the Wage-Hour Problem............................. ... H. C. Winder
News and Views............... ....................................................................Clifford De Puy
A Country-town Director Speaks....................... ..........................William C. Shaper
Federal Registration of All Issues Should Be Required...........................................
Consumer Credit Operations Are Profitable for Our Bank............. ,....Ray Brandt
Legal Department—W hat Does a Chattel Mortgage Cover?...................................
W hat the Financial Advertiser W ants to Know About Advertising................. .....
..... ......................................................................................................Preston E. Reed
How Direct Mail Will Make Friends for Your Bank.................................................
North Dakota Farm Income Hits a New High............... ...................................
Money Is a Commodity....................................................................... „1. E. Bradshaw

11

12
13
14

15
16
17
18
20
21

insurance
527 Seventh Street,

Things You Will W ant to Know About Insurance

23

Des Moines, Iowa
Telephone 4-8163

Bonds and Investments
The Month’s M arket Maneuvers..................
Iowa Investment Bankers Annual Meeting.
Nebraska Investment Banking News..........

N EW Y O R K O FFIC E
Frank P. Syms
V ice President
505 Fifth A ve.

Suite 1202

Telephone MUrray Hill 2-0326

M IN N E A P O L IS O FFIC E
J. A . Sarazen
Associate Editor
Telephone Hyland 0575

James H. Clarke 29
............................... 32
.............................. 35

State Banking News
Nebraska News ................................... ...........
Omaha Clearings ........................
Lincoln Locals ........................................
South Dakota News ....................................
Minnesota News .... .......................
Twin City News............ ..........................
North Dakota News....................................... .
Montana N ew s................................................
Iowa News ........................... ...........................
News from Here and There...................

.........................
.........................
.........................
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................
.........................
...............
........ ................
.........................
J. A. Sarazen

37
39
41
45
47
50
55
56
57
70

The Directors* Room
A Few Short Stories to Make You Laugh.

M EM BER
A u d it Bureau of Circulations
Financial Advertisers Association

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Across the Desk
From the Publisher

Plans to Prevent
Based 011 the unani'
r a | mous approval of the
Inflation by Fede
F ed eral Reserve B oard,
Reserve Board
the presidents of the 12
F ed eral Reserve B anks and the F ed eral A dvisory
Council which represents the 7,000 individual
banks belonging to the F ed eral Reserve System,
a recom m endation has been m ade fo r the purpose
of prev en ting fu tu re inflation.
This is the first tim e th a t a re p o rt of this ch ar­
ac te r has ever been made.
Also the re p o rt points out th a t our present vast
expenditures for our m ilitary program m ake it
necessary to review our existing m onetary m a­
chine and to tak e m easures to prevent the de­
velopm ent of inflationary tendencies attrib u tab le
to defects in the m achinery of credit control.
The fa ct is th a t these tendencies, if unchecked,
w ould produce a rise of prices and would re ta rd
the natio n al effort for defense and greatly in ­
crease its cost.
The 5 m ain featu res of the F ed eral Reserve
B o a rd ’s plan to prevent inflation are these:
1. Immediate increase by congressional action
of deposit reserve requirements on all federal re­
serve member banks; authorization for the federal
reserve board to double these requirements if
necessary in the future; make all banks, whether
chartered by the federal government or states,
subject to these requirements.
2. Repeal treasury authority to issue 3 billion
dollars of “ greenback” money, repeal treasury
authority to issue money against the foreign silver
it buys, and allow to expire June 30 the presi­
dent’s power to devalue the dollar.
3. Neutralize money expansion effect resulting
from United States purchases of foreign gold.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19 W

4. Sell future government securities to indi­
viduals and corporations, and not to the banks.
5. Gradually increase taxes until a balanced
budget is reached, not later than some future time
when the country w ill have reached its ‘ ‘full
utilization of its economic capacity, with appro­
priate considerations of both employment and
production. ’ ’
W hether such a program w ill be adopted is a
question w hich the incom ing Congress will de­
cide, but one thing is sure, th a t the plan d ra s ti­
cally increases the F ed eral Reserve S y stem ’s
powers at the expense of the T reasury D e p art­
m ent.
Incidently this is the first tim e th a t C hairm an
M arriner S. Eccles has ever talk ed about balan c­
ing the budget and perhaps at last he has been
converted from liis idea of spending our w ay
back to prosperity.
The statem ent points out th a t the F ed eral R e­
serve System has the responsibility of cred it con­
tro l b u t has insufficient powers to effectively dis­
charge those duties and these 5 points referred
to, if p u t into effect, would give them such power.
W hether we agree w ith all the points as out­
lined or not, one thing is certain w hatever can
be done to prevent an uncontrolled inflation in
this country certainly should be done.
Some authorities be­
Should Banks
lieve th a t banks should
Take Profits in
tak e profits in Govern­
Government Bonds m ent bonds in order to
m eet fu tu re increases in corporate income taxes.
M any U nited States G overnm ent bond buyers
have been ra th e r re lu c ta n t to purchase more se­
curities at this time.

9

One prom inent investm ent firm, in discussing
this subject, said:
“ Most banks now have very handsom e profits
in th eir U nited S tates G overnm ent bond account.
They know a t the present tim e it is necessary for
them to p ay 24 per cent norm al ta x on realized
profits, and some feel it is b e tte r to tak e the
profits now and pay the tax th an to w ait u n til the
ta x ra te m ight be 24 per cent, 30 per cent or 35
per cent and they m ight not have the profits to
take.
“ Those w ishing to realize a t best a portion of
cu rre n t book profits have two courses open,
e ith e r:
“ (1) O u trig h t sale if they are disturbed over
the c u rren t u n certain ties in the m ark et or
“ (2) An exchange into other issues w hich
would establish the profit b u t m aintain th eir in­
come acco u n t.”
W h eth er individual banks should or should not
tak e profits in G overnm ent bonds is, of course,
fo r each individual bank to decide b u t it is a t
least a very im p o rtan t question to consider in the
m anagem ent of any bank a t this time.

If you have n o t already
done so, m ay we recom m end
th a t you p u t on y o u r list of
“ req u ired re a d in g ” for 1941 “ C apitalism the
C re a to r” by Carl Snyder.
This is the best answ er we have seen to all of
the crack-pot theories of controlled economy, as
well as an answ er to the theory of life based on
communism, fascism, socialism or nazism.
If you read nothing more th a n the first chapter
it will be w orth the price of the book.
Briefly “ C apitalism the C re a to r” presents the
proof th a t Capital Savings and the benefits de­
riv ed from them have been the basis th ro u g h all
the generations for w hatever progress has been
m ade in the w orld and this book presents the
proof th ro u g h statistical and fa c tu a l evidence.
Mr. S nyder sum s it up in this w ay: “ There is
one way, and only one way, th a t any people, in
all history, have ever risen from barbarism and
p overty to affluence and culture ; and th a t is by
th a t co n centrated and highly organized system
of p ro duction and exchange w hich we call Capi­
talistic : one way, and one alone. F u rth e r, th a t
it is solely by the accum ulation (and concentra­
tion) of this C apital, and directly p roportional to
the am ount of this accum ulation, th a t the m odern
in d u strial nations have arisen ; perhaps the sole

"Capitalism
The Creator"

w ay th ro u g h o u t the whole of 8 or 10 thousand
years of economic h isto ry .”
P erhaps some day we will realize the tru e place
th a t Capitalism occupies in the w orld and th a t
the profit motive is basic in every hum an h ea rt
and soul and as the author s a y s : “ all this re p re ­
sents the aggressive drive of the deepest and
strongest of hum an m o tiv atio n s; the will to live,
to gain, to discover, to conquer; and th a t w hen­
ever these begin to wane and w eaken, and a n a­
tion is given over to visionaries, doctrinaries, and
novices in ‘social experim entation,’ its decadence
has b eg u n .”
L et us hope, th a t out of the w orld of turm oil
and blood-shed we m ay in the n ea r fu tu re regain
our equilibrium in our relationship betw een n a­
tions and individuals and when we do we will
find th a t “ C apitalism the C re a to r” will again
be recognized fo r its real w orth and value as a
m otivating force in all the w orthw hile actions
of m ankind.

Let Investors, Not
Banks, Finance
Government

A lready the banks of
the U nited S tates have a
trem endous am ount of
th eir funds in Govern­
m ent securities. M any economists and financiers
believe th a t our financing to be used for defense
purposes should come as m uch as possible from
the public ra th e r than from the banks.
This th o u g h t was recently expressed by W inthrop W. A ldrich, C hairm an B oard of D irectors
of the Chase N ational B ank of the City of New
Y ork when he said: “ To safeguard his interests,
the increase in public debt incident to the defense
program should be lodged as fa r as possible w ith
investors. G overnm ent securities should not be
coined into com m ercial bank credit. Increases
in fiat credit are quite as harm ful in the long ru n
to the body economic as are increases in fiat cu r­
rency. D ictates of prudence require th a t the p u b ­
lic deficit not be so financed th a t the defense p ro ­
gram will assume a feverish character to be fol­
lowed by an equally severe slump. Only by fo l­
low ing conservative fiscal policies will the p riv ate
citizen be protected, and will our in d u strial m a­
chine operate m ost efficiently to bring the defense
program to a successful conclusion.”
Also the more G overnm ent bonds and Govern­
m ent securities th a t are owned by the general
public, the more will th a t same public be in te r­
ested in seeing governm ent economies carried out
and a balanced b udget established a t the earliest
possible moment.

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January 19bl

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January Í9 b l

11

How O u r Bank Solved

Wage-Hour Problem

The
H E F a ir L abor S tan d ard s A ct of
1938, com m only kn o w n as th e
W age an d H o u r Law, becam e ef­
fective O ctober 24th of th a t year.
Since th a t tim e, a tte m p ts have been
m ade to secure exem ption for b oth
S tate and N ational B anks. To date
effort in th a t direction has n o t been
successful. U nder th e circum stances,
it seem s to m an y th a t th e safe course
to p u rsu e w ould be to consider b an k s
as covered by th e Act u n til such tim e
as banks m ig h t be definitely exem pted.
As th e su b ject of W age and H our
com pliance has been th o ro u g h ly dis­
cussed by v ario u s b an k in g groups
th ro u g h o u t th e c o u n try d u rin g th e
p ast tw o years, I do n o t propose to
advance arg u m en ts for or ag ain st ex­
em ption. As w e have recen tly passed
th ro u g h an inspection by th e W age
and H o u r D ivision, I do propose to
outline our experience in th e hope
th a t it m ay be helpful.
We have found th e W age and H our
D ivision m ore th a n w illing to help us
w ith our problem s and as fa r as we
are concerned, th e W age and H our
Law has ceased to be a bugbear. W ith ­
in th e p a st year, in te rp re ta tiv e b u lle­
tin s and ru lin g s issued by th e D ivision
on points n o t m ade clear in th e Act
itself, have served to m ake com pliance
less difficult.

T

L et us re v ie w som e of th e principal
requ irem en ts of the Act,

The M axim um S tan d ard W orkw eek
provided by th e Act is:
44 h o u rs p e r w orkw eek from Oct. 24,
1938 to Oct. 24, 1939.
42 h o u rs p e r w o rk w eek from Oct. 24,
1939 to Oct. 24, 1940,
40 h o u rs p e r w ork w eek th e re a fter.
T hese are n o t absolute lim itations
upon th e n u m b er of h o u rs an em ploye
m ay w ork. T he A ct m erely req u ires
th a t w o rk above th ese w eekly lim its
shall be paid for a t th e ra te of a t
least one an d one-half tim es th e em ­
ployes re g u la r h o u rly ra te of pay.
A w o rk w eek is seven consecutive,
24-hour days. It m ay begin a t an y
tim e of th e day, b u t no changes in th e
w orkw eek m ay be m ade for th e p u r­
pose of evading th e provisions of th e
Act. T h ere is no lim itatio n on th e
n um b er of h o u rs th a t m ay be w orked
in any one day.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

By H . C . W in d er
Assistant Cashier
Central National Bank &
Trust Company, Des Moines

(2 ) all tim e du rin g w hich an em ploye
is suffered or p erm itted to w ork
w h eth er or not he is req u ired to do
so.”
D eterm ination of w eek ly w age for
salaried em ployes:

The D ivision m akes th e follow ing
statem en t in In te rp re ta tiv e B ulletin
No. 4:
“If th e em ploye is on a m onthly
salary basis, th e m o n th ly salary is sub­
ject to tra n sla tio n into its equivalent
w eekly w age by m u ltiplying by tw elve
(the nu m b er of m onths) and dividing
by fifty-tw o (the nu m b er of w eek s).”
Records:

H. C. W IN D E R

The M inim um W age R ate required
by th e A ct is:
30c p er h o u r for 6 y ears from Oct.
24, 1939 to Oct. 24, 1945,
40c p er h o u r th ereafter.
C om pensation for overtim e m u st be
paid in cash an d a t th e tim e w hen an
em ploye n o rm ally received his com­
pensation. O vertim e paym ents m ay
n o t be accum ulated and paid to th e
em ploye q u arterly , sem i-annually or
annually.
W orking H ours; The D ivision m akes
th e follow ing statem en t in In te rp re ta ­
tive B ulletin No. 13:
“The Act contains no express guide
as to th e m an n er of com puting hours
of w o rk and reasonable rules m u st be
adopted for purposes of enforcem ent
of th e W age and H our S tandards. As
a general rule, hours w orked w ill in ­
clude ( 1 ) all tim e d u rin g w hich an
em ploye is req u ired to be on d u ty or
to be on th e em ployer’s prem ises or
to be a t a prescribed w orkplace, and

E m ployers covered by any p rovi­
sions of th e A ct m u st keep records,
though no definite form is required.
The only req u irem en ts are th e follow­
ing:
1. R ecords m u st be k e p t e ith er at
the place of em ploym ent or at an of­
fice of th e em ployer in th e sam e state.
2. T hey m u st be k ep t for at least
four years and be open for inspection
and tra n sc rip tio n by rep resen tativ es
of th e W age and H our Division.
3. T hey m u st be in such condition
th a t an inspector can easily obtain th e
follow ing inform ation: (a) Nam e in
full, (b) hom e address, (c) date of
b irth if u n d er 19, (d) ho u rs w orked
each w orkday and each w orkw eek,
(e) total w ages paid each w orkw eek,
(f) date of paym ent, (g) reg u lar h o u r­
ly ra te of pay and basis upon w hich
w ages are paid, (h) earnings at reg u ­
lar h o u rly ra te of pay for each w o rk ­
week; and (i) ex tra earnings for over­
tim e.
T here can be no su b stitu te for an ac­
curate daily record of th e n um ber of
h o u rs actually w orked by each em ­
ploye. The posting of a notice speci­
fying th e reg u lar h o urs of w ork and
forbidding overtim e “w ith o u t express
official a u th o rity ” does not release an
em ployer.
E xem ptions:

Due to th e publicity given th e re ­
cent definition of executive and ad­
m in istrativ e em ployes, it does not
seem necessary to review those defini­
tions. B ut w e should b ear in m ind
(T u rn to page 41, Please)
N orthw estern B anker

January 1941

12

N ew s
OF

THE

a n d

V ie w s

B A N K IN G

W O RLD

W. A. S aw tell, p resid en t of th e
Stock Y ards N ational B ank of Omaha,
in v ited us to lunch th e o th er day w hen
w e w ere in his fine institu tio n . The
Stock Y ards N ational has m ade ex­
cellent progress th is year, an d th is
reflects real credit on Mr. Saw tell and
his associates.

By Clifford D ePuy
T is 42 floors above th e sidew alk—it
is th e E lectric Club in th e Civic
Opera B uilding—it is th e p enthouse
w here th e m em ories of th e late Sam ­
uel In su ll linger on b u t are n o t fo r­
gotten. T he club is decorated w ith
holly an d flow ers an d th e Y uletide
“sp irit” flows from th e pun ch bowl
and th e bubbling souls g athered
around. I t is th e a n n u a l C hristm as
p a rty of th e Chicago F in an cial A dver­
tise rs A ssociation. C hester L. P rice is
m aster of cerem onies. R obert L ind ­
q uist an d his ch arm in g w ife—w ho
m issed th e H ot Springs, V irginia FAA
m eeting because of sickness in th e
fam ily—are am ong tho se p re se n t and
add joy to th e occasion. Guy Cooke
and C harles S. F ry e ac t as auctioneers
for a p air of re d “w arm er-u p p ers”
1941 ladies model. P reston R eed and
L u cy D avid know everyone by th e ir
first nam es. Ju liu s K. W aibel, J. M.
E aston and John O’L au gh lin arriv e a
little late. P ete because of a b udget
m eeting a t th e bank. Gaylord Morse
looking p lu m p er th a n ever, renew ing
old acquaintances. D on Cameron dem ­
o n stra tin g his u su al ch arm and grac­
iousness.
M abel “gorgeous blond”
W hite besieged by dancing p artn ers.
R ufus R. Jeffris discussing h ig h er
m ath em atics an d h av in g fun. Jack
D aw son tellin g th a t he is about to b e­
come a “g ran d p a.” Sue E. D ow n in g
w earin g h e r lovely dim ples and cap­
tiv a tin g everyone. Mrs. C harles M.
(E rilla Joh nson ) F oresm an rem in isc­
ing about h e r girlhood days in Des
Moines.
T h en stan d in g by th e w indow you
look n o rth to w ard th e M erchandise
M art w hich is illu m in ated like a g re a t
castle. W eaving in and out on th e
stre e ts below an d over bridges an d
dodging beh in d buildings are stre e t
cars an d tra in s an d tax is w hich look
like m in ia tu re toy rep ro d u ctio n s w ith
th e ir tin y lig h ts flickering in th e d a rk ­
ness like so m any irid escen t fire flies.
T h en you rem em b er th a t you have th e
n e x t dance and you are glad P res R eed
inv ited you to such a g ra n d p a rty an d
also th a t you live in a co u n try w here
th e stre e ts are still lig h ted a t n ig h t
an d w h ere “black o u ts” are n o t p a rt of
th e regu latio n s w h en th e len g th en in g
shadow s fall an d th e su n has gone to
re st in th e W est.

I

N orthw estern B anker


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

January 19^1

Carl F rederickson, p resid en t of the
Live Stock N ational B ank of Sioux
City, is tre a su re r of th e Sioux City
R o tary Club and a m em ber of th e
b oard of directors.
H en ry H. B yers, secretary of C harles
E. W alters & Co. of Omaha, attended
th e Rose Bowl game, and he said th ere
w ere p len ty of “ro ses” outside of th e
Bowl.
A. G. Sam, vice p resid en t of th e F irst
N ational B ank of Sioux City, is a real
“outdoor m an.” H e has p u rchased a
b eau tiful new hom e su rro u n d ed by
tw o acres, on th e grounds of w hich
are 18 kinds of b eautiful trees, and it
keeps him busy looking a fte r his new
estate w hen ev er o p p o rtu n ity and
w ea th er conditions w ill perm it.
B. M. AVheelock, vice p resid en t of
th e S ecurity N ational Bank, and R alph
W . M oorhead, associate pu b lish er of
th e N orth w estern B anker, used to be
on th e sam e ten n is team w h en th ey
w ere in G rinnell College.
M aybe it w ould be a good idea for
th em to p u t on an exhibition m atch at
th e n ex t state b an k ers convention.
R ay R idge, vice p resid en t of th e
O m aha N ational Bank, is also state
vice p resid en t for N ebraska of the
A. B. A.
T h ere are now 207 m em bers in N e­
b raska, and 32 m em bers w ere tak en
in ju s t recently.

T his sto ry w as told to m e by th e
vice p resid en t of one of th e biggest
b an k s in th e M iddle W est about a
b an k ex am iner w ho w as checking th e
b an k and told th e officers in all
seriousness th a t th ey m u st pass a rule
forbidding girls in th e bank to w ear
tig h t sw eaters. T he basis for this,

th e ex am iner said, w as th a t he saw
10 y oung m en all stan d in g aro u n d
one desk w here one of th e m ost beau­
tifu l young ladies in th e b an k w as
w orking.
P erh ap s th is is th e rev erse of th e
young m an w ho w as looking th ro u g h
a k nothole a t a n u d ist cam p and re ­
m arked, “Gee w hiz, th a t blonde over
th e re w ould certain ly look b eautiful
in a sw eater”!

AV. B. M illard, Jr., vice presid en t of
th e Om aha N ational Bank, is also
ch airm an of th e O m aha Com m ittee for
B ritish W ar Relief, and visited New
Y ork last m onth, w here he conferred
w ith natio n al h ead q u arters officers.
T he w ork w hich Mr. M illard has
been doing has received praise in New
York, as th ey w ere v ery m uch pleased
w ith th e response m ade by u n its in
Om aha and o th er N ebraska cities.
T he goal placed for th e n atio n al or­
ganization is $20 ,000 ,000 , one-fourth of
w hich has already been raised. AVinthrop A ldrich, C hairm an of th e B oard
of th e Chase N ational B ank of New
Y ork City, is also ch airm an of th e n a­
tional society.
W illiam B. H u ghes, th e popular and
well-liked secretary of th e N ebraska
B ankers A ssociation, h ad only about
a two-day vacation th is sum m er, and
w hen w e dropped in to v isit w ith him ,
“Believe it or N ot” he w as leaving for
gam e of golf.
Jack AA7. H u g h es, presid en t of th e
G uarantee M utual Life In su ran ce
Com pany of Omaha, is B ill’s b ro th er,
and is also a crack golfer. In addi­
tio n to being h igh up in financial
circles, th ese H ughes boys are also
h a rd h itte rs —w h e th e r a t golf balls or
in business.

If you are in Chicago and v isit th e
new est b an k in th e city you w ill ap ­
proach gla ss doors w hich a u to m ati­
cally open as you b reak th e circu it of
the m agic eye. Inside you w ill step
on carpets tw o inches th ick in th e
lobby of th e b ank — the on ly bank in
A m erica w h ich has ru gs and carpets
in the lobby, as w ell as in th e officers’

p riv ate room s. E v ery w h ere you w ill
find a m odern stream lin ed city club
atm osphere. The tellers and book­
keepers talk w ith you n ot b ehind grill
w ork, b u t across open co unters and
greet you w ith a smile. T he ch airm an
of th e board and th e p resid en t’s offices
are th e last w ords in in terio r decorat­
ing and th e y are delightful to th e eye
and restfu l to th e pulse. A nd if you
don’t know the nam e of th e b an k by
now, it is th e La Salle N ational B ank
a t 135 South La Salle S treet of w hich
L aurance A rm our is ch airm an of th e
board and C. R ay P h illip s, presid en t
and Leonard C. P h illip s (no relation
(T u rn to page 72, Please)

13

When The
Board M eets
Country-Tow n Director Speaks
IRST: As a d irecto r of a county-

F

seat c o u n try tow n b an k for th irty
years, h av in g know n p ersonally
and in tim a te ly officers an d directors
of m an y sm all-tow n banks, some
w hose b an k s w en t dow n d u rin g th e
depressions an d som e w hose b anks
have w ith sto o d th e depressions, I
w an t to say for th e sm all-tow n b an k er
th a t I am absolutely convinced th a t
ninety-nine out of every h u n d red
b an k ers are honest, and th a t th e y are
honestly o p eratin g th e ir b an k s w ith
a view of serv in g th e co m m unity and
th e public in w hich th e b an k is lo­
cated. I w a n t to state fu rth e r, m any
have sacrificed th e ir p riv ate savings
and p ro p e rty in an a tte m p t to save
th eir in stitu tio n s an d m an y tim es
su p erv isin g a u th o ritie s have ta k e n ad ­
vantage of th e officers and directo rs
and forced th em to m ake sacrifices
w hich did n e ith e r th e b an k an y good
nor th e com m unity in w hich th e b ank
was located, b u t did do th e officers
and d irecto rs irre p a ra b le dam age.
Second: T he su p erv isin g au th o rities,
p a rtly because of necessity b u t m ore
often because of u n n ecessary re d tape
regulations, have caused a certain
cynicism am ong sm all-tow n b ankers.
The old fashion v irtu e s of h onesty
and th r if t of th e b o rro w ers count for
little in th e value of a loan because
th e ex am ining a u th o rity does not
know th e individual b o rro w er p erso n ­
ally and, consequently, th e good old
fashion v irtu e s count for v e ry little
in th e classification of th e loan. T his
policy has reflected itself in th e a tti­
tude of th e public to w ard th e sm all­
tow n b an k to such an e x te n t th a t th e
m an on th e stre e t has come to believe
th a t th e re is a w ide g ulf b etw een good
loans and th e good old fashion hon-

By W illiam C . Shaper
Director
Broken Bow S ta te Bank
Broken Bow, Nebraska

est v irtues. T h at is, th a t th e common
m an h a sn ’t m uch of a chance. T his
a ttitu d e on th e p a rt of th e public is
finding su p p o rt in th e v arious gov­
e rn m e n tal loan agencies, relief and as­
sistance organizations, so th a t th e le­
gitim ate ban k in g business is gradually
an d alm ost im perceptibly slipping
from p riv ate en terp rise to g overnm ent
b an k in g and loaning.
Third: T he p a rt th e officers and di­
recto rs of th e sm all-tow n b ank m ust
play is to change th e public a ttitu d e
to w ard th e sm all-tow n bank. T his
m ay be done p a rtly by th e m any little
courtesies and a tten tio n s on th e p a rt
of th e officers and directors w hich
good breeding requires. T hen too,
sm all loans based upon character,
th rift and decent living w ill do as
m uch as an y th in g to resto re banks
in co u n try tow ns to th e ir form er good
stan d in g in th e co u n try com m unity.
Supervising au th o rities should encour­
age a sm all per cent of th e b ank loans
to be placed in th is type of investm ent.
T h a t w ill b rin g to th e b an k th e smallam o u n t bo rro w er and b rin g to the
b an k th e com m on m an, and th u s give
th e officers of th e b an k an op p o rtu n ity
to cu ltivate th a t good w ill and good
a ttitu d e of th e public w hich is so
n ecessary for th e pro p er friendly re ­
lationship betw een th e m an on th e
stre e t and th e bank.

Fourth: The d irector can use his
influence and prestige to encourage
th e m an in need of a few dollars, to
borrow from th e b an k ra th e r th a n to
pay ex o rb itan t and crim inally high
rates to th e loan sh a rk and broker, by
w h atev er nam e or disguise, th a t exists
in ev ery sm all com m unity.
F ifth: E v ery d irector should be a
so rt of a public relatio n m an in addi­
tion to raisin g Cain w ith th e officers
and supervising authorities.

A . I. B. Conference
The fifth R egional In te rc h a p ter F ac­
u lty C onference of th e A m erican In ­
stitu te of B anking, em bracing chapters
and stu d y groups from seven cen tral
states, w as held in Chicago last m onth.
B ankers, law yers, college professors
and accountants w ere am ong th e in ­
stru c to rs from Chicago, St. Louis, M in­
neapolis, St. P au l and o th er cities w ho
w ere active in th e discussion of th e
In s titu te ’s teaching m ethods.
T he conference w as u n d er th e direc­
tion of Dr. W illiam A. Irw in, N ational
E ducational D irector, A m erican In sti­
tu te of B anking. A m ong th e speakers
w ere H a rry A. B rinkm an, vice p resi­
dent, H a rris T ru st and Savings Bank,
w ho spoke on “W h at th e Senior B ank­
er E xpects of th e In stitu te ,” Jo h n
S. Stubblefield, president, Peoples
State Bank, St. Joseph, M ichigan; Dr.
Isaac L ippincott, W ashington U niver­
sity, St. Louis, M issouri, and Jay F.
C hrist of th e U n iv ersity of Chicago.
C. E d g ar Johnson, a ssistan t vice p resi­
dent of The F irs t N ational B ank of
Chicago and m em ber executive coun­
cil A. I. B., presided a t th e luncheon
and d in n er m eetings.
N orthw estern B anker


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

January 1941

14

Federal Registration of

AH Issues

Should Be Required
Annual Year-End Bond Review by Halsey, Stuart & Company, Inc., Analyzes
Past, Present, and Future of this Type of Investment
A NALYSIS of th e seem ingly
A \ satisfactory show ing of th e
* ' 1940 bond m a rk e t quickly re ­
veals its u n su b sta n tia l foundation.
T he rise in th e price level w as m ost
g en eral in th e so-called ‘g ilt edge’ type
of bonds; th e g re a te st activ ity in em is­
sions consisted of refu n d in g o pera­
tions. The fo rm er reflected th e p re ­
vailing unw illin g n ess of investo rs to
em ploy th e ir funds in an y b u t th e
com paratively risk less ty p e of e n te r­
prise; th e latter, th e relu ctan ce of
m anag em en t to in cu r new debts for
an y except th e m ost u rg e n t re q u ire ­
m e n ts”—so sta te H alsey, S tu a rt & Co.,
Inc. in th e ir a n n u a l year-end bond
review . C ontinuing, th e y say, “Both
of th ese a ttitu d e s reflected a p p reh en ­
sion reg ard in g th e long-term outlook
and d istru st of those factors an d poli­
cies held responsible for it. I t is sig­
nificant th a t even th e recen tly g reatly
accelerated business activ ity and th e
prospect for its continuance over th e
n e a r te rm have n o t been sufficient to
a lte r appreciably th is deep u n d erly in g
concern about u ltim ate consequences.”
“T he im m ediate cause of u n se ttle ­
m en t grow ing out of th e w ar situ atio n
is, of course, th e enorm ous expense
involved in p re p a rin g for our ow n de­
fense. T his outlay, superim posed on
th e several y ears of reduced natio n al
incom e and v astly increased costs of
g o v ern m en t
o peration
and
debt
charges, p re se n ts problem s w hich, if
not h andled w ith w isdom and sta te s­
m anship, th re a te n n o t only our n a ­
tio n al solvency b u t th e v ery founda­
tions of our w hole econom y.”
In so fa r as th ese problem s directly
affect th e in v estm en t m ark et, th e
bond o rganization states th a t certain
fu n d am en tal facts ap p ear inescapable.
“C om paratively little new in v estm en t
capital has been set aside in th is coun­
try d u rin g th e p ast te n years, and look­
ing ahead to th e dem ands of th e fo rth ­
com ing y ears it ap p ears likely th a t
little m ore, if as m uch, w ill be con­
served in th a t period. A su b stan tial
p a rt of w h atev er profits re s u lt from
activ ity grow ing out of th e defense
pro g ram w ill go e ith e r to th e govern-

//

N orthw estern B anker


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

January 19bl

m en t (in th e form of taxes), w hich
w ill consum e such w ealth in goods or
services th a t are n ot reproductive, or
to labor (in th e form of w ages) w hich,
w hile adding to th e dem and for con­
sum able goods, is n ot likely to increase
g reatly th e in v estm en t backlog of th e
co u n try .”
“Such a situ atio n obviously points
to w ard fu rth e r reduction b oth in th e
supply of and th e dem and for p riv ate
in v estm en t securities. U nless our
course is altered, it suggests th e u lti­
m ate possibility of consum ption as
produced, of su b stan tially all c u rre n t
incom e th ro u g h th e day-to-day n e­
cessities of th e go v ern m en t and th e
individual. If c u rre n t incom e is in ­
adequate, th e g rad u al ex tin g u ish m en t
of p ast accum ulations to m ake up
deficits is th e fu rth e r prospect.”
“W h eth er w e can avoid such an u n ­
h ap p y ev en tu ality depends on both
th e e x ten t and d u ratio n of existing
ex tra o rd in ary dem ands and th e w is­
dom of our natio n al leaders, as w ell
as on th e will, re s tra in t and discipline
of our people in th e y ears ahead. The
w ise course on th e p a rt of b oth gov­
e rn m en t and th e people w ould appear
to be to face th e d istu rb in g realities of
th e situ atio n fo rth rig h tly and to recog­
nize th e need for revival of such basic
v irtu es as efficiency, th rift, in d u stry
and team -w ork—in short, to so plan
and m anage our affairs th a t w h atev er
effort and sacrifice m ay be req u ired to
su rm o u n t c u rre n t and im pending
problem s, our basic liberties and
econom y w ill be preserv ed for th e fu ­
tu re .”
T u rn in g to th e question of financ­
ing th e defense program , th e opinion
is expressed th at, “Q uestions of p lan t
expansion to m eet th e additional de­
m ands of both go v ern m en t and con­
sum ers w ill p resen t difficult problem s
to m anagem ent, w hose n a tu ra l im ­
pulse w ill be to do all in its pow er to
help, y e t w ho w ill quite n a tu ra lly be
re stra in e d by th e prospect of excess
facilities and burdensom e debt as de­
fense dem ands ta p e r off. I t is to be
expected th erefo re th a t m uch of th e
longer term financing of such expan­

sion as is done w ill come from govern­
m en t sources, a developm ent w hich
n eith e r in d u strialists n o r in v estm en t
b an k ers contem plate w ith pleasure,
y et w hich, in view of th e realities of
th e situation, seem s unavoidable. Be­
cause of th e cheapness of borrow ed
m oney an d th e p rev ailin g question­
able attractiv en ess of equity securities,
it seem s probable th at, am ong estab­
lished en terp rises, fixed in te re st se­
curities ra th e r th a n equity issues m ay
be favored by b oth m anagem ent an d
investors for such p riv ate in d u stria l
financing as m ay develop out of th e
defense p rogram .”
On th e now c u rre n t question of re ­
m oval of th e ta x im m u n ity of m unici­
pal bonds, th e in v estm en t house states
th at, “If th e revived ag itation for th e
rem oval of th e tax-exem pt featu re
from fu tu re issues of m unicipal bonds
is successful, an o th e r d e te rre n t to ad­
ditional m unicipal financing w ill r e ­
sult, for th e cost of such financing
w ill v ery probably th e n be increased,
restric tin g th e possibility of refu n d in g
advantageously and im pelling ta x ­
p ayers to look m ore critically a t capi­
tal ex p en d itu res.”
“W h eth er or n o t th e ta x exem ption
featu re w ill be rem oved rem ains to
be seen although, follow ing statem en ts
from th e T re a su ry and d istrib u tio n of
th e first taxable g o v ernm ent issue, it
appears certain th a t th e effort w ill be
made. W hile stu d en ts of th is ques­
tio n have h eretofore felt th a t any such
developm ent could be achieved only
by co n stitu tio n al am endm ent and th a t
such serious opposition w ould develop
to an y a tte m p t in th a t direction as to
m ake passage dubious, th ey are now
less su re of th e ir position—influenced
both by p revailing new concepts of
procedure in high circles and recogni­
tion of th e necessities of th e p re se n t
rev enue situation. One probable re ­
su lt of th e m odification, if effected,
w ill be to create a sh a rp e r d istinction
am ong v arious grades of m unicipal
credit th a n has h eretofore been th e
case. M arket prices of new issues, in
o th er w ords, w ill probably reflect
(T u rn to page 54, Please)

15

Consumer Credit Operations A re

P r o fita b le For O ur Bank
ANY b anks e n te r th e in sta ll­
m e n t loan field for th e purpose
of m ak in g additional profits. I
th in k th e profit angle has been over
em phasized because in h an d lin g con­
sum er cred it you h andle a large n u m ­
ber of item s and it tak es a lot of ef­
fo rt in o rd er to secure a volum e of
loans w hich w ill b rin g in an y am o u n t
of income. T hese loans, even th o u g h
th ey are sm all, m u st be m ade u n d e r
high cred it sta n d a rd s and good ju d g ­
m ent.
Service is p robably th e m ost im p o r­
ta n t reason for en te rin g th is field be­
cause we are in b u siness m ainly to
give service and if our service is eco­
nom ically sound and o u r business is
efficiently operated, it should be profit­
able and we are filling a n ecessary
place in our p re se n t day com plex eco­
nom ic system . Our in sta llm e n t loan
d ep a rtm e n ts are m ak in g m an y friends
for o u r banks. More people are be­
com ing acquain ted w ith b an k in g and
have a b e tte r idea of w h a t b an k s m ean
to th is co u n try and as a re su lt should
have a m uch m ore w holesom e feeling
to w ard banks.
T h ere is som e difference of opinion
as to th e effect of w ar upon consum er
credit. I t is rep o rted th a t th e b an k s
in E n g lan d are h av in g difficulties w ith
th e ir in stallm en t loans an d of course
th a t is probably tru e of all loans.
E n g lan d has a m o rato riu m u n d er
w hich th e b o rro w er or th e p u rch aser
is p ro tected ag ain st foreclosure. The
Congress of th e U nited S tates enacted
a Soldiers and Sailors R elief Act of
1940 w hich becam e a law last October
16. T his p ro tects anyone in m ilitary
service on obligations existin g p rio r
to th e passage of th e Act. Some of
th e m ore im p o rta n t provisions ap p ly ­
ing to in sta llm e n t credit are: M ort­
gaged p ro p e rty cannot be repossessed
w ith o u t a co u rt action, and in such ac­
tion th e co u rt m ay stay th e proceed­
ings, m ay re q u ire th e rep ay m en t of
in stallm en ts paid as a condition to
th e te rm in a tio n of th e co n tract or re ­
possession of th e property. T he rig h t
of th e co u rt to ord er stay of fore­
closure proceedings is lim ited insofar
as m otor vehicles, tra c to r or th e ac­
cessories of e ith e r are concerned to
cases w h ere th e c o u rt finds th a t 50

M

By Ray Brandt
V ice President
First National Bank
Minot, North Dakota

RAY B R A N D T

p er cent or m ore of th e purchase price
has been paid. W here less th a n 50
p er cent has been paid, the court m ay
ord er th e plaintiff to file a bond to
indem nify th e defendant against loss.
A ny m odification or term in atio n of
an in stallm en t co n tract or reposses­
sion of th e p ro p erty m ay be by m u tu al
agreem ent, b u t such ag reem en t m u st
be in w riting. The benefits of this
Act also extend to th e sureties, g u a r­
an to rs or endorsers. M uch of th e re ­
lief provided by th e Act is w ith in th e
d iscretion of th e Court.
W hen we consider th e actual n u m ­
b er of m en to be d rafted into th e serv ­
ice from an y given area d u rin g peace
tim es, it w ill be sm all, a fte r e lim in a t­
ing th e deferred classes and th e re ­
m ain d er to see actual service probably
w ill aggregate only a sm all percentage
of th e b o rrow ers in any of our in stall­
m en t loan d epartm ents. It does not
ap p ear th a t th ere w ill be a v ery great
increase in th e risk in loaning or ac­
cepting in stallm en t loans from m en
w ith in th e d raft age. T here is addi­

tional risk involved b u t th e re stric ­
tions should n ot be too severe because
we should be w illing to assum e some
responsibility as a p a rt of our con­
trib u tio n to th e N ational D efense P ro ­
gram , and u n til th e w ar advances to
a stage w here we are involved for a
long period of tim e, it is h ard ly prob­
able th a t th ere w ill be any great
am ount of loss because of borrow ers
being in th e service.
I th in k probably th e m ost serious
question confronting us, m ore serious
th a n w ar, is th e u n settled economic
condition in th is co u n try and th e
w orld generally. Rolf N ugent, direc­
to r of th e d e p artm en t of Consum er
C redit Studies of th e R ussell Sage
F o undation states th e effect of w ar
on consum er credit to be as follows:
1. A pplications w ill probably fall off.
Reason: M ore w ork and h ig h er wages;
m ore po ten tial b o rrow ers in m ilitary
service.
2. Less autom obile production and
pleasure cars. Reason: Facilities large­
ly d iverted to th e service forces.
3. A lthough three-year-old cars are
now considered about th e age lim it in
th e average departm ent, five and six
year old cars w ould becom e eligible.
R eason: Increased value because of
m a rk e t shortage.
4. More
im providen t borrow ers.
Reason: M oney comes m ore easily,
and tem p tatio n is for m any people to
buy luxuries.
W hen em ergencies
arise, th ey are com pelled to borrow .
5. People w ith fixed incom es w ill
be obliged to borrow . Reason: Cost
of living likely to go up.
6 . The possibility of a m o rato riu m
for all m en in m ilitary service is an
im p o rtan t factor to be considered.
7. Source of incom e becom es v ery
im p o rtan t in a tim e like this. If th e
borrow er is em ployed by a w ar in ­
dustry, his financial statu s m ay change
quickly.
8 . Co-maker p aper is m ore desirable,
and one nam e should be th a t of a p e r­
son n ot of d ra ft age and n ot em ployed
in th e sam e industry.
9. If in te re st rates go up, banks con­
tem p latin g en terin g th e consum er
credit field w ill probably delay for a
tim e.
(T u rn to page 56, Please)
N orthw estern B anker


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

January t9 b l

W h o O w n s Progeny of L/VCStOCk
Covered in a Chattel M ortgage?
A M ichigan banker contracted w ith
a real estate b ro k er th e re to sell for
him certain p ro p e rty in th e City of
D etroit. T he b ro k er a rra n g e d w ith
an o th e r b roker, w ho rep re se n te d a
purchaser, for th e sale. W ith o u t th e
consent of e ith e r th e seller or th e
buyer, th e b ro k ers e n tered into an
agreem en t betw een th em selves to di­
vide th e ir com m issions. W hen the
b an k e r and th e p u rc h a se r learned of
th is th e y refu sed to go ahead w ith th e
deal and u ltim ately com pleted it
them selves. In such circum stances
w ere th e b ro k ers en titled to com pensa­
tion?
No. A n agreem en t b etw een real es­
tate brokers rep resen tin g different
principals to sp lit or divide th eir com ­
m ission s d ep rives the brokers of the
right to com p en sation u n less both
principals con sen t thereto, and th is
rule applies even though th e p rin ci­
pals th em selv es finally conclude th e
sale.
E gen ette died in Iow a leaving by
will all of his p ro p e rty to his w ife to
have, use and control in h e r ow n rig h t
as long as she rem ain ed his widow. Did
she, by reason of th e provisions of
th e will, receive only a life estate in
th e p roperty?
Yes. A d evise to a w ife of all of a
testator’s property to have, u se and
control in her ow n right as lon g as
she rem ained th e testator’s w id ow
gran ts to th e w id ow a life estate on ly
and such life estate is su bject to her
rem arriage.

These and Other Timely Legal
Questions A re Answered
By the

LEGAL DEPARTMENT
action has expired and the title to the
real estate has v ested in the holder
of the certificate of sale, th e d istrict
court is w ith o u t p ow er to furth er ex ­
tend the period of redem ption. The
N orth D akota Suprem e Court has so
held recently.
A M innesota bank had certain elec­
trical w ork done on its prem ises by a
m a ste r electrician w hich proved to be
defective. By sta tu te in th a t state
such electricians are licensed and th ey
are required, before plying th e ir trade,
to fu rn ish a bond nam ing th e state
as obligee and conditioned on th e li­
censee’s faith fu l and skillful perfo rm ­
ance of his w ork. The electrician
failed to m ake good th e defective w ork
and th e b an k sued him and his bond­
ing com pany. W as such su it proper?
Y es. T h e fa c t th a t th e b o n d r a n to
th e sta te d id n o t m e a n th a t th e sta te
Avas th e o n ly o n e th a t c o u ld su e th e r e ­
on . I t AATas o b \Tio u s ly th e in t e n t o f th e
le g isla tu r e th a t th is sh o u ld n o t b e th e
c a se a n d th a t th e r ig h t to r e d r e ss
sh o u ld r e s t w ith th o s e th a t are th e v ic ­
tim s o f d e fe c tiv e Avork. A s a c o n s e ­
q u e n c e th e s u it b y th e b a n k Avas
p ro p er. T h e M in n e so ta S u p r e m e C ourt
so d e cid ed r e c e n tly .

in certain circum stances th e d istric t
courts in N o rth D akota have pow er
u n d e r th e sta tu te s to g ra n t an ex te n ­
sion of th e period of redem p tio n in
m ortgage
foreclosure
proceedings.
Shallcross p u rch ased certain land a t a
m ortgage foreclosure sale in th a t state,
th e period of red em p tio n th e re o n ex­
pired, and th e title v ested in him as
holder of th e certificate of sale. Could
th e d istric t c o u rt involved extend th e
period of redem ption th ereafter?

A N ebraska banker ow ned a farm
in th a t state. D irectly upon th e line
b etw een his farm and th e adjoining
farm w as a beautiful, large shade tree.
In such circum stances did th e tree
belong to th e banker?

No. A fter th e period of redem ption
in a real estate m ortgage foreclosure

A storekeep er in South D akota exe­
cuted a ch attel m ortgage on his stock

N orthw estern B anker

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

January 1941

No.

A tree stan d in g d irectly upon

th e boundary lin e betAveen adjoining
OAvners so th a t th e p r o p e r ty lin e
p a ss e s th r o u g h it is th e com m on
property Of b o th parties.

of m erchandise to his son. U nder th e
m ortgage, he retain ed possession of
th e m ortgaged p ro p erty and th e pow er
to sell it. The sto rekeeper becam e in ­
solvent and th e question arose of
w h eth er th e m ortgage w as fraudulent.
W as it frau d u len t sim ply because of
th e rete n tio n of possession and th e
pow er to sell?
N o. T h e r e te n tio n o f th e p o s s e s s io n
o f th e m o r tg a g e d p r o p e r ty a n d th e
r e se r v a tio n o f th e poAver to s e ll th e
p r o p e r ty do n o t, s ta n d in g a lo n e, m ean
th a t th e m o r tg a g e Avas fr a u d u le n t. In
su c h c ir c u m sta n c e s , th e r e is a p re­
su m p tio n th a t th e m o rtg a g e Avas
fr a u d u le n t, b u t su c h p r e su m p tio n m a y
be r e b u tte d b y a s h o w in g th a t th e
m o r tg a g e tr a n s a c tio n Avas b o n a fide in
a ll r e sp e c ts.
B la c k in g to n executed in favor of
Johnson a m ortgage on his hom e. He
w as unable to m ake th e paym ents
th ereo n and, to avoid a foreclosure,
agreed w ith Joh n so n th a t he w ould
give to him a deed to th e place. The
deed w as duly executed and delivered
and Joh n so n su rren d ered to Blackingto n th e m ortgage duly cancelled. Did
such handling on th e p a rt of B lack­
ington operate to forfeit any rig h t of
redem ption he m ig h t have?
Y es. T h e b a sic q u e stio n in m a tte r s
o f th is a c c o u n t is th e in te n tio n o f th e
p a r tie s. T h e c ir c u m sta n c e th a t th e
m o r tg a g e in d e b te d n e ss A\Ta s e x tin ­
g u is h e d b y th e tr a n s a c tio n o f c o n v e y ­
a n c e s h o w e d th a t th e equiA^alent o f a
sa le Avas in te n d e d . A s a r e su lt, a n y
e q u ity o f r e d e m p tio n B la c k in g to n
m ig h t h a v e h a d Avas a b a n d o n ed b y
h im .
M o st fid e lity b o n d s req u ire th e
obligee to give notice of any loss cov­
ered th ereb y w ith in a certain tim e
afte r th e discovery of th e loss. Jackson, an em ploye of a b ank and the
subject of a fidelity bond ru n n in g to it,
w as observed by his su p eriors to be
doing certain suspicious acts, b u t he
w as n o t ap prehended in an y defalca­
tion u n til som etim e th ereafter. Did
th e provision in th e bond req u ire th e
(T u rn to page 46, Please)

17

W hat the

financial Advertiser

Wants to Know About Advertising
E T ’S get to g e th e r on our ideas of
th is sh ibboleth w hich has sw ept
th e business, banking, an d in d u s­
tria l field—P ublic R elations.
Is n ’t it ju s t w h a t it says—R elations
w ith th e Public?
All rig h t. F ro m th e b a n k e r’s angle,
who is th e public? F irs t it’s his em ­
ployes, as th e y are p a rt of th e public.
T hen his custom ers an d finally th e
g rea t m ass outside, p a rt of w hich m ay
be p o ten tial custom ers.
A nd th is larg er g roup m ay n ev er be
custom ers, n ev erth eless th e b a n k e r
has a real job an d a responsibility,
not only to m ake friends, b u t to edu­
cate those w ho n ev er have and nev er
w ill e n te r th e doors of his place of
business. R em em ber, each ad u lt has
a ballot an d each has a p a rt in m ak ­
ing P ublic Opinion.
Can we tak e a look a t th e job of
the Public R elations m anager?
I like to com pare him w ith th e old
Rom an God, Jan u s. Y ou’ll rem em b er
he h ad tw o faces. H is place w as over
the gates of th e city and looked to
th e outside an d to th e inside.
T he P ublic R elations m an ag er has
n ot only th e im p o rta n t job of in te r­
p re tin g th e b a n k to th e public b u t
w h a t is ju s t as im p o rtan t, he m u st
in te rp re t th e public to th e bank. How
m an y tim es in p a st y ears could th e
ban k ers have avoided m isu n d e rsta n d ­
ings if th e y h ad kn o w n w h a t th e p u b ­
lic w an ted an d how little th e y knew
of w h a t service w as being offered by
the bank. I have found th a t th e p u b ­
lic is v e ry reasonable. T hey are fair.
T hey are w illing to pay for w h a t th e y
get—m ost of th e m do n o t w a n t c h a r­
ity. B ut th e y m u st be told w h a t th ey
are getting. T he b a n k e rs w ill a t once
th in k of th e service charge. No b ank
has h ad tro u b le in estab lish in g th e
service charge if th e custom er has
been told in advance—in language he
u n d e rsta n d s—ju s t w h y th e service
charge is being installed, and w h a t th e
custom er is g ettin g in th e w ay of real
m oney saving service in his checking
account.
Scotland Y ard o peratives w ho ac­
com pany th e K ing an d Queen of G reat
B ritain, u n lik e o u r A m erican secret
service agents, spend th e ir tim e out in
the crowd.

L

By Preston E. Reed
Executive Vice President
Financial A dv e rtise rs Association
Ch ic ago

A n address before the
A d vertisin g Club of Des M oines

P R E S T O N E. R E E D

Is n ’t th a t the place for th e director
of public relatio n s — “out in the
crow d”?
Too m any of us are like th e A m eri­
can secret agents—we like to be close
to th e m ain actors.
The b an k executives don’t need
shadow ing—th ey need inform ation
from th e crowd.
M ost of them don’t need to see th e ir
business from th e inside. M ost of
them know that. T hey need th e o ut­
side view point.
T hey are busy men. T hey lead a
stren u o u s b u t som ew hat segregated
life. The b an k er has a certain group
of associates and business custom ers
w hich consum e m ost of his en tire
w aking h o u rs—n ot by choice b u t be­
cause of th e crow ding 60 m in u tes in
an hour.
Some are try in g to reduce th e w ork

w eek to 40 hours. M ost bank execu­
tives are looking for a 40 hour day.
Yes, th e o u tsid er’s view point is m ost
essential to banking.
The job of public relatio n s from
th e inside has h ad an intensive and
en th u siastic beginning in th e last five
years. E m ploye tra in in g classes have
n o t only been th e vogue b u t have
been practical and productive. The
subject of constructive custom er rela­
tions is an in terestin g study in itself.
L e t’s get to th e w ork of th e Public
R elations M an for th e O utside of the.
bank. In brief, th is covers ad vertis­
ing, publicity, and sellin g.
It is th e one phase of advertising
w hich is m ost im p o rtan t to us today.
H ere is w h at a b an k er said a few
years ago w hich show s th e sp irit of
good b an k advertising:
“I w a n t an advertisin g cam paign
th a t w ill m ake m y average em ploye
feel ju s t a shade sup erio r to th e em ­
ployes of o ther banks, and a little
p rouder of his in stitu tio n th a n he ever
felt before. I w an t th is cam paign as
badly as any com m ercial adv ertiser
w an ts an Amos and A ndy or a H ali­
tosis. Of course, any cam paign th a t
did th a t w ould also carry a feeling of
confidence and an im pression of lead­
ership to m y old custom ers, to my
stockholders, and to th e k in d of p ro s­
pect I w an t to reach.”
L et m e b rief some salien t points.
M ost of th em should be self-evident:
1. B anking is a sacred tru st. Its
en tire business is of a v ery confiden­
tial n atu re. A lm ost every ban k has
a declaration of secrecy w hich is
signed by every officer and employe.
In some banks th is is done cere­
m oniously annually. H ere is a sam ­
ple:
2. T he m a rk e t for b an k services
covers every stra ta of h um an life
w here m ore th a n a livable m inim um
is earned.
3. B usiness is one of deposits and
th e “renting-out” of those deposits to
responsible firm s and individuals.
4. A financial ad v ertisin g m an deals
in intangibles.
5. T here are few differentiated ch ar­
acteristics settin g one b an k off from
its com petitors such as a m a n u factu rer
of a product.
(T u rn to page 30, Please)
'Northwestern Banker


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

January 19M

18

How Direct M ail W ill
M ake
H E 14,000 b an k s of th e co u n try
are urg ed to get to g eth er on a
nation-w ide pro g ram of “th in k in g
big” about th e ir ad v ertisin g and using
local and direct m ail ad v ertisin g as a
m eans of tak in g th e lead ersh ip in sell­
ing A m erica on sound business policy
and building back to p ro sp erity by
sound th in k in g and public opinion.
These w ere th e sen tim en ts ex­
pressed by P e rry I. P ren tice, vice
p resid en t of T im e , Inc., w ho addressed
a recen t session of th e F in an cial Ad­
v ertise rs A ssociation, adding th at: “Di­
rect m ail could do its p a rt in m aking
an d holding frien d s.” H is topic w as
th e use of d irect m ail advertising.
“T he reaso n w h y T im e M agazine
uses two-page le tte rs and F o rtu n e
M agazine uses five-page le tte rs to sell
by m ail,” Mr. P ren tice told th e dele­
gates, “is th a t tests have show n th a t
th ey sell b e tte r th a n one-page letters,
and th e reaso n for th a t is th a t unless
th e read er can be in te re ste d enough
to continue into a long le tte r he can
h ard ly be expected to be in terested
enough to do $10 w o rth of 'forking
o v er’ in th e case of F o rtu n e and m ore
th a n a m ere dollar tria l in th e case of
Tim e.”
E x p lain in g th a t Tim e, Inc., sen t out
30 m illion le tte rs annually, b u t th a t all
m ass m ailings w ere en tered into only
afte r te sts had proved th e ir pulling
pow er, w ith a dozen new ideas tested
and discarded w eekly before m ass
m ailing w as attem pted, Mr. P ren tice
said th a t d irect m ail w as n o t to be
regard ed as m erely a m ethod of selling
cheaply.
D irect m ail a t its best is a m ethod
of m ak in g th e frien d s an d sales for
w hich m agazine an d new sp ap er space
ad v ertisin g should p re p a re th e w ay,
Mr. P ren tice said.
“W e practically gave u p u sin g our
advertisin g space to m ake a direct
sale of T im e y ears ago,” Mr. P ren tice
explained. “T his y e a r w e are spend­
ing som ething like 67 p e r cent of our
total profits on ad vertising, b u t th a t
ad v ertisin g is n o t saying, ‘Step up
here an d give us y o u r m oney for our
p ro d u ct.’ W h a t we are doing w ith
our ad v ertisin g is selling A m erican
jou rn alism to A m erica, selling A m er­
ica th e im portance of tak in g an in ­
tellig en t in te re st in th e new s, selling

T

N orthw estern B anker

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

January 194Í

FrißtdsFor Your Bank
A m erica on th e idea th a t th e new s
is th e m ost im p o rtan t th in g in th e
w orld to th em as individuals, selling
A m erica th a t th e only w ay th is coun­
try can be free is for A m ericans to
tak e an in tellig en t in te re st in the
new s, selling A m erica th e idea th a t it
can resp ect th e press, n ot ju st Tim e,
b u t all th e re st of th e press of the

" A fte r all, if banks won't
take the leadership in resell­
ing A m erica on sound busi­
ness policy, if the banks
won't take the leadership in
selling A m e rica on the im­
portance of the business
process, if the banks won't
take the leadership in selling
A m erica on the im portance
of banking itself, who is
going to take that respon­
sibility?"

U nited States. In th e p ast year we
have sp en t over a h alf m illion dollars
on new spaper and m agazine ad v ertis­
ing in w hich T im e itself is h ard ly
m entioned. Our jo u rn alism cam paign
has one and only one purpose, to re ­
store confidence in th e A m erican press
as a whole. W e hope th a t every one
of A m erica’s th o u san d s of daily new s­
pap ers w ill profit from th is ad v ertis­
ing as m uch as we w ill.”
The T im e vice p resid en t declared
th a t A m erican business executives
have becom e m ore self critical in re ­
cent years, and w ere beginning to
realize th a t changes in business as
w ell as G overnm ent attitu d e tow ard
business w ould be needful to b ring
back responsibility.
“If som eone does n ot take th e re ­
sponsibility of selling A m erica on
sound business policy and banking,
and s ta rt spending some m oney to
m eet th a t responsibility, I seriously

question w h e th e r we are ever going
to have a sound em ergence from th is
depression,” Mr. P rentice, w ho is one
of th e m ajor active executives of Tim e,
observed.
R everting to th e province of direct
mail, th e Tim e executive said th a t he
saw in d irect m ail th e m eans of m ak ­
ing friends, “and it is im p o rtan t to
b ankers rig h t now th a t th ey should
have a gosh aw ful lot m ore friends
th an th e y ’ve got now .”
“It isn ’t really im p o rtan t to th e b ank
th a t th e y should cash in over n ig h t on
th e ir adv ertisin g and see ju st w here
every dollar is com ing back,” Mr.
P ren tice continued.
T he th in g th a t is im p o rtan t for th e
banks of A m erica is th a t th ey should
change th e th in k in g of A m erica about
b anking and about business as a
whole. T his does n ot m ean ju s t tw o
or th re e m en in W ashington, it m eans
g ettin g m ore friends, m ore depositors
into banks w ho believe in banks.
Q uoting from th e Biblical sto ry of
th e re tu rn of th e Jew s to Jeru salem
from th e B abylonian captivity, Mr.
P ren tice pointed out th a t “each m an
re b u ilt th a t p a rt of th e w all w hich
was n earest his hom e.”
H e urg ed th e 14,000 banks of this
co u n try to use th e ir local ad v ertisin g
and direct m ail as th e m eans of build­
ing th e p a rt of th e w all n earest th e ir
home. H e urg ed th a t th e larg er banks
lead off w ith a natio n al cam paign in
m agazines and new spapers, since th ey
are no m ore local in stitu tio n s th a n
Tim e, w hile th e sm aller banks of th e
country, w ith th e aid of th e F inancial
A dvertisers A ssociation and o ther
skilled counsel, carried th e m essages
locally.
To back up such an in direct cam ­
paign of building back to p ro sp erity
by sound th in k in g and public opinion,
he said d irect m ail could do its p a rt
in m aking and holding friends.
“The m ost im p o rtan t th in g any let­
te r can do, w hich is to personalize
your m essage,” Mr. P ren tice said, “is
to let yo u r prospective custom er see
ju st w h at y o u r service can m ean to
him , and to m ake sure y o u r custom ers
know th a t yo u rs is a friendly service
and th a t you are a friendly in stitu tio n ,
in terested in him.
(T u rn to page 55, Please)

19

STATEMENT
OF

CONDITION
D ecem ber 31, 1 9 4 0
R E SO U R C E S
Loans and D isco u n ts..................................................................................................$16,908,895.17
Overdrafts .................................................. ...................................................................
641.57
U. S. Government O b lig a tio n s.................................................. .........................
9,405,000.00
State and M unicipal B on d s........................................................................
5 478 792 85
Other B onds and In v e stm en ts.............................................................................. 2 270 377.09
B anking H o u se .................................................................................................... C . .
A^OOO.OO
Furniture and F ix tu r e s...............................................................
i nn
Interest earned but not c o lle cted ........................................................................
151,634.84
Other A s s e ts ...................................................................................................................
28,028!l5
Cash on hand and due from Federal R eserve Bank and other Corre sp o n d e n t

B a n k s ...................................................................................................... 21,206 989 14

$56,199,359.81

L IA B IL IT IE S
Common S to ck ........................................................................
Surplus ...................................................................................
U ndivided P rofits............... .................
R eserve for C on tin gen cies................................................
R eserve for D ividend s declared and u n p a id ...
R eserve for T axes, Interest, etc................................
In terest collected but not earn ed...............................
D eposits ........................................................................

$ 2 ,000,000.00

1,900,000.00
242,494.14
154,671.69
30,000.00
111,512.89
20,538.78
51,740,142.31
$56,199,359.81

Member
Federa l Deposit Insurance C orpo ration


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

N orthw estern Banker

January 19bl

20

MOfth Dakota Farm Income
Hits a New High
Increased W ealth and Prosperity Reflected in Annual Economic Review of
G reater North Dakota Association
E S ID E S th e m ere w ealth of m oney,
N o rth D akotans have a g reat
w ealth of “com fort th in g s”—
hom es, schools, churches, m odern
highw ays, autom obiles, cheap fuels,
h ealth fu l clim ate, am ple food and feed.
M oney w ealth and a p ro sp erity th e
te rrito ry h ad not felt in y ears are
show n in th e 16th a n n u al econom ic re ­
view of th e G reater N o rth D akota A s­
sociation.
B ut com fort things, intangibles,
such as a g reatly im proved m orale,
can n o t be added in colum ns.
F ig u res don’t show th e im proved
m orale in N o rth D akota. B ut an in ­
creasingly optim istic outlook of its citi­
zen ry is reflected in th e g re a te st de­
sire in a g en eratio n for hom e o w n er­
ship, b o th u rb a n and ru ra l, th e GNDA
rep o rt says.

B

New High Farm Income
The review of 1940 show s th e h ig h ­
est average a g ric u ltu ra l p roduction
in 11 y e a rs—s ta rt of new in d u stries—
new developm ent in irrig atio n , lignite
coal, oil p rospecting and n a tu ra l gas
—new cash crops—increased to u rist
traffic—b e tte r ta x p ay m en ts and gov­
ern m e n ta l divisions on soun d er foot­
ings—a g ric u ltu ra l leadership in m any
lines, w ith incom e up and debts down.
N o rth D akota is on th e verge of
g re a t developm ent in a dozen different
fields and is offering its im m ense
stores of n a tu ra l resources for u tiliza­
tio n in th e n atio n al defense program ,
th e re p o rt declares. Looking ahead
to th e new y ear, th e review show s an
optim istic picture.
I t is in dicated th a t N o rth D akotans
w ill be w ealth ier, w ill hav e m ore
hom es, w ill be able to capitalize on
w h a t th e y hav e learn ed in adverse
tim es an d w h a t th e y have b u ilt in
b e tte r tim es.

7,000 New Farm Homes
“P e rh a p s m ost o u tstan d in g in de­
velopm ents of th e last y e a r is th e sale
of 7,000 farm s to ow ner-operators in
N o rth D akota,” said B. E. Groom,
GNDA secretary.
T he lan d m ovem ent sta rte d w ith th e
good crops of 1939, Groom said. T en ­
a n ts w an ted to ow n hom es of th e ir
N orthw estern B anker


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19U

ow n and ow ners w anted to add to pay m en t of 10 p er cent or m ore, cover­
th e ir holdings. T his m ovem ent w as ing 13,390 acres,” Vogel rep o rts. Those
aided and augm ented by special sales leases cover 13,390 acres, and th e to tal
pro g ram s launched early in 1940 by price is $135,860.
“T here are num erous o th er sales in
th e F ed eral L and B ank, th e B ank of
N o rth Dakota, th e state school land the process of closing,” according to
d e p a rtm en t and insu ran ce com panies. Vogel. He adds, “T his has been th e
B uyers kn ew th a t th e tim e for ac­ best y ear on state-ow ned farm s for
tio n had come. F arm s w ere priced sales, re n ta l incom e and th e im proved
reasonable, in te re st ra te s w ere low m orale of th e people.”
E.
E. Sw anston, director of th e state
an d term s for pay m en t a rran g ed over
long periods, and “p u rch asers are in school land d ep artm ent, rep o rts in ­
b e tte r position to succeed th a n w ere te re st and paym ents for 1940 a t $1,048,823, as com pared w ith $834,901 for 1939
those of an earlier day.”
F.
W. Peck, p reid en t of th e F ederal and $762,116 for 1938. R entals and
L an d B ank of St. Paul, rep o rts 1,604 o th er collections for th e d ep artm en t
farm s w ere sold in N o rth D akota d u r­ exceed th e 1939 incom e by $249,921.
D esire for u rb a n hom e ow nership is
ing 1940, exclusive of Decem ber.
R eal estate sales by th e b an k w ere disclosed in a stu d y of 18 N o rth Da­
m ore th a n double those of 1939, and kota cities, w hich issued building p e r­
rep resen ted th e larg est increase in m its d u rin g 1940 totalin g $3,251,129.
sales of any of th e four states in w hich P riv ate building accounted for 69 p er
th e b an k operates, according to R alph cent of th is total, and 576 perm its w ere
L. H arm on, in form ation agent. H alf for new residences and im provem ents.
The N o rth D akota to tal farm incom e
th e sales w ere to people on th e land
or living w ith in tw o m iles of th e pro p ­ in 1940 w as $235,759,349, as com pared
w ith an average incom e for th e five
erty.
B ank officials state th a t of th e 85 previous years of $173,592,820, an in ­
p er cent sold to people living w ith in crease of 36 p er cent.
25 m iles of th e land, 16 p er cent w as
Farm Income $235,759,349
sold to p re se n t occupants or ren ters.
T he item ized gross farm production
Cash in full w as paid for 25 p er cent
of th e properties. F o r 1941 th e b an k incom e for 1940 show s benefit p ay­
already has leased 3,318 farm s in m ents, ad ju stm en ts for increased or
decreased livestock in v en to ries and
N o rth Dakota.
allow s for produce consum ed on
Lands Return To Tax Rolls
T he B ank of N o rth D akota, as agent farm s. T he figures, p rep ared from
for th e state, has sold 760 farm s, cover­ basic figures provided by F ed eral
ing 185,670 acres, for a to tal price of S tatistician B en K ienholz, are p re ­
$1,585,890.00, F. A. Vogel, m anager of sented by GNDA:
W heat and d u ru m .......... $ 70,291,204
th e bank, reports.
7,699,360
Of th e total, th e b an k had 120 cash Oats ........................................
8,419,200
sales covering 29,600 acres for an B arley ....................................
Rye
2,932,800
aggregate price of $194,680.
....................................
5,248,800
“W here th e original ow ner has re ­ F lax
quested to repu rch ase th e land and Corn ...................................... 10,526,400
6,232,800
h as some funds w ith w hich to buy, P otatoes ................................
7,875,850
he is given first consideration,” Vogel H ay ........................................
Sm
all
seeds
..........................
789,000
stated.
5,640,000
T he b an k sold 590 farm s u n d er con­ Beets, soy beans, honey, etc.
tra c t for deed w here pay m en t of 20
$125,655,414
p er cent or m ore has been made. The
Benefit
paym
ents
..............
22,373,000
to tal of these sales is 142,680 acres for
a price of $1,255,350.
$148,228,414
“F ifty leases have been m ade w ith
(T u rn to page 48, Please)
th e p u rchase privilege involving the

21

Like Lace, Ladders,
Lard and Locomotives —

M ottC y Is a Commodity
OR all p ractical p u rposes business
m ay be divided into tw o gen eral
classifications — com m odities and
service. B usiness e ith e r supplies a
produ ct w hich is n o t created or m a n u ­
factu red by th e p u rch aser, or it re n ­
ders a service w hich th e custom er can­
n o t or does n o t p erfo rm for him self.
In th e field of com m odities m ay be
grouped all of those articles of m e r­
chandise w h ich people eat, w ear, or
use, w h e th e r th e y be consum er goods
or capital goods. Service includes
those fu n ctio n s p erfo rm ed by public
utilities, railw ays, life in su ran ce com ­
panies. lau n d ries an d am usem ents; th e
medical, legal an d o th e r professions;
even th e b a rb e r shop an d th e b eau ty
parlor.
T he b a n k in g b u siness is u n iq u e in
th a t it deals in b o th a com m odity and
a service, fo r in th e b an k in g business
m oney is n o t w ealth in th e gen erally
accepted sense; it is a com m odity.
It is n o t m y p urpose to discuss th e
service side of banking. T he extent,
v ariety an d value of b an k in g service
is som eth in g w hich w e need v ery
m uch to explain to th e public. R ig h t
now, how ever, I do w a n t to say som e­
th in g about th a t com m odity handled
by A m erica’s b an k s—m oney.
A ctually, b an k s do n o t sell m oney,
th ey re n t m oney. T h ere is no differ­
ence b etw een a b an k re n tin g (loaning)
m oney, an d a landlord re n tin g a house,
an office, or an in d u stria l building
w hich costs m oney to build an d m ain ­
tain.
M oney is ju s t as m uch a com m odity,
ju s t as m uch an article of trade, ju s t
as m uch a tool of in d u stry an d com ­
m erce as ra w m aterials, m achinery,
and m erchandise; m ore im p o rtan t, be­
cause e ith e r cash or cred it is neces­
sary to acq u ire these b u siness req u i­
sites.
U nique to th e b an k in g b u siness is
th e fact th a t m oney m ay be loaned
for only a specified tim e. T he law s of
econom ics, experience an d g o v ern ­
m en t also re s tric t th e q u a n tity of
m oney w hich b an k s m ay loan. W h a t’s
m ore, th e y dictate th e term s an d con­
ditions of b an k in g tran sactio n s. T hey
fix th e financial and legal pen alties for

F


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

By A . E. Bradshaw
President
Oklahoma Bankers Association

e rro rs in judgm ent; for in ad v erten t or
illegal acts; even for losses su stained
th ro u g h th e failures of borrow ers,
w h e th e r due to m isfortune, negli­
gence, or fraud.
M an u facturers m ay sell all th e fin­
ished products th ey can m ake. M er­
ch an ts m ay sell all th e m erchandise
th e y can handle.
T ran sco n tin en tal
railro ad s or city bus lines m ay hau l
all th e passengers or freig h t th ey can
accom m odate. T he telephone or tele­
g rap h com panies are lim ited only by
th e capacity of th e ir facilities; and
th e a te rs m ay p u t up th e “standing
room only” sign. Officers of corpora­
tions, su p erin ten d en ts of production
an d directors of sales, even individual
salesm en, jeopardize th e secu rity of
th e ir positions if th e ir volum e fails
to reach certain quotas. B ut w ith
b anks it is different. T he law p re ­
scribes w h a t percentage of th e ir re ­
sources banks m ay loan, and places a
lim it on th e am o u n t of credit th ey
m ay sell to a single custom er.
I t has been only recen tly th a t even
inactive stockholders of banks w ere
relieved of double liability for failure.
W h eth er it w as due to econom ic con­
ditions, negligence, m isfo rtu n e or
crim inal in ten t, m ade no difference.
I am n ot com plaining of th e b a n k ­
e r’s lot. M ost of us are in th e b a n k ­
ing business by choice. A nd afte r all,
th e m oney w hich ban k s handle is not
p rim a rily th e p ro p erty of th e ir of­
ficers, d irectors or stockholders. Most
of th e funds w e handle belong to de­
positors. T h eir m oney m u st be safe­
gu ard ed and in sta n tly available should
th e y call for it.
T he u n fo rtu n a te th in g is th a t the
disappointed prospective borrow er
ra re ly recognizes and n ev er appreci­
ates th e reasons w hy he cannot get th e
m oney he w an ts his b an k er to loan
him to discount his m erchandise bills,
m eet his payroll, finance his m anufac­

tu rin g operations or selling cam paign,
buy th a t new tru ck , factory site or
m achine, or pay off his m ortgage. It
is, therefore, n o t sufficient m erely to
deny a loan w ith an air of indifferent
finality. To th e applicant it is, tem ­
p o rarily a t least, a serious and im ­
p o rta n t m atter. Its refu sal is a source
of disappointm ent, inconvenience or
em barrassm ent, perh ap s all of these,
to th e person seeking a loan. He
should know ju s t w h y th e loan is im ­
practicable (unacceptable). W h at m ay
be m ore im p o rtan t, perhaps, th e bank
is itself en titled to th e benefit of a
sensible explanation of its position. As
custom ers, we expect a plausible re a ­
son from those w ho do n ot see eye to
eye w ith us on a business transaction.
As bankers, then, let us exercise the
good ju d g m en t and patience to explain
w hy we are occasionally unable to ac­
cept th e p atronage of those w ho would
like to do business w ith us.
T he o th er fellow m ay do w h at he
pleases w ith his ow n business because
it belongs to him ; b u t w ith th e bank,
it is different. The m oney to be loaned
is n ot th e p ro p erty of th e bank. The
b an k is m erely th e fiduciary agent,
th e custodian of o th er people’s money.
W ith to day’s sw ollen resources it m ust
be ap p a re n t th a t aggressive b ankers
w ould w elcom e every loan th a t com­
plies w ith sound b an king practices.
B anking is m ore th a n a m a tte r of
deposits an d savings accounts, fu rn i­
tu re an d fixtures. I t is, in fact, none
of these. R ath er, it is a m a tte r of
experience, business judgm ent, legal
responsibility and personal integrity.
If ban k in g m ay be described by a
single w ord, I w ould say it is Confi­
dence.

Called
In a co u n try n ew spaper appeared the
follow ing ad v ertisem ent: “The m an
w ho picked up m y w allet in F ore
S treet w as recognized. He is req u est­
ed to re tu rn it.” The n ex t day th is re ­
p ly w as published: “T he recognized
m an w ho picked up y o u r w allet re ­
quests th e loser to call at any tim e and
collect it.”
N orthw estern B anker

January 1941

22

. Soundness of Plan

Soundness of Company .

FAMILY SECURITY
— b o th a r e p r o v i d e d b y N WN L , th r o u g h s o u n d m a n a g e m e n t
a n d a f o r w a r d - l o o k i n g m e th o d o j a g e n ts 9 c o m p e n s a tio n
pends alm ost en tirely on the agent. Since 1939 your
N >VN L agen t has b een paid, n o t prim arily for the
insurance yo u b u y , b u t for th e insurance y o u keep
in force. H e is rewarded d irectly, in dollars and
cen ts, for selling yo u o n ly th e kind o f insurance
you need , and o n ly th e am oun t yo u can afford —
and for keeping th a t insurance ad ju sted thereafter
to your changing needs.
H e is p a id to b uild you a sound plan, and to keep
it sound. A sound com p any w ill see to its execution.

T h e soundness o f a life insurance company — its
a b ility to fulfill its prom ises to p olicyholders — d e­
pends on management. M an agem ent can be know n
on ly b y its w orks. T h is com p any is in its 56th year
o f stead y grow th. Since 1930, in com m on w ith all
com panies, it has passed through th e m o st tryin g
decade in h istory, and to d a y it is stronger than
ever before.
Soundness o f your life insurance plan , how ever
— th e accuracy w ith w hich it fits your needs— de-

FIN A N C IA L

STATEM ENT

December 31, 1940
A s in p a st y ea rs, th is is th e f ir s t c o m p l e t e a n d f in a l l i f e i n s u r a n c e b a l a n c e s h e e t to b e p u b lish ed .
A sk y o u r b an k er, or so m e o th e r q u alified p erson , t o g iv e y o u h is o p in io n o f th e in tr in s ic sou n d n ess
o f th is C o m p a n y ’s in v e stm e n t m e th o d s an d m a n a g e m en t p ractices.
R ESO U R C E S
C ash .............................. .....................................................................( 6.4% ) $
U . S. Governm ent Securities..................................................... (23.1% )
B onds Fu lly Guaranteed by the U . S .................................... ( 6.6% )
C anadian G overnm ent Securities.............................................( .5% )
Other Bonds:
S tate, C oun ty, and M u n icipal..............................................( 3.6% )
Railroad M ortgage B on d s...................................................... ( 5.9% )
Railroad E q u ip m en ts............................................................. ( 1.0% )
Public U tility ..............................................................................(17.0% )
Ind u strial..................................................................................... (2 .2 % )
M iscellaneous..............................................................................( *3%)
First M ortgage L oan s..................................................................(14.3% )
Policy L o a n s................................................................................... (1L7% )
R eal E state (Including H om e Office B uilding and
R eal E state Sold Under C on tract)................................ ( 3.4% )
Prem ium s, D u e and D eferred........... ........................................( 2.6% )
Interest D u e and Accrued and Other A ssets...................... (
.8 %)

L IA B IL IT IE S
Reserve on Policies..........................................................................................$62,560,118
D eath Claims D ue and U n p a id .................................................................
N one
Claims R eported but Proofs not R eceiv ed .............................................
162,448
Reserve for Claims U nreported.....................
115,000
Present Value o f D ea th , D isa b ility , and Other Claims
Payable in In sta lm en ts......................................................................... 4,842,085
Premiums and Interest Paid in A d v a n ce................................................
335,597
Reserve for T axes Payable in 1 9 4 1...........................................................
290,944
Profits for D istribution to Policyholders. ............................................... 2,975,473
R eserve for Other L iabilities........................................................................ 2,913,745
Asset Fluctuation R eserve............................................................................
918,502

5,179,465
19,172,559
5,308,261
437,747
2,872,423
4,781,064
800,097
13,755,352
1,789,211
208,941
11,535,507
9,418,224

Surplus F unds and Capital:
V oluntary C ontingency R eserves.....................................$1,541,931
General Surplus..................................................................... 2,478,360
Paid-in C apital....................................................................... 1,650,000

2,771,991
2,130,395
622,966

In su ran ce in F orce $460,0 3 4 ,1 8 7

5,670,291

T O T A L ...................................................................................................$80,784,203

T O T A L .................................................................................(100% ) $80,784,203

N w N L ’s 1940 gain in insurance in force was $19,463,474 which
greater than 1939’s gain.

j is 44%

N o r t h w e s t e r n

L ife

INSURANCE

COMPANY

O. J. A rnold, President

M in n e a p o lis , M in n .

T his advertisem ent, presenting N wN L ’s 56th A nnual F inancial S tatem en t, appears in T I M E , ou t Jan. 9.

N orthw estern B anker


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

January 19bl

Things You W ill
W ant to Know About Insurance
Facts and Figures on Life, Fire, Casualty and Surety Coverage
OWA life in su ran ce policyholders
an d beneficiaries w ere paid a to tal of
$34,300,000 d u rin g 1939, and w hile
figures for 1940 are n o t as y et av ail­
able, it is quite likely th is am o u n t w as
equalled or exceeded in th e y e a r ju s t
past. T he above am o u n t w ould be an
average of $13.44 for ev ery m an,
w om an an d child in th e H aw keye
state.
Also, o rd in a ry life in su ran ce (ex­
cluding g roup in su ran ce) in force in
Iow a to tals $1,465,182,000, and th a t the
average policy in th e H aw keye state is
$1,900.
Des M oines led a h o th er cities of th e
state in life in su ran ce p ay m en ts in
1939, w ith $2,935,000. O ther leaders in
paym en ts w ere Sioux City, $1,470,000;
D avenport, $1,130,000; Cedar R apids,
$969,000; Council Bluffs, $945,000.

I

from tim e to tim e as occasion m ay re ­
q uire w ith those of o thers from our
ow n staff.”
C onservation and fire protection
w ork directed by th e n ational board
d u rin g th e w orld w ar w as extrem ely
effective, D auw alter said.
T he board suspended its u sual en ­
gineering activities for a period of
n early tw o y ears and concentrated
on recom m endations for safeguarding
cantonm ents, supply depots, hospitals,
naval properties, w arehouses, te rm i­
nals and shipyards.
So w ell w as th e w ork done, he p o int­
ed out, th a t w hen possession of arm y
can to n m ents w as delivered to those in
au th o rity , fire losses am ounting to less
th a n $3,000 had been su stained on con­
stru c tio n valued a t m ore th a n 100 m il­
lion dollars.

ODAY, as in 1917, th e n atio n al
board of fire u n d e rw rite rs is p re ­
pared to c u rta il its u su al activ ities in
o rder to devote a h of its efforts to th e
natio n al defense program , F. S. Dauw alter, a ssista n t g en eral m an ag er of
th e board, told m em bers of th e M ary­
land A ssociation of In su ra n c e A gents
a t th e ir a n n u a l m eeting.
“As in 1917,” th e sp eak er continued,
“its offer has been accepted, an d an
office h as been set up in th e co n stru c­
tio n division of th e w a r d ep artm en t
know n as th e w a r d e p a rtm e n t advis­
ory b u re a u on fire pro tectio n and p re ­
vention.
“T his office is u n d e r th e direction of
th re e n atio n al b o ard engineers. P lan s
for a h co n stru ctio n projects u n d e r th e
ju risd ictio n of th e w a r d e p a rtm e n t
w ill be passed u pon by th is bureau.
P roblem s of co n stru ctio n and w a te r
supply are fre q u e n tly acute in m aking
provisions on sh o rt notice for large
co n cen tratio n s of m en.
“In o rd er to deal w ith th ese p ro b ­
lem s w ith m axim um efficiency we
have arran g ed , in cooperation w ith
fire in su ran ce ra tin g boards and b u ­
reau s th ro u g h o u t th e country, to sta ­
tion one or m ore fire p ro tectio n en ­
gineers a t each such p ro ject w hile it
is u n d e r construction. T he efforts of
these engineers w ill be su pplem ented

A M IL IE S and o th er beneficiaries
of Iow a policyholders received an
aggregate of $9,995,000 from life in ­
su ran ce com panies in settlem en t of
d eath claim s d u rin g th e first nine
m o n th s of 1940, th e In stitu te of Life
In su ra n ce has announced.
“The im portance of th e economic
and social contrib u tio n of life in su r­
ance to th e fam ilies and com m unities
of Iow a is indicated by th e fact th a t
th e funds flowing into bereaved hom es
so fa r th is y ear have averaged $1,100,556 a m o n th ,” H olgar J. Johnson, p resi­
d en t of th e in stitu te, said.
Of th e death claim benefit paym ents
m ade in Iow a last year, up to Sept. 30,
a to tal of $8,719,000 w as paid out on
o rd in ary policies, $603,000 on group
policies and $673,000 on in d u strial
policies.
T otal death claim benefit paym ents
in th e seven w est n o rth cen tral states
aggregated $59,429,000 for th e nine
m onths, com prising $48,489,000 on or­
d in ary policies, $5,115,000 on group
policies, and $5,825,000 on in d u strial
policies.
T he com pilation includes paym ents
by A m erican life in surance com panies
and p aym ents by C anadian life in ­
su ran ce com panies on policies held
in th e U nited States.

T

F

H E N “Galloping G ertie” crashed
into P uget Sound last Novem ber,
she cost a group of 28 in surance com­
panies about th re e m illion dollars.
A ccording to in surance records, th e
bridge w as covered for a p ro p erty
dam age of $5,200,000 and for use and
occupancy up to $240,000.
T he fact th a t th e tow ers and th e ir
foundations m ay still be usable p re ­
vented a possible full-coverage loss to
th e com panies concerned.
“G alloping G ertie” is form ally
know n as th e Tacom a N arrow s bridge
and w as b u ilt a t a cost of $6,400,000.
A lthough she w as a b eau ty to look at,
she was nev er sound stru ctu rally , an d
a t th e tim e of th e crash, engineering
ex p erts from th e U n iversity of W ash­
ington w ere studying th e bridge in ­
tently, as w ell as a $20,000 m odel in
th e u n iv ersity laboratories.
The fact th a t th e re w as a consider­
able am o u n t of solid g ird er co nstruc­
tion in th e N arrow s bridge led m any
construction ex perts to believe th is
w as p a rtly to blam e for th e collapse.
The cen ter span of “G alloping Ger­
tie ” w as th e th ird longest in th e
w orld, and w as 200 feet above th e
w aters of th e sound.

W

OTOR vehicle deaths last y ear
w ill exceed th e 1939 total by ap ­
proxim ately 2,000, The T rav elers In ­
surance Com pany announced.
An indicated increase of 6.18 p er
cent in fatalities w ill b rin g th e 1940
figure to 34,500, g reater th a n th e to tal
in 1939 or 1938 b u t still considerably
u n d er th e all-tim e figure of 40,300 es­
tablished in 1937.
Only an unprecedented rev ersal of
th e year-long tre n d d u rin g th e final
tw o w eeks of 1940 w ould hold th e
figure u n d er 34,500, th e com pany’s
statistician s said. In only one of th e
last 14 m onths has th e re been a re ­
duction in fatalities from th e sam e
m onth in th e previous y ear and th a t
w as in July. T h ro u g h o u t th e au tu m n
m onths deaths ra n steadily ahead of
th e sam e m onths in 1939 and p ro v i­
sional rep o rts show th is tre n d co n tin u ­
ing in December.
T he rise in fatalities exceeds not

M

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19bi

24
only th e increase in m otor vehicle
reg istra tio n b u t also th a t for gasoline
consum ption, th u s th e d eath ra te for
1940 w ill be above th a t for 1939
w h e th e r com puted on th e basis of
n u m b er of cars in use, to tal m ileage,
or population.
P o in tin g to th e fact th a t th e acci-

d en t tre n d over a period of y ears has
closely followed th e tre n d of business
conditions, th e com pany’s statistician s
p redicted fu rth e r increases in traffic
death s for 1941 unless accident p re ­
v en tio n agencies find m ore effective
m ethods of com bating th e problem .
N on-fatal in ju ries w ill also show an

INCREASED ABILITY TO SERVE WELL
A llie d M u tu al’s stead y, con sisten t grow th in to ta l N et P rem iu m s
W ritten and in to ta l A d m itted A ssets co n tin u es to in d ica te sound,
con servative m an agem en t and ever-in creasing a b ility to serve all
p o licy h o ld er s at a ll tim es.

N et P rem iu m s W ritten

1936
1937
1938
1939
1940

__________________
__________________
__________________
__________________
___________________

A d m itte d A ssets

378,521
501,609
602,268
707,147
$827,134

266,954
365,247
519,090
691,487
$875,961

Y ou can d e p e n d on A llie d M utual

ALLIED MUTUAL CASUALTY COMPANY
H arold

S.

E vans, P resid en t

H u b b e ll B u ild in g

D es M oin es, Iow a

MUTUAL SURETY COMPANY
OF IOWA
DES MOINES, IOWA

N orthw estern B anker

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 1941

increase last y ear b u t the percentage
rise, 3.22, is less th a n h alf th a t for
fatalities. T he in ju ry total, it is p re ­
dicted, w ill reach a m illion and a
q u a rte r for th e second tim e in th e
h isto ry of th e autom obile.
P ed estrian deaths rose, b u t n o t in
p ro portion to th e experience of recen t
y ears w hen th ey tended to increase
even m ore rap id ly th a n deaths to car
occupants. The increase in such fa­
talities, 5.06 p er cent, w as slightly less
th a n th a t for all deaths. It w as esti­
m ated th a t by th e end of 1940 13,100
ped estrian s w ould have been killed
and 304,600 w ould have suffered nonfatal injuries.
UTSTANDING im provem ents in
th e h ealth of young A m ericans
of d raft age, or approaching it, is in ­
dicated by th e m o rtality records of one
U nited States life in su ran ce com pany.
Its w hite in d u strial policyholders—
ages 15 to 24—have a death ra te only
one th ird of w h a t it w as for th e cor­
responding age group in 1911, accord­
ing to com pany statisticians.
T his favorable h e alth situation, it is
explained, is due largely to th e p he­
nom enal drop in tuberculosis m or­
ta lity am ong th is group of young
A m erican m en. T h eir d eath ra te from
th is cause declined from 222 in each
100,000 in 1911, to 19 in 1939.
“T hus, th e im provem ent in tu b e r­
culosis m o rtality has been so rap id
th a t w ith in a single gen eratio n ,” the
statistician s point out, “th e death ra te
w as reduced to less th a n one-tenth of
th e in itial value. M oreover, in 1911,
about 40 p er cent of all th e deaths of
adolescent and young ad u lt m ales
w ere from tuberculosis; in 1939, only
11 p er cent of all deaths resu lted from
th is cause.”
O ther im p o rta n t factors involved
in reducing th e g eneral death ra te
am ong th e young A m erican w hite
m ales include:
A drop in th e influenza and p n eu ­
m onia death ra te from a level of about
30 in each 100,000 in th e decade 1921
to 1929, to a low point of 10 in 1939.
A su b stan tial drop du rin g th e 1911
to 1939 period in m o rtality from acci­
dents.
A 50 p er cent reduction in th e h e a rt
disease death rate.
A drop in th e ty phoid death ra te
from 30 in each 100,000 in 1911 to less
th a n one in 1939.

O

H E follow ing e x tract from a gen­
eral b u lletin of th e Illinois B ank­
ers A ssociation is called to th e a tte n ­
tion of all bankers:
“In m any instances th ro u g h o u t th e
State custodians of public funds, p a r­
ticu larly school tre a su re rs, are asking
officers and directors of ban k s to as-

T

25

sum e perso n al su re ty sh ip in o rd er th a t
th ey can qualify for th e ir offices. U n ­
der th e law s of Illinois it is n o t neces­
sary for an y indiv id u al to assum e th a t
resp o n sib ility for an y public official.
Illinois law s provide th a t corporate
su reties m ay be secured and th e cost
of th e bond charged ag ain st th e funds
w hich are protected. F o r y ears th e Il­
linois B an k ers A ssociation, th ro u g h
th e recom m endation of its com m ittees,
has u rg ed th e b an k ers in th e S tate
not to assum e th is p ersonal liability
and because of th a t u rging, th e L egis­
lative C om m ittee several y e a rs ago
sponsored a bill in th e L eg islatu re to
m ake it possible for such su re ty bonds
to be paid for out of th e funds in th e
tre a su ry of th e govern in g board w hich
req u ired th e su re ty bond. T he G eneral
A ssem bly, upon receiving th is m eas­
ure, agreed th a t it w as co n tra ry to
public policy fo r in dividuals to tak e
over such respo n sib ilities and th e re ­
upon passed th e bill w hich has becom e
a law. U nder th ese circum stances
b an k ers are u rg ed to re fe r all req u ests
for perso n al su re ty to corporations
w hose busin ess it is to provide such
secu rity for a reaso n ab ly m odest p re ­
m ium .”

W

IDOWHOOD s t r i k e s ap p ro x i­
m ately 400,000 w om en in th e
U nited States ev ery y e a r an d leaves
ap p ro x im ately 220,000 ch ild ren u n d e r
age 16 w ith o u t a fa th e r’s care, accord­
ing to life in su ran ce statistician s.
W hile th e average age of w ives at
th e d eath of th e ir h u sb an d s is som e­
w h a t less th a n 55, it is poin ted out by
statistic ia n s th a t th e m ost serious
problem s of w idow hood m u st be m et
by th e 100,000 new w idow s u n d e r age
45.
F o r it is am ong th is group th a t th e
g rea t m ajo rity of m o th ers w ith de­
p en d en t ch ild ren is found.
M ore th a n 2,000 w ives u n d e r 20, lose
th e ir h u sb an d s by d eath in th e course
of a calen d ar year.
In th e age group of 30 to 34 years,
m ore th a n 20,000 w om en an n u ally be­
come w idow s, and th e n u m b er in ­
creases in su b seq u en t age groups u n ­
til th e m axim um is reach ed am ong
w om en from 55 to 59, w h en 50,500
in those ages becom e w idow s each
year.
T he statistician s po in t out th a t
w idow hood p re se n ts specially difficult
econom ic problem s for w om en in tw o
specific age groups.
T he th o u san d s of orp h an ed ch ildren
left to th e care of w idow s u n d e r 45
m akes th e lot of th ese w om en often
a h a rd one, u n less adequate provision
has been m ade for th em and th e ir
children.
The problem of how th e y them selves
w ill be cared for confro n ts th e 100,000

IT CAN BE
DONE IN '01.

It is significant of the temper of Am erican Business
that— "Records are made to be broken." Now what
about this brand new year we are facing?

Nineteen Hundred Forty was the best year Western
Mutual has ever had, but through better than ever serv­
ice and even more helpful cooperation— with the taste of
great progress achieved, whetting our appetite for ever
greater success— we have set our mark high for the com­
ing year. W e know "It Can Be Done in 4 1 ."
We d
like to have you with us.

A s k about our contract today.

Legai Reserve
Non-Assessable
Fire and Auto Policies

W ESTERN M UTUAL
FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
D E S M O IN E S

Over a Third of a Century of Safety and
Service With Savings

^

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19bl

26
w om en p ast age 65 w ho becom e w id­
ows every year, for as a ru le th ey are
unable to provide for th e ir ow n su p ­
port.
“T H R E E -E IG H T H S of th e fatal trafI fic accidents an d a th ird of th e
n o nfatal in ju ry accidents in cities oc­
cur on S atu rd ay s an d Sundays, ac­
cording to N ational Safety council
records.
In ru ra l areas i t ’s even w orse. Fortyfour p er cen t of th e w eek ’s ru ra l d eath
to tal an d 45 p er cent of th e n o n fatal
in ju ry to tal of traffic accidents occur
d u rin g th e w eekend.
AL STEV EN S, one of th e n a tio n ’s
fam ous football coaches, adm its
M
football is a hazardous gam e b u t points
out th a t because of traffic hazards, it
is fa r m ore dangerous for spectators
rid in g to a big gam e th a n for th e play ­
ers p articip atin g on th e field.

Many Gains for
Northwestern National
A gain of $19,463,474 in in surance in
force, b ringing th e to tal to $460,034,187
as of D ecem ber 31, a sh arp gain in re ­
new al prem ium s, and a $5,579,023 in ­
crease in assets to a total of $80,784,203
featu re th e 56th an n u al financial sta te ­
m en t issued by N o rth w estern N ational
Life. The insurance in force gain w as
44 p er cent larg er th a n in 1939.
C ontingency reserves, su rp lu s funds
and capital increased by $212,373 to a
to tal of $5,670,291, after adding $100,000 in excess of legal req u irem en ts, to
vario u s policy reserves.
“T he su b stan tial increase in in su r­
ance in force is especially encouraging
because th e gain w as accom plished on
appro xim ately th e sam e volum e of
new business,” said P resid en t O. J.
A rnold in com m enting on th e sta te ­
m en t w hich has been th e first com plete
and final life in su ran ce com pany b al­

,

,

L. E. Ellis Pres.

H. G. Z im m e rm a n Sec.

L. E. ELLIS & CO.
G en era l Insuran ce
• 4 6 Years In T he Iowa Field
• W e W rite No Counter B usiness
• R epresented In Over 1 2 0 0 Iowa Agencies

4 1 5 S ecurities Bldg.

,

Des M oines Iowa

COMMERCIAL— MONTHLY
ORGANIZATION PROTECTION
HOSPITALIZATION— NON-OCCUPATIONAL
BUSINESS WOMEN
A W id e R ange of P o lic ie s

ance sheet to be published each year
since 1925.” “It th erefo re reflects con­
tin u ed im provem ent in p ersistency of
business— a reduction in term in atio n s
from lapse and su rren d er. This, I feel,
resu lts from tw o things: 1940 has been
a y ear of increasing em ploym ent and
th erefo re of im proved w ell-being on
th e p a rt of th e average fam ily. Sec­
ond, N w N L ’s long-range program of
lapse p rev en tio n is g etting re su lts.”
New business production in 1940, ex­
clusive of revivals and increases,
am ounted to $59,705,046 as com pared
w ith $57,844,015 in 1939. The increase
of $19,463,474 in surance in force ex­
pressed as a percentage of to tal in ­
surance outstanding, w as over 40 per
cent larg er th a n th e 1940 gain for all
life com panies as estim ated by th e
A ssociation of Life In su ran ce P re si­
dents.
Total prem ium collections of $10,930,964 in 1940 com pared w ith $10,630,054 in 1939. T he increase, Mr. A rnold
pointed out, w as en tirely accounted for
by an increase in ren ew al prem ium s,
reflecting still b e tte r m aintenance of
policies in force by th e ir holders.
Incom e from all sources totalled $15,587,796.
D eath claim paym ents to beneficia­
ries totalled $2,264,612 w hile paym ents
to living policyholders, exclusive of
policy loans, am ounted to $3,459,487.
Policy loans ou tstan d in g am ounted to
$9,418,224 com pared w ith $9,565,148 at
th e end of 1939.
H oldings of U. S. G overnm ent se­
curities and fully g u aran teed bonds of
g overnm ent agencies totalled $24,480,820 com pared w ith $24,313,613 a y ear
ago. F irs t m ortgage loans increased
du rin g th e y ear from $7,292,650 to $11,535,507. T he increase w as due to ex­
pansion in th e com pany’s holdings of
FH A in su red loans on city homes.
T he cash item stood a t $5,179,465 com ­
p ared to $4,474,631 th e previous year.
Real estate owned, w hich includes
sold u n d er contract, decreased from
th e hom e office building and real estate
$2,882,675 to $2,771,991 w hich is 3.4 p er
cent of to tal assets com pared w ith 6.7
per cent estim ated for th e life in su r­
ance business as a whole.

w ith u n u su al featu res.

W rite for C o m p lete D etails T oday.

m

Inter-State Business Men’s Accident Company
A M u tu a l L e g a l R e s e r v e I n c o m e P r o te c tio n C o m p a n y
O rgan ized in 1908
R o b ert A. B row n , P resid en t

N orthw estern B anker

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19^1

D es M oin es, Iow a

Premiums Increase Over
Forty-six Per Cent
The M utual S u rety Com pany of
Iowa, Des Moines, had an increase in
prem ium s of over 46 p er cent d uring
th e p ast tw elve m onths.
T his indicates a v ery su b stan tial
g ro w th in th is w ell know n Iow a in ­
stitu tio n and reflects a g reat deal of
credit upon th e officers, w ho are: R us­
sell F Lundy, president; D. S. P eter,
vice president; E. L. Lundy, secretary
and E. J. Sathe, a ssista n t secretary.

27
T he com pany w rite s only F id elity
and S u rety Bonds and has specialized

The 1930s...
10 years STEADY PROGRESS
for

HAWKEYE
T otal A ssets
R U S S E L L F. L U N D Y

in P ro b ate Bonds alth o u g h all types
of business are w ritten .

John W . Gunn Heads
Employers Mutual Casualty
Jo h n A Gunn, p resid en t of th e E m ­
ployers M utual C asualty Co. of Des
M oines since it w as organized in 1911,
last m o n th announced his resig n atio n
at th e q u a rte rly m eeting of th e board
of directors.
G unn w as elected ch airm an of the
board and w ill rem ain as tre a su re r. He
w as one of th e founders of th e com ­
pany.
Jo h n W. G unn, vice president, w as
elected to th e p residency to succeed
his fath er. Jo h n F. H ynes, secretary,
w as nam ed vice president, and re ta in s
th e office of secretary.
A re p o rt on business of th e com pany
for th e first 11 m o n th s of 1940 show ed
a gain in prem iu m s of $181,433. Oc­
tob er b u siness show ed th e biggest
gains of an y m o n th for 1940, and w as
th e biggest O ctober in th e h isto ry of
th e com pany, G unn reported. P re m i­
um s to taled $271,100, a gain of m ore
th a n $50,000 in p rem iu m s over Oc­
tober, 1939, officials said.
The com pany’s hom e office bu ild ­
ing is located at 204-210 S eventh Street.
T he com pany operates in 13 states
and w rite s autom obile, gen eral lia­
b ility and plate glass in su ran ce and
w o rk m en ’s com pensation.

Ouch!
C ustom er: “H ave you a book called
‘Man, th e M aster’?”
Salesgirl: “F ictio n d e p a rtm e n t on
th e o th e r side, sir.”

1930..........

$ 616,000

714,000

1935

1940................ 1,310,000
B usiness w ritten in year

1930
1935

..........

$ 331,000

407,000

1940............ .... 906,000
Surplus to P olicyh olders

1930
1935

$ 345,000

384,000

1940 .............. 500,000

HAWK£Y€
CASUALTY
COmPAny
oes m o in es,
io iu a

F u ll c o v e r a g e a u to m o b ile , w o r k m e n ’s c o m p e n s a t io n , g e n e r a l
lia b ilit y , b u r g la r y in s u r a n c e .

N orthw estern B anker

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19^1

28

No. X of a Series

THE THREE Rs ...a n d U ie
fcMMZ

ßcm Jeesi

P u b lic ed u ca tio n is on e o f th e m ost im ­

A very large p art of th e finan cing of our

p ortan t o f our d em ocratic processes.

sta te’s

p u b lic

sch o o l

d ev elo p m en t

p ro ­

gram has b een carried on b y th e In v est­
m en t B a n k in g in terests o f Iow a, th rou gh
Iow a, w ith h er en v ia b le rep u ta tio n o f h a v ­

th e u n d erw ritin g and d istrib u tin g o f in ­

in g th e h ig h e st p ercen tage o f lite ra te p e o ­

n u m era b le issues o f sch o o l bonds.

p le o f any state in th e U n ion , has b een
alert to, and p rogressive in , k eep in g h er

T od ay— h u n d red s o f th ou san d s o f Iow a

p u b lic sch ools abreast o f ra p id ly ch a n g ­

y o u th s are receiv in g th e b en efits o f a free

in g tim es and ed u ca tio n a l id eas.

ed u ca tio n in th e stim u la tin g and h e a lth ­
fu l en v iro n m en t o f p lea sa n t and m odern lyeq u ip p ed p u b lic sch o o l b u ild in g s.

D u rin g th e p ast d ecad e and a h a lf, Iow a
has sp en t m illio n s in im p ro v in g and en ­

T h e In v estm en t B an kers o f Iow a are rig h t­

larg in g p u b lic sch o o l structures— in th e

fu lly p rou d o f th e im p o rta n t ro le th e y have

con stru ction o f n ew p u b lic sc h o o l b u ild ­

p la y ed in p ro v id in g Iow a y o u th w ith sch o o l

in gs— con so lid a ted sch ools, grade schools,

b u ild in g s

ju n io r and sen ior h ig h schools.

su rpassed a n yw h ere in our broad n ation .

and

e q u ip m en t

th a t

are

n ot

Iowa Investment Hankers Association
N orthw estern B anker

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

January 19^1

29

The Months Market Maneuvers
In 1940 stock s de­
clined, but bonds
rose to r e c o r d
h igh s. T hat sta te­
m en t w h ile true
seem s an over-sim ­
plification of a year
in w h ich crisis fo l­
low ed c r i s i s in
w orld affairs. Cer­
JA M E S H . CLAR KE
tain ly at no tim e
in the past ten years have the m arkets
faced m ore u n certain ties. A nd faced
them w ith o u t h eiu g ex c essiv ely d is­
turbed.
In E urope and A sia there w ere
periods w h en all w as chaos. A t hom e
the m arkets w ere confronted w ith al­
m ost u n b elievab ly bad n ew s. R ussia
and F in lan d fou gh t a w ar—alm ost
forgotten now . H itler took over D en ­
m ark and beat the A llies to capture
N orw ay. H olland and B elgiu m fell
q uickly under the N azi assau lt—but
the g reatest b low of all w as the col­
lapse of F ran ce—M aginot lin e and all.
Ita ly decided all w as over and entered
the w ar, but u nd erestim ated E ngland.
G erm any poured bom bs on London
and in du strial E n glan d —w h ile the
R. A. F. retaliated. R u ssia seized part
of R um ania—H u ngary grabbed even
m ore—and th ou san d s of Germ an
troops cam e in w h ile K in g Carol fled.
G erm any scored additional “diplo­
m atic triu m p h s” but Ita ly suffered
sta ggerin g d efeats in h er attem p ts to
in vade Greece and E gyp t. T h ese are
but b rief sk etch es of E uropean n ew s
flashes.

A n d there w ere dom estic consider­
ations th a t affected our m a rk e ts—'par­
ticularly fo r com m on stocks. Gold
continued to pour in— E ngland liqui­
dated m a n y of her U nited S tates hold­
ings— Secretary H u ll w arned Japan.
F ro m Ju n e th ro u g h the first w e e k of
N o vem b er w e w ere in the m id st of the
h o tte st political fig h t in years— and the
stock m a rk e t’s favo rite lost. Corpo­
rate earnings im p ro ved — a great de­
fense program w as launched—na tio n ­
al incom e rose. B u t taxes also in ­
creased and th e outlook w as fo r even
larger increases— and this w orried in ­
vestors. So th e stock m a rk e t eased
dow nw ard.
In 1940 th e re w ere som ew hat b e tte r
th a n tw o h u n d re d m illion sh ares of
stock tra d e d on th e N ew Y ork Stock
Exchange. T he sm allest n u m b er since
1921. In 1929 over a billion w ere
bought and sold. Seats on th e Ex-

Preparedf for
The Northwestern Banker

By Jam es H . C larke
As sist ant Vice President
American National Bank & Trust Co.
Ch ic ago

change w ere on th e barg ain counter—
one sold for $32,000, th e low est in
forty-one years. In 1929 one sold for
$625,000. May 21 saw th e h eaviest
day of tra d in g for th e year, 3,940,000
sh ares—also a b reak of about eight
points on bad new s from abroad. The
sm allest day of trad in g w as A ugust
19—129,650 sh ares—th e lightest since
A ugust 7, 1916. T he Dow-Jones a v e r­
age for in d u strial stocks, w hich w as
151.43 on J a n u a ry 2, closed th e y ear
a t 130.13, a loss of over tw en ty points.
T he high p o int of 153 w as reached
early in Ja n u a ry —th e low point of
ab o u t 111 on Ju n e 10 ju s t before th e
full collapse of F rance. T h at th e stock
b ro k ers for th e m ost p a rt had an u n ­
profitable y ear is ap parent.
AVhile stock p rices w ere d eclining,
bond le v els w ere risin g to h eig h ts con­
sidered im possible a year or tw o ago.
The lon g G overnm ents—for exam ple,
the 2 %’s of 1965, w ere quoted at
106.15 as th e year began— dropped to
103.16 w h en F rance fell—b ut rallied
to close the year at 111.2 to yield 2.17.
The high of 111.23 on th ese bonds w as
set early in D ecem ber. B u t state and
various m un icipal bonds exceeded all
other cla sses by a w id e m argin. For
in stance, the city of R ichm ond, V ir­
gin ia, recen tly sold som e 1 per cent
Public Im p rovem en t B onds w ith the
first m aturity in 1942 priced to yield
but .10 p er cen t and th e final m aturity
in 1961 to yield on ly 1.30 per cent.
N ew York state also did w ell in g et­
tin g cheap m oney w h en it sold $25,000,000 of 11/4’s due seria lly from D e­
cem ber 1941 to 1980. The first m atu­
rity w as priced to yield .15 per cent—
the la st one to y ield 1.55. In short,
forty-year m oney at a little b etter than
one and one-half per cent. Tax exem p ­
tions, natu rally, aided in m aking th ese
prices high.

Corporations also borrowed m oney
at low rates during the year. B oston
E dison C om pany sold 2 %’s due in 1970
at 105 to yield a bit better than 2.50%
and fu lly taxable, of course. D etroit

E dison sold th ir ty year 3’s at 107%
w hile D ow Chemical sold serial deben­
tures due 1941 to 1950 on a .35%
to 2.05% basis.
These are but a
fe w exam ples— there w ere num erous
others— as a plethora of fu n d s forced
rates low er and lower.
A fter th is brief and inadequate re ­
view of th e y ear—let us tak e a look a t
th e m onth of Decem ber. F o r a fter all
th a t is th e real purpose of th is article.
Changes in th e stock m a rk e t w ere u n ­
im p o rtan t du rin g th e m o n th —th e Dow
Jones average for in d u strial stocks
being 131 on N ovem ber 29 and 131.13
on D ecem ber 31. Volum e of trad in g
w as sm all w ith b u t th re e days in
w hich shares bought and sold ex­
ceeded one m illion. In all th ere w ere
tw enty-five days of trad in g —advances
w ere reg istered fo u rteen tim es and
declines eleven—b u t th e n et change
m eaningless.
B onds w ere h ig h er in Decem ber.
The G overnm ent 2 %’s of 1965 Avere
110.7 as N ovem ber closed and 111.2 on
D ecem ber 31. Today (January 2) th ey
have dropped to around 110.10 fo llo w ­
in g the report of officials of the Fed
recom m ending in creases in hank re­
serve
requirem ents.
W ith
bonds
reach in g neAV h ig h s in D ecem ber and
Avith y ield s approaching the A-anishin g point, m ore th ou gh t is b ein g given
to the situ ation . It is natural for the
financial com m un ity to Avonder if th is
situ a tio n com pares in som e Avays Avith
the stock m arket in A ugu st, 1929.
T here Avere n um erous corporate o f­
ferin gs in D ecem ber—m ostly refund­
in gs.
A ppalachian E lectric PoAver
sold $70,000,000 3%’s of 1970 at 107 and
despite th e m atu rity and the high
price th ey Avent Avell. B oston Edison
offered $53,000,000 2 %’s of 1970 at 105
—the reception b ein g on ly fair. $50,000,000 D etroit E d ison 3’s of 1970 Avere
priced at 107% and the bid i io a a t is
around that price. In addition there
Avere offerings of $8,000,000 of Elec000,000 N ational D airy P roducts detric A uto-Lite deb. 2 %’s of 1950, $70,b entures, $6,500,000 P ittsb u rgh S teel
4^4’s o f 1950 and $15,000,000 Crucible
S teel C om pany 3% debentures.

There probably w ill be a lot of fi­
nancing in January. Companies w hich
already have registered offerings in ­
clude P hillips P etroleum , MontanaD akota U tilities, P anhandle E a stern
Pipe L in e and Sou th ern C ounties Gas
Company. Illinois B ell Telephone also
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 1951

is expected to sell bonds th is m o n th
as is Shell Union Oil, Public Service
of Oklahoma and possibly R epublic
Steel Company.
B usiness operated at a high rate in
D ecem ber— at capacity in num ero u s
instances. Indications are th a t this
w ill continue fo r som e tim e u n d er the
pressure of w ar orders and increased
dom estic purchasing power. The treas­
u ry faces financing problem s as de­
fense costs m o u n t w hile Congress w ill
w restle w ith m a n y problem s, n o t the
least of w h ich is the tax question. T hus
w e begin 1941 w ith but fe w of the u n ­
certainties of the past year solved and
w ith m a n y n ew ones before us.

Convention Calendar
N a tio n a l and S ectio n a l
F ebruary 4-6:

A. B. A. M id-W inter
T ru st Conference, W aldorf-A storia
H otel, N ew Y ork City.
March 5-7: A. B. A. Regional Confer­
ence, W aldorf-A storia H otel, New
Y ork City.
March 20-21: A. B. A. Regional Confer­
ence, B row n Hotel, Louisville,
K entucky.
A pril 18-19: E a ste rn Regional Confer­
ence N ational A ssociation of B ank
A uditors and C om ptrollers, Bos­
ton.

A pril 27-30: A. B. A. E xecutive Council

Spring M eeting, The H om estead,
H ot Springs, V irginia.
May 4-7: A ssociation of R eserve City
B ankers, H otel H ershey, H ershey,
P ennsylvania.
May 16-17: M id-Continent R egional
C onference N ational A ssociation
of B ank A uditors and C om ptrol­
lers, Cleveland.
May 22-24: N ational Safe D eposit As­
sociation, H otel S tatler, Buffalo,
N ew York.
June 2-6: A m erican In stitu te of B an k ­
ing, St. F ran cis H otel, San F ra n ­
cisco, California.
S eptem ber 28-October 2: A m erican
B ankers A ssociation, H otel Stev­
ens, Chicago.
October 8, 9,10,11: A nnual Convention
N ational A ssociation of B ank A u­
ditors and C om ptrollers, Chicago.
State
January 21-22: W isconsin M id-W inter

GENERAL

MOTORS

T

ACCEPTANCE

CORPORAT I ON

is engaged primarily in facilitating wholesale distribution
and retail sales of the following products of General
M otors Corporation and its world-wide affiliates:
CADILLAC,

BUICK,

OLDSMOBILE,

PONTIAC,

CHEVROLET

automobiles; f r i g i d a i r e appliances for refrigeration and
air conditioning; d e l c o lighting, power and heating
equipment; GMC trucks; BEDFORD, v a u x h a l l and other
foreign made automotive vehicles.
The business consists of investments in self-liquidating
credits, widely diversified as to region and enterprise,
capital employed being in excess of $80,000,000.
In obtaining short term accommodation, g m a c issues
one standard form of note. This obligation it offers to
banks and institutions, in convenient maturities
and denominations at current discount rates.

GENERAL
MOTORS

Conference, H otel Pfister, M ilw au­
kee.
January 21-23: M issouri B ankers Con­
ference (second), U n iversity of
M issouri, Columbia.
January 30: Illinois M id-W inter T ru st
Conference, Chicago.
F ebruary 21: Ohio M id-W inter Meet,
Columbus.
May 8-10: Oklahoma, S kirvin H otel,
O klahom a City.
May 12-14: M issouri, E lm s Hotel, E x ­
celsior Springs.
May 14-15: Indiana, Claypool H otel,
Indianapolis.
May 15-16: K ansas, K ansas City.
May 21-23: Texas, H ouston.
May 26-28: Illinois Golden Jubilee,
P alm er House, Chicago.
June 4-5: W isconsin, H otel Schroeder,
M ilwaukee.
June 16-17: Idaho, Sun Valley.
Ju n e 17-18: N o rth Dakota, H otel P a t­
terson, B ism arck.
June 20-21: M ontana, New F lorence
H otel, Missoula.
Ju n e 26-27: South D akota, H otel F ra n k ­
lin, Deadwood.
Ju ne 26-28: M ichigan, G rand H otel,
M ackinac Island.

W H A T F IN A N C IA L
ADVERTISERS W A N T
TO KN O W

INSTALMENT

P LA N

(C ontinued from page 17)
6 . T here are no w holesalers or job­

These

notes

are available, in limited amounts,
upon request.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE
N E W YORK

N orthw estern B anker

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

BRANCHES
IN PRINCIPAL CITIES

January 19kt

bers (m iddelm en) in th e b anking
field.
7. T here is no such th in g as com ­
m ercial ad v ertisers know as rep eat
orders or quick tu rn o v er.
8 . M en and w om en do n ot m ake
b an k connections every day or w eek
or year. Y our custom ers m ay buy
tobacco, groceries every day; a su it of

31
for its conservatism and tru th fu ln ess;
Out of th e b a n k ’s to tal budget:
clothes ev ery four m onths, and a new
for its “confidence” in ad v ertisin g
N ew spaper ................................ 51%
car every y e a r or tw o—you hope.
building. Some day th e com m ercial
9. A d e p a rtm e n t sto re p u ts on spe­
R adio ...............................................7%
ad v ertiser m ight find him self studying
cial sales (im agine, come in and look
D irect M a i l .................................. 23%
financial advertising.
over o u r new co nsignm ent of b ran d
O utdoor A d v e rtisin g ...................3%
A dvertising is pow erful.
new dollar bills. F re s h from th e
S treet Car A dvertising .
2%
I t has b u ilt Am erica.
press. Our b u y ers w ere fo rtu n a te to
T rade P ap ers .......................... 6%
A dvertising, like flowing w ater,
be able to b u y o u t an e n tire p rin tin g
W indow D isp lay s.................... 2%
cleanses itself. If you w an t to kill a
p la n t’s m ass p ro d u ctio n a t a special
S pecialty A dvertising
5%
poor product—advertise it.
price). D ep artm en t sto res delig h t in
N ational M agazines .................1%
crowds. See th e goods, h andle th e
goods, drive it yourself, double y o u r
F in an cial ad v ertisin g holds a chal­ That's It
m oney back if you are n o t m ore th a n
lenge.
To a red-blooded fighter w ith
“Did you h ear about th e m an w ho
delighted. B anks do not w a n t crowds.
T h a t’s w h y one large b an k has im agination, w ho w ill u n d erstan d the d ra n k gasoline for w h iskey?”
“No.”
stressed, th ro u g h direct m ail to its in stitu tio n and know its policies, th ere
“Now, instead of hicking, he honks.”
custom ers, th e advan tag es of “B an k ­ is a real field for battle.
“Oh, auto-intoxication!”
B
ank
advertisin
g
has
set
a
stan
d
ard
ing by M ail.”
10. In a b an k a custom er (to use
m an y of th e services) m u st qualify
as to c h a ra c ter and responsibility.
In th e com m ercial field, if he has
th e cash to pay, th a t’s all th a t’s neces­
sary. Because of th is c h a ra c ter de­
m and, th e a d v ertisin g is pitched
h ig h e r so th a t som e selectivity is h ad
before th e pro sp ect comes to th e bank.
11. In a b a n k a custo m er m u st con­
form to reg u latio n s laid dow n by law.
12. A com m ercial a d v e rtise r has th e
w hole g am u t of h u m an em otions to
Dubuque, Iowa
play u p o n in selling his goods. B ank­
ers have only a few; such as love of
offspring, am bition, p ro tectio n of
others, econom y in leaving p ro p e rty
to others, independence. All of th ese
have an elem ent encouraging p ro cras­
T im e P aym en t Plans for Purchasers of
tination.
13. To m easu re th e effectiveness of
A u tom obiles and H ousehold A p plian ces
financial a d v ertisin g is alm ost im pos­
sible. It is continued on confidence
m u »
alone.
N ow th e re are tw o questions w hich
I am su re m ig h t w a n t to be asked.
T hese tw o questions are alw ays asked.
T hey come to m y office y e a r in and
■ * H
y ea r out. F ro m th e a d v ertisin g agen­
cies an d b an k s—from th e larg est to
th e sm allest.
1. H ow m uch should a b an k spend
on its advertising? T he an sw er is—
th a t all depends.
2. W h a t a d v ertisin g m edia is th e
Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits
b est fo r banks? T he an sw er is—th a t
all depends on w h a t th e b a n k w an ts
Exceed One Million Dollars
to do. H ere is a re p o rt of w h a t m edia
th e b an k s used th is last year:
■
HI
■

Federal Discount
Corporation
A utom obile Finance

SMALL LOANS

Iowa

BRANCHES IN
Minnesota Wisconsin

Short Term

C o lla te r a l T r u s t N o tes
■ a s

Information on Request

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19bl

32

IO W A

COMMERCIAL

Investment Bankers

INVESTMENT

Association

TRUST
IN C O R P O R A T E D
W ALTER E. V IE T H
President
Davenport

Commercial I nvestment
T rust Incorporated, with
capital and surplus in excess
of $56,000,000, provides a
nation-wide sales finance
service through subsidiary
companies with a network
of branch offices throughout
the United States. This
service, in the main, consists
of p u r c h a s in g self-liqui­
dating accounts, and ex­
tends to automobile dealers,
household appliance dealers,
and to m anufacturers and
dealers in many lines of in­
dustrial, commercial and
professional equipment, in­
cluding the heavy goods in­
dustries.
C. I. T . offers its stand­
ard notes for short term
accommodation in varying
am ou n ts from $1,000 to
$100,000, in maturities from
60 to 270 days and at cur­
rent discount rates. T h ese
notes are payable at any of
our 296 depositary banks
located in principal cities
throughout the country.
L a te st published fin a n c ia l

Organized 1935

ROY W. LER IC H E
Secretary
Des Moines

Announce Annual Meeting
A S announced last m onth, th e 1941 ing. T he com m ittee announced th a t
/ \ a n n u al m eeting of th e Iow a In ­ reserv atio n s are necessary for all the
v estm en t B ankers A ssociation w ill be functions of th e m eeting.
held in Cedar Rapids, and th e dates
You m ay be su re th a t m em bers of
have been definitely set as T hu rsd ay th e A ssociation in Cedar R apids are
and F riday, Ja n u a ry 23 and 24.
going th e lim it to show all those w ho
R eg istration w ill s ta rt on T hursday, atte n d a royal good tim e. Y our a t­
th e 23rd, a t 5:00 p. m., on th e m ezza­ tendance w ill be evidence of y o u r ap­
nin e floor of th e H otel Roosevelt, con­ preciation of th e ir efforts.
v en tio n head q u arters.
A cocktail
Two Des M oines m em bers of th e
p a rty sta rts a t 5:30 and th e d in n er th a t Iow a A ssociation have been honored
evening w ill tak e place at 7:30.
by ap pointm ents in an ad m in istrativ e
capacity w ith th e N ational A ssociation
On F rid a y m orning, th e 24th, th e
a n n u al business m eeting and election of S ecurity D ealers, Inc. Jam es A.
of officers w ill be held a t 10:30 in th e Cum m ins has been nam ed a m em ber
L incoln Room, to be followed by of th e B usiness Conduct Comm ittee,
luncheon a t 12:30. S peakers of n a­ for Iowa, and M. D. D earth has been
elected a m em ber of th e eig h th dis­
tio n al prom inence w ill address the
m eeting im m ediately follow ing th e tric t com m ittee of NASD. T his dis­
luncheon, and w ill continue th ro u g h tric t com prises th e States of Iowa, N e­
th e afternoon. The sessions w ill con­ braska, Illinois, Indiana, M ichigan,
clude w ith an o th e r social hour, and and W isconsin.
din n er, th a t sam e evening.
F ra n k F ilip of Cedar R apids is gen­ Northern Trust, Chicago
eral ch airm an for th e occasion, as­
T he N o rth ern T ru st Com pany of
sisted by o th er in v estm en t b an k ers
Chicago on J a n u a ry 2, 1941, paid its
located there. E d w ard H. K ane of 172d q u a rte rly dividend, declared De­
Cedar R apids is tak in g care of re se r­ cem ber 17, 1940. In its an n u al sta te ­
vations, and it is u rged th a t advance m en t dated D ecem ber 31,1940, deposits
re serv atio n s be m ade w ith him . His of $397,000,000 are show n, a g ro w th of
address is 1010 A m erican T ru st Build- $28,000,000 du rin g th e year. Loans

V. W. B
M

r e w e r

u n ic ip a l

B

C

o

.

o n d s

statement and list o f depositary
banks w ill be mailed upon request.
A D DRESS

Treasurer,
Commercial Investment
Trust Incorporated
1 P a rk A ve., N e w York, N . Y.

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January 19M

The Level Debt Service Refunding Plan of the Independent
School District of the City of Des Moines
is sixty percent completed.

F IR S T N A T - S O O L IN E B L D G .

MINNEAPOLIS

33

w ere u p $6,300,000 to $44,500,000. Cash
reso u rces w ere $162,000,000, an in ­
crease of $2,000,000 over th e la st y e a r’s
figures. Savings deposits increased
$2,500,000 to an all tim e h ig h of $82,600,000. U nited States g o v ern m en t se­
cu rities stood a t $110,000,000.
E a rn in g s of The N o rth e rn T ru st
Com pany in 1940 w ere $912,306.42, or
$30.41 p er sh are com pared w ith $906,914.27, or $30.23 p er sh are in 1939.

Quarterly Dividend
T he b oard of d irecto rs of M anufac­
tu re rs T ru s t Com pany, N ew York, de­
clared th e re g u la r q u a rte rly dividend
of 50 cents p e r sh are on th e com m on
stock, payable on J a n u a ry 2, 1941, to
stockholders of record on D ecem ber
12, 1940.
T he board also declared th e re g u la r
q u a rte rly dividend of 50 cents p er
share on th e p re fe rred stock, payable
J a n u a ry 15, 1941, to stockholders of
record on D ecem ber 30, 1940.

Revised Manual
A revised m an u al of law s relatin g to
loans and in v estm en ts by natio n al
ban k s h as been p rep ared by th e N a­
tio n al B ank D ivision of th e A m erican
B an k ers A ssociation and h as been fo r­
w ard ed to th e n atio n al b an k m em b er­
ship, it is an nounced by A ndrew Price,
th e D ivision’s president, w ho is p re si­
den t of th e N ational B ank of Com­
m erce, Seattle, W ashington.
“T he revised edition of th e D ivision’s
m an u al h as been m ade in accordance
w ith th e association’s policy of keep ­
ing its m em bership inform ed on th e
con stan tly changing developm ents in
b an k in g ,” Mr. P rice asserted. “New
law s g o verning th e lending an d in v e st­
m e n t policies of n atio n al b an k s have
been enacted an d fo rm er sta tu te s have
been am ended or am plified. I t is, of
course, v ita l th a t b an k s keep ab re a st
of th ese changes.”
T he rev ised m an u al includes re c e n t­
ly enacted defense m easures, such as
th e A ssignm ent of Claims A ct of 1940,
p e rm ittin g th e assig n m en t of claim s
u n d e r g o v ern m en t co n tracts as secu­
rity for loans, and th e Soldiers and
Sailors Civil R elief Act of 1940, im pos­
ing a m o rato riu m on th e debts of m en
serv in g in th e n a tio n ’s arm ed forces.

Insurance Digest
P u b licatio n of a new digest of b an k
insu ran ce designed to help b an k s re ­
view an d im prove th e ir in su ran ce cov­
erage is an nounced b y Jam es E. Baum ,
se c re ta ry of th e In su ran ce and P ro tec­
tive C om m ittee of th e A m erican B an k ­
ers A ssociation. It is expected to be
read y for d istrib u tio n th is m onth.
T he digest w ill contain:
1. A condensed schedule of insur-

ance contracts designed to cover risk s
p eculiar to banking, and o th er form s
to give banks a broad pictu re of the
n u m erous in su ran ce form s now avail­
able and guide th em in ap p raising the
relativ e im portance of th e different
coverages.
2. A nalyses of b lan k et bonds, fidelity
bonds, b u rglary, robbery, forgery and
o th e r coverages chiefly applicable to
banks.
3. B rief descriptions of o th er con­
tracts, outlining coverages th a t apply
not only to banking, b u t also to o th er
lines of business.
4. Com m ents on in su ran ce essential
in h an d lin g personal tru s ts and estates

and corporate trusteesh ip s, w hich are
im p o rtan t functions in m an y banks.
5.
O utline of custom ers in su ran ce
p ertain in g to com m ercial loans, com­
m odity and consum er loans, security
tran sactions, depositors forgery risks,
etc.
The new digest w ill contain m ore
th a n 130 pages and w ill provide an upto-the-m inute analysis of insurance
protection. In m aking th e announce­
m ent, th e In su ran ce and P rotective
Com m ittee an ticip ates th a t th e digest
“w ill stim ulate b a n k e rs’ in te re st in
th e ir insurance, an d lead to a review
and b e tte r know ledge of th e ir in stitu ­
tio n s’ protective program s,” and “th a t

III

The IN TER STA TE FIN AN CE
CORPORATION«< Dubuque, Iowa
. . . the "15 Year Record" of this
rapidly growing corporation has just
recently come off the press, and is
available to any bank or institution
upon reguest. This complete history
shows the reasons and proof of Inter­
state's rise in Automobile Financing.
The "Economy Plan" of automobile
financing, which offers rates as low
as $3.00 per $100 per year, is featured
by established automobile dealers
in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and
Illinois.
One standard form of note is issued
for all short term accommodations.
This obligation is held by leading
banks and institutions and is offered
in convenient maturities and denom­
inations at current discount rates.
Prompt reply and complete informa­
tion to all inquirers. Address your
request to . . .

IN T E R S T A T E
HOME OFFICE

F IN A N C E C O R P O R A T IO N
.

.

.

DUBUQUE, IOW A

N orth w estern B ank er


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

J a n u a r y 1 9 47

34
it w ill co n trib u te to w ard reducing po­
ten tia l risk s to a m inim um and tow ard
im proving in su ran ce p ro tectio n .”
Copies w ill be available from th e In ­
suran ce an d P ro tectiv e D ep artm en t of
the A m erican B an k ers A ssociation a t
22 E a st 40th Street, N ew Y ork City,
a t $1.50 each in stitc h binding, or $2.00
in loose-leaf binding.

Dividend
T he b oard of d irecto rs of The F irs t
N ational B ank of Chicago a t a m eeting
last m o n th declared a q u a rte rly divi­
dend of $2.50 p er sh are on th e capital
stock of th e bank, increasin g th e a n ­
n u al ra te from $8 to $10 p er share. The
directo rs also tra n sfe rre d $5,000,000

from undivided profits to su rp lu s m ak ­
ing it $40,000,000. T he capital stock of
th e b ank rem ains a t $30,000,000. T he
dividend w as payable Ja n u a ry 1, 1941,
to stockholders of record D ecem ber 23,
1940.

Chase National
The statem en t of th e Chase N ational
B ank for D ecem ber 31, 1940, w as m ade
public J a n u a ry 3, 1941. T he deposits
of th e b ank on th a t date w ere $3,543,338,000, th e larg est deposit figure y et
rep o rted by th e bank, w hich com pares
w ith $3,251,342,000 on Septem ber 30,
1940, and $2,803,730,000 on D ecem ber
30, 1939.
T otal resources am ounted to $3,824,-

403.000 (also th e larg est in th e b a n k ’s
h istory) com pared w ith $3,522,990,000
on Septem ber 30th, and $3,085,819,000
a y e a r ago. Cash in th e b a n k ’s v aults
and on deposit w ith th e F ed eral Re­
serve B ank and o th er banks, $1,672,535.000 com pared w ith $1,440,940,000
and $1,293,143,000 on th e respective
dates; inv estm en ts in U nited States
go v ern m en t securities, $1,098,108,000
com pared w ith $1,045,425,000 and $820,170,000; loans and discounts, $664,189,000 com pared w ith $625,579,000 and
$636,176,000.
On D ecem ber 31, 1940, th e capital of
th e ban k w as $100,270,000 and th e s u r­
plus $100,270,000, both am ounts u n ­
changed. A fter declaration on Decem­
b er 26th of a sem i-annual dividend to
be paid F e b ru a ry 1st am o u n tin g to
$5,180,000, th e undivided profits ac­
count on D ecem ber 31st am ounted to
$36,212,000. T his am o u n t com pares
w ith $36,535,000 on Septem ber 30, 1940,
and $33,022,000 on D ecem ber 30, 1939.
T he n e t earn in g s of th e Chase N a­
tional B ank for th e y ear 1940 am ounted
to $13,550,000, or $1.83 p er share, com ­
p ared w ith $13,315,000, or $1.80 per
share, in 1939.

Dividend
A t a special m eeting of th e board of
directors of th e W isconsin B ankshares
C orporation held last m onth, a divi­
dend of 25c a sh are w as declared, pay ­
able Decem ber 27th to stockholders of
record D ecem ber 12th.

Two Directors
W illiam C. P o tter, ch airm an of the
board of th e G u aranty T ru st Com pany
of New York, announces th a t T hom as
J. W atson an d M atthew T. M urray, Jr.,
have been elected directors of th e com­
pany.
Mr. W atson has been p resid en t of
th e In te rn a tio n a l B usiness M achines
C orporation since 1914, and although
th a t association co n stitu tes his chief
business in terest, he has for m any
y ears been w idely connected w ith or­
ganizations in th e fields of in te rn a ­
tional relations, foreign trade, g overn­
m ent, education, and p h ilanthropy. He
served as a d irector of th e F ed eral Re­
serve B ank of New Y ork from Ja n u a ry
1, 1938, u n til th e close of 1940.
Mr. M u rray is secretary and resid en t
atto rn e y of th e G u aran ty T ru st Com­
pany. He has been associated w ith
th e b an k for 36 years, and previously
served as a m em ber of th e board of
directors d u rin g 1939.

Bare Truth
Girls w hen th ey w en t for a swim,
Once dressed like M other H ubbard;
Now th ey have a different w him
And dress m ore like h e r cupboard.
N orth w estern B ank er


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January

19bl

35

praised a t $6,706,850. Before she died,
Mrs. Jo sly n gave aw ay about $4,600,000, m ostly for th e a r t m em orial. H er
estate w as appraised a t $3,054,162.
Mrs. Jo sly n ’s bonds ($2,371,859)
w ere m ostly city of Omaha, Douglas
county, O m aha school district, and
Om aha u tility d istric t issues, b u t she
had large holdings of federal bonds.

N EBRA SKA
IN V E S T M E N T

BAN KERS

A S S O C IA T IO N

HOW ARD BUFFETT
President
Omaha

CEC IL W. SLOCUM

MAHA in v esto rs en tered th e se­
c u rity m a rk e t in a ru s h to b u y
o u tstan d in g U nited S tates tax-exem pt
go v ern m en t bonds an d notes follow ing
S ecretary of T re a su ry M o rg en th au ’s
rece n t an n o u n cem en t th a t a new gov­
ern m e n t tax ab le issue w as soon to be
offered.
M orgenthau anno u n ced a new $500,000,000 issue to ru n five y e a rs an d
b earin g th ree-fo u rth s of 1 p e r cent
coupon, su b ject to federal taxes.

O

E sta te of F ran k J. B u rk ley, Om aha
business lead er w ho died S eptem ber 9,
w as v alued at $744,253.82 in an in v en ­
to ry filed in county c o u rt a t Om aha
by his tw o d au g h ters, Mrs. A gnes B.
H ard in g and Mrs. M ary B. B rinker.
Of th e total, $339,700 w as in stocks,
$299,434 in bonds. M ajor p o rtio n of
th e estate, a fte r b equests to talin g $37,700, goes to th e tw o dau g h ters. Mr.
B u rk ley w as p re sid e n t of th e B urkley
E nvelope an d P rin tin g Company.
M ost of th e estate w as in “giltedged” stocks and bonds. Only a few
bonds w ere in d epreciated issues.
T here w as one Czechoslovakian bond,
bought a t $1,000, listed a t $97.50.
Included in th e stocks and bonds
in v e n to ry were:
O m aha w a te r bonds, $42,000; U. S.
tre a s u ry bonds, $37,000; 600 sh ares
O m aha U nion Stock Y ards Com pany
stock, $34,800; 200 sh ares U nion P a ­
cific com m on, $17,900; 550 sh ares Kenn eco tt Copper com m on, $16,362; 424
sh ares A m erican T elephone an d T ele­
graph, $70,755; 832 sh ares B u rk ley E n ­
velope an d P rin tin g com m on, $64,480;
395 sh ares F irs t N ational B ank of
Om aha com m on, $15,405; 1,035 shares,
C udahy P acking, $12,678.
B uilding an d loan associations in
N ebraska are in b e tte r condition now
th a n a t an y tim e since th e depression,
40 building an d loan executives agreed
in O m aha re c e n tly a t th e a n n u a l
rou n d tab le conference of th e N ebraska
League and Savings and L oan A ssocia­
tions.

Secretary

J. B. D ouglas, president, said th e
associations have th e larg est cash re ­
serves to m ake loans and th e largest
reserv es to cover losses since depres­
sion days. In te re st rates are expected
to continue a t th e p resen t level for
some tim e, b u t probably w ill not go
low er, he stated.

T he U nited S tates N ational B ank of
Omaha, executor of th e S arah Joslyn
estate, recen tly asked probate co urt in
Om aha for an order p erm ittin g p ay­
m e n t in full of various bequests other
th a n th e residual bequest to th e So­
ciety of L iberal A rts, w hich m anages
th e Jo sly n A rt M em orial in Omaha.
T he application listed cash on h an d
a t $876,975, w ith liquid assets of read ­
ily salable m unicipal and governm ent
bonds a t $1,807,045. B equests totaled
about $650,000.
W hen Mrs. Jo sly n ’s husband, George
Joslyn, died in 1916, his estate w as ap ­

Guy Gadbois, form er Om aha in v est­
m en t b an k er w ho m oved to California
several y ears ago, has been nam ed
vice p resid en t of th e O’Melveny-Wagenseller & D urst in v estm en t firm of
Los Angeles, and m anager of th e con­
ce rn ’s B everly H ills office.
Mrs. Gadbois, th e form er M arcelle
Folda, onetim e queen of O m aha’s
Ak-Sar-Ben, is th e d au g h ter of Mr.
and Mrs. E. F. Folda, now of B everly
Hills. Mr. Folda is a form er Omaha
banker.
J esse U. L iverm ore, onetim e “boy
w o n d er” of W all Street, w ho w as found
shot to death recen tly in a New Y ork
hotel, h ad visited Om aha freq u en tly
in recen t years. H is w ife w as th e
form er H a rrie t Metz of Omaha.
H arold T. L anderyou, Om aha in v est­
m en t b an k er w ho is poten tate of T an­
gier Tem ple of th e Shrine, spoke re ­
cently w hen S hrine m em bers in
Om aha w ere guests a t th e an n u al
C hristm as “quota display” luncheon
given by th e T angier w om en’s auxili­
ary. On display w ere m ore th a n 250
garm ents, inncluding 15 quilts, w hich
w ere to be shipped to th e S hrine Tw in
Cities hospital in M inneapolis in tim e
for C hristm as.

BONDS
Public U tility
In dustrial
R a ilr o a d
M u nicipal

A.C.A

L L Y N

and

c o m pany

Incorporated
100 W est Monroe Street, Chicago
New York
R ep resen tatives:

M ilw aukee
W aterloo

Omaha
D es Moines

N orth w estern


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Boston
Cedar Rapids

Banker

January

1 9 'ti

36
Reprint from Omaha World-Herald, December 11, 1940

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF

The U nited States National Bank
OF OMAHA
Announces

an increase of the Surplus Account from earnings to make
combined capital and surplus

$ 2,000,000.00
D IR E C T O R S
Edgar M. M orsman, Jr.

W . B. T. Belt

Attorney

President, Rational Security Insurance Company

R obert P. M orsman
R oy Page

Linn P. Campbell
President, Byron Reed Company, Inc.

Vice President and General Manager,
N.ebras\a Power Company

Edwin A. D uff
Duff Grain Company

H enry W . Pierpont

Edward Flynn
Executive Vice President, Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy Railroad Co.

John W . FIughes
President, Guarantee Mutual Life Company

President, Standard Oil Company of ?s[ebras\a

A braham L. R eed
Chairman of the Board, Byron Reed Company, Inc.

H arry F. R eed
President,

L.

G. Doup Company

Ellsworth M oser

Glenn E. Jennings
President, W right & Wilhelmy Company

Executive Vice President

H erbert M. Bushnell

A rthur A. Lowman
President, Northwestern Bell Telephone Company

President

Eighty-four Years of Sound Banking Service

ntie

U N I T E D
S T A T E S
Omaha
Rational B A N R
CAPITAL, SURPLUS A N D RESERVE — $2,300,000.00
Member of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

37

NEBRASKA
NEWS
CARL D. GANZ
President
Alvo

WM. B. H U G H E S
Secretary
Omaha

Officers are:
P resident, J. H. H ansen, Davey, N e­
braska.
Vice president, Gus H oufek, Malma,
N ebraska.
S ecretary-treasurer, E vald C. Brodd,
W ahoo.
E xecutive com m ittee, C. G. Hohl,
chairm an; E. H. H enderson and Carl
M ostrom.
A lfred E. B rodahl, new ly elected
sen ato r to th e state legislature, w as a
guest.

Consolidation
Surplus Increased
The d irecto rs of The U nited States
N ational B ank of Om aha announce an
increase in su rp lu s account to $900,000
w hich, w ith capital of $1,100,000 b rin g s
capital and su rp lu s to $2,000,000. U n­
divided profits an d reserv e accounts of
$325,000 give capital accounts to over
$2,325,000.
T his is in accord w ith a continuing
policy of m ain tain in g am ple in v erted
capital to p ro p erly service b an k p a­
trons.
The U nited States N ational B ank is
now com pleting its 84th y e a r of re n ­
dering com plete b an k in g service for
Omaha and su rro u n d in g te rrito ry .

T he G rant County State B ank of
O. E. K rohn, cashier, N ational B ank A shby has been consolidated w ith the
of Neligh.
B ank of H yannis, th e change being
C. J. M ortensen, president, N ebraska m ade effective D ecem ber 12th. All de­
S tate Bank, Ord.
posits of th e A shby Bank, w hich to­
H.
D. W ells, vice president, F irs t taled about $200,000, loans and all other
S tate Bank, Scottsbluff.
business w ere tra n sfe rre d to th e H y­
M.
W. D unlap, cashier, F arm ers annis b an k and operation of th e G rant
State, Douglas.
County State B ank w ill be discon­
G.
E. B arks, cashier, F irs t N ational, tinued.
Belden.
It w as explained th a t th e change
W. L. Seng, cashier, M erchants & w as m ade to elim inate th e operating
F arm ers, McCool Junction.
expense of one bank. Stock of the

New Superintendent

G overnor-elect D w ight G risw old has
announced th e ap p o in tm en t of W ade
M artin, S tratto n banker, as state b an k ­
ing su p erin ten d en t. The ap p ointm ent
w ill become effective J a n u a ry 9th. Mr.
Defense Committee
P re sid e n t Ganz of th e N ebraska M artin w ill re ta in his in te re st in the
B an k ers A ssociation appointed a com ­ Com m ercial B ank a t S tratton, b ut
m ittee of b a n k e rs recen tly to organize L ouis Stolte, vice p resid en t and form ­
a state su rv ey of defense in d u stry pos­ er cashier, w ill tak e over th e active
m anagem ent. Jo h n J. Collins, w ho
sibilities, and to finance new in d u stries
w here th e y seem justified. A ppoint­ resigned as county tre a su re r of H itch ­
m en ts follow ed a m eeting of th e de­ cock county, w ill take th e position of
fense loan com m ittee of th e A m erican
cashier in th e S tra tto n bank.
B ank ers A ssociation. T he N ebraska
Mr. M artin has announced he will
group:
re ta in D eputies J. F. M cLain and
W illiam N. M itten, ch airm an, p resi­ George W ilson, v e te ra n em ployes of
dent, Stephens N ational Bank, F r e ­ th e banking departm ent.
m ont.
G risw old approved both ap p o in t­
E d w ard A. Becker, vice president, m ents, M artin said.
C ontinental N ational B ank, Lincoln.
W ilson has been associated w ith the
W. B. M illard, vice president, Om aha b an k in g d ep artm en t for 15 years, first
N ational Bank.
as an exam iner and for th e p ast eight
J. V. W ebster, presid en t, F irs t N a­ y ears as deputy in charge of building
tional, Chadron.
and loan associations, cooperative
F.
W. Shonka, a ssista n t cashier, Cen­cred it associations and in stallm en t and
tra l N ational, Columbus.
in v estm en t associations.
P. A. Ude, cashier, N ebraska Secu­
M cLain cam e to th e b an king d e p a rt­
rity B ank, D eshler.
m en t from Im perial in 1926. H e served
H. J. W ragge, cashier, F irs t N atio n ­ eig h t y ears as an exam iner and has
al, T ekam ah.
been deputy in charge of ban k s for
C. E. A rte rb u rn , vice presid en t, St. th e p ast six years.
P aul N ational, St. Paul.
F. H. O berm ann, cashier, S tate B ank
County Meeting
of B urchard.
The an n u al m eeting and b an q u et of
C. A. P hillips, cashier, C am bridge
S tate Bank.
th e Saunders county b an k ers w as held
Floyd A. H ansen, cashier, City N a­ on D ecem ber 17th. The ban q u et w as
tional, H astings.
served a t th e W igw am Cafe and b u si­
G. G. H am pton, vice p resident, G oth­ ness m eeting w as held in th e lobby of
en bu rg State Bank.
th e F irs t N ational Bank.

A shby ban k w as ow ned by th e A bbott
Company, w hich also has th e control­
ling in te re st in th e B ank of H yannis.

Four-County Meeting
T ekam ah b an k ers w ere hosts as
b an k ers from Douglas, Sarpy, W ash­
ington and B u rt counties gath ered for
a d in n er p a rty and th e q u a rte rly m eet­
ing of th e four-county organization.
P rincipal speaker w as Judge L. W.
Pow ers of Omaha, w hose topic w as
“T he F a rm C redit A d m inistration.”
K arl B row n of Papillion is p resident
of th e four-county b an k ers group; R.
K. H ancock of T ekam ah is vice p resi­
dent, and R. H. Hall, Florence, secre­
tary -treasu rer.

Annual Meeting
The reg u lar ann u al stockholders
m eeting of th e F arm ers N ational Bank,
Pilger, w ill be held in th e b an king
room s on Tuesday, J a n u a ry 14th, w hen
th e directors w ill be elected for the
ensuing y ear and such o th er business
tran sacted as m ay legally come before
th e m eeting.

Lobby Blooms
S tephens N ational Bank, F rem ont,
lobby w as alive recently w ith th e rich
flame color of five dozen fresh poinsettias of th e California variety.
T he C hristm as blooms, a gift from
Mr. and Mrs. Joe L. Steinbach of P asa­
dena, form erly of F rem ont, came
packed in California ice as a gift to
Mr. and Mrs. N. M itten.
F o u r or five tall floor b askets of th e
blossom s and lu x u ria n t foliage placed
N orth w estern


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Banker

January 19J1

38
th ro u g h o u t th e b an k lobby provided
holiday atm o sp h ere ap len ty an d w ere
th e subject of com m ent by every v is­
itor.

Elected President
Glen H am pton, of th e G othenburg
S tate B ank, w as nam ed p resid en t of
th e M id-west N eb rask a R egional C lear­
ing H ouse A ssociation a t its a n n u al
m eeting in N o rth P latte. Thirty-five
m em bers a tten d ed th e m eeting.
O ther officers nam ed w ere W illiam
Collett, of B rady, vice president, and
G. W. T aylor, of th e M cDonald bank,
secretary -treasu rer. The p resid en t w ill

nam e th e m em bers of th e executive
board, one from each of th e five coun­
ties rep resen ted in th e association—
Dawson, Logan, Lincoln, K eith and
P erk in s counties.

Name Clements President
P re sid en t of th e Cass C ounty B ank­
ers A ssociation for 1941 w ill be Guy L.
C lem ents of Elm wood. S ecretary-treas­
u re r w ill be Oscar C. H inds of W eeping
W ater. W alter J. W underlich, Nehaw ka, and E lm er H allstrom , Avoca,
are th e re tirin g officers. Jo h n Stocker
of N ebraska City w as to astm aster at
th e an n u al b an q u et in P lattsm outh.

LIVE STOCK NATIONAL BANK-OM AHA
RESOURCES
L oans and D isco u n ts........................................................................................................................$ 8,541,735.74
B o n d s and O th er S e c u r it ie s ..................................................................................................................

5,933.97

Stock in Federal R eserve B an k ..................................................................................................
B anking H ouse and F ix tu r e s............................................... ......................................................
Other Real E s t a te ............................................................................................................................
U. S, Gov’t S e c u r itie s.........................................................................................$3,472,344.89
(S ee Item ized L ist B elow )
Cash, Sigh t E xchange and Due From Fed. Res. B k ............................... 4,429,140.56

30,000.00
1-00
N one
7,901,485.45
$16,479,156.16

LIABILITIES
........................ $
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................

500,000.00
500,000.00
187,335.66
163,294.59
5,148.63
7,500.00

$8,326,639.92
6,789,237.36 15,115,877.28
$16,479,156.16

U. S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES
D escription Rate
M aturity
Bonds 3% ............................... 6-15-47-43
Bonds 4
.............................. 12-15-54-44
B onds 3% .............................. 3-15-56-46

Par V alue
$ 250,000.00
1,500,000.00
1,400,000.00

Book V alue M arket V alue
$ 269,876.56 $ 270,000.00
1,653,021.90 1,707,656.25
1,549,446.43 1,621,375.00

$3,150,000.00

$3,472,344.89

$3,599,031.25

P r e m iu m on U . S . G o v e r n m e n t S e c u r iti e s a m o r tiz e d to o p tio n a l d a te .

OTHER BONDS AND SECURITIES
Sarpy Co. School D ist. W a rra n ts...............................$5,933.97

$5,933.97

Capital and Surplus Loans and Discounts
Dec 31, 1933_____$ 550.000.00_____ $1,566,262.23_____ $
Dec! 31, 1935____
650.000.00_____ 2.089.532.87______
Dec. 31, 1937____
760.000.00_____ 5,582.387.78______
Dec. 31, 1940____ 1,000,000.00_____ 8.541,735.74______

$5,933.97

Deposits
4,910.106.01
10,527,574.79
12,926,413.94
15,115,877.28

We offer our banking friends our facilities for cooperating with them in
the financial problems of the Live Stock, A gricultural and Commercial inter­
ests—and extend Season’s Greetings with best wishes for a Happy and
Prosperous New Year.
ALVIN E. JOHNSON, President
T h is B a n k H a s N o A ffilia te d C o m p a n ie s
M e m b e r o f F e d e r a l R e s e r v e S y s te m a n d F e d e r a l D e p o s it I n s u r a n c e C o rp o ra tio n

N orth w estern

Banker


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

January

1941

T he A bbott Com pany w ill add an ­
o th er to its list of banks w hen it opens
a new in stitu tio n in Chadron.
A state c h a rte r has been g ra n te d for
th e bank, w hich w ill have a capital
stock of $100,000.
It w ill be located in th e building
now occupied by th e Style Shop. T he
store is now having a rem oval sale and
it is hoped to have th e building rem od­
eled in tim e to s ta rt business aro u n d
the first of th e year.
The in stitu tio n at Chadron w ill m ake
a to tal of six banks controlled by th e
com pany. T he o thers are at Alliance,
Scottsbluff, H yannis, M ullen and W ood
Lake.
T he com pany recen tly closed one in ­
stitu tio n w hen it consolidated th e b ank
a t A shby w ith th e b ank at H yannis.

Arcadia Banks Consolidate

S t a t e m e n t of Condition December 31, 1940

Capital Stock (C om m on)..................
Surplus (E arned) ..............................
U ndivided Profits ...............................
R eserve for T axes, Interest, E tc ..
U nearned D isco u n t ....................
D ividend P ayab le January 2, 1941
D ep o sits :
Banks ................................................
Other D ep o sits ............................

Bank at Chadron

A consolidation of th e tw o banks of
A rcadia w as effected w hen th e A rcadia
State B ank p u rchased th e F irs t N a­
tional B ank of th is city. T he form er
b an k w as organized in 1888, th e la tte r
in 1908.

Buy Fairbury Bank
T he e n tire stock of th e N o rth w est
B ancorporation in th e F irs t N ational
B ank of F a irb u ry w as p u rchased re ­
cently by a group of F a irb u ry business
m en, headed by L u th e r B onham and
C. J. B achroritch. T he bank w as affili­
ated w ith th e N o rth w est B ancorpora­
tion for th e p ast 11 years.
T he purchase w as th e larg est single
financial tran sactio n in so u th ern N e­
b rask a in m any years. The b an k has
total assets now in excess of $2,710,000;
o u tstan d in g loans of $1,379,000; ow ns
go v ern m en t and m unicipal bonds to ­
talin g $469,000 and has m ore th a n
$728,000 cash on hand. T he capital
stock is $150,000 and th e surplus, u n ­
divided profits and reserves to tal
$ 122,000.
A t th e an n u al m eeting of th e stock­
holders of th e b an k to be held in J a n ­
uary, C. J. B achoritch and G. R. LeRoy w ill be added to board of direc­
tors, and Mr. B achoritch w ill become
vice chairm an and executive vice p res­
ident. T he p re se n t board of directors
includes L u th e r B onham , Iv an C.
Riley, F. A. H ouston, Jess Lee and
C harles R. Moon.

Remodeling
R em odeling is being done in th e
F irs t N ational Bank, W ayne, to p ro ­
vide tw o offices instead of one a t the
so u th east corner of th e room. Coun­
ters are being m oved w est to fu rn ish
th e space.

39

m ore th a n $1,000. L arg est am ount
paid out by any one bank, $225,667,
w as d istrib u ted by th e U nited States
N ational, to 5,384 m em bers. O ther
banks in th e plan are th e Om aha N a­
tional, F irs t N ational, Live Stock N a­
tional, N o rth Side Bank, P ackers N a­
tional, South Om aha Savings, and
Stock Y ards N ational. T he Live Stock
N ational paid out $68,674.60 on De­
cem ber 2nd, according to P resid en t
A lvin E. Johnson.

RS. J. V IN C EN T STA R R ETT,
b eauteous Sw iss-R ussian w ife of
th e A m erican m anag er of th e N ational
City B ank of N ew Y ork’s b ran ch at
Peiping, China, w ith h e r children,
A ndre, 4, and D iana, 12, stopped in
O m aha recen tly for a b rief v isit w ith
Mr. and Mrs. Sam B. Starrett, Jr.
T hey w ere on th e ir w ay east, h a v ­
ing sailed from C hina w ith o th er
evacuees N ovem ber 14th. Mr. S ta r­
r e tt rem ain ed in P eiping for th e tim e
being. D espite th e Jap an ese invasion,
life in C hina w en t on about as usual,
she said.

W. B. M illard, Jr., vice presid en t of
th e O m aha N ational Bank, is ch airm an
of th e Omaha Com m ittee for B ritish
W ar Relief. He re tu rn e d recen tly
from New York, w here he conferred
w ith n ational h e ad q u arters officers.
B ritish relief groups, including Allied
W ar Relief and B ritish Relief Soci­
eties, have been m erged u n d er th e
nam e of B ritish W ar Relief Society,
Inc., and th e goal has been placed at
$ 20, 000,000.
J. F. M cD erm ott, vice presid en t of
th e F irs t N ational B ank of Omaha, is
tre a s u re r of th e Om aha com m ittee.

S urplus account of th e U nited S tates
B ank of O m aha w as in ­
creased recen tly to $900,000 by action
of th e board of directors. W ith cap­
ita l of $1,100,000, th is b rin g s th e b a n k ’s
capital an d su rp lu s to $2,000,000. U n­
divided profits an d reserv e of $325,000 give th e b an k a to tal capital of
$2,325,000. Increase in su rp lu s is ef­
fected by tra n s fe rrin g p a rt of th e
b a n k ’s earn in g s to th a t account. A
sta te m e n t issued by th e b a n k ’s di­
recto rs said:
“T h ro u g h o u t th e 84
y ears of th e b a n k ’s u n in te rru p te d
service to th e O m aha area, th e U nited
States N ational B ank has m ain tain ed
a policy of tra n s fe rrin g a p o rtio n of
its earn in g s to su rp lu s to su pplem ent
th e sto ck h o ld ers’ in te re st in o rd er th a t
th ere m ig h t be a sound and conserv­
ative ra tio of capital, su rp lu s an d r e ­
serve to increasin g cu sto m ers’ de­
posits.”

M ore th a n $400,000 in C hristm as
club savings w as paid out recently
to n early 11,000 m em bers in Omaha by
eight banks.
T he accounts ranged from $5 to

M

N ational

A rthur B. Coad, p resid en t of th e

P ack ers N ational Bank, has been
nam ed c h airm an of an em ergency
com m ittee of five to act on b ehalf of
th e South O m aha M erch an ts’ A ssocia­
tio n in connection w ith th e proposed
bom ber assem bly p la n t to be e stab ­
lished a t a cost of $10,000,000 a t F o rt
Crook, so u th of Omaha.

2-UicJz fya cti
1 . Saves

T hree n ational officials of th e w om ­
en ’s com m ittee of th e A m erican In ­
stitu te of B anking w ere guests at a tea
sponsored recen tly by th e Omaha
chapter. T hey included M iss R ose
Ziph, K ansas City, M issouri, p resen t
ch airm an of th e com m ittee; Mrs.
M ary K. C unningham , M inneapolis,
last y e a r’s chairm an, and Mrs. R. N.
P erley, Om aha ch airm an before Mrs.
C unningham .
C hairm anship of the w om en’s com­
m ittee is regarded as th e hig h est office
open to w om en in banking. M iss T he­
resa G hiringhello, ch airm an of th e
Om aha chapter, w as in charge of th e
tea.
Mrs. A rthur L. Coad is presid en t of
th e alum nae of D uchesne college of
Omaha, w hich sponsored a lecture by
Rev. D aniel L ord of St. Louis on De­
cem ber 6th.
D enm an Iiou n tze, form er Omaha
banker, has sold his in te re st in th e
general in su ran ce agency of M orrison
& K ountze to Jo h n K. M orrison, M ark
W. Besack, E. H. D ahlgard and E. F.
A nderson, and th e nam e of th e firm

about

cheek expense!
Monogrammed
Checks are sold to customer . . . 200 for
only $1.
2. Appeals to customer immediately as a
great deal of prestige goes with the use of
personal checks.
3. N ot an ordinary appearing check. Every­
one likes its modern design. Individual's
monogram is popular and provides very per­
sonal element.

MOC H E C K S !
4. Beautifully printed in TWO colors in­
stead of the customary one color.

5. Available in choice of TH R EE colors of
Safety Paper— Azure, Com or Stone.

6. Numbered consecutively — promotes cus­
tomer’s reconciliation of balances, an im­
portant educational feature going far towards
eliminating overdrafts.

Wri te today for F REE C O U N T E R DI S PL AY and I NF OR MAT I ON!

United S tates Check B ook Co.
OMAHA. NEBRASKA
N orth w estern


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

Banker

January

40
has been changed to M orrison & Com­
pany. K ountze w as vice p resid en t and
secretary since th e firm w as founded
in Septem ber, 1939.
K ountze a n ­
nounced he w ould organize a new
agency.
Mr. an d Mrs. J o h n R. L au ritzen
spen t th e T h an k sg iv in g holiday in
Om aha w ith Mrs. L a u ritz e n ’s paren ts,
Mr. and Mrs. T. L. D avis. Mr. Davis
is p resid en t of th e F irs t N ational B ank
of Omaha. T he L au ritzen s live in
M inneapolis.
D avid F. D avis, tr u s t officer of th e

Om aha N ational B ank, is th e new
presid en t of th e Om aha club, long-

established dow ntow n social club for
business and professional m en. The
club’s building w as rem odeled recen t­
ly. R etirin g presid en t is M orse P alm ­
e r of th e S tan d ard Oil Com pany of Ne­
b raska. Re-elected tre a su re r is John
M. D ouglas, Om aha in v estm en t b a n k ­
er. T. W. M orsm an and C. A. A bram ­
son w ere elected to th e board of di­
rectors.
Mrs. C atherine M. Grest received
$42,500 for th e death of h e r husband,
Jacob J. Grest, vice p resid en t of th e
F ed eral F a rm M ortgage C orporation,
w ho w as killed in an elevator acci­
d en t in th e F a rm C redit building a t
Omaha, A ugust 14th. O w ners of th e

Charter No. 2 0 9

F irst National Bank

of O m aha

building w ere covered by a liability
policy w ith th e London G u aran ty an d
A ccident Company. The settlem ent,
w ith o u t a law suit, w as effected by
F o ster-B arker Com pany of Omaha.
C ounty Judge B ryce C raw ford ap ­
proved th e settlem ent.
T he ban k s division, A u stin V ickery,
chairm an, w as first to m ake a com ­
plete re p o rt in O m aha’s Red Cross
cam paign, w ith $628.80, ag ain st $470.10
last year.
Omaha N ational Bank, as tru ste e
for th e estate of th e late Mr. and Mrs.
C. N. Dietz of Omaha, sought recently
to sell a t public auction a nu m b er
of pieces of Dietz p roperty, including
th e Dietz residence, one-tim e showplace in O m aha’s fashionable W est
F a rn a m district. The residence’s as­
sessed v alu atio n w as listed on th e tax
books at only $13,215, b u t no bid w as
v e n tu re d on th e p ro p erty a t th e auc­
tion.

Om aha b an k debits in N ovem ber
increased 3.8 p er cent over th e sam e
m onth in 1939. B ank clearings de­
creased 1.4 p er cent. L ivestock re ­
ceipts w ere up 7.7 per cent, reflecting
th e bigger payrolls at th e Omaha
packing houses.
Debits for N ovem ber w ere $140,675,283; clearings, $138,555,203. F o r th e
w eek ended N ovem ber 9, b oth debits
and clearings w ere g re a te r th a n th e
sam e w eek th e previous year.

Resigns

The
O ld e s t N a tio n a l B a n k
F r o m O m a h a W e st

Jo h n V an A uken, vice p resid en t of
th e L exington S tate Bank, has severed
his connection w ith th e bank, effective
th is m onth. He recen tly sold his
hom e to Dr. A. R. T ransue, and Mrs.
V an A uken and daughter, Jean, are at
p re se n t in Lincoln. Mr. V an A u k en ’s
plans for th e fu tu re are ra th e r in ­
definite. H ow ever, he has several
th in g s in m ind an d w ill m ake his de­
cision a t an early date.

High Flyer

Nationalized 1 863
O FFICERS
T.
F.
J,
C.
J.
J.

L. D a v i s .......................................... President
A. H . Ch is h o l m .................A ssistant Cashier
W . T h o m a s ................................................. V ice President
O. H . E l l io t t ........................ A ssistant Cashier
F. M cD er m o tt ..........................................Vice President
O. H . V e b e r ...........................A ssistant Cashier
D . S a u n d e r s ...............................................Vice President
E. N. S o lo m o n ...................... A ssistant Cashier
T. S tew art , I I I .V ic e Pres, and Cashier
E. P. J e p s e n .......................... A ssistant Cashier
F. D a v i s ...................................................... V ice P resident
H. A. A r n sb e r g e r ............A ssistant Cashier
W. E. S p e a r ...................................Trust Officer
E. G. S o lo m o n .......... A ssistant Trust Officer

Member
Federal Reserve System

N orth w estern

Banker


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

January 19 M

Member
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

L ittle Jackie: “A re you an angel,
daddy?”
Daddy: “Of course not, son. W hy do
you ask?”
L ittle Jackie: “Well, I ju s t h eard
m um m ie tell th e lady n ex t door she
was going to clip yo u r w ings.”

SELL YOUR BANK
The “Walters” Way
Without Publicity
Qualified, carefully investigated bank
employees furnished free
T H E CHARLES E. W A LT ER S CO.
Omaha, Nebraska

41

Misko Buys Control
A fter being connected w ith th e F irs t
N ational B ank for tw en ty years, d u r­
ing m ost of w hich tim e he served
e ith er as p resid en t of th e bank, ch air­
m an of th e board of directors or as a
director, F ra n k K oupal sold all his
holdings in the b ank to R alph E.
Misko, p resen t b ank cashier. A m ount
of m oney involved w as n o t disclosed.
The stock w as b ought by Mr. Misko
personally b u t th e estate of his late
fath er, Jam es Misko, ow ns a su b stan ­
tial block of F irs t N ational B ank stock,
so th is p u rchase gives control of th e
b an k to th e Misko fam ily. No change
in b an k personnel w ill tak e place at
p resent, it is stated.

In Locals

H E legislative com m ittee of th e N e­
b rask a B an k ers A ssociation m et re ­
cently in L incoln to lay plans for “h a v ­
ing som eone on th e g ro u n d ” d u rin g th e
com ing session of th e legislature.
Secretary W illiam B. H u gh es of
O m aha said th e g roup w ill probably
have little, if an y th in g , to propose b u t
w ill be a le rt for an y proposed legisla­
tion favorable or otherw ise to th e in ­
te re sts of N ebraska b ankers.
C hairm an D an J. R iley of D aw son
w as in charge of th e m eeting. Carl D.
Ganz of Alvo, p resid en t of th e associa­
tion, and A rthur L. Coad, ch airm an of
th e association’s com m ittee on consum ­
e r credit, attended. O thers p re se n t
w ere Ju lian L. S teven son , N ebraska
City; E m il E. P lacek, W ahoo; Robert
H . H all, Omaha; H. A. Schneider,
P lattsm o u th ; R obert H. Clarke, Papillion; J. F. M cD erm ott, Omaha, and T.
B. Strain, Lincoln.

T

In a double rin g cerem ony p e r­
form ed by Dr. E d m u n d M iller in th e
F irs t P re sb y te ria n C hurch of Lincoln,
Miss E lizab eth W augh, d a u g h te r of
S am u el Clark W augh, Lincoln, becam e
th e brid e of John T em p leton B row n ­
lee, Jr., son of Mr. an d Mrs. Jo h n T.
B row nlee, Lincoln.
A fter a trip to F lo rid a th e couple
re tu rn e d to R apid City to m ake its
hom e. Mr. B row nlee is em ployed at
th e R apid City N ational B ank.
B ecause of bad roads, th e convention
of th e 94 cooperative b an k s of th e state
in L incoln, o riginally scheduled for
last m onth, w as postponed u n til J a n ­
u a ry 10th. L ou is J. W illie, secretary of
th e N eb rask a association, and o th er
officers m et to change th e date. The
m eetings w ill be held in th e capital,
b oth aftern o o n an d evening.

E ach em ploye received a s ta rry en­
velope in w hich w as enclosed a check
am o u nting to 10 p er cent of his y e a r’s
salary. C hristm as carols w ere sung,
and P resid en t M. W eil gave his “bank
ch ild ren ” a b it of counsel d raw n from
his decades of b an king experience.
I t h as been th e b a n k ’s custom for
m an y y ears to give its em ployes a
C hristm as bonus, b u t Mr. AVeil said
th is is th e first y e a r a specific p ercen t­
age of salary has been decided upon.
In addition to th e em ployes, th ere
w ere five guests a t th e dinner.
E vald M. F o rsy th , L incoln, p resid en t
of th e F irs t F ed eral Savings and Loan
A ssociation, has been elected regional
director-at-large for th e F ed eral Home
L oan B ank a t Topeka, K ansas, it w as
announced. T he b an k serves th e 10th
region, w hich includes N ebraska, K an­
sas, O klahom a and Colorado.

A

O U R BANK SO LV ED
W A G E -H O U R PROBLEM
(C ontinued from page 11)
th a t an official title alone does not
give exem ption.
T he E xecutive classification requires
a salary of a t least $30 p er w eek or
$130 p er m onth.
T he A d m inistrative classification re ­
quires a m onthly salary of a t least
$200 p er m onth.
W h at w ill the W age and H our in ­
spector do w h en he com es into your
bank?

1. Ask for a list of all em ployes d u r­
ing th e period of October 24, 1938 to
date to g eth er w ith th e am o u n t of over­
tim e due each employe.
2. A sk for a list of em ployes on
w hom exem ption is claimed.
3. On each em ploye u n d er 19 years
of age, a Certificate of E m ploym ent

H a p p y

H e w

y e a r

With increased facilities to assist its Nebraska
correspondent banks, the CONTINENTAL
NATIONAL BANK enters 1941 with confi­
dence it can serve even better its banks and
bankers during the New Year just ahead.

C

o n t in e n t a l

R

a t io n a l

B a n k
°r

A nnual C h ristm as bonuses to talin g
$5,311.64 w ere d istrib u te d w h en th e
40 em ployes of th e N ational B ank of
Com m erce held th e ir a n n u al party .

LINCOLN
M em ber F ederal D eposit Insurance Corporation

N orth w estern


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

Banker

January

1941

42

-•
w ill be req u ested from th e school last
attended, v erify in g th e age of th e em ­
ploye as show n by th e school records.
T his is to check on violations of th e
Child L abor Law w hich p ro h ib its th e
em ploym ent of p ersons u n d e r sixteen
y ears of age.
4. E x am in e th e m ethod used in de­
te rm in in g th e h o u rly rate.
5. Secure statem en ts from em ployes
to g eth er w ith receip ts for overtim e
paym en ts actu ally made.
6. F ro m an ex am ination of th e rec­
ords, it w ill be d eterm in ed w h e th e r
th e em ployer has observed a reg u lar

N E B R A S K A

N E WS

or irre g u la r w orkw eek since th e Act
becam e effective.
If th e em ployer is found to have
been w orking an irre g u la r of fluctu­
atin g n um ber of hours, th e n he w ill
be considered as o perating u n d er th e
Irre g u la r or V ariable W orkw eek. Con­
tra ry to arg u m en ts advanced by m any,
th e actual n um ber of ho u rs w orked
m ay n ot be th e d eterm in in g factor.
If th e em ployer has paid overtim e at
actu al tim e and one-half in excess of
44 h o u rs for th e period of October 24,
1938 to October 24, 1939 and on hours
w orked in excess of 42 for th e period

•
of October 24, 1939 to October 24, 1940,
th en he has definitely established a
reg u lar w orkw eek, even th o u g h the
h o urs m ay have fluctuated, and is eli­
gible to adopt one of th e co n stan t w age
plans.
Irregular W orkw eek:

W here th ere is no reg u lar n u m ber of
ho u rs p er w eek fixed by agreem ent or
custom , th e reg u lar ho u rly ra te w ill
be determ ined by dividing th e w eekly
w age by the nu m b er of h o urs w orked
and w ill v ary from w eek to w eek in
in direct proportion to th e nu m b er of
hours w orked. H ow ever th e em ployer
m ay not take credit for undertim e.
Constant W age Plans:

T h e First N atio n al
of L incoln
(Organized 1871)

NEW
R E SP O N SIB IL IT IE S
A new year means new
responsibilities.
A new year means new
opportunities.
A new year means a new
desire on the part of the officers
and directors of the First Na­
tional Bank of Lincoln to be of
increased service to their cor­
respondent banks in whose wel­
fare they are vitally interested.
Let us know if there is any
special assistance we can ren­
der you as we enter 1941.
OVER

SIXTY-NINE YEARS

OF

BANKING

EX PER IEN C E

G EO R G E W . H O LM ES.............P r e s id e n t
P . R. E A S T E R D A Y .-E xecutive V ic e -P re s id e n t
DON A LD P . EA STER D A Y ...... A s s t. V ic e -P re s .
L. C. C H A P IN .................................. V ic e -P re s id e n t
ERNEST U. G UENZEL.......................................A ss t. V ic e -P re s .
STANLEY MALY .........................V ic e -P re s id e n t
CLIFFO RD G . W E ST O N ...... A s s is ta n t C a s h ie r
B. O . CAM PBELL.............J u n io r V ic e -P re s id e n t
A . C. G LA N D T...........................................A s s is ta n t C a s h ie r
R. J. BECKER................................................A s s is ta n t C a s h ie r
H O W A R D FREEM A N ................................C a s h ie r
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

N orth w estern

Banker


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

Ja n u a ry 19^1

The A d m in istrato r has approved
tw o C onstant W age Plans, th e Tim e
Off and th e P rep ay m en t Plan.
The Tim e Off P lan is re stric te d in
its operation to pay periods and sim ply
m eans th a t one h o u r of overtim e m ay
be offset by one and one-half hours
of tim e off a t som e tim e w ith in th e
sam e pay period.
The P repaym en t P lan is outlined as
follows in In te rp re ta tiv e B ulletin No.
4: “T hough overtim e com pensation
due an em ploye m u st n orm ally be paid
a t th e tim e of th e em ploye’s reg u lar
pay period, th ere is no objection if
th e em ployer pays overtim e com pen­
sation to becom e due to an em ploye
in advance. T his is th e basic principle
of th e P rep ay m en t P lan .”
The em ployer and em ploye agree
th a t in an y w eek in w hich th e em ­
ploye w orks less th a n 40 hours, the
em ployer w ill advance to th e em ­
ploye th e difference betw een th e
am o u n t equal to his reg u lar ra te of
pay for 40 ho u rs and th e am ount he
w ould have received if he had been
paid only for th e n um ber of ho u rs he
w orked.
I t w ill be noted in th e foregoing ex­
p lanation th a t th e P rep ay m en t P lan is
based on an advance in dollars and
cents to th e em ploye in w eeks in
w hich few er th a n th e m axim um n u m ­
ber of ho u rs are w orked. H ow ever,
in settin g up our records, we have ac­
counted for such advances in tim e (re­
corded in m inutes) ra th e r th a n in
dollars and cents, n o t only to sim plify
th e book-keeping b u t to expedite th e
w o rk of inspectors in checking our
records.
W hen an inspection is m ade, th e
original tim e cards m ay be checked
w ith th e figures show n on th e em ­
ploye’s record sheet; from th is p o in t
all com putations are show n on one
sheet. As advances are recorded in
m inutes, dollars and cents are only
ta k e n into consideration w hen over­
tim e is w orked in excess of accum u-

43

•
lated u n dertim e. T h en th e deficiency
is reduced to hours, m ultiplied by th e
em ploye’s overtim e ra te w hich gives
th e actu al am o u n t due.
A tten tio n is called to th e fact th a t
only credits to th e em ployer w ill be
carried over beyond th e pay period;
credits to th e em ploye, i. e., overtim e
com pensation due th e em ploye, w ill
not be c arried over beyond th e pay
period to be consum ed by su b sequent
em ployer advances, b u t w ill be paid in
cash a t th e pay period. In th is w ay
th e em ployer w ill nev er becom e in ­
debted to th e em ploye.
It cannot be em phasized too stro n g ­
ly th a t th e valid ity of th e p lan de­
pends upon th e assu m p tio n th a t w hen
th e em ploye receives f u l l pay for
w eeks in w hich he w orks less th a n th e
sta tu to ry m axim um , he is being paid
in excess of w h a t he earn s or is en ­
titled to and is th erefo re given a loan
or advance w hich he m ay w o rk out in
subseq u en t overtim e. The question
m ay arise as to w h e th e r th e loan or
advance is really a loan or advance.
The D ivision h as stated th a t th e d e te r­
m inatio n of th is question m ay depend
on w h a t th e p a rtie s u n d e rsta n d w ill
happ en w h en an em ploye severs his
relatio n sh ip w ith th e em ployers. If
th e em ployer still has some accu m u lat­
ed credits at th a t tim e, w ill som e a t­
tem p t be m ade to get back th e am o u n t
of th e loan or advance from th e em ­
ploye since th e re is no fu rth e r possi­
b ility th a t it w ill be w orked out by
subseq u en t overtim e The fact th a t no
atte m p t w ill be m ade by th e em ployer
to collect th e am o u n t due him eith er
by deducting such am o u n t from th e
em ploye’s last check or by some oth er
way, is some indication th a t th e loan
or advance is sim ply a fictitious book­
keeping device. Also at th e end of a
y ear or some sh o rte r period credits
accum ulated by th e em ployer are
sim ply w iped off th e slate an d a new
s ta rt is m ade, is some indication th a t
th ere is no loan or advance in fact.
If th e re is no p rep ay m en t in fact, th e
Act w ill have been violated.
C redits to th e em ployer, i. e.,
am ou n ts paid by him in excess of
am ounts earn ed by th e em ploye or to
w hich th e em ploye is entitled, m ay
be carried over beyond th e pay period
u n til th e y are consum ed by th e o ver­
tim e w ork of th e employe.
W e adopted th e P rep ay m en t P lan on
Ju ly 1st of last y ear believing th a t
YO UR STATE BANKERS ASSO CIA TIO N
O FFIC IA L SA FE, V A U L T A N D
TIM ELOCK EXPERTS

N E B R A S K A

N E WS

•

such a plan p roperly applied w ould re ­
su lt in th e accum ulation of credits in
th e second and th ird w eeks of the
m o n th sufficient to offset overtim e
w orked in th e first and fo u rth w eeks
of th e m onth. To date th is has w orked
out as anticipated, in th a t our actual
cash paym ents have been m aterially
reduced. Em ployes know ing th a t they
have credits to w ork against, n a tu ra l­
ly are w orking u n d er less tension a t
busy periods.
W e did not adopt th e Tim e Off P lan
because it is restricted in its operation
to pay periods. We did not adopt an

Irre g u la r W orkw eek as we believed
th a t over a period of tim e th is plan
w ill re su lt in too m any overtim e pay­
m ents. It is based upon th e suppo­
sition th a t as m any ho u rs w ill be
w orked as m ay be necessary to com­
plete th e w orkw eek, and on first
th o u g h t th e variable ho u rly ra te m ay
seem quite advantageous to th e em ­
ployer.
The irre g u la r w orkw eek
m ight easily becom e an indefinite
w orkw eek.
The n um b er of hours
w orked should be controlled, and
w hen th e volum e of w ork lightens,
th ere is no good reason w hy an em-

(om m ercejrust (ompa ny 9
18-1
E s t a b lis h e d 1865
K A N S A S C IT Y , M IS S O U R I
M e m b e r F e d e r a l R e s e r v e S y ste m
S ta te m e n t o f C o n d itio n at C lo s e o f B u s in e s s D e c e m b e r 31, 1940
R E SO U R C E S
Cash and D ue from B a n k s .. ............................................................$80,662,111.95
U. S. O bligations, D irect and F u lly G uaranteed..................... 39,378,145.06 $120,040,257.01

State, M unicipal and Federal Land Bank B o n d s.................... 19,013,012.30
Stock of Federal R eserve B an k ......................................................

270,000.00

Other Bonds and S e c u r itie s................................................................ 12,692,094.80

31,975,107.10

L oans and D isco u n ts..........................................................................................................

44 014 955 gg

Bank Prem ises and Other Real E state O w ned....................................................

2,567 167.90

Custom ers’ L ia b ility A ccount L etters of C red it..................................................

22,852.79

Accrued Interest R e ce iv a b le .........................................................................................

354,480.82

Overdrafts

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

Other R esources

38,315.31

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

2,188 18

T otal R esources ..........................................................................................................

$199,015,335.01

L IA B IL IT IE S
D ep osits

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

$186,304,792.64

Capital

........................................................................................................ $ 6,000,000.00

Surplus

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

3,000,000.00

U ndivided Profits .....................................................................................

3,617,216.09

12,617,216.09

L ia b ility A ccount L etters of C red it..........................................................................

22,852.79

A ccrued Interest, T axes and E x p e n se ........................................................................

69,151.65

Other L ia b ilitie s

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

1 321.84

T otal L ia b ilitie s ........................................................................................................

$199,015,335.01

M em ber Federal D eposit Insurance Corporation

F. E. DAVENPORT & CO.
OM AHA
N orthw estern B anker


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

January Î 9 M

44

•
ploye should be req u ired to stay in
th e b ank u n til a certain h o u r if he
m ight have com pleted his w ork e a r­
lier. If he is req u ired to keep certain
fixed h o u rs regard less of th e volum e
of w ork, th e n busy days w ill re su lt in
overtim e.
W e believe th a t a m on th ly salaried
em ploye w ho receives cash paym ents
in w eeks in w hich m ore th a n th e m ax­
im um nu m b er of ho u rs are w orked
and is not req u ired to account for u n ­
dertim e in w eeks in w hich few er th a n
the m axim um are w orked, can h ard ly
be considered as a tru e hou rly rate

N E B R A S K A

N E WS

em ploye. It w ould seem th a t th e Ad­
m in istrato r had this fact in m ind w hen
th e P rep ay m en t P lan w as approved.
U ntil th a t tim e th ere w as no w ay in
w hich this discrepancy could be ad­
justed.
W hen operating on th e basis of an
irre g u lar w orkw eek, all overtim e is
payable in cash. U nder th e P rep ay ­
m en t P lan it is reasonable to assum e
th a t a su b stan tial am ount of actual
overtim e m ay be offset.
The W age and H our L aw has had
th e effect of causing m any banks to
speed up the tem po of ro u tin e w ork

•
as well as exam ine operating proced­
ure. The fact th a t a certain system
has been in use for years or th a t em ­
ployes have fallen into th e h ab it of
allow ing a fixed tim e for a p a rtic u la r
operation, is no reason w hy th e sys­
tem m ight not be changed for a less
cum bersom e one or th a t tim e m ight
not be reduced in m any operations.
As all em ployes covered by th e Act
have now become ho u rly rate em ­
ployes, th en w asted tim e and duplica­
tion of w ork should be elim inated
w here possible. A re-arran g em en t of
w ork m ay be the first step in th a t di­
rection.
A dm in istrator’s Stand on O vertim e
— October 16, 1940.

As we cross the threshhold of 1941, the LIVE STOCK
NATIONAL BANK of SIOUX CITY enters its 46th year.
We are proud of the part we have had in develop­
ing the territory we serve.
''America” says one financial authority "is now
swinging into a period which promises to become
one of the most active in its history.” In this active
period ahead the LIVE STOCK NATIONAL BANK
is more anxious than ever to be of service to you
in the handling of your Sioux City items and serving
you in any other way that it can.
Happy New Year.

O F F IC E R S

D IR E C T O R S

C. L. Fredricksen, President

C. R. M cK enna, Pres., Johnson B iscu it Co.
B. L. Sifford, A ttorney, Sifford & W adden
G. F. Silknitter, President, Sioux City
Stock Yards Company
C. L. Fredricksen, President
M. A. W ilson, V ice President and Cashier
H. C. B osw ell, Secretary-Treasurer,
W estern Contracting Corporation

M. A. W ilson , V ice President and Cashier
W . G. N elson, A ssista n t Cashier
W . C. Schenk, A ssista n t Cashier
L. W . R oss, A ssistan t Cashier

“The Bank at the Yards'

LIV ESTO CK
NATIONAL
BANK

y
N orth w estern

S I O U X C I T Y , IO W A
Banker


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

January 1941

“W hen on Ocotber 24, 1940, th e ba­
sic w orkw eek u n d er the F a ir L abor
S tandards Act is reduced from 42 to
40 hours, tw o altern ativ e m ethods of
ad ju stm en t are open to p lants now op­
eratin g on a basis of a 42 ho u r w o rk ­
w eek or longer:
1. T he existing w orkw eek m ay be
m aintained and em ployes paid each
w eek in addition to th e ir p resen t wage,
am ounts equal to one-half th e ir reg u ­
lar rate of pay for tw o hours.
2. E x istin g wage paym ents m ay be
m aintained and th e w orkw eek of each
em ploye w ill be reduced by an am ount
sufficient to m eet th e new h o u r sta n d ­
ard .”
F o r em ployers w ho have chosen the
second altern ativ e, W age and H our
A dm in istrato r F lem ing pointed out
th a t the 40 h o u r w eek w ill req u ire a
reduction in w eekly w orking tim e not
of tw o hours b u t only of fo rty m inutes.
On October 24th, 1940 we set a w o rk ­
w eek of 41 hours 20 m inutes and as we
operate on th e P rep ay m en t Plan, u n ­
dertim e u n d er 40 hours is added to ac­
cum ulation at m inute for m inute,
w hile u n d ertim e betw een 40 and 41
h o urs 20 m inutes being paid for a t th e
overtim e rate, w ill increase th e accum ­
u lation one and one-half m inutes for
each m inute not worked.
He have solved our W age and H our
problem and the solution is not diffi­
cult, m oreover, it is agreeable w ith
em ploye and em ployer alike.

Safety Shave
“M am m a,” said little Johnny, “don’t
m en ever go to h eaven?”
“W hy, of course, m y dear. W h at
m akes you ask?”
“Because I n ever see any p ictures of
angels w ith w h isk ers.”
“W ell,” said th e m other, th o u g h t­
fully, “some m en do go to heaven, b ut
th ey get th ere by a close shave.”

45

SOUTH
DAKOTA
NEWS
F. F. P H IL L IP P I
President
Milbank

GEORGE M. STARRING
Secretary-Treasurer
Huron

New Director

P. J. Dunn Dies

E a rl K eller w as appointed directo r
of th e R apid City N ational B ank to fill
the vacancy caused by the recen t d eath
of E d w ard H. Sw ander, th e board of
directors announced.
K eller has been an officer of th e b an k
since its organization in 1934. He re ­
ceived his first ban k in g experience in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, com ing to R apid
City in 1929.

P. J. D unn of M iller passed aw ay at
R ochester, M innesota, last m onth, at
th e age of 68 years.
Mr. D unn w as th e youngest of a
large fam ily, w ho cam e as pioneers to
H and county in 1884, hom esteading in
Cam pbell tow nship, w here th ey lived
for fifteen years. Mr. D unn m oved to
M iller w here he learned th e p rin tin g
tra d e w ith J. A. Bushfield, editor of
th e H and County Press. U nder Mr.
Bushfield as postm aster, he served as
dep u ty and th e re a fte r w en t into the
in su rance business. He organized and
w as cashier, and later president, of
th e Ree Valley B ank at O rient u n til it
m erged w ith th e O rient State Bank.

Pioneer Dies
F u n e ra l services and b u rial took
place in Y ankton for J. E. Ziebach,
W essington S prings b anker, w ho died
in a H uron hospital.
The son of F. M. Ziebach, South Da­
kota pioneer w ho founded th e W eekly
D akotian in 1861, he him self h ad a long
and in te re stin g record in connection
w ith th e s ta te ’s developm ent. He had
served as a m em ber of th e state legis­
lature, th e last tim e as a sen ato r in
1937, and w as at one tim e a ru ra l cred it
com m issioner. He h ad an in tim ate
acquaintance w ith th e developm ent of
th e state and at one tim e published a
new spaper.

Annual Party
E m ployes and officers of th e N o rth ­
w est S ecurity N ational Bank, Sioux
Falls, frolicked at th e ir a n n u al C h rist­
m as p a rty a t th e C ataract H otel b all­
room. Forty-tw o attended.
Follow ing a 7:15 p. m. d in n er an en­
te rta in m e n t p ro g ram w as presented,
featu rin g B ert Clauson at th e piano
and Jo h n Griffin doing a series of
m agic acts.
Gifts w ere exchanged and em ployes
received th e ir a n n u al gift from th e offi­
cers. D ancing closed th e program .

Attends Meeting
C. C. A nderson, m an ag er of th e
R apid City office of th e F irs t N ational
B ank of th e Black H ills, and a form er
resid en t of Lead, recen tly atten d ed a
m eeting of directors of th e Lead
b ran ch office.

Made I I 7,000 Loans
F ifty p er cent of South D akota’s
com m ercial banks m ade m ore th an
117,000 loans to taling $38,000,000 to
business firms and individuals th ro u g h ­
out th e state du rin g th e first six
m onths of 1940, according to the sem i­
a n n u al su rv ey of ban k lending activ­
ity m ade by the A m erican B ankers
Association.
T he A. B. A. loan survey w as p a r­
ticipated in by eighty-four South Da­
k ota banks, or 50.9 per cent of the
b an k s in the state, according to T. M.
B risbine, W oonsocket, chairm an P u b ­
lic R elations Com m ittee of th e South
D akota B ankers Association.
T hese eighty-four banks reported
th a t betw een Ja n u a ry 1 and Ju n e 30,
1940:
83,823 new loans to taling $22,084,099
32,979 renew als of loans
t o t a l i n g ................ 14,824,534
567 new m ortgage loans
to taling
1,209,387
117,369
$38,118,020
T he survey show ed th a t business
firm s in th e state used only 47.3 per
cen t of th e “confirm ed open lines of
c re d it” m aintained for th e ir use on the
books of banks. A total of 11 banks in
th e larg er centers of the state reported
th a t th ey carried on th e ir books $886,500 in “open lines of cred it” offered to

and kept available for reg u lar b orrow ­
ers for use as needed by them . Of th is
am ount $419,539 or 47.3 per cent w as
used.
The average num ber of new loans
m ade per bank d u ring th e six m o n th s’
period u n d er review w as 998 and the
average size of loan w as $263. The
average n u m ber of loans renew ed per
bank w as 393 and the average renew al
w as for $450.
The average num ber of new m o rt­
gage loans m ade per b an k w as seven
and the average new m ortgage m ade
w as for $2,133.

100 Per Cent
S u p erin ten d en t E rlin g H augo recen t­
ly announced the dep artm en t of b an k ­
ing and finance w ill distrib u te a 100
p er cent dividend on th e deposit claim s
ag ain st th e H udson State Bank, H ud­
son, South Dakota.
“A n u n u su al featu re of th e liquida­
tion of this b ank is th e fact th a t liqui­
dation earnings since the suspension
of th e b ank have exceeded expenses
of liquidations, including taxes on real
estate, and all o th er item s of expense
connected w ith th e liquidation of the
b ank,” H augo said.
The H udson b ank w as suspended in
July, 1938, and deposits a t th a t tim e
w ere $208,698.41.

Reward Employes
Em ployes of th e F irs t N ational B ank
and T ru st Company, Sioux Falls, re ­
ceived th e equivalent of one-half
m o n th ’s salary as a C hristm as gift, the
b a n k ’s directors announced.
In voting to rew ard th e employes,
th e directors said the gifts w ere “in
appreciation of th e ir loyalty and serv ­
ice du rin g th e last year.
“T his is th e 56th C hristm as an n i­
v ersary of Sioux F a lls’ oldest bank,
and it is in terestin g to note th a t the
total of th e gifts this y ear is approxi­
m ately as large as th e en tire yearly
salary of all em ployes in 1885, th e year
th e b ank w as organized,” said the an ­
nouncem ent.

Stock Retired
R. E. Driscoll, presid en t of th e F irs t
N ational B ank of the Black Hills, an ­
nounced re tire m e n t of the in stitu tio n ’s
$300,000 in p referred stock.
The stock w as tak en out in 1933 by
th e group of H ills banks w hich in Octo­
ber, 1938, consolidated to form the
F irs t N ational B ank of th e Black Hills.
R etirem en t of th e p referred stock w as
m ade possible th ro u g h accum ulation
of recoveries and earnings d uring th e
p ast few years.
D eposits of the bank, totaling $9,500,000 at th e tim e of th e consolidation,
have now m ounted to $10,700,000, D ris­
coll said.
N orth w estern


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

Banker

January 1941

46

•

SO U TH

The in stitu tio n ’s capital to tals ap ­
proxim ately a m illion dollars, includ­
ing $500,000 of com m on stock, $325,000
surplus, and $125,000 in undivided p ro f­
its and reserves.

Directors Meeting
T he reg u lar m eeting of th e directors
of th e B ank of K im ball w as held at
K im ball recen tly w ith th e follow ing
directors in attendance: M. P lin Beebe
and Lloyd C ronholm of Ipsw ich, L. M.

D A K O T A

N EWS

L arsen of W essington Springs, Mrs.
J. H. D rips of G ann V alley and R. A.
Jo h n son of Kimball.

L E G A L DEPARTM ENT
(C ontinued from page
b an k to give th e bonding
notice w ith in th e tim e lim it
date of th e observance of
picious acts?
No.

16)
com pany
from th e
th e sus­

A p rovision of a fidelity bond

The First N a tio n a l B ank
o f C hicago
Seventy'Seventh Annual Statement, December 31, 1940
Cash and D u e from B a n k s ,................................................... $ 4 3 9 ,7 8 2 ,4 8 3 .9 5
U n ited States O b ligation s—Direct and fully Guaranteed,
U n p l e d g e d , .........................................
$ 3 1 5 ,3 1 1 ,3 6 4 .6 9
P led ged — To Secure Public Deposits and
Deposits Subject to Federal Court Order, 4 2 ,4 0 4 ,3 1 4 .7 1
To Secure Trust Deposits,
4 3 ,9 8 4 ,8 9 5 .0 6
Under Trust Act of Illinois, .
5 2 3 ,5 8 2 .9 8
4 0 2 ,2 2 4 ,1 5 7 .4 4 ,
O ther B on d s and Securities,
•
•
.
8 0 ,6 9 1 ,6 1 3 .4 4
Loans and D isco u n ts, .
•
3 0 1 ,5 9 2 ,1 2 7 .2 4
R eal Estate (B a n k B uilding),
.
5 ,3 9 9 ,1 7 6 .9 9
O ther R eal Estate,
•
9 6 7 ,0 5 4 .3 6
Federal R eserve B an k Stock,
.
.
C ustom ers’ Liability A cc o u n t o f A ccep tan ces,
Interest Earned, n o t C ollected ,
«
O ther A ssets,
.
.
.
.
.

.

2 ,1 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
2 ,4 0 6 ,2 1 2 .4 3
2 ,9 8 9 ,8 0 8 .3 4
1 3 9 ,2 9 2 .8 9
$ 1 ,2 3 8 ,2 9 1 ,9 2 7 .0 8

LIABILITIES
C apital S tock —C o m m o n ,
Surplus F und,
.
.
.
.
O ther U n d iv id e d Profits,
D iscou n t C ollected but n o t Earned,
D ivid en d s D eclared, but U n p a id ,
R eserve for T axes, etc.,
Liability A cco u n t o f A cceptances,
T im e D eposits,
.
.
.
.
D em and D eposits,

.$

3 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
4 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
2 ,4 8 5 ,6 4 0 .3 6
6 2 3 ,8 8 7 .9 2
7 5 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
2 ,2 7 0 ,8 5 5 .6 7
2 ,7 3 4 ,9 2 9 .4 6

$ 1 8 6 ,9 5 2 ,0 5 2 .3 8
8 9 8 ,3 8 8 ,7 9 4 .3 6
D eposits o f P u b lic F unds,
7 4 ,0 8 4 ,1 1 2 .0 5 1 ,1 5 9 ,4 2 4 ,9 5 8 .7 9
L iabilities oth er than th ose above stated,
1 ,6 5 4 .8 8
$ 1 ,2 3 8 ,2 9 1 ,9 2 7 .0 8

N orth w estern

Banker


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

January 19 k l

•

requ iring an obligee to giv e notice of
lo ss Avithin a certain tim e after the
d iscovery of a lo ss does not require it
to inform th e su rety of a m ere su sp i­
cion of d ish on est conduct on the part
of an in sured em ploye.
B row n, an Indiana banker, en tered
into a w ritte n agreem ent w ith a m ill­
ing com pany w h erein he agreed to
sell and th e m illing com pany agreed
to buy 500 “bags” of seed. The con­
tra c t did not specify how m any b u sh ­
els each bag should contain and th ere
w as no trad e custom or usage reg ard ­
ing th is featu re of th e contract. The
m illing com pany refused to go through
w ith th e deal, contending th a t th e con­
tra c t w as not definite. The b an k er
sued. Could he recover?
No. A m em orandum m ust g iv e all
of the essen tia l term s of the contract
of the parties in order to be binding.
In th is connection it has been held
th at one of the essen tial term s of such
a contract is the quantity of th e goods
sold. A ccordingly, w h ere th e term s
used in a m em orandum to sp ecify the
q uan tity are u ncertain and indefinite,
it has been held that the contract is
invalid. In a recent decision the In d i­
ana Suprem e Court held in a case in ­
v o lv in g su b stan tially the sam e facts
as those ou tlined in the q uestion that
the term “b ags” Avas so indefinite that
the contract Avas not Aralid.
W ard m ortgaged certain live stock
to a M issouri bank. Included in the
m ortgage w as a provision to th e effect
th a t AVard also m ortgaged “an y live
stock th a t he m ight th e re a fter acquire
w ith m oney fu rn ish ed un d er th e m o rt­
gage.” T he live stock had certain
progeny w hich cam e w ith in the
quoted provision of th e m ortgage. The
bank, how ever, did not take posses­
sion of them or specifically include
them in a supplem ental m ortgage, and
AVard sold th em to F ine w ho had no
know ledge of th e m ortgage tra n sa c ­
tion. Did F ine obtain a title free and
clear of any lien by th e bank?
Yes. W here a m ortgagee does not
take p ossession of after acquired prop­
erty upon its acq u isition by th e m ort­
gagor or take a su pp lem entary m ort­
gage thereon before the rights of an
in n ocen t third party have attached,
p rovisions sim ilar to those outlined in
the question aaTII be held void as to
such in nocen t third parties.

47

nam ed N o rth w estern State B ank of
Ulen. It is expected th a t the closing
of th e b ank at L o ck h art w ill be com­
pleted as soon as possible and a rra n g e ­
m ents m ade for its rem oval to Ulen.
The form er F irs t N ational B ank
building at U len w ill be used for the
new b ank and the building is u n d e r­
going th e necessary im provem ent for
occupancy.

M IN N E S O T A
NEWS
K. O. SATTRE
President
Blue Earth

New President
A lb ert K aiser, w ho has been at th e
head of th e seed and feed loan office
in L ittle F alls for th e p ast tw o years,
has left to becom e p resid en t of th e
F irs t N ational B ank of Bagley. He
will succeed his fath er, A lbert K aiser,
Sr., w ho died recently. B efore tak in g
a position w ith th e seed and feed
loan ad m in istratio n , Mr. K aiser w as
em ployed in th e b an k for five years.

To Blooming Prairie
A rnold L. F osten so n of O w atonna
has been nam ed executive vice p resi­
dent of th e F irs t N ational B ank of
Bloom ing P rairie, and w ill assum e
duties J a n u a ry 15th.
Now a re p re se n ta tiv e of th e F ederal
L and B ank, Mr. F o steson has about
tw en ty y ears of b an k in g experience.
He w as form erly w ith th e B ank of
N orth D akota at Bism arck.
In 1933 he began w orking for th e
F ed eral L and B ank of St. P au l and
w as for som e tim e em ployed in th e
new loan division. He w as a m em ber
of th e loan com m ittee. In 1936, w hen
th e b an k decentralized, he w as se­
lected to sup erv ise settin g up group
offices.
R ecently he has been in charge of
th e F ed eral L and B ank in te re sts in
th e tw e n ty so u th east counties of M in­
nesota.

Joins Buffalo Bank
The Buffalo N ational B ank has filled
the vacancy in its staff caused by th e
resig n atio n of H en ry Wolff w ith th e
ap p o in tm en t of Vance W eaver of M or­
ton, M innesota, as a ssista n t cashier.
Mr. W eaver sta rte d his b an k in g ca­
re e r in C larem ont, South D akota, his
birthplace, tra n sfe rrin g from th e re to
the F a rm e rs S tate B ank of M orton
some y ears ago.

Dies in Rushmore
W ell wood R. McLeod, 64 y ears old,
died at his hom e in R ushm ore. The
form er m ayor and school board m em ­
ber w as vice p resid en t of th e F irs t

W ILLIAM DUNCAN, Jr.
Secretary
Minneapolis

S tate B ank and principal m em ber in
th e Thom-McLeod L um ber business
and h ard w are store.

Smith Resigns
C om pleting nearly 37 y ears of serv ­
ice w ith th e A m erican N ational Bank,
St. Paul, P. A. F. Sm ith, cashier, an ­
nounced his resignation, effective De­
cem ber 31st, and re tire m e n t from the
b an k in g business.
Mr. Sm ith en tered em ploym ent at
th e b ank as a m essenger boy in 1904,
a sh o rt tim e afte r it had sta rte d oper­
atin g u n d er a national c h a rte r w ith
its p resen t nam e.
He advanced
th ro u g h m any dep artm en ts u n til his
election as cashier tw elve y ears ago.
H is resignation, Mr. Sm ith said, will
leave him free to devote him self to
several p riv ate business in terests here.
He and Mrs. Sm ith w ill leave for a
m o n th ’s v isit in Miami, Florida, about
m id-January.

Improvements
M odernization has been tak in g place
in th e banks at E lk to n and Adams
w ith th e im provem ents being the new ­
est in banking. The old cage type of
w indow has disappeared and m odern
counter-like w indow s have been in ­
stalled. L ighting and decorating im ­
p rovem ents have also been made. In
charge of th e E lkton bank is H ans
Schneider and N. V. T orgerson m an ­
ages th e A dam s bank.

Cashier Dies
Services w ere held in Sleepy Eye
for Jo h n W. Hass, 51, form erly of
Clara City, M innesota, w ho died in the
hom e of his bro th er, A lbert F. Hass.
B orn in New Ulm, he had been cashier
of th e Clara City State Bank, Clara
City, M innesota, before tak en ill.

Moved to Ulen
The application for
c h a rte r from L o ck h art
b an k headed by A. J.
been approved by the
departm ent. The new

a tra n sfe r of
to Ulen of the
A nderson has
state banking
bank w ill be

Quarters Improved
Com fort and convenience for its
custom ers w ere forem ost in th e m inds
of N o rth w estern F ederal Savings &
L oan A ssociation officials w hen th ey
designed th e recently im proved offices
a t 823 M arquette avenue, M inneapolis,
in th e F oshay Tow er ground floor lo­
cation.
As now situ ated th e in stitu tio n has
one of th e largest as w ell as one of
th e m ost handsom ely-appointed offices
in th e T w in Cities.
Mrs. D. E. C rary Mudd, a ssistan t
to th e m anager, in charge of public
relations and new business d ep art­
m ents, occupies the fro n t desk in th e
office, w hile those of th e o th er ex­
ecutives are arran g ed along th e far
w all as the room is entered.

John W . W elch Dies
Jo h n W. W elch, 77 y ears old, resi­
dent of La Crescent, M innesota, all his
life, died in La Crosse, W isconsin. He
w as in th e contracting business in
M innesota and W isconsin and w as
p resid en t of th e La C rescent State
Bank, pro m in en t in Masonic affairs,
and w as recently presented w ith a
50-year m em bership pin by th e La
C rescent M asonic lodge.

Heads Group
E. P. H um m el, cashier of th e F irs t
and F a rm e rs N ational B ank of Blue
E a rth , w as elected p resident of the
Blue E a rth Valley C learinghouse As­
sociation, an organization of Blue
E a rth and F a rib a u lt county b ank staff
m em bers, a t the an n u al m eeting.
H um m el succeeds E. W. T olzm ann of
M innesota Lake, p resident d uring the
p ast year.
O ther officers elected are W. F. Borchardt, cashier of th e F irs t N ational
B ank of M apleton, vice president, and
M. J. Jones, cashier of th e Cam bria
State Bank, secretary.
A pproxim ately 60 m en w ere p resen t
for th e d in n er and m eeting. Speakers
w ere F. A. A m undson, S tate Commis­
sioner of B anks, L. A. Hill, A cting Re­
gional D irector of th e AVage and H our
Division, and W illiam D uncan, Jr.,
secretary of th e M innesota B an k ers’
Association.
N orth w estern


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

Banker

January

19 'il

48

Dies in Belgrade
Jo h n W. K oetter, born Ja n u a ry 1,
1870, on a farm n ear R ichm ond, and
for m any y ears associated w ith banks
at Belgrade, died recently.
Mr. K oetter atten d ed St. Jo h n s U ni­
v ersity and later w orked in th e county
tre a s u re r’s office. He w en t to Belgrade
as cashier of th e B ank of Belgrade and
a few y ears later re tu rn e d to St. Cloud
w h ere he w ent to w ork for the McCor­
m ick H arv ester Company. In 1908, he
w en t back to B elgrade as cashier of
th e N o rth A m erican S tate B ank and in
1916 sta rte d th e S tate B ank of Bel­
grade w hich later consolidated w ith
th e N orth A m erican Bank. A t th e tim e
of his death he w as em ployed by the
N o rth A m erican S tate Bank.

STATEM ENT OF
C O N D IT IO N
A t the Close of B usiness
D E C E M B E R 31, 1940

Remodel at Bank

RESOURCES

The F a rm e rs and M erchants State
B ank, R ushton, began an in terio r re ­
Vaults and Fixtures_________________ 15,322.71
m odeling p roject w hich includes new
Other Assets ---------------37,452.31
w indow sashes, rem oval of the inside
U. S. Gov’t.
en tran ce to provide an enlarged lobby,
B o n d s ___$1,099,677.83
and in stallatio n of V enetian w indow
Other Bonds
blinds.
Loans and Discounts____ $2,738,604.55

c u r itie s__
507,879.28
Cash and Due
from Banks 3,327,535.36 4,935,092.47
TOTAL ___________ $7,726,472.04
LIABILITIES
Capital Stock—Common_$ 250,000.00
Surplus _______________

250,000.00

Reserves and
Undivided P ro fits____
50,473.21
Other L iab ilities_______
19,947.62
Deposits ---------------------- 7,156,051.21
TOTAL ___________ $7,726,472.04

OFFICERS
J. F. R ing land .................... P resident
J. C. M oore!........ .........Vice P resident
A. A. B ib u s ...... Vice Pres, and Cash.
J. M. K a n e ....................... A sst. Cash.
J. G. McGarraugh ...........A sst. Cash.
C. W. Messenger ...........

A uditor

County Meeting
M em bers of th e Le Sueur C ounty
B an kers A ssociation gath ered a t Le
C enter for a dinner, general business
discussion, and social visitation.
Officers elected for th e ensuing y ear
w ere Mr. R adem acher, W aterville,
president; C. E. M eislahn, Cleveland,
vice president; Wm. Kozel, M ontgom ­
ery, secretary treasu rer. C. C. Traxler, of Le Center, w as th e re tirin g
president.

Vice President Dies
R obert Dick of Le Roy, vice p resi­
d en t of th e F irs t S tate Bank, died re ­
cently in th e New H am pton, Iowa, hos­
p ital follow ing an operation. He w as
71 y ears old.
He w as b o rn n ear M onticello, Wis.,
May 19, 1869, and in 1892 he m oved to
a farm so u th east of Le Roy, w here he
resided u n til 1910, w hen he purchased
a farm a m ile n o rth of th e village,
w h ere he resided u n til about 20 years
ago w hen he m oved to Le Roy.

Thayer Dies

STOCK YARDS
NATIONAL BANK
SOUTH ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

N orth w estern

Banker


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

January

Î941

Jo h n V an B uren T hayer, w ho a t the
tim e of his re tire m e n t from th e Cen­
tra l H anover B ank and T ru st Com­
p an y in July, 1938, h ad com pleted 66
y ears of continuous service w ith th a t
com pany and its predecessors, died
last m onth at th e age of 88.
Mr. T h ay er joined th e U nion T ru st
Com pany staff on his 20th birthday,

Ja n u a ry 15, 1872, and w hen th a t in sti­
tu tio n m erged w ith th e C entral T ru st
Com pany in 1918 w as senior vice presi­
dent. He continued to tak e an active
p a rt in th e m anagem en t of th e C entral
U nion and, later, th e C entral H anover.

N O RTH D A K O T A HITS
N EW H IG H
(C ontinued from page
D airy P roducts and
Increased in v en to ries .
Beef products and
Increased inventories
Sheep an d wool
Hogs ............................
P o u ltry and products

20)
26,602,975
33,483,150
7,049,730
9,792,000
10,803,080

Total liv e sto c k ......................$ 87,730,135
TOTAL FARM INCOME $235,759,349
The nu m b er of livestock on farm s
Ja n u a ry 1, 1941, show s a h ealth y in ­
crease from a y ear ago—cattle from
1,337,000 to 1,443,900, sheep from 915,000 to 960,000.
Hogs, now largely breeding stock,
show a slight decrease, from 472,000
to 430,000, as com pared w ith 1939, a
y ear th a t saw a 47 per cent increase
in th e hog population. The drop w as
due to early m ark etin g because of
b ettered m ark etin g conditions.
A one p er cent increase in th e size
of litters saved w as show n for th e 1940
spring and fall crops of pigs. Total
hog production for the year, 900,000
head. P re se n t indications are th a t th e
n um ber of sows kept on farm s in 1941
w ill equal th e total for 1940 or w ill
be increased if h ig h er prices prevail
betw een now and M arch 1.
“D uring the p ast th ree y ears N orth
D akota has m ade rem ark ab le strides
in reh ab ilitatin g th e livestock in d u s­
try , and today th e livestock popula­
tion n early equals th a t for th e period
p rio r to th e d ro u g h t y ears of 19341936,” th e GNDA re p o rt says.
H ow ever, N orth D akota’s livestock
in d u stry is im m easurably im proved
today over th e pre-drought period be­
cause of im proved q uality in herds
and flocks. Only th e finest breeding
stock w as retain ed du rin g th e sh o rt
feed crop years.
T he 10-year low for th e n um ber of
cattle w as reached Ja n u a ry 1, 1938,
w hen th e count w as a t 1,190,000. By
Ja n u a ry 1, 1940, th is had grow n to
1,337,000, and a handsom e increase is
expected for th e in terv en in g year,
w ith m ark ets rep o rtin g good calves
being retain ed on farm s and a m arked
increase in grazing in th e w estern
p a rt of th e state.

49

STATEMENT OF CONDITION OF

First National Bank and Trust Company
o f Minneapolis
as at December 31, 1940
♦
R esources

Cash on Hand and Due from Banks .
U. S. Government Bonds (Direct or Fully
G uaranteed).......................................
Guaranty Fund (U. S. Bonds
with Commissioner of Banks)
Loans and D isc o u n ts...............................
Other Bonds and Securities
O v e r d r a f ts ...............................................
Bank B u i ld i n g s .......................................
Customers’ Acceptance Liability
Bankers’ Acceptances Purchased
Interest Earned but not Collected

*

•

$73,383,077.65
51,783,000.00
600,000.00
42,598,889.06
7,436,357.08
10,208.30
648,633.68
648,873.25
384,000.00
364,780.43
$177,857,819.45

L ia b il it ie s

Capital S t o c k .......................................
S u rp lu s.......................................................
Undivided P r o f i t s ...............................
Reserve for Interest, Expenses, Taxes, etc.
Interest Collected but not Earned
Letters of Credit and Acceptances
D e p o s i t s ...............................................

.

,
,
¿

.
*
.

$ 6 ,000 ,000.00
6 ,000 ,000.00
2,725,473.27
1,039,903.31
169,480.14
648,873.25
161,274,089.48
$177,857,819.45

U. S. Government Obligations and other securities carried at $21,790,229.67 in the fore­
going statement are deposited to secure Public Funds and for other purposes required by Law.
M em ber Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

A f f i l i a t e d

w ith

f i r s t

b a n k

s t o c k

c o r p o r a t i o n

N orth w estern


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

Banker

January

19 ft

50

T w in C it y N e w s

AN K ERS from all principal cities
in th e N in th F ed eral R eserve Dis­
tric t assem bled in M inneapolis last
m on th to discuss financing of th e fed­
eral defense program and th e plans
of th e A m erican B ankers A ssociation
to co-operate in th is w ork.
The m eeting w as called by Shirley
S. Ford, p resid en t of th e N o rth w estern
N ational B ank & T ru st Co. and N inth
D istrict m em ber of a special A. B. A.
defense financial com m ittee. A pproxi­
m ately 60 b an k ers attended.
“The A. B. A.,” Mr. F ord said, “is
taking a leading p a rt in m obilizing
the financial resources of th e co u n try

B

A location in the center of
d o w n to w n district, w ith shops
an d am u sem en ts n e a rb y , at­
tra c ts t r a v e le r s to th is fin e
hotel - w h e re th e y in v a ria b ly
enjoy the com fortable acco m ­
m o d a tio n s , th e fin e fo o d in
th e C o ff e e S h o p , a n d th e
s u p e r io r s e r v ic e . G a r a g e
se rv ice . A ll ra te s re a so n a b le .
W IT H O U T ,
B A TH

50

LUP

BA TH

l

4 th S T R E E T A T H E N N E P IN

N orth w estern

Banker


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

Speci al Cor r es pondent

in su p p o rt of th e defense program .
The b anks of th e U nited States w ill
be able to finance th is g reat defense
program to a m ajor degree if they
know w h at is required, how th e banks
can be secured, how to take ad van­
tage of th e new A ssignm ent of Claims
law and w ith w hom th ey are to deal.”
He review ed conferences in W ash­
ington, atten d ed by th e A. B. A. com­
m ittee, the F ederal R eserve Board

TRAVEL TREND

THE

V

By Jam es M. Sutherland

A . W . STAD E
M anager

January

Í9M

A

and m em bers of the defense com m is­
sion. B oth th e board and th e com­
m ission, he told the N inth D istrict
bankers, are in terested in seeing th a t
p riv ate banks do a large p a rt of th e
defense in d u stry financing and th a t
a m inim um of such funds be m ade
available by g overnm ent agencies.
The b u lletin recently issued by th e
A. B. A. on defense financing w as ex­
plained, after w hich Jo h n N. Beyton,
presid en t of th e M inneapolis F ederal
R eserve B ank explained th e organiza­
tion of th e b a n k ’s new in d u strial co­
ordination departm ent.
T his d ep artm en t w as explained in
m ore detail by H. C. Tim berlake, re ­
serve b ank statistician w ho has been
nam ed its m anager. Purpose, he said,
is to p u t th e arm ed services in touch
w ith those desirous of bidding on de­
fense contracts, fu rn ish such prospec­
tive bidders inform ation th a t w ill en­
able them to m ake bids, and see th a t
p roper financing for successful bidders
is secured, if needed.
H. G. M cC onnell of th e F ederal Re­
serve B ank and F. C. O’B rien of N o rth ­
w estern N ational B ank dem onstrated
how a sam ple loan m ig h t be discussed
in a co u n try bank.
All ban k ers p resen t expressed th em ­
selves as eager to do th e ir patriotic
d uty and to p u t p riv ate funds to w ork
in th is program .
F . E. Crabb, p resid en t of In v estors
Syndicate, w as one of th e principal
speakers at a land planning confer­
ence held in M inneapolis u n d er spon­
sorship of th e F ed eral H ousing A d­
m in istration. He spoke on “R elation
of FH A to In v estm en t O rganizations.”
J. A. M urphy, a ssistan t cashier, F irst
N ational B ank & T ru st Co., and H. E.
B ergq uist, a ssistan t cashier, N o rth ­
w estern N ational B ank & T ru st Co.,
w ere am ong a delegation of Minne-

51

apolis leaders m ak in g a good-will to u r
to th e su g ar beet factory a t Chaska,
Minn. T our w as sponsored by th e
M inneapolis Civic & Com m erce A s­
sociation.

S t a t e m e n t o f C o n d itio n

O liver S. P ow ell, first vice president,
M inneapolis F ed eral R eserve B ank,
has been nam ed to th e advisory coun­
cil for th e new regional business r e ­
search statio n set u p at th e U n iv er­
sity of M innesota by th e u n iv e rsity
and th e U. S. D ep artm en t of Com­
m erce.

T

h e

f ir s t
o f

J.

P

s a in t

b a n k

a u l

as o f

a ssista n t vice
p resid en t of N o rth w est B ancorporation, M inneapolis, has ta k e n over his
new d uties as vice p re sid e n t an d
cashier of F irs t N ational B ank, W a­
basha, M inn. F ellow w o rk ers gave
him a farew ell p a rty and p resen ted
him w ith a shotgun.
A dolph

n a t io n a l

Doffing,

D ecem ber J I ,

19 4 0

R esources
$ 8 1 ,8 0 3 , 5 7 1 . 7 7

Cash on H and and Due from Banks
The N ational A ssociation of B ank
Supervisors w ill hold its 1941 con­
vention in St. Paul, according to F. A.
A m undson, M innesota com m issioner
of banks. D ate has not been set, b u t
it m ay be in Septem ber.
R oy O verm ann of F irs t T ru s t Co.,

St. Paul, w as ch airm an of th e e n te r­
ta in m e n t com m ittee for a sm oker
staged by th e St. P aul chap ter, A m eri­
can In stitu te of B anking.
Added to th e M inneapolis h e a d q u a r­
ters staff of N o rth w est B ancorporation are A loysius R. W einhandl, fo r­
m erly vice p re sid e n t and cashier of
th e F irs t N ational B ank, M andan, N.
D., and W illiam H. N etland, cashier
of A ustin S tate B ank, A ustin, Minn.
D irectors of th e M inneapolis F e d ­
eral R eserve B ank have elected Rym an E. W akefield, p re sid e n t of F irs t
N ational B ank & T ru st Co., to th e
federal advisory council of th e F ed ­
eral R eserve system , effective J a n u ­
a ry 1. As th e m em ber of th e council
from th e N in th F ed eral R eserve Dis­
tract, Mr. W akefield succeeds John
Crosby, M inneapolis.

2 1 , 1 5 7 ,8 0 9 .6 6

U. S. Governm ent Securities
Bonds and Securities

4 ,4 2 0 ,6 5 2 .6 3

Loans and Discounts

5 7 ,2 1 4 ,3 2 6 .1 6
2 0 3 , 5 5 2 .6 9

Interest Earned but not Collected
C ustom ers’ Liability on Account of Acceptances,
Letters of Credit and Foreign Bills

6 7 ,0 9 8 .5 0
3 6 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0

Stock in Federal Reserve Bank

3 ,0 0 0 ,00 0 .0 0

Bank and Office Building

$ 1 6 8 ,2 2 7 ,0 1 1 . 4 1
L iabilities
$ 6 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0

C apital Stock
Surplus

6 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0

Undivided Profits

1 , 5 4 2 , 13 2 -7 2

Unallocated Reserves for Losses

8 1 3 , 5 7 5 .8 1

Reserve for Accrued Taxes, Interest and Expenses

6 2 1 ,2 7 5 .0 7

Reserve of M anufacturers and Others on
Notes purchased from them

5 7 3 ,7 2 5 .0 2

Discount Collected but not Earned

77,921.55
6 7 ,0 9 8 .5 0

Acceptances, Letters of Credit and Foreign Bills

1 5 2 , 5 3 1 ,2 8 2 .7 4

Deposits

$ 1 6 8 , 2 2 7 ,0 1 1 .4 1
vice president,
N o rth w e ste rn N ational B ank & T ru st
Co., has been elected tre a s u re r of th e
M inneapolis Civic Council.
Clarence

E.

H ill,

P resident

Richard C. Lilly

,

C hairm an B oard o f Directors

A n o th er
N o rth w e ste rn
N ational
B ank vice president, John B u rgess,
has been nam ed ch airm an of th e p u b ­
licity com m ittee of th e 1941 M inne­
apolis A quatennial, to be held Ju ly

F rederic R. Bigelow

Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

12 - 20 .

A. S. N ew com b, vice p resid en t of

Bloom ington-Lake

N ational


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

AF F I L I AT E D

WI TH

F I RS T

BANK

STOCK

CORP ORATI ON

B ank,
Northwestern Banker

January 1941

52

• M I N N ESOT A
M inneapolis; R. O. Thayer, vice p re si­
dent, F ifth N o rth w e ste rn N ational
Bank, and M alcolm B. M cDonald, g en­
eral counsel of F irs t N ational B ank
& T ru s t Co., rep resen ted th e M inne­
sota Safe D eposit A ssociation in a dis­
cussion of safe deposit p ractices before
a m eeting of th e A rro w h ead C learing­
house A ssociation in D uluth.
A tten d in g a m eeting in Chicago
called by th e A ssociation of R eserve
City B an k ers to discuss financing th e
n atio n al defense pro g ram w ere Shir­
ley S. Ford, president, and W illiam
N. Johnson, vice p resident, N o rth w est­
ern N ational B ank & T ru st Co.; L y ­
m an E. W akefield, president, an d V.
F. R otering, vice president, F irs t N a­
tional B ank & T ru st Co.; A rn u lf Ueland, vice president, M idland N a­
tional B ank & T ru st Co., an d Julian
B. Baird an d P hilip L. Ray, vice p re si­
dents, F irs t N ational B ank of St. Paul.
F ran cis A. C ham berlain, 85, ch a ir­
m an of th e executive com m ittee of
F irs t N ational B ank & T ru st Com­
pany, and a leading figure in n o rth ­
w est ban k in g circles for years, died
D ecem ber 17th a t his hom e in M in­
neapolis.

N E W S *

B orn in Bangor, Maine, he started
his banking career at 22 w hen he be­
cam e a collector for th e old M erchants
N ational B ank of M inneapolis. In
1880 he joined th e old Security B ank
as clerk, an d w as m ade a ssistan t
cashier in 1882, d irector in 1886, cash­
ier in 1887, and p resid en t in 1892.
The b an k becam e S ecurity N ational
B ank in 1907 and in 1915 w as consoli­
dated w ith th e F irs t N ational to form
F irs t and Security N ational Bank. Mr.
C ham berlain served as its president
u n til 1917, w hen he becam e chairm an
of th e executive com m ittee.
C onstruction w as slated to s ta rt J a n ­
u a ry 2nd on th e new hom e of F arm ­
ers and M echanics Savings Bank at
Sixth stre e t and M arquette avenue,
th e board of tru ste e s having a u th o r­
ized th e project.
The general con tract w as let to M ad­
sen C onstruction Com pany for slig h t­
ly less th a n $550,000. O ther contracts
rem ain to be let.
The new location is in the center
of M inneapolis financial d istrict and
close to th e m ain shopping district.
T hree com m ercial banks are located
w ith in a half a block of th e site, w hich

adjoins th e M inneapolis F ed eral Re­
serve B ank building.
T he building w ill consist of a p rin ­
cipal b an king room having a m ain en ­
tran ce on Sixth street, and extending
th ro u g h to a five-story u n it adjoin­
ing th e reserve bank. The five-story
u n it w ill house several dep artm en ts
of th e bank, including th e m ortgage
and school savings d ep artm ents. It
w ill have a sep arate en tran ce on M ar­
quette.
E x te rio r of th e building w ill be of
stone, w ith g ran ite base and trim
around th e entrance. The general
design w ill be in m odernized classic
style.
D irectors of th e N o rth w est Bancorporation have elected J. B. F aegre,
M inneapolis atto rn ey , to th e board to
fill th e vacancy caused by th e death
of W illiam A. D urst. D irectors also
elected W . F. G raves, connected w ith
Banco for ten years, to th e post of
a ssistan t secretary.
L aw ren ce B. W oodard of Woodard-Elwoocl & Company, M inneapo­
lis, has been nom inated as th e reg­
u la r candidate for th e board of gover­
nors of th e N ational A ssociation of
Securities D ealers from d istrict No. 4,

gpfe E mpire Na tio n a l Bank and T rust C om pany
x S '

ST. P A U L , M IN N E S O T A
Statem ent of Condition as of December 31, 1940

R ESO U R C ES
Cash in Vaults, due from Federal Reserve Bank and other B a n k s.......................................................................... $ 4,065,134.78
United States Government Securities— Direct and Fully Guaranteed— Due within 3 y ea rs...........................
341,400.00
United States Government Securities— Direct and Fully Guaranteed— Due after 3
but within 5 years. . .212,250.00
United States Government Securities— Direct and Fully Guaranteed— Due after 5but within 10 y e a r s..
301,825.00
United States Government Securities— D irect and Fully Guaranteed— Due after 10 but within 15 years. .
258,700.00
Municipal Bonds— Due within 3 y e a rs...................................
395,522.74
Municipal Bonds— Due after
3 but within 5 y ea rs............................................................................................
116,120.80
Municipal Bonds— Due after
5 but within 10y ea rs...........................................................................................
79,870.44
Municipal Bonds— Due after
10 y ears.....................................................................................................................
5,000.00
Other Bonds and Securities......................................................................................................................................................
192,739.50
Loans and D isco u n ts................................................................................................................................................................... 4,270,070.98
Stock in Federal Reserve B an k .............................................................................................................................................
22,500.00
Interest Earned but N ot C ollected.......................................................................................................................................
25,292.90
Furniture and Fixtures and Safe D eposit V a u lts ............................................................................................................
28,052.25
T O T A L R E S O U R C E S ...................................................................................................................$10,314,479.39
L IA B I L I T IE S
Capital S to ck ................................................................................................................................................................................. $
Surplus ............................................................................................................................................................................................
Undivided Profits and R eserves.............................
Reserved for T axes, Interest, and Accrued E x p en se.......................................................................................................
Discount Collected but N ot E arned.......................................................................................................................................
D eposits:
D em and ................................................... ; . ................................................................................ $7,525,817.55
Time .............................................................................................................................................. 1,867,937.11
Total D ep o sits........................................ .................................................................................................................

500,000.00
250,000.00
90,409.14
22,975.22
57,340.37

9,393,754.66

T O T A L L I A B I L I T I E S ................................................................................................................$10,314,479.39

ALEX. HIGHLAND, P r e s i d e n t
M ember Federal D ep osit Insurance Corporation

N orthwestern Banker


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

January 19M

53

• M I N N ESOT A
com prising M innesota, M ontana and
N orth and South Dakota.
S tan ley G ates of S tanley Gates &
Company, St. Paul; A lm on A. Greenm an of G reenm an & Cook, St. Paul,
and E lm er L. W illiam s of AllisonW illiam s Com pany, M inneapolis, are
nom inees for th e th re e posts on the
d istrict com m ittee. N ew com m ittee
and board m em bers are slated to take
office J a n u a ry 16th.
“C hanging C onditions in th e Con­
sum er C redit F ield ” w ere discussed
by Jo h n B urgess, vice p resid en t of
N o rth w estern N ational B ank & T ru st
Company, a t a co n su m ers’ cred it con­
ference of th e Ohio B an k ers Associ­
ation in Colum bus, Ohio, in December.
Some 200 g rad u ates of th e tra in in g
course of th e St. P au l chapter, A m eri­
can In stitu te of B anking, w ere honor
guests a t a d in n er given by th e St.
P aul C learinghouse Association.
F. H. D elan ey, vice p resid en t of
F irs t N ational B ank, St. Paul, p re ­
sided. C o n g ratu lato ry m essages w ere
given th e g rad u ates by Ju lian B.
Baird, vice president, F irs t N ational
Bank; H. B. H um ason, president,
A m erican N ational Bank, and H. W.
Blake, vice president, E m p ire N ation­
al B ank & T ru st Company. P rincipal
speaker w as J. O. C hristianson, su ­
p e rin te n d e n t of th e U n iv ersity of M in­
nesota farm school.
J. N. P eyton , p resid en t of M inneap­

olis F ed eral R eserve B ank, has re ­
ceived th e acceptance from P. B. MeC lintock, cashier of th e F arm e rs N a­
tional B ank of Chinook, M ontana, of

JAMIESON
&

C OM PA N Y
Stocks
Bonds
Grain

q

Cotton
Butter
Eggs

Commodity Brokers
•

Members

N E W S -

th e la tte r’s election as a director of
th e reserv e b a n k ’s H elena branch.
Mr. M cClintock w ill serve for a twoy ear te rm sta rtin g Ja n u a ry 1st.

W om an (in subw ay): “I w ish th a t
good-looking young m an w ould get
up and give me his seat.”
Six m en got up.

Statem ent of Condition

M ID LA N D NA TIO NA L BA N K
A N D TR UST CO M PANY
of Minneapolis
★
(December 31, 1940)
D IR EC TO R S

RESOURCES
Cash and Due from Banks___________ $ 7,003,627.59
U. S. Government Securities_________ 4,149,152.33
State, County and Municipal Bonds__
837,000.00
Other Bonds and Securities__________
281,358.07
Loans and Discounts____ ___________
9,790,956.91
Overdrafts _________________________
1,145.12
Income A ccrued____________________
40,620.71
Real E state_________________________
57,938.19
Furniture and Fixtures______________
50,733.27
Customers’ Liability on Letters of
2,519.47
Credit ___________________________

Minneapolis

II. S. G RE G G
C h a irm a n of B o a r d

Gregg M anufacturing Company

G. L. H E E G A A R D
P r e s id e n t

Mandan Mercantile Company

W. C. H E L M
V ic e P r e s id e n t

C H A R L E S B. J O R D A N
Jordan-Stevens Company

E D G A R L. M A T T S O N
P r e s id e n t

LIABILITIES
Demand Deposits __________________ $17,543,475.80
Time D ep osits______________________ 2,843,346.87

B E N C. M c C A B E
P r e s id e n t

McCabe Brothers Company
P r e s id e n t

International Elevator Company

Total D ep osits____________________ $20,386,822.67

H. C L A Y M c C A R T N E Y
T r e a s u re r

Toro M anufacturing Company

Reserve for Interest, Taxes and Other
Expenses ________________________
Reserve for Unearned Income_________
Bank’s Liability on Lettersof Credit__
Capital Account:
Common S to c k _____ $1,000,000.00
Surplus ____________
500,000.00
Undivided P r o fits___ 157,059.06

62,489.93
106,160.53
2,519.47

W A L T O N R. M U R R A Y
V ic e P r e s id e n t

J.

R. R A N D A L L
P r e s id e n t

Reserve Supply Company

M A U R IC E SCH UM A CHER
B uilding Contractor

1,657,059.06
$22,215,051.66

G overnment and O ther Bonds carried at $4,1 0 7 ,0 0 0 .0 0 are pled ged to secure public and
trust fu n d s and fo r other purposes as required
b y law.

GEORGE J. SIIE R E R
Minneapolis

ARNULF UELAND
V ice P r e s id e n t

P A U L E. V O N K U S T E R
P r e s id e n t, D avid C. Bell

Investm ent Company

J A M E S C, W Y M A N
V ic e P r e s ., St. Anthony & Dakota

Elevator Company

O FFIC E R S
E dgar

L.

Ma t t so n

A k n ix l f U e l a n d ... Vice President
W a l t o n R. M ttr r a y
Vice President
Ca l v i n W . A u r a n d
- - - - Vice President
W . E . B r o c k m a n V ice President
L a w r e n c e O. O l s o n ............................... Cashier
R o b e r t S. S t e b b i n s
- - - A ssistant Cashier

.

e

CHARLES C. RIEGER

W. H. Barber Company

AARON CARLSON

P r e s id e n t a n d M a n a g e r

and Other Principal Exchanges
•
ST. PAUL — MINNEAPOLIS

Government — Municipal
Corporation Bonds

C h a irm a n of th e B o a r d

Russell-Miller M illing Company

1,215,051.66

New York Stock Exchange

•

N. C. B E I M

President
V i c t o r W. M a s e r Asst. Cash, and Asst. Tr. Officer
E. W a l t e r E n g s t r o m -A ssistant Cashier
W il l ia m
R. C h a p m a n
-A ssistant Cashier
E verett L. T h o m pso n
- A ssistant Trust Officer
C l i f f o r d C. S o m m e r -A ssistant Cashier
Fra n k W . P eterso n
- - - - - Auditor

Manager

Bond Department

MEMBER

FEDERAL

DEPOSIT

INSURANCE

CORPORATION

Minneapolis — Atlantic 8235
__ __________________________________

Northwestern Banker

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

January 1941

54

R EG ISTR A TIO N S H O U LD
BE REQ UIRED

o N E hundred and fifty -e ig h t
o f th e officers and em p loyees
o f th is bank have been w ith
us for m ore th an tw enty-five
years.
T hirteen o f th is group are m em ­
bers o f our “F ifty Y ear Club.”
T his is a record in w hich we
tak e pride.

And it is a record

th a t concerns a ll o f our corre­
sp ond en t banks.
E xp erien ced service is d ep en d ­
able service.

. . . THE . . .

PH ILA D ELPH IA
NATION AL

BANK

ORGANIZED 1803

PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits

$43,000,000
Member of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

(C ontinued from page 14)
m ore closely th e individual cred it of
th e issuer th a n previously, w h en tax
exem ption over-shadowed, to some ex­
ten t, o th er factors.”
T he firm expresses itself on th e now
m uch discussed question of priv ate
placem ents as follows: “P riv ate place­
m en t of new issues w ith in su ran ce
com panies and bank s w ill no doubt
continue to absorb a su b stan tial p a rt
of new offerings u n til in v estm en t
b an k ers—and th ro u g h them , th e in ­
vesting public—are p u t in a position
to com pete m ore evenly for such is­
sues. T his la tte r can b est be done
by re q u irin g federal reg istratio n of
all issues, both those p riv ately sold
as w ell as those publicly placed. Since
th e expressed purpose of reg istratio n
is to p ro tect th e in v e stm en t of th e in ­
d ividual’s surplus, it w ould appear
th a t in stitu tio n al funds, being m erely
an aggregate of individual funds, are
en titled to th e sam e safeguards as
those directly invested by th e ow ners.
Looking to th e n ear fu ture, H alsey,
S tu a rt & Co., Inc. have th is to say,
“P rice tren d s depend in considerable
degree on in te re st rates; in te re st rates
in tu rn now depend largely on g o vern­
m en t controls. In view of th e heavy
go v ern m en t borrow ing ahead, the
probable continuation of lim ited de­
m and for p riv ate funds and th e en o r­
m ity of existing excess b an k reserves,
it appears a reasonable expectation
th a t easy m oney rates w ill continue
and th e general price level w ill be well
m aintained. A t th e sam e tim e, prices
of top-grade issues are now so high
th a t little, if any, fu rth e r advance ap ­
pears probable in th a t classification.
Secondary classifications m ay, how ­
ever, show im provem ent as some of
th e h eretofore retard ed lines or indi­
vidual com panies show an im proved
status, p artic u la rly u n d er th e im petus
of buying from q u a rte rs w hich m ight
ord in arily be m ore attra c te d to th e
equity m ark et.”
“W e look for co n tinuation in th e re ­
duced volum e of new offerings w hich
has characterized th e bond m a rk e t for
several years. Those w hich do appear
w ill no doubt continue to be predom i­
n a n tly high grade in ch aracter and
w ill consist, in su b stan tial p art, of re ­
funding issues; as has been tru e for
some tim e, th e y w ill be tak en p rin c i­
pally by in stitu tio n al b u y ers.”

Spot Cash
D aughter: “W h at is alim ony, m o th ­
er?”
M other: “I t ’s a m arried m a n ’s cashsu rre n d e r value, dear.”
Northwestern Banker

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

January 1941

55

NORTH
M ARTIN AAS
President
New Rockford

D AKO TA
NEWS
C. 0 . WA TT AM
Secretary
Fargo

Former Banker Dies
Jo h n P. B errin g er, 77, fo rm er w hole­
sale m eat d ealer and b a n k e r a t D ickin­
son, N o rth D akota, died a t his hom e
in Tacom a, W ashington. He w as one
of th e organ izers of th e N ational B ank
of D ickinson.

New Bank
T he N o rth w e ste rn S tate B ank, H ills­
boro, N o rth D akota, received its c h a r­
te r and opened for b u siness on Decem­
b er 16, 1940. T his b an k succeeds th e
F irs t N ational B ank of H illsboro,
w hich h as gone into v o lu n ta ry liqui­
dation.

Receiver Dies
F u n e ra l services w ere held in Bis­
m arck fo r P a tric k A. O’Keefe, d istrict
m an ag er for th e sta te receiv er of
closed banks, w ho died in a local hos­
p ital of h e a rt disease.
The body w as ta k e n to H udson, W is­
consin, n e a r his boyhood hom e, for
fu n eral services an d burial.
A n ativ e of R iver Falls, W isconsin,
O’Keefe cam e to N o rth D akota in 1896.

Legislative Matters
The com ing session of th e N o rth Da­
kota leg islatu re w ill convene on J a n u ­
a ry 7th. T h ere are a n u m b er of m a t­
ters w hich w ill undo u b ted ly arise con­
cerning b anks and banking. T here are
also un d o u b ted ly o th er m a tte rs in
w hich b an k ers m ay have some sugges­
tions w ith referen ce to corrective leg­
islation. T he association office w ill
appreciate an y suggestions from m em ­
bers w ith referen ce to th e m atter.

National Defense Loans
A t a m eeting on D ecem ber 13th in
M inneapolis, called by Shirley S. Ford,
m em ber of th e N ational D efense Loan
Com m ittee of th e A m erican B ankers
A ssociation, ab o u t seventy-five b a n k ­
ers from N o rth D akota, South D akota
and M innesota w ere present. T he p u r­
pose of th e m eeting was, of course, th e
discussion of th e n atio n al defense loan­
ing program . W hile it w ould n o t ap ­

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

p ear th a t th ere are m any in d u stries
in N o rth D akota w ho w ill be seeking
defense loans, if th ere are any in your
com m unity w ho are equipped to m ake
co n tracts w ith th e g overnm ent for any
of th e m any articles w hich th ey are
p u rch asin g in equipping th e arm y and
navy, it is up to th e b an k ers to ren d er
th em all possible assistance in connec­
tion w ith th e m atter.
T he A m erican B ankers A ssociation
has sen t out, in th e ir special b u lletin
No. 82, published by th e B ank M anage­
m en t Commission, inform ation w ith
referen ce to form s of co n tract and
form s for assignm ents for th e protec­
tion of b anks in m aking loans.
W hile m any concerns in N o rth Da­
kota are n ot in terested in direct gov­
e rn m e n t contracts, it is possible th a t
th e y m ay be able to fu rn ish m aterials
to o th ers w ho have such contracts.

Retirement Plan
F o r some tim e p ast P resid en t Aas
h as been in terested in, and has been
in v estigating, the feasibility of a b an k ­
ers re tire m e n t plan to supplem ent the
Social S ecurity System , w hich th e F ed ­
eral g o v ernm ent has set up.
The group banks have a system of
th e ir own, and, of course, th ey are not
interested. T here are, how ever, quite
a n u m b er of independent banks in the
sta te w hich at th e recen t group m eet­
ings signified th e ir in te re st in a propo­
sition of th is kind. U nder th e F ederal
Social S ecurity Act probably th e ra n k
and file of p resen t N o rth D akota bank
em ployees would, upon retirem en t, ob­
ta in from th e F ed eral g overnm ent no
m ore th a n $45 or $60 a m o n th upon a t­
tain in g th e age of 65 years. The
y o u n g er section would, of course, re ­
ceive som ew hat m ore b u t th e m axi­
m um am o u n t w hich a person can re ­
ceive u n d er th e F ed eral Social Secu­
rity system is $85 per m onth.
It has been definitely established
th a t it is n ot feasible to establish such
a plan am ong th e independent banks
in N o rth D akota. It w as found, how ­
ever, upon investigation, th a t th e New
Y ork u p state b an k ers have already es-

tablished a plan w hich is w orking suc­
cessfully, an d u n d er w hich th e y a re
w illing to tak e in banks from o th e r
states. The plan calls for a 4 p er cent
contrib u tio n from th e em ployes and
such percentage co n trib u ted on th e
p a rt of th e b an k as th e b an k is w illing
to contribute. T hey have option bene­
fits such as service re tire m e n t allow ­
ance, disability re tire m e n t allow ance,
death benefit, and provides th a t any
em ploye leaving th e service m ay ob­
tain a full re tu rn of his co n trib u tio n s
w ith interest.

DIRECT M AIL W ILL
M AKE FRIENDS
(C ontinued from page 18)
“If you have hitched y o u r prom o­
tion to som ething bigger th a n you are,
if you have w on th e respect and the
confidence of y o u r prospects by show ­
ing them th ro u g h yo u r advertising
th a t you are in terested in som ething
m ore th an y o u r im m ediate profits
w hen you s ta rt using direct m ail to
personalize y o u r advertising, I th in k
you w ill be am azed a t how m uch m ore
effective y o u r direct m ail w ill be.”

Money Management Booklet
A new m anual en titled “P ersonal
M oney M anagem ent” has been p re­
p ared by th e savings division of th e
A m erican B ankers A ssociation and
w as to be ready for d istrib u tio n by
Ja n u a ry 1st, it is announced by Roy
R. M arquardt, the division’s president,
w ho is vice presid en t of th e F irs t N a­
tional B ank of Chicago.
The m anual, in booklet form , is de­
signed to serve as a guide for wage
earn ers in obtaining b e tte r control of
th e ir incom e and expenses and serves
also as a reference book for ban k ers
in advising th e ir custom ers about p e r­
sonal finance.
W hile th e m anual stresses th e im ­
portance of personal budgets, it is n ot
lim ited to th a t field alone. Divided
into tw elve chapters, it deals w ith
ex p en ditures for food, clothing, re n t
and hom e ow nership, indebtedness, in ­
dividual financial progress, savings,
and efficient m anagem ent of income.
T he booklet’s introduction, by A lbert
W. Atwood, financial w riter, asserts:
“M illions of m en and w om en are
tra in e d to w ork effectively, b u t hard ly
any one is tra in e d to spend to th e b est
advantage. Countless individuals ru n
th e ir personal finances in a w ay th a t
w ould ru in any business because they
have no stan d ard s of expense of sav­
ings. I t is for them p rim arily th e m an ­
ual has been prepared, y et it can bene­
fit all w ho read it.”
Northwestern Banker

January 1941

56

MONTANA

NEWS

E T H E L W. W A LKER
Secretary-Treasurer
Helena

R . D . MOUNTAIN
President
Conrad

Reserve Director
P. B. M cClintock, cashier of th e
F a rm e rs N ational B ank of Chinook,
M ontana, w as elected a directo r of the
H elena b ran ch of th e F ed eral R eserve
B ank of M inneapolis. He w ill serve
for tw o y ears beginning Ja n u a ry 1st.

C O N S U M E R CREDIT
O P ER A T IO N S PROFITABLE

(C ontinued from page 15)
10. Good m anagem ent at all tim es is
im p o rtan t to consum er credit d ep art­
m ent. D uring critical tim es such as
we are experiencing it is absolutely
essential th ere should be no relax a­
Hardin Banker Dies
tion of credit standards.
A rth u r H. Roush, 71, H ard in b an k er
In m aking in stallm en t loans ch a r­
an d public official, died a t a local hos­ acter and ability are probably the m ost
pital recently. D eath w as believed due im p o rtan t qualifications, m ore so th an
to a h e a rt ailm ent.
th e secu rity in back of th e loan. Gen­
R oush w as a Big H orn county official erally speaking, you w ill not lose
from organization of th e county in m oney on an honest m an w ith a job,
1913 u n til 1925. A fterw ard he served w ho borrow s w ith in his m eans. C har­
th e city of H ard in as city auditor, city acter and ability are probably m ore
clerk and police judge.
im p o rtan t in th e direct or personal
He w as vice p resid en t of th e F irs t loans m ade by th e b an k th a n th e con­
N ational B ank of H ardin.
su m er credit w hich originates from
th e sale of an autom obile or equip­
m ent. In both cases th e ability to pay
Dies In Glasgow
R. M. Young, 62, Glasgow resid en t is n ecessary in order to m ake it pos­
for 32 y ears an d for m ost of th a t period sible for th e borrow er to fulfill his
cashier of th e F irs t N ational B ank, contract. Besides ch aracter and abil­
died suddenly as th e re su lt of a h e a rt ity th ere are a few fundam ental rules
w hich apply to in stallm en t loans.
ailm ent.
1. The total debts of th e applicant
Mr. Young w as b o rn in A lm onte,
A ugust 26, 1878. As a young m an, he including th e loan applied for, b ut
em ig rated from G retna, in Canada, not including m ortgage loans g en er­
A ugust 22, 1899. He w as em ployed for ally, should not exceed 20 p er cent
several y ears in Neche, N o rth Dakota, of the app lican t’s salary.
2. G enerally th e m onthly paym ents
th e n cam e to Glasgow in Septem ber,
1902. He w as first bookkeeper for the should not be m ore th a n 15 to 20 per
Lew is-W edum Company.
cent of th e m onthly salary.
On F e b ru a ry 29, 1904, Mr. Young be­
3. If th e b o rro w er is m arried, the
gan w o rk as cashier of th e old B ank w ife should also sign.
of V alley County, w hich later becam e
4. In our bank, we th in k it is advis­
th e F irs t N ational B ank. He continued able to try to tak e some kind of se­
as cashier u n til Ja n u a ry , 1937, w hen c u rity even if th e applicant has n o th ­
he resigned. He h ad been a U nited ing to offer b u t an old car or house­
S tates citizen since 1908.
hold goods. T he w ife should alw ays
Besides his w o rk as cashier, Mr. sign in such cases on account of our
Young had engaged in farm operations exem ption laws. L oans m ade on se­
and ow ned land both in th e Glasgow cu rity such as household goods m ay
an d H insdale vicinities.
ap p ear ridiculous; how ever, th ere is
a good m oral effect.
5. T he borrow er should have some
Bad Connotation
“I w ish th e boys w o u ld n ’t call me life in surance as a protection to his
fam ily and creditors. M any banks in ­
Big Bill.”
sist upon life in surance on unsecured,
“W hy?”
“T hese college nam es stick. And single-nam ed pap er or w here th e wife
is th e co-signer. Life insurance to
I ’m stu d y in g to be a doctor.”
Northwestern Banker


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

January 19kl

p rotect in stallm en t loans can be se­
cured from several life com panies.
6. W e have already m entioned co­
signers. T hey are not desirable. If
you m ake a loan w ith co-signers they
should fully u n d erstan d th e ir obliga­
tion th a t th ey m u st pay in case the
principal m ak er does not. In connec­
tion w ith these loans, you m ight find
th a t th ere are reciprocal co-signers.
Fellow w o rkers w ill often sign for
each other.
7. “T im e” is th e “essence” of an in ­
stallm en t contract. U nless th is is
thoroughly explained to the borrow er,
he w ill not appreciate and u n d erstan d
w hy he should m ake his m onthly pay­
m ents prom ptly on th e date agreed.
If paym ents are not m ade prom ptly
it is v ery im p o rtan t to y o u r collection
system th a t you im pose penalties on
delayed paym ents for th e purpose of
im pressing upon th e borrow er th e im ­
portance of p rom ptness and for th e
purpose of tak in g care of th e addi­
tional expense in m aking collections.
M any banks do not appreciate th e ef­
fect of charging penalties on delin­
qu en t paym ents. A large p a rt of th e
trouble and aggravation in th e in stall­
m ent loan business is w ith delinquent
borrow ers.
The follow ing are some of th e types
of loans w hich it is generally advisable
to avoid:
1. Loans to fu rn ish all or m ost of
th e capital to go into business such
as grocery stores, service stations, etc.
2. Loans to co-m akers w ho are of
the b o rro w er’s im m ediate family.
3. Loans to people w ho do not have
reg u lar em ploym ent. It is preferable
th a t th e applicant has been reg u larly
em ployed by his firm for a t least th e
p ast five years.
4. Loans to people w ho owe a large
n um ber of accounts, th e consolidation
of w hich w ould req u ire a loan beyond
th e ir ability to pay. A loan to pay
o th er debts is probably th e h ard est
kin d of personal loan to make.
5. G reat care should be exercised in
loaning to em ployes of political u n its
or even federal em ployes w ho are
elected or appointed.
6. T ruck paper, especially used
trucks.
7. Balloon paym ents — w here th e
dow n pay m en t is less th a n reg u lar
am ounts.
W e should be v ery careful to explain
our rates fully to our applicants for
loans. In stallm en t loans cannot be
m ade a t c u rre n t com m ercial rates be­
cause th e re is considerable service
necessary and num erous sm all item s
involving considerable clerical w ork.
The finance and personal loan com­
panies are generally subject to u n ju st
(T u rn to page 74, Please)

57

IO W A

N EW S

H . R. YOUNG
President
A rlington

Iowa Loans
T hirty-tw o p er cen t of Iow a’s com ­
m ercial b an k s m ade m ore th a n 296,000
loans to talin g $186,000,000 to business
firm s and individuals th ro u g h o u t th e
state d u rin g th e first six m o n th s of
1940, according to th e sem i-annual s u r­
vey of b an k lending activ ity m ade by
th e A m erican B an k ers Association.
T he su rv ey show ed th a t business
firm s in th e state used only 58 p er cent
of th e “confirm ed open lines of c re d it”
m aintain ed for th e ir use on th e books
of banks. A to tal of 24 b an k s in th e
larg er cen ters of the state rep o rted
th a t th e y carried on th e ir books $22,109,600 in “open lines of cre d it” offered
to and k e p t available for re g u la r b o r­
row ers for use as needed by them .
Of th is am o u n t $12,839,177 or 58.1 p er
cent w as used.
The average n u m b er of new loans
m ade p er b an k d u rin g th e six m onths
period u n d e r rev iew w as 972 and th e
average size loan w as $566.
T he average n u m b er of loans re ­
new ed p er b an k w as 413 and th e a v e r­
age ren ew al w as for $708.
The average n u m b er of new m o rt­
gage loans m ade p er b ank w as 13 and
th e average new m ortgage m ade w as
for $3,022.

Annuity Plan
E stab lish m en t of a re tire m e n t an ­
n u ity plan for Iowa-Des M oines N a­
tional B ank and T ru st Co. employes,
effective Ja n u a ry 1, w as announced re ­
cently.
H e rb e rt L. H orton, p resid en t of the
bank, announced th e plan a t the b a n k ’s
a n n u al C hristm as p a rty at Y ounkers
tearoom . U nder th e plan, bank em ­
ployes w ill be able to re tire at 65 w ith

Dividend
The N ew ton N ational B ank recently
announced a sem i-annual dividend of
2% p er cent, equivalent to $2.50 a
share, is being paid stockholders of
th e bank for th e six-m onth period end­
ing D ecem ber 31, 1940.
Officials described 1940 as a satisfac­
to ry y e a r in announcing th e dividend.
E arn in g s of th e b ank are also being
used to am ortize th e b an k building,
fu rn itu re and fixture accounts, and the
su rp lu s account of th e in stitu tio n has
been increased.
The capital stock fund of th e bank
now totals $100,000; th e su rp lu s fund
totals $44,000, and the undivided profits
total $22,327.16.

County Meeting

Robbins Re-elected
Col. C harles B. Robbins has been re ­
appointed ch airm an of th e Des Moines
F ed eral H om e L oan Bank. The term
is one year. He w as also given a new
term as public in te re st director.
The Des M oines b an k now has re ­
sources of m ore th a n $22,000,000 Col­
onel Robbins said. Its d istric t includes
th e Dakotas, M innesota, Iow a and Mis­
souri. Its service to b uilding and loan
organizations is sim ilar to th a t given
banks by th e F ed eral R eserve Bank.
Colonel R obbins w as first p resid en t
of th e F ed eral Hom e L oan B ank w hen
it w as organized in 1931 and for th e
last eig h t y ears has been ch airm an of
its board of directors.
E. J. R ussell of St. L ouis has been
reappoin ted vice ch airm an of th e Des
Moines Bank.

Of th is sum , $1,750,000 w as re tire d in
1936; $300,000 in 1938; $200,000 in 1939,
and th e o u tstanding balance of $1,250,000 has been retired.
W ith re tire m e n t of all p referred
stock, th e bank, now in its sixty-fifth
year has a capital stru c tu re of $2,500,000 in common stock; su rp lu s of $1,000,000; undivided profits and reserves of
$741,359.
M em bership in th e b a n k ’s Tw entyFive Year Club w as increased by th ree
a t th e b an quet w hen H orton presented
w atches to G ertrude Cantwell, M ary
Cullen and F ay C. Davis, each of w hom
du rin g th e last y ear com pleted 25 years
of service w ith th e bank. T he bank
now has 12 officers and em ployes w ith
m ore th a n 25 y ears service.

H E R B E R T L. H O R T O N

a g u aran teed m onthly incom e for life.
To establish re tire m e n t an n u ities for
all w ho join th e plan, th e b ank each
y e a r w ill in v est an am ount equal to
th a t invested by th e employes, th ereb y
sh arin g one-half the cost, H orton said.
H o rto n also announced to th e 270
em ployes, officers, and directors at the
d in n er th a t th e b ank recently has com­
pleted retirem en t of th e balance of
$1,250,000 of p referred stock held by
th e R econstruction F inance C orpora­
tion. C oncurrently w ith th e reduction
in p re fe rred stock, th e b an k increased
its com m on stock to $2,500,000 and
su rp lu s to $1,000,000.
In 1933, the R.F.C. purchased $3,500,000 of p referred stock of th e bank.

O rval Spahn of M apleton, cashier
in th e F irs t State Bank, Ute, w as
nam ed presid en t of th e M onona Coun­
ty B ankers A ssociation a t th e ann u al
m eeting held a t Soldier. He succeeds
E a rl P ra tt of M oorhead.
Jo h n R. W elch, also of th e F irst
S tate Bank, w as nam ed secretary and
tre a su re r to succeed H a rry M ortensen.
R. J. Galloway of Soldier w as elected
vice president.

A . I. B. Course
L.
E. B illm eyer and D. F. W arnke
atten d ed a m eeting of th e N o rtheast
Iow a Study Group of th e A m erican
In stitu te of Banking, w hich is a sec­
tion of the A m erican B ankers Associa­
tion, at W est Union.
Subject of the evening’s m eeting w as
th e p lanning and arran g em en t of a
stu d y course for bankers. P rofessor
L ukes of U pper Iowa U niversity has
been engaged as instru cto r. O pening
classes w ill be held at W est U nion and
w ill m eet once each w eek for 21 w eeks
since th e course w ill be th e equivalent
of 42 ho u rs of class room w ork, w ith
th e exception of accounting, w hich re ­
quires 56 hours.
Northwestern Banker


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

January 19^1

C U L T IV A T IN G OUR
G R E A T E S T FARM C R O P
EVELOPING the farm men and

For, important as other Iowa crops may

women of Tomorrow is a vital re­

be, the most valuable products of Iowa farms

And in this field,

are the young men and young women who

the work being done by 4 -H Clubs is es­

in a few short years will step forward to par­

pecially valuable.

ticipate in, and eventually take over the direc­

sponsibility for Today.

The record of 4 -EI Clubs is a record of

tion of farms and farm homes.

persistent progress, through good times and
bad.

In Iowa, the 4 -El organization has

moved steadily forward, showing a gain in
clubs and in club-membership.
Recent enrollment figures show 1 8 11 4 -H

Persistent progress, through good times
and bad, has marked the growth of the
Bankers Trust Company.

Year after year,

Clubs in the state, with a total of 26 ,9 27

it has moved steadily forward, constantly

members.

growing in resources, and in ability to de­

Since Iowa prosperity is rooted in the soil,
Iowa bankers have a keen personal interest

liver intelligent, constructive banking service
to its customers.

in progress of the 4 -H movement. W ith

Among these customers are an ever-in­

counsel, with encouragement and often with

creasing number of other Iowa banks, whom

financial assistance, they have given strong

we are happy to serve as Des Moines corre­

support to many 4 -H projects.

spondent.


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

Photo courtesy of Successful Farming

6th and Locust
Des Moines

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

W hen high est health-aw ard winners
are crowned at the N ational 4-H Club
Congress in Chicago each D ecem ber,
Iowa is usually w e ll represented in
the picture. H ere’s the group of 1940
blue-ribbon finalists.
At le ft is Venetta De W itt of M ilford, Iowa. To
her le ft is Robert B olen of Laurens,
Iowa.

60

•

I OWA

N E WS

•

Sioux C ity Clearings

Banks of Davenport

Im p ro v em en t of business conditions
in Sioux City over last y e a r w as in ­
dicated by th e an n u al b an k clearings
rep o rt issued D ecem ber 31 by th e
Sioux City C learing H ouse Association.
F o r th e y e a r b an k clearings totaled
$196,679,410.18, w hich w as $11,376,058.36 in excess of th e 1939 total, w hich
w as $185,903,351.82.
C learings in D ecem ber to taled $16,561,894.18 as com pared w ith $16,831,271.54 in D ecem ber of 1939,

R esources of D avenport’s tw o b a n k ­
ing in stitu tio n s total over $37,000,000,
w hile th e ir com bined deposits am ount
to m ore th an $34,000,000 as th e year
1940 ends. The D avenport B ank and
T ru st Co. rep o rted deposits approxi­
m ated $30,000,000, and resources of
m ore th a n $34,000,000, at th e end of a
successful year. Surpluses of th e in ­
stitu tio n w ere doubled du rin g th e past
y ear w hen $800,000 w as tra n sfe rre d
from accum ulated reserves.

Loans of $13,000,000 w ere m ade to
8,000 individuals in 1940, including
loans of th e personal and autom obile
d ep artm en t w hich w as established a
little over a y ear ago and is proving
increasingly popular. Loans m ade in
the eight and a half y ears since th e
bank w as established total about $83,000,000, including a large n um ber of
m ortgage loans. Some 30,000 custom ­
ers have been served w ith loans
th ro u g h th e period.
Clearings of th e D avenport bank
for 1940 totaled $295,707,491, a sub­
stan tial increase over th e $274,425,575
clearings in 1939.
The F irs t T ru st and Savings B ank
increased deposits m ore th a n h alf a
m illion dollars in 1940, and now show s
to tal deposits of $2,993,517, w ith total
resources of $3,327,831. Loans during
th e y ear aggregate $1,734,319, com­
pared w ith $1,196,302.28 in 1939. Clear­
ings w ere $15,863,423, an increase of
approxim ately one m illion dollars
over 1939.

Heads Story Bankers

S ta te m e n t of

FIRST NATIONAL BANK IN SIOUX CITY
D ecem b er 31, 1940

RESOURCES
Cash and Due from B a n k s.................................................................$3,153,086.50
Loans and D isco u n ts.......................................................................... 2,529,401.11
U nited States Government B o n d s...................................................
659,114.55
State, County, and Municipal B o n d s...............................................
644,021.39
Other Bonds and Securities.............................................................
349,156.16
Stock in Federal R eserve B an k.......................................................
17,250.00
Bank Building, Furniture and F ix tu res........................................
185,000.00
Other A ssets .........................................................................................
2,872.20
$7,539,901.91
L IA B I L I T IE S
Capital ........................................................................... $400,000.00
Surplus .......................................................................... 180,000.00
Undivided P r o f it s ......................................................... 20,652.71
Reserve for C ontingencies.......................................... 54,000.00

W illiam P etersen, a ssistan t cashier
of th e S tory C ounty S tate B ank at
S tory City, w ill direct activities of
th e Story C ounty B ankers A ssociation
in th e y ear 1941.
He has been elected p resid en t suc­
ceeding T. E. LaVelle, cashier of the
College Savings B ank a t Ames.
J. Roger Alley, th e assistan t cashier
of th e Ames T ru st and Savings Bank,
is vice p resid en t and E. A. F aw cett,
vice p resid en t of th e S tate B ank and
T ru st Company, Nevada, secretarytreasu rer.

Dividend

T O T A L C A P IT A L A C C O U N T ........................................ $ 654,652.71
Reserve for T axes and In terest......................................................
11,359.41
Other Liabilities ...................................................................................
117.00
D E P O S IT S ......................................................................................... 6,873,772.79
$7,539,901.91
M E M B E R F E D E R A L D E P O S IT IN S U R A N C E C O R P O R A T IO N

More th a n 130 stockholders of th e
U nited H om e B ank and T ru st Com­
p any living in M ason City and its
v icinity are receiving 6 per cent divi­
dend checks as th e re su lt of th e b a n k ’s
successful operations in 1940, E. W.
Clark, ch airm an of th e board of direc­
tors, revealed.
In addition to th e dividend paym ent,
Mr. Clark said, a su b stan tial am ount
is being left in th e reserves.

New Addition

IN S I O U X C I T Y
Northwestern Banker

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

January 19M

E x tensive im provem ents are in
progress on th e W ilton Savings B ank
building. A n eight foot addition has
been b u ilt on th e rear, a new fro n t w ill
be erected and a reinforced concrete
storage v au lt has been constructed in
th e basem ent.
N ew safety deposit and cash v au lts
w ill replace th e old v au lt on th e m ain
floor.

M e m b e r F e d e r a l D e p o s it I n s u r a n c e C o r p o r a tio n

S ta te m e n t o f C o n d itio n
DECEM BER 31, 1940

ASSETS
C a s h _______________________________________ $ 9,765,693.99
U nited States Governm ent Securities_________ 13,311,566.28
M unicipal and O ther Tax-Exem pt B onds_____ 2,131,314.80
L o a n s ______________________________________ 9,110,588.86
Federal Reserve Bank Stock_________________
54,000.00
F u rn itu re and F ixtures______________________
25,012.86
Overdrafts _________________________________
1,975.22

DIRECTORS
E. P. ADLER
P r e s id e n t L e e S y n d ic a te N e w s p a p e r s

V. O. FIGGE
E x e c u tiv e

T ic e

P r e s id e n t

J. L. HECHT
F ren ch a n d H e c lit, I n c .

$34,400,152.01

J. M. HUTCHINSO N
T r u s t Officer

LIABILITIES

CHARLES J. JOHNSON

C apital ____________________________________ $ 600,000.00
Surplus ------------------------------------------------------ 1,200,000.00
Reserves and Profits________________________ 1,110,690.46
Deposits ___________________________________ 31,489,461.55

V ic e P r e s . I n d e p e n d e n t B a k in g Co.

JOS. S. KIMMEL
P r e s . R e p u b lic E le c tr ic

Co.

FREDERICK H. LAMB
P h y s ic ia n

H. E. LITTIG
V ice P r e s . P e o p le s L ig h t Co.

$34,400,152.01

HERM AN STAAK
C a sh ier

KUNO

H. STRUCK

V ice P r e s id e n t

KARL P. TESKE
T e sk e M illin g Co.

CABLE G. VON M AUR

DAVENPORT B A N K

P e te r s e n -H a r n e d -V o n M a u r, I n c .

T. J. W ALSH

A N D T U UST/"T^xCOMPANV

W a lsh C o n str u c tio n Co.
C. D. W ATERM AN
L a n e a n d W a te r m a n

OilembfVL Jed& iaL
DAVENPORT,

tue S y i t e r n —

IOWA

m
¿ I

N.

N orthwestern Banker

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

January 19^1

62

•

IO W A

NEWS

•

The new fixtures w ill be of th e low
type style and a flourescent lighting
system w ill be installed. The w o rk is
expected to be com pleted in about six
weeks.

Steady Growth
Iow a banks show ed steady grow th
du rin g 1940, state banking d ep artm en t
figures indicated.
F ro m Ja n u a ry 1, 1940, to th e end of
June, th e period covered by th e last
state b an k call, resources of 545 state
banks rose from $466,000,000 to $486,000, 000.
T here w as a sim ilar increase d uring
the last six m onths of 1939, w hen total
assets of Iow a’s state banks grew
from $446,000,000 to $466,000,000.
Two new state banks w ere o rgan­
ized last year, b ringing th e n um ber
started since Ja n u a ry 1, 1935, to nine.
In addition to th e 545 state banks,
th ere are a few m ore th a n 100 national
banks in Iowa, w hose resources w ould
sw ell th e total of Iow a’s b an k re ­
sources still more.
In boom days, Iow a had 1,300 state
banks, betw een 500 and 600 national
banks, and 200 p riv ate banks.

Named Director
W illis F. Rich of F o rt Dodge has
been appointed to th e board of direc­
tors of th e P ocahontas S tate B ank at
P ocahontas to fill th e vacancy created
by th e d eath of th e late E. H. Rich
of F o rt Dodge.

Committee Chairman
W. A. K neeland, cashier of th e P o st­
ville State B ank, w as notified th a t he
had been appointed to th e ch airm an ­
ship of th e im p o rta n t “B anking A n­
alysis C om m ittee” of th e Iow a B ank­
ers A ssociation. H. R. Young, p resi­
dent, m ade th e appointm ent.

SC O T T C. P ID G E O N

Heads Des Moines C . of C .

come an ex-officio m em ber of the
board.
Mr. Pidgeon, 51, w as grad u ated from
th e S tate U n iversity of Iow a in 1915
and th e sam e year joined th e F irst
F ed eral State B ank in Des Moines. In
1917 he w en t to th e B ankers T ru st Co.

Scott C. Pidgeon, vice p resid en t of
th e B an k ers T ru st Co., w as elected
p resid en t of th e C ham ber of Com­
m erce recently.
Mr. Pidgeon, w ho w as unopposed,
succeeds H a rry O. H ay, w ho w ill be-

AMERICAN

NATIONAL

BANK
o j

L A

S A L L E

AND

1941 Convention
P resid en t H. R. Young announces
th a t th e nex t S tate C onvention of the
Iow a B ankers A ssociation w ill be
Monday, T uesday and W ednesday,
Septem ber 8, 9, and 10, 1941. In a

TRUST

COMPANY

C ^ L cca ^ a

S T R E E T

A T

W A S H I N G T O N

MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

A n n u a l S t a t e m e n t as Am |% o f D e c e m b e r 31, 1 9 4 0
w
'
LI ABI LI TI ES

R E S O U R C E S
CASH

AND

DUE

FROM

BANKS

.

.

- $ 3 3 ,2 8 7 ,1 3 9 .3 6

.

U. S . G O V ’T O B L I G A T I O N S — D I R E C T A N D
FULLY GUARANTEED
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

1 4 ,6 0 1 ,0 1 8 .0 5

CAPITAL S T O C K — P R E F E R R E D

_

_

_

_

_

CAPITAL

_

_

_

_

_

,

,

STO C K — COM M ON

SURPLUS

_

UNDIVIDED
MUNICIPAL

AND
_

s e c u r i t i e s

LOANS AND

FEDERAL

OTH ER
M ARKETABLE
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DISCOUNTS

RESERVE

_

_

_

_

_

BANK STOCK

_

_

2 1 ,3 9 9 ,7 0 1 .0 7

_

-

1 4 ,8 5 5 ,2 3 8 .9 5

-

1 0 8 ,0 0 0 .0 0

_

_

_

_

_

PRO FITS

_

_

_

_

_

_
_
_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

PREFERRED STOCK RETIREM EN T FUND

_

_

RESERVE
FOR
TAXES,
INTEREST,
CON­
T I N G E N C I E S , E T C . _ ............................................................
UNEARNED

DISCOUNT

LIA BILITY

ON

_

_

_

_

_

A C C E P T A N C E S

_

_
_

_
_

_

6 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
0 0 0 , 0 0 0 .0 0

000, 000.00
5 5 1 ,0 3 5 .8 3
1 5 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
7 7 5 ,9 6 6 .7 5
2 5 1 ,5 3 2 .4 9
15,449.71

DEPOSITS:
C U S T O M E R S ’
ANCES

_

ACCRUED

LIABILITY
_

_

_

_

IN TEREST

A S S E T S .

Northwestern Banker

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

_

ON
_

ACCEPT­

_

_

_

_

RECEIVABLE

REAL ESTATE OW NED
OTHER

_

_

_
_

_
_

_
_

_
_

_
_

_

_

_
_

January Í9J1

_

_
_

_

_
_

DEMAND

1 5 ,449.71
1 5 6 ,7 0 0 .9 6
1.0 0

_

_

_

-$ 6 8 ,6 3 1 ,1 3 6 .1 3
1 ,7 3 1 ,6 9 4 .3 4

_
-

UNITED

STATES

G O V ’T

OTHER

PUBLIC

FUNDS

s a v i n g s

1 0 ,6 0 7 .7 4
$ 8 4 ,4 3 3 ,8 5 6 .8 4

_

SPECIAL DEPO SIT
(S u b je c t to c o u rt o r d e r )

_

_

_

_

_

_

2 ,6 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
3 4 ,6 1 3 .3 8
6 ,0 9 2 ,4 2 8 .2 1
7 9 ,0 8 9 ,8 7 2 .0 6
$ 8 4 ,4 3 3 ,8 5 6 .8 4

63

•
recent referen d u m to th e b anks of
Iow a ask in g w h e th e r or not th e y
w ould like to have th e convention
again held in S eptem ber, th e b an k ers
overw helm ingly voted in favor of
at least holding one m ore convention
in Septem ber, ra th e r th a n in th e
m onth of June. F o r m ore th a n 50
years th e conventions have been held
in th e m o n th of Ju n e u n til th is past
year. The m eeting place has not been
selected, b u t probably w ill be a t th e
tim e of th e com ing m id-w inter Coun­
cil M eeting to be held in Des Moines
on J a n u a ry 8, 1940.

I O W A

NEWS

•

Inter-County Meetings
P re sid en t H. R. Y oung announces
th a t a series of inter-county m eetings
will be conducted th ro u g h o u t Iowa
d u rin g th e com ing w in ter m onths sim ­
ilar to th e ones held tw o y ears ago.
T hese inter-county m eetings will take
th e place of any m id-w inter state
m eeting such as w as held a y ear ago.
It is th e opinion of th e m em bers of
th e council of ad m in istratio n of the
Iow a B ankers A ssociation th a t m ore
w o rth w hile good is gotten out of
local m eetings th a t can be held in the
evening and w hich can be attended

by th e en tire b an k staff and direc­
tors and w ives th a n from a one-day
m eeting held a t some cen tral place
in th e state w hich only a m in o rity can
attend. F o r exam ple, n early 1,400
bank executives, directors, stockhold­
ers and staff m em bers w ere registered
a t th e 18 inter-county m eetings held
tw o y ears ago, w hile a t th e State-wide
B anking Conference held last Ja n u a ry
in Des Moines, less th a n 400 w ere reg­
istered.
P resid en t Young announces th a t the
state has been divided into tw en ty dis­
tricts. W h erev er it is possible four

Election
A t th e a n n u al m eeting of th e Se­
c u rity Savings B ank, W illiam sburg,
th e officers and directors w ere elected
to succeed them selves.
T he only prom otion w as th a t of HJ
B. M artin, w ho has been bookkeeper,
and he w as prom oted to the position
of second a ssista n t cashier.
T his a rra n g e m en t leaves R. E.
Jones as p resid en t and D. J. Lew is
as cashier.

Heads Clearing House
Rolfe O. W agner, p resid en t of th e
C apital City S tate B ank, has been
elected p resid en t of th e Des Moines
Clearing H ouse A ssociation for 1941.

The Waterloo Savings Bank
WATERLOO, IOWA
Statem ent of Condition as Made to S uperintendent of B anking
at the Close of Business Decem ber 31, 1940
RESOURCES
First Mortgage Loans_____________________________ $ 705,168.89
Loans Secured by Collateral______________________ 1,412,722.95
Commercial Loans Supported by Financial
Statements ____________________________________
900,463.28
Overdrafts ______________________________________
Real Estate (former bank building included)______
Furniture and Fixtures___________________________
State, County, and Municipal Bonds_______________
317,011.05
Market B o n d s___________________________________
206,266.45
Call Loans and Commercial Paper_________________
627,500.00
U. S. Government Securities______________________
255,525.00
Casb on Hand and Due from Banks_______________ 2,620,025.85

,018,355.12
1,367.03
84,254.00
19,892.81

4,026,328.35
$7,150,197.31

LIABILITIES
Capital S tock ____________________________________ $ 175,000.00
Surplus _________________________________________
200,000.00
Undivided Profits _______________________________
11,580.40
Dividend Checks Outstanding_____________________
D EPO SITS______________________________________

386,580.40
441.00
6,763,175.91
|>7,150,197.31

D ep osits Insured by The Federal D ep osit Insurance Corporation
W ashington, D. C.
$5,000.00— M axim um Insurance for E ach D epositor— $5,000.00

R O L F E O. W A G N E R

He succeeds F red erick M. M orrison.
H erb e rt L. H o rto n w as nam ed first
vice president, and Roy Capps, second
vice p resident. F re d C. A tkins w as
re-elected secretary.
The a n n u al m eeting w as held in the
d irecto rs’ room of th e B an k ers T ru st
Company.

O FFICERS
H . G. N o e t h e y , President
R. W. W a i t e , V ice President
C a r l e t o n S i a s , V ice P resident
J. J. M i l l e r , Cashier
F r a n c is R. L a B a r r e , A ss’t Cashier
V . S p a l d i n g M i l l e r , A ss’t Cashier
O l i v e r J. S c h u t t e , A ss’t Cashier

D IRECTORS
C. F. A l t s t a d t

Cl a r e n c e E . C a m p b e l l
Ca r l e t o n S i a s
R . W . W a it e
H arry G. N o r t h e y
J . J . M il l e r
L o w e l l J. W a l k e r

H a r r y A . L im b e r t
W il l E . Og le
C. R . D a v is
K . L . B ragdon
Geo rg e E . P ik e

Northwestern B anker

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

January 1941

64

•
counties w ill co n stitu te th e district.
T here are certain sections of th e state,
how ever, w here th e n u m b er has been
reduced to th re e counties or increased
to five, b u t a d istric t of four counties
m akes a v ery co nvenient d istrict and
will enable th e b an k ers to get b e tte r
acquain ted w ith th e ir neighbors “ju st
over th e lin e” th ro u g h these in te r­
county m eetings. T his plan for sm all­
er d istricts or in ter-county m eetings
is being m erely su b m itted to the
bank s w ith th e hope th a t th ey will

IO W A

NEWS

•

accept them and hold a t least one
inter-county m eeting each year, pos­
sibly in th e fall or w inter. It is not
in ten d ed or expected th a t ban k ers
w ho have active county associations
w ill give th em up for an inter-county
association. It is hoped th a t th ey w ill
continue rig h t along w ith th e ir own
county association b u t th a t once a
y ear th ey w ill see fit to have an in te r­
county m eeting consisting of th e
neighbors in adjoining counties.

Heads Credit Group
George D. Jorgensen, a ssistan t cash­
ier of th e Iowa-Des Moines N ational
B ank and T ru st Co., has been elected
presid en t of th e Des Moines R etail
C redit Association.
He has served as vice presid en t of
the organization du rin g the last year,
and form erly w as treasu rer.

C o n tin en ta l I llin o is
N atio n a l Bank
a n d T rust C om pany
OF CHICAGO

Statement of Condition, December 31,1940
GEO R G E D. J O R G E N S E N

RESOURCES
Cash and Due from Banks..................................$ 670,627,860.63
United States Government Obligations,
Direct and Fully Guaranteed.........................
675,321,191.95
Other Bonds and Securities................................
64,861,404.98
Loans and D iscounts.............................................
188,836,340.37
Stock in Federal Reserve Bank.......................
2,700,000.00
Customers’ Liability on A cceptances.............
350,201.56
Income Accrued but N ot C ollected.................
2,427,023.80
Banking H o u se .....................................................
12,300,000.00
Real Estate Owned other than Banking House
2,580,097.66
$1,620,004,120.95

l ia b il it ie s
D ep osits................................................... $1,491,577,547.86
Acceptances ...........................................................
401,078.03
Reserve for Taxes, Interest andExpenses. . . .
5,031,355.80
Reserve for C ontingencies..................
17,515,837.08
Income Collected but N ot Earned...
256,438.72
Common S tock .......................................
50,000,000.00
Surplus.....................................................
40,000,000.00
Undivided Profits...................................
15,221,863.46
$1,620,004,120.95

U nited States G overnm ent obligations and other securities carried
at $172,718,556.03 are pledged to secure public and trust d eposits
and for other purposes as required or permitted by law

Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Northwestern Banker

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

January 19bl

Miss Gladys T hom pson w as nam ed
vice president, and Ross C arrell w as
re-elected treasu rer. Mr. Jorgensen,
F re d H ockett and E rv in Jo rd an w ere
elected directors.

Redecorated
T he State Bank, Gladbrook, has re ­
cently been rem odeled and redeco­
ra te d w ith changes in th e w indow
spaces, m aking th em w ider and fixing
room u n d er th e counters for filing
space, th e in n e r w all pain ted cream
and equipped w ith in d irect lighting.
All fu rn itu re has been refinished.
M ore space has been m ade available
for th e em ployes by th e arran g em en t
b u t th e lobby rem ains unchanged.

Best In U. S. A .
Clinton county, Iowa, shipped m ore
top steers to th e Chicago m a rk e t d u r­
ing 1940 th a n any o th er county in th e
U nited States, according to figures
ju st com piled by livestock experts in
th e U. S. stockyards.
Jo h n P o rte r of D eW itt, C linton
county, received th e distinction d u r­
ing 1940 of selling th e hig h est priced
cattle in over th ree years, w h en his
tw o loads sold th e m iddle of last
m onth a t $15.40.
In com petition w ith beeves from

65

•
o ther fam ous cattle feeding farm s in
th e U nited States, 42 C linton county
carloads d u rin g 1940 set th e price
stan d ard s for th e re st of th e n atio n to
follow.
Iow a also ra n k e d high am ong th e
states for h ig h est selling cattle. Of
th e 267 loads w hich com m anded top
prices d u rin g 1940, 125 lots w ere from
variou s p a rts of Iowa.
R ecords also show th a t w estern
Illinois an d ea ste rn Iow a cattlem en
have a laudable “h a b it” of each settin g
th e stock m a rt top m ore th a n once
du rin g th e year. Schm idt Bros, of
D elm ar h ad th e high selling load on
seven different occasions d u rin g 1940;
Sw anton Bros., C harlotte, five tim es;
Jo h n B orter, D eW itt, five; H arvey
Schm idt, C harlotte, three; H en ry and
Leo H arm sen, Teeds Grove, two; Tom
D iffenderfere, L an ark , 111., two; W il­
liam M atthiesen, B ryant, two, and L y­
m an K em m is, P ro p h etsto w n , 111., two.
C arroll county, Illinois, contributed
14 top loads to th e g ran d total, w hile
Jackson county, Iow a, h ad seven of
th e crest lots and W hiteside in Illi­
nois, five.

Logan Elected President
At a re g u la r m eeting of th e board
of directors of th e S tate C entral Sav­
ings B ank, K eokuk, held on D ecem ber
26, 1940, W. A. L ogan w as elected
p resid en t of th e b an k to fill th e v acan ­
cy in th a t office caused by th e death
of H. W. H uiskam p.
The board in selecting Mr. Logan
to head th e b an k as p resid en t con­
tin u es in th a t office a m an of wide
experience in b an k in g as w ell as a
m an in te re ste d in th e in d u stria l and
civic activities of th e city of K eokuk.
Mr. Logan sta rte d his ban k in g ca­
re e r im m ediately upon his g rad u atio n
from S tanford U n iv ersity and has
been serv in g th e b an k as executive
vice p resid en t for eig h t years.
In 1929 he organized th e F arm ington S tate B ank, F arm in g to n , Iowa,
and has served as p resid en t of th a t
b ank since its organization.
By his election to th e p residency of
th is b an k he now becom es th e active
head of th e b an k founded by his
g ran d fath er, Judge Wm. Logan, in
1893, w hich w as form ed by th e m erger
of th e S tate B ank and th e C entral
Savings B ank of K eokuk, th e ir o r­
ganization going back to 1858.
The Service Departm ent of COAST
BANKER, 255 California Street, San
Francisco, California, is prepared to act
as interm ediary in the purchase and sale
of western banks. All correspondence
will be treated confidentially. Address
desires and needs to Service Department,
COAST BANKER, 255 California Street,
San Francisco, California.

IO W A

NEWS

•

New Des Moines Bank
The new ly organized Iow a State
B ank, Des Moines, has signed a lease
for th e old Home Savings B ank loca­
tion, n o rth e a st corner of E a st Sixth
an d L ocust streets, G. A. F ram pton,
president, said last m onth.
The room has been occupied since
A ugust, 1939, by th e Polk county food
stam p store, and th e board of su p er­
visors now is looking for new q u a r­
te rs for th e store.
Mr. F ram p to n said th a t as soon as
th e new ban k gets possession of the
pro p erty, rem odeling and recondition­
ing w ill begin, and th a t th e b an k w ill
occupy th e room w hen th e m oderniza­
tio n process is completed.
Mr. F ram p to n said articles of incor­
p oration w ere filed w ith th e Iowa
secretary of state, settin g out a capi­
ta l of $100,000 for th e Iow a State
B ank, and a su rp lu s of $10,000. F ra m p ­
ton, George O’Dea, H ugh N. Gallagher,
W illiam B roquist and A. E. (B ert)
S argent w ere nam ed as directors.

Defense Committee
H. R. Young, A rlington, p resident
of th e Iow a B ankers A ssociation, and
15 o th er Iow a b an k ers have been

nam ed to an Iow a com m ittee to co­
operate w ith th e national defense loan
com m ittee of th e A m erican B ankers
Association.
O ther m em bers are:
H. E. Simon, B urlington; S. E.
Coquillette, Cedar Rapids; M. W. Ellis,
C harles City; E. M. W arner, Clinton;
B. A. G ronstahl, Council Bluffs; V. O.
Figge, D avenport; D. W. E rn st, Du­
buque; H. O. L ovett, Fairfield; E. A.
Ebersole, K eokuk; M. C. Berkley, M ar­
shalltow n; F re d C. H enem an, Mason
City; Max von Schrader, Ottum wa;
R. R. B rubacher, Sioux City; C. S. McK instry, W aterloo; H erb ert L. H orton,
Des Moines.
Mr. H orton also is a m em ber of the
national defense loan com m ittee of
the R eserve City B ankers Association.
T he Iowa com m ittee w as invited to
m eet in Chicago recently w ith com­
m ittees from o ther states in th e sev­
en th federal reserve d istrict to discuss
plans.

Aurelia Banker Dies
F u n eral services w ere held recently
at A urelia for George Lam m , 36, prom ­
in en t b an k er there, w ho w as found
dead in his bed.
Mr. Lam m had only been ill for a

Opened for Business October 15, 1934
S tatem ent of the

IOWA STATE BANK & TRUST COMPANY
Iow a City, Iow a

DECEMBER 31, 1940
R E SO U R C E S
Cash and D ue from B a n k s...................................................... ............ $1,127,838.53
U. S. B o n d s.................................................... .............................................
171,175.00
Other Bonds and S e c u r itie s........... ...................................................
122,176.19
CASH OR IT S E Q U I V A L E N T .,....................................................................................$1,421,189.72
Loans and D isco u n ts......................
1,655,654.95
Overdrafts ..............................................................................................................................
115.21
B anking H o u se .........................................................................
53,300.00
Furniture and F ix tu r e s......................................................................................................
13,200.00
$3,143,459.88
L IA B IL IT IE S
Capital S to ck .................................................................................................................................. $ 100,000.00
Surplus and U ndivided P r o f i t s . . . . . ...................................................................................
119,695.31
R eserve for I n te r e st................................
753.70
D ep osits ..............................................................................
2,923,010.87
$3,143,459.88

O F F IC E R S
B e n S. S u m m e r w i l l , President
D r . E . M. M a c E w e n , V ic e P r e s id e n t
M. B. G u t h r i e , Cashier
W. F. S c h m i d t , A ss’t Cashier
M . E . T a y l o r , A u d ito r
W. W. S u m m e r w i l l , Credit Mgr.

D IR E C T O R S
D r . E . M. MacE w e n
G e o r g e J. K e l l e r
R . J. B a s c h n a g e l
M. B . G u t h r i e
George A. T h o m ps o n
Guy A. S t e v e n s
B e n S. S u m m e r w i l l

M em ber of Federal D ep osit Insurance Corporation

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Banker

January 19 h l

66

- •

IO W A

NEWS

•

sh o rt tim e, and his d eath cam e as a
shock to th e e n tire com m unity. He
w as a ssista n t cashier of th e F irs t
T ru st and Savings Bank.

been m ade to 1,100 sm aller depositors
and all o th er depositors have re ­
ceived 92% p er cent of th e ir original
deposits.

Dividend

To Waukon

The dep o sito rs’ tru ste e s of th e F irs t
N ational B ank in C reston have a n ­
nounced th e y are p rep ared to pay
th e ir n in th dividend, am o u n tin g to
appro x im ately $20,000.
Since th e tru ste e s w ere appointed
in M arch of 1933 full p ay m en t has

Leo Sam ek assum ed duties as teller
in th e W aukon State Bank, succeed­
ing Miss M eta Fasse, w ho resigned
a fte r 15 y e a rs’ service w ith th e bank.
Miss Fasse held th e position of as­
sista n t cashier. Mr. Sam ek has had
nine y e a rs’ experience in banking,

having been associated w ith W est
U nion and Oelwein banks nine years,
from 1922 to 1931.

Dividends

★

1941

1882

*

*

*

Fifty -nine Years of
Personal Service to
Correspondent Banks

A 20 p er cent stock dividend on Cen­
tra l N ational B ank and T ru st Co., Des
Moines, com m on stock has been an ­
nounced by W. J. Goodwin, p resident
and ch airm an of th e board of direc­
tors.
H olders of com m on stock w ill re ­
ceive one new share for every five
shares held. P a r value of th e stock is
$100 a share.
At the sam e tim e it w as announced
th a t a $2 cash dividend w ould be paid
to stockholders as of D ecem ber 30.

★

W . J. G O O D W IN

The dividend w ill be paid on th e ex­
panded am ount of com m on stock, and
rep resen ts a sem i-annual pay m en t to
stockholders.
T he total am o u n t of com m on stock,
by th is move, w ill be increased from
$550,000 to $660,000. A t th e sam e tim e,
it w as announced, p referred stock
held by th e R econstruction F inance
C orporation is being paid off in a like
am ount, to reduce th e total from $450,000 to $340,000.
T hus th e b a n k ’s capital rem ains at
a m illion dollars.

To Brenton Bank
M embers, Federal D eposit Insurance Corporation

DROVERS NATIONAL BANN
DROVERS TRUST 0 SAVINGS BANN
U N I O N

S T O C K

Y A R D S ,

C H I C A G O

W illiam Zunkel, cashier of th e De­
catu r County S tate Bank, announced
YO UR STATE BANKERS ASSO CIA TIO N
O FFICIA L SA FE, V A U L T AN D
TIM ELOCK EXPERTS

F. E. DAVENPORT & CO.
OM AHA

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January

19M

67

-•
recently, th a t effective F e b ru a ry 15,
he w ill becom e executive head of a
new b an k th a t is being opened by th e
W. H. B ren to n B anking Company.
B re n to n ’s are p u rch asin g a new
bank-.
R obert Garlock, w ho has been as­
sista n t cash ier for th e p a st five y ears
of th e D ecatur C ounty S tate B ank, has
accepted a position w ith th e Dallas
County S tate B ank a t Adel, w h ich is
also ow ned by th e W. H. B renton
B anking Company.

Addresses Finance
Convention
“C ontinuation of th e p re se n t w ar
w ill have both good an d bad effects on
th e autom obile finance bu sin ess,”
David B. Cassat, D ubuque, Iowa, told

IO W A

NEWS

•-

w ill be req u ired to pay out of profits
w as an o th er unfavorable prospect
C assat nam ed. He said th a t u n d er
p re se n t com petitive conditions, th e
com panies could n ot pass th e in ­
creased taxes on to th e public.
As favorable features, th e speaker
listed larg er consum er income, im ­
p ro v em ent in car prices and re su lta n t
rise in value of collateral back of o ut­
stan d ing notes, and increased car p ro ­
duction to follow cessation of th e w ar.
Mr. Cassat stressed th e point, th a t
th e autom obile alw ays w ill rem ain

first on th e list of things every fam ily
w ants, and th a t th ere w ill be a g reat
ru sh of car buying if th e w ar con­
tin u es long enough to cut production
seriously.

Board Meeting
The board of directors of th e W ell­
m an Savings B ank held th e ir reg u lar
m onthly m eeting recently. P revious
to th e m eeting th ey w ere hosts to
th e ir w ives at a steak dinner.
Follow ing th e din n er th e ladies at-

Over Sixty Years of Service
STATEMENT OF CONDITION
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1940

R esources
L o a n s a n d D is c o u n ts ........................................................ $1,993,228.83
B a n k B u ild in g .....................................................................

110,000.00

F u r n . & F ix . a n d S a fe ty D e p o sit V a u l ts ................

20,280.59

O th e r R e a l E s t a t e ..............................................................

7,000.00

S to c k in F e d e ra l R e se rv e B a n k ..................................

13,500.00

O v e rd ra fts ............................................................................

1,537.09

U . S. B o n d s .....................................$ 183,269.00
M u n ic ip a l B o n d s
D u e 1941-1946............................ 1,429,871.63
O th e r M a rk e ta b le B o n d s .........

544,302.55

C a sh a n d E x c h a n g e ..................... 2,587,478.34

4,744,921.52
$6,890,468.03

D A V ID

B. C A SSE T T

th e Iow a A ssociation of F in an ce Com­
panies a t H otel F o rt Des M oines last
m onth.
Mr. Cassat, p resid en t of th e In te r­
state F in an ce Co., listed as th e u n ­
favorable prospects p ersonnel difficul­
ties, c u rta ilm e n t of autom obile p ro ­
duction and h eavily increased taxes.
H e cited w orld w ar days w h en fi­
nance com panies lost m an y em ployes
to w ar in d u stries w h ere inflated w age
scales prevailed. H e forecasts a re ­
tu rn of th a t condition.
C assat predicted th a t if th e w ar con­
tin u es a t its p re se n t level, th e supply
of steel w ill be lim ited for car p roduc­
tion and p lan ts w ill be sh ifted to th e
m an u factu re of w ar needs. He pointed
o ut th a t in 1918 th e o u tp u t of new
cars w as cu t n early one-half as com ­
pared to 1917 production.
W ar taxes w hich finance com panies

Liabilities
C a p ita l ( C o m m o n ) ............................................................$ 300,000.00
S u rp lu s ...................................................................................

150,000.00

U n d iv id e d

121,375.56

P ro fits a n d R e s e rv e s ( N e t ) ..................
Ja n . 2, 1941...................................

12,000.00

D e p o s its ................................................................................

6,307,092.47

D iv id e n d P a y a b le

$6,890,468.03

UNION BANK & TRUST
1---COMPANY
OTTUM W A,

IOWA

M ember Federal 'Deposit Insurance Corporation
The D eposits Oi E very Depositor In This Bank Are Insured Up To $5000.00
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Banker

January t9 J i

68

- •
tended th e th e a te r w hile th e m en held
th e ir m eeting.
Those p re se n t w ere Mr. and Mrs.
E lm er Yoder, Mr. and Mrs. Toppan
Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. R ussell W inegarden, Mr. and Mrs. Ross Severt,
Mr. and Mrs. Roy D urian, Mr. and
Mrs. C larence Rowe and Mr. and Mrs.
Leo D urian.

IO W A

NEWS

place is th e P eterson State Bank.
F ollow ing several m onths of corre­
spondence, conferences and several
exam inations by rep resen tativ es of
th e various b anking dep artm en ts and
in terested agencies, the F irs t N ational
B ank has received perm ission to vol­
u n ta rily liquidate th e b ank as it w as
u n d e r th e N ational B anking D epart­
m en t c h a rte r and set it up un d er a
c h a rte r g ran ted by the Iow a B anking
D epartm ent.
A t a m eeting of th e stockholders

National to State
The F irs t N ational B ank of P e te r­
son has suspended business, and in its

.//,<> Live

Stock
N ational Bank
UNION STOCK YARDS
STATEMENT

OF

CONDITION

December 31, 1940

RESOURCES
C a s h a n d d u e f r o m b a n k s ........................................... $ 2 1 ,2 8 8 ,7 4 3 .1 7
U n i t e d S ta te s G o v e r n m e n t s e c u r i t i e s ...................
2 , 5 5 8 ,8 9 8 . 5 6
S ta te a n d m u n ic i p a l s e c u r i t i e s ...................................
5 9 1 , 6 1 1 .8 9
O t h e r m a r k e ta b l e b o n d s ..............................................
1 ,1 8 6 ,2 0 8 . 3 8
L o a n s a n d d i s c o u n t s .........................................................
6 , 1 4 4 ,0 0 6 . 3 6
F e d e r a l R e s e r v e B a n k s t o c k ......................................
7 5 ,0 0 0 .0 0
B a n k b u i l d i n g ......................................................................
4 5 0 , 0 0 0 .0 0
F u r n i t u r e a n d e q u i p m e n t ..............................................
1 .0 0
I n t e r e s t e a r n e d , n o t c o l l e c t e d ...................................
2 9 , 2 9 3 .0 6
C u r r e n t r e c e iv a b l e s a n d o t h e r a s s e t s ...................
1 0 ,6 3 9 .8 5
$ 3 2 , 3 3 4 ,4 0 2 . 2 7

LIABILITIES
C a p i t a l ....................................................................................... $ 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0
S u r p l u s .......................................................................................
1 , 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 . 0 0
U n d i v i d e d p r o f its a n d r e s e r v e s ................................
12 8 , 1 9 6 .8 8
U n e a r n e d d i s c o u n t ..........................................................
3 4 ,8 6 6 .1 9
D e p o s i t s .................................................................................... 2 9 , 6 7 1 ,3 3 9 - 2 0
$ 3 2 , 3 3 4 ,4 0 2 . 2 7

BOARD

OF

DIRECTORS

Fr e d e r ic k h . P r in c e
F. H. P rin ce & Co., Providen ce, R. I.

R obert J. D u n h am

W il l ia m J. O ’C o n n o r

Investm ents

Ass’t G en era l M anager, Union
Stock Y a r d & T ra n sit Co.

R ic h a r d H a c k e t t

D a v id H. R e im e r s

G en eral M anager, C entral
M anu factu rin g D is tr ic t

P resident, The L iv e Stock
N a tio n a l Rank o f Chicago

O r v is T . H e n k l e

C l y d e H . Sc h r y v e r

V ic e-P resid en t a n d G en eral
M anager, Union Stock Y a r d
& T ra n sit Co.

P resident, Chicago M erchandise
a n d E q u ip m en t Co.

A r t h u r G . Le o n a r d

R a l p h M . Sh a w

P resid en t, Union Stock Y a r d
& T ra n sit Co.

Winston, S traw n & Shaw

T h o m a s e . W il s o n

J am es A. M c D o n o u g h

Chairm an, B o a rd of D irectors
W ilson & Company

Investments, P roviden ce, R. I.

SERVING

AGRICULTURE

AND

INDUSTRY

titr e J 8 6 8
M E M B E R

F E D E R A L

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

D E P O S I T

Jan u ary 19 M

•-

I N S U R A N C E

C O R P O R A T I O N

final vote w as tak en to c arry out th e
steps necessary to m ake th is change.
A t a previous election th e req u est of
J. F. Fastenow , to be relieved of his
duties as president, w as acted on and
A. W. Jones, a m em ber of th e board
of directors, w as nam ed to succeed
him.

Resigns
K arl G. Kalde, vice p resid en t of th e
S tate Savings Bank, Council Bluffs,
resigned recently, th e resig n atio n to
become effective J a n u a ry 1.
Mr. Kalde stated his plans for the
fu tu re w ere indefinite.

Elected President
G. H. Clark, w ho has been cashier
of th e Com m ercial S tate Bank, M ar­
shalltow n, since its organization on
May 15, 1935, w as elected presid en t
of th e in stitu tio n a t a reg u lar m eeting
of th e board of directors. Mr. Clark
w as first elected a m em ber of the
board to succeed Ole Stangeland w ho
died on October 7 last, and th e n w as
elevated to th e presidency. He also
succeeds Mr. Stangeland as presid en t
of th e bank.

In Ute State
W. A. Breen, of H ow ard, South Da­
kota, is th e new a ssistan t cashier at
th e U te S tate Bank. Mr. B reen, w ho
has had m an y y ears of ban k in g ex­
perience in South Dakota, com m enced
his duties last m onth.
Mr. B reen takes th e place of Orval
Spahn w ho resigned to accept the
cashiership of th e F irs t S tate B ank
a t M apleton.

Postville Meeting
The wage and h o u r law as it applies
to banks w as th e m ain topic of discus­
sion at th e m eeting of G roup 4 of th e
Iow a State B ankers A ssociation held
in Postville. T here w ere 140 people in
attendance from A llam akee, Clayton,
F ay ette and W inneshiek counties.
W. A. K neeland of Postville, p resi­
dent of th e A llam akee County B ank­
ers A ssociation, presided at th e m eet­
ing and C. H. M egorden, vice p resi­
dent of the county group, gave th e ad­
dress of welcome.
F red erick L. L udem an, Jr., of th e
wage and ho u r division for Iow a gave
an address on “The W age and H our
L aw and B an k s” and afterw ard a n ­
sw ered questions propounded
by
those present.

69

Dies in California
H a rry A shton M errill, 86 died at
Glendale, C alifornia, follow ing a sh o rt
illness. He w as fo rm erly p resid en t of
th e City N ational B ank a t M ason City
before m oving to C alifornia about 15
y ears ago.

Check Transactions
Check tra n sa c tio n s th ro u g h Des
M oines b an k s for 1940 totaled $1,173,022,000 to set a new all-tim e h igh rec­
ord for th e city.
T he 1940 figure b eat a m ark th a t had
stood since check p ay m en ts in Des
M oines reached $1,161,634,000 back in
1920.
The only o th er y e a r th a t produced
a check figure w ith in h ailing distance
of last y e a r’s peak w as 1937, w hen the
total reached $1,145,547,000.
The 1940 m a rk show ed a gain of
n early 45 m illion dollars over th e 1939
to tal—an increase w hich averaged
n early a m illion dollars a week.
It is notable also th a t 1940 w as th e
six th successive y e a r th a t check p ay ­
m en ts have exceeded th e billion-dol­
la r m ark.
P rio r to 1935, only four tim es did
Des M oines b reak into th e billion dol­
la r class in checking activ ities—1920,
1924, 1928 an d 1829.
A lthough check tra n sa c tio n s s u r­
passed th e 100-million-dollar m ark
d u rin g each of four m o n th s last year,
th e rem ain in g eig h t m onths w ere
co n sisten tly high, and th e low est
m o n th ly to tal w as $84,953,000 reg is­
tere d in F eb ru ary .

Statement of Condition
Close of B usiness December 31, 1940

S A V I N G S

B A N K

DES MOI NE S
RESOURCES
Loans and D iscou nts...................................................................................................................... ^ ’l i s ’qnn'nn
Other Bonds and S tock s.................................................................................................................
sq na
O v e r d r a fts.........................................................................................................................................
..
Furniture and F ix tu res.................................................................................................................
» lan'qn
Customer L iability on A cceptances..................................... ..................... .. • • • • • • • • • • • • •
8,isu.au
Government Obligations, Direct and Fully G uaranteed.................... 9
M unicipal Bonds ..............................................................................................
i i ? qoq qa
0 esc qqe 02
Cash and Due from B an k s............................................................................ 2,114,929.98
2,685,990.02
$6,701,992.14
LIA B ILITIE S
Capital S tock -C om m on .............................................................................................................* aOMOo'.OO
i S U p r o M s : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : " : : : : ........................
Reserves ...........................................................................................................................................
^ ,634.00
Unearned Discount
.................................................................................................................
s i an qn
Bank L iability on A cceptances..................................................................................................
,
Deposits ............................................................................................................................................. 6,125,372.
$6,701,992.14
OFFICERS
Frederick M. Morrison, P resid en t
Winfield W. Scott, Vice P resid en t
J. R. Astley, Cashier
Edward P. Kautzky, Assistant Cashier

Walter
Lucius
Harold
Arthur

M arvin L. Payne, A ssistan t Cashier
F ran k M. Thom pson, A ssistan t Cashier

DIRECTORS
P. Davis
George Mahnke
W. Fitch
Frederick M. Morrison
J. Howe
Winfield W. Scott
S. Kirk
J. E. Tone
Allen Whitfield

M E M B E R F E D E R A L D E P O S IT IN S U R A N C E C O R P O R A T IO N

CLINTON COMPANY
a t C lin to n , Io w a

M anufacturers of p rod u cts from C orn, v iz.: Syrups, S tarches, Sugars,
O il and F eed

Dividend
S tockholders of th e N ew ton N ation­
al B ank w ill receive a 2% p er cent
dividend for th e six-m onth period
ending D ecem ber 31, 1940. The b an k
has a capital of $100,000. S urplus
funds to tal $44,000 and undivided
profits, $22,327. S tockholders w ill hold
th e ir an n u al m eeting J a n u a ry 14th.

Identified
F re d Hill, editor of th e H a m b u r g
re p o rts th a t a H am b u rg
citizen w as trav elin g in C alifornia and
r a n sh o rt of m oney. H e w en t to a
b an k to get a check cashed and, of
course, w as asked for identification.
F in a lly he found in his pocket a re ­
ceipt from th e R e p o r te r show ing th a t
he h ad paid his subscription in ad­
vance. T he b an k cashed th e check.
O ther p ap ers express th e ir w illingness
to fu rn ish th e ir subscrib ers w ith sim i­
la r m eans of identification if th e y
w ill come in and p ay up.
R e p o rte r,

I n t e r e s t i n g f a c t s p e r t a i n i n g to th is c o m p a n y ’s o p e r a t io n s

G rinds u p w ard o f 6,500,000 b u sh els of corn a n n u a lly w h ich re­
q uires ab out 130,000 acres of corn land to prod uce.
C oal con su m ed —-500 tons d aily.
R ailroad cars— 130 cars sw itch ed d aily.
W ater used d a ily — 15,000,000 gallon s (sufficient to su p p ly a city
o f 100,000 p o p u la tio n ).
N u m b er o f em ployees-—1,000.
W ages p a id a n n u a lly — $1,500,000.00.
F in ish ed p ro d u cts; 365,000,000 p o u n d s p rod u ced an n u ally.

The CITY NATIONAL BANK
C L IN T O N , IO W A
M em b e r o f th e F e d e ra l D e p o s it I n s u r a n c e C o rp o ra tio n , W a sh in g to n , D . C.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Banker

Januar y 19 M

70

IO W A
FRO M

N EW S

H ERE A N D

TH ERE

By J . A. Sarazen, A sso cia te Editor
J. A. SA R A Z E N

ISS L V 1 ,\ W E H R L E , secretary

M

to O. D. E llsw orth, cashier, Dal­
las County S tate B ank, Adel, has ac­
cepted a position as se c re ta ry to th e
executive officer of th e F irs t N ational
B ank of th e Black H ills, R apid City,
South D akota.
T he F ir st State Bank, B attle Creek,

has increased th e capital of th e b an k
from $10,000 to $30,000, effective th e

CONDENSED

first of th e year. T his w as accom ­
plished by declaring a 200 p er cent
stock dividend. S urplus and u n d i­
vided profits are n early $10,000.
F. W. Kem p, cashier, F a rm e rs Sav­
ings B ank, D anbury, w as elected to
th e board of directors to succeed C.
R. S. A nderson w ho passed aw ay last
O ctober 19th. Mrs. C. R. S. A nderson
w as elected vice presid en t to succeed

STATEMENT

FIRST NATIONAL BANK
IN ST. L O U I S
A t the Close of Business, December 31, 1940
RESOURCES
L o an s a n d D isc o u n ts
$ 68,751,581.59
U. S. G o v e rn m en t Securities
56,438,880.57
O th e r S ecurities G u a ra n te e d b y U . S. G o v e rn m en t 25,020,217.37
O th e r B o n d s a n d S tocks
9,032,191.62
S tock in F e d e ral R eserve B a n k
426,300.00
B a n k in g H ouse, Im p ro v em en ts, F u rn itu re
a n d F ix tu re s
522,513.62
O th e r R eal E s ta te O w ned
1,721,782.01
C u sto m ers’ L ia b ility a /c L e tte rs o f C re d it,
A cceptances, etc.
403,859.23
A ccrued In te re s t R eceivable
559,771.91
O v e rd rafts
3,163.58
O th e r R esources
6,026.16
C ash a n d D u e from B a n k s
147,186,709.90
$310,072,997.56

LIABILITIES
C a p ita l— C om m on
$ 10,200,000.00
S urplus a n d P ro fits
9,027,560.32
D iv id en d D eclared, P a y a b le F e b ru a ry 28, 1941
240,000.00
R eserve for T axes, In te re s t, etc.
240,461.05
U n earn ed D isco u n t
238,208.02
L ia b ility a / c L e tte rs o f C re d it, A cceptances, etc.
438,660.63
In d iv id u a l D ep o sits
$136,356,165.69
S avings D eposits
32,847,061.42
B a n k D ep o sits
114,406,859.61
C ity o f S t. L ouis a n d O th er
P u b lic F u n d s
6,078,020.82
T o ta l D ep o sits
289,688,107.54
$310,072,997.56

B road w ay * L ocust ■>O liv e
M e m b er F e d e r a l D e p o s it I n su ra n c e C o rp o ra tio n
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

January 19 M

h e r husband. T he b ank paid a reg u lar
dividend of 6 p er cent to stockholders
in 1940.
At th e F arm ers State Bank, S ch les­
w ig, officers rep o rt business v ery sat­
isfactory. D eposits are up, loans and
discounts are holding about th e sam e
and profits for 1940 w ill be about the
sam e as th e last few years.
W e received th e follow ing letter
from P. AV. C laussen, cashier, F arm ers
S tate Bank, R icketts, a few days ago:
“I re g re t to advise th a t our vice p res­
ident, F ritz G ierstorf, passed aw ay De­
cem ber 19th at th e age of 63. He w as a
d irector of th is b an k since 1908 and
vice p resid en t since 1926.”
Mr. G ierstorf w as an extensive
farm er and cattle feeder. D eath w as
caused by typhoid fever w hich also
claim ed the lives of his only son and
daughter.
W e noticed th e follow ing in a bank
u n d er th e glass of a check counter:
IT IS NOT BAD TO BE OLD, IF
YOU CAN ST IL L GIVE B IR T H TO
A YOUNG ID EA —NOW AND T H E N
—W ITH O U T AID OF AN A N ES­
T H E T IC OR A S N IF T E R OF SN U FF.
HOW MANY IDEAS IN YOUR OF­
F IC E CALL YOU PAPA?
R ay B ailey, president, Jasp er County
Savings Bank, N ew ton, tells us th a t
his b ank enjoyed a v ery good y ear in
1940. D em and has been v ery steady
and deposits have held up v ery well.
B anking ho u rs here are from 9:30
a. m. to 3:00 p. m. every business day.
W alter R obinson, cashier, N ew ton
N ational Bank, rep o rts a good year
for his bank. A reg u lar 5 p er cent
dividend w as paid to stockholders, th e
reserves increased and a 5 p er cent
bonus paid to employes.
Effective J a n u a ry 1st a reduction
w as m ade in in te re st rates from 2 p er
cent to 1 V2 p er cent.

V isiting th e T em pleton Savings
Bank, we found th a t it had m oved
across th e stre e t to m uch im proved
qu arters. A building form erly occu­
pied by a b ank w as secured th ro u g h a
trad e of buildings and a cash consid­
eration.
Joyce R ush en b erg joined th e b ank
as teller and bookkeeper, succeeding
L eona Schreck, d au g h ter of th e cash­
ier, afte r h e r m arriage.
S tatem en t of th e F arm ers Savings
Bank, P rinceton, em phasizes its 32nd
an n iv ersary . Also, du rin g th e d epres­
sion, 1933, deposits w ere $214,000 and
now are a half-m illion.

71

•
The State Savings Bank, F on tan elle,
pays 2 p er cen t in terest, except all
sum s in excess of $1,500 in an y in d i­
vidual savings account shall b e a r in ­
te re s t a t th e ra te of 1% p er cent p er
annum , com pounded sem i-annually.
Carroll b an k s are now closing at
noon on Saturday.

T he G uthrie C ounty State Bank,
G uthrie Center, has increased th e cap­
ital stock from $30,000 to $50,000 by
declaring a 66% p er cent stock divi­
dend. D eposits h ere are w ell over
$1,000,000. Two p er cent in te re st is
paid on 12 m o n ths C. D.s and 1% p er
cent on 6 m o n th s C. D.s and savings.

IO W A

N EW S

•
to c a rry th e books and m oney from
th e ir v au lts to th e ir tem p o rary loca­
tion each m orning and evening, and
w ill now be in a position to operate
m uch m ore conveniently.
A plank sidew alk, w ith railings on
each side, has been b u ilt aro u n d the
old b ank location, so th a t pedestrians
can get from DeVoe stre e t to Com­
m ercial street, and vice versa, w ith o u t
th e necessity of leaving th e sidew alk
and w alking aro u n d th e corner in the
stre e t proper.

th e m a rk e t does. Thus, he has a little
n est egg p u t aw ay to build th a t new
corn crib if it is necessary to do so.

Temporary Quarters
The Lone T ree Savings Bank, w hich
has been doing business since th e fire
in th e room behind th e Benteco store,
m oved recen tly to th e ir new tem po­
ra ry building aro u n d th e ir old v au lts
at th e ir form er location.
The b an k has been operating u n ­
der difficulties since th e fire, having

THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY
CHI CAGO

Jefferson b an k s are now open to th e
public from 9:30 a. m. to 3:00 p. m.
every w o rk in g day of the week. W hen
it w as necessary for these b an k s to
m ake a red u ctio n in th e ir h o u rs last
Fall, an excellent b u lletin w as issued
explaining th e reason to th e public.
W e tak e th e lib erty of suggesting to
banks th in k in g of sh o rten in g th e ir
h o u rs to secure one of th ese bulletins.

S ta te m e n t o f C o n d itio n
At the close of business, December 31,1940
R ES OU RC ES

A card, abo u t th e size of a p o st card,
im p rin ted as follows, is being dis­
trib u te d by th e F arm ers & M erchants
State B ank, W in terset — CATTLE
LOANS! Special Low R ates. N one
Low er. No stock to b u y and no delay
or red tap e in closing th e loan. You
get all th e m oney you bo rro w and
you get it AT ONCE. E stab lish y o u r
cred it for th e fu tu re by borro w in g a t
th is H om e Bank.
The A rthu r T rust & Savings B ank
rem odeled th e tellers cages into th e
new low type. T his b an k is now
open from 9 to 3, tak in g one h o u r off
at noon.
The Odebolt State B ank celebrated
its six th a n n iv e rsa ry on D ecem ber
5th, and let th e people of th e com ­
m u n ity know it w ith a full page ad­
v ertise m e n t in th e local new spaper.
It tied in w ith th e C hristm as season
and th a n k e d th e people of th e com ­
m u n ity for th e ir patronage. The
steady g ro w th of th e b an k w as em ­
phasized and deposits of over $600,000
w ere stressed.
cashier, Iowa
Savings B ank, Coon Rapids, advises
his fa rm e r custom ers to seal th e ir
corn, tak e th e difference in th e
am o u n t th e y receive by sealing and
th e am o u n t w hich w ould be received
if sold on th e m a rk e t today, place it
out of reach, and w ait and see w h a t
W alter

B u en n ek e,

L o a n s a n d D i s c o u n t s .............................................................$ 44,500,036.86
U . S. G o v e r n m e n t S e c u r i t i e s ............................................ 110,454,878.l a
( I n c l u d i n g $ 7 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 p l e d g e d t o s e c u r e d e p o s i t s o f P u b l i c
m o n ie s a s r e q u ir e d b y L a w )

O t h e r B o n d s a n d S e c u r i t i e s .............................................. 103,154,197.13
( I n c l u d i n g $ 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 d e p o s i t e d
u n d e r T r u s t A c t)

iv ith

S ta te

A u th o r itie s

F e d e r a l R e s e rv e B a n k S t o c k ..............................................

270,000.00

B a n k P r e m i s e s ...........................................................................

1,400.000.00

C u s t o m e r s ’ L ia b i li t y , A c c o u n t L e t t e r s o f C r e d it
a n d A c c e p t a n c e s ...................................................................

396,575.83

O t h e r R e s o u r c e s ........................................................................

521,480.00

C a s h a n d D u e f r o m B a n k s ................................................. 161,903,069.08
T O T A L ........................................................

$422,600,237.05

L IA B IL IT IE S
C a p it a l S t o c k ..............................................................................$
S u r p l u s F u n d .............................................................................

6,000,000.00

U n d iv id e d P r o f i t s ......................................................................

4,894,956.40

R e se rv e f o r T ax e s, I n t e r e s t , e t c ........................................

10.772,027.07

D iv id e n d P a y a b le J a n u a r y 2, 19 4 1 .................................

135,000.00

L e t t e r s o f C r e d it a n d A c c e p ta n c e s O u t s t a n d i n g . .

475,432.18

O t h e r L i a b i l i t i e s .......................................................................

89,873.61

D e p o s its :
D e m a n d .................................................$314,647,090.27
T i m e ........................................................

82,585,857.52

397,232,947.79

T O T A L ............................................................................................ $422,600,237.05

M ember Federal D eposit Insurance Corporation

N orth w estern


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

3,000,000.00

Banker

Januar y 194Î

72

•
Assistant Vice Presidents

NEWS

•

N EW S A N D VIEW S

A. H. H iegel and F re d G ruenw ald
have been prom oted from a ssistan t
cashiers to be a ssista n t vice p resi­
dents of th e D avenport B ank & T ru st
Co., it w as announced follow ing action
by th e board of directors.
B oth m en sta rte d in th e b anking
field w ith th e old C itizens’ N ational
B ank of D avenport, w hich later
m erged w ith th e G erm an Savings
Bank, th e nam e of w hich changed
some y ears th e re a fte r to th e A m erican
Savings B ank & T ru st Co. T hey have
been officers of th e D avenport B ank
& T ru st Co., since it w as organized in
1932.

To C ed ar Rapids
W. C. Zem an, fo rm erly m an ag er of
the office a t D edham for th e Com­
m ercial Savings B ank of Carroll, re ­
signed th a t position last m o n th and
is now w ith th e U nited S tate B ank of
Cedar Rapids. Mr. Zem an has had
about sixteen y ears of b anking expe­
rience, and sta rte d his ban k in g career
in Cedar Rapids.
“See him ? H e’s going th ro u g h col­
lege by caring for a baby.”
“L ucky guy. I got kicked out for
th e sam e reaso n .”

^

IO W A

(C ontinued from page 12)
to th e president) is cashier. The next
tim e you are in th e Field B uilding drop
in and see th is latest and m ost m od­
ern istic bank.
A. M. W right, tre a su re r of the
H a rv a rd T ru st Company, Cambridge,
M assachusetts has sent us a series of
“sta te m en t stu ffers” for 1941 w hich
are going to nearly 12,000 com m ercial
custom ers each m onth.
To our m inds th is series is about as
clever and in terestin g as we have seen
and each one covers some p articu lar
in d u stry w hich is located at Cam­
bridge, and tells th e sto ry of this p a r­
ticu lar m an u factu rin g organization
v ery briefly and to th e point being
headed “F rom Cam bridge” and th en
discusses th e p a rtic u la r product m an u ­
factured.
If you h av en ’t seen th is series we
are su re Mr. W rig h t w ill be glad to
send them to you.
D avid R eim ers, presid en t of the
Live Stock N ational B ank of Chicago
m ade our holidays v ery happy by
sending a de luxe specially prepared
pre-cooked ham w hich w as m ost de­
licious and delectable.

Bank advertising can be made to pay dividends. W rite for particulars about the
N ew 1941 Program.

'

£ t ( J L C L E - i-

You can edit the New 1941 Wessling Publicity Program to suit your own local situation exactly.
D . R . W E S S L IN G , P R E S ID E N T

2

S£± <^\/{obl£,±, ú o tv a .

O u t - o f - T o w n TSanks

H ere is a pleasant w ay to die —for
an oyster-—a t least it seem ed so to us
as we read this description on a m enu
recently: “Lulled to sleep and deluded
into a false sense of secu rity by the
soothing und u latio n of th e waves,
these gentle, happy, plum p little mollusks little suspected th a t d ark tre a c h ­
ery w ould one day send them skim ­
m ing across th e co u n try to this m e­
tropolis—y et today, here th ey are, re ­
signed to th e ir fate and bravely de­
term in ed to be h appy to th e last.”

J u s t to prove th a t th e U n iv ersity of
N ebraska stu d en ts are good financiers,
each one of th em w as allow ed to p u r­
chase 6 tickets for th e R ose B ow l
game. A n u m ber of stu d en ts p u r­
chased th e ir quota, th e n got in th e ir
jalopies, drove out to- P asadena, sold
th e o th er 5 tickets a t prices ranging
in th e strato sp h ere and th u s paid
practically all of th e ir expenses. The
original cost of th e tickets w as $4.40
each and th e sale price w as in th e
clouds.
Stephen H. Fifield, vice p resid en t of
th e B arn ett N ational B ank of Jack so n ­
ville, F lo rid a an d im m ediate past
presid en t of th e F in an cial A dvertisers
A ssociation rem em bered us w ith a
b eautiful box of “Sam m y J a y ” fru it
from th e so u thland for a C hristm as
greeting.
T he box w as filled full of oranges
and grap efru it, b u t we w ere glad th a t
w e received no lem ons.
C. H. W etterau, vice p resid en t and
tru s t officer of The A m erican N ational
B ank of N ashville, T ennessee sen t out
a v ery in terestin g C hristm as G reeting
and gave a little historical back ground
as to th e first A m erican C hristm as
w hich he says w as celebrated D ecem ­
ber 25, 1492 at B oh io on th e Island of
H a y ti by C hristopher C olum bus and

th e crew s of tw o of his ships, th e
M enia and th e Santa Maria. Colum bus

w as th e only m em ber of his p a rty
w ho received gifts th a t day. D ecem ­
ber 25, 1620 th e Pilgrim s celebrated
th e ir first C hristm as a t Plym outh,
M assachusetts aboard th e Mayflower,
w ith a C hristm as d in n er of bacon, fish,
gooseberry ta rts and plum pudding.

O u t - o f - t o w n b a n k s an d b a n k e r s w ill fin d h e r e
c o m p le te b a n k in g f a c ilitie s fo r p r o m p t an d
e c o n o m ic a l h a n d lin g o f a c c o u n ts in C h ic a g o . W e
w o u ld a p p r e c ia te th e o p p o r tu n ity o f s e r v in g y ou .

C

i t

y

N

a

AND

T R U S T

2 0 8

S O U T H

t i o

n

a

l

C O M P A N Y

I I w
of

L A S A L L E

(.Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation )

N orthw estern B anker

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

January 1941

k

Chicago
S T R E E T

F red A. Irish sen t us his an n u al ja r
of N orth D akota W hite Clover H oney
w hich is alw ays m ost useful. B ut
w ith it th is y ear he sen t a recipe for
“B ees K n ees” w hich is as follows:
“Mix equal p a rts of honey and lem on
juice (at least 6 hours before using.)
To th e above m ixture, add equal
am ount of gin; ice, and shake w ell.”

73

•
If la te r on y o u r “knees sh ak e,” don’t
blam e it on th e bees.
R u ssell L undy, p resid en t of th e Mu­
tu al S u rety Com pany of Iowa, w as p re ­
sented w ith th e C harles Jo h n so n
“m ost valuable m an aw ard” given by
the A d vertising Club of Des Moines
each y e a r to th e individual w ho has
done th e m ost o u tstan d in g w o rk for
the organization.
D uring th e p ast y e a r Mr. L un d y or­
ganized th e B etter B u sin ess Bureau,
and has been exceptionally successful
in th a t endeavor.
J. M ills E aston , ad v ertisin g m an ag er
of th e N o rth e rn T ru st C om pany of
Chicago, sen t out a v ery beau tifu l
“L incoln M em orial T rail” m ap as a
C hristm as sou v en ir of th e officers and
directors of his bank, of w hich
Solom on A. Sm ith is president. This
is one of th e m ost in te re stin g h is­
torical m aps w hich we have seen.
F ran k W arner, secretary of th e
Iow a B an k ers A ssociation, has ju st
sent out th e bound volum e of th e P ro ­
ceedings of th e 54th A nnual Conven­
tion.
As usual, it show s S ecretary W a r­
n e r’s careful arran g em en t, and is com ­
plete w ith in te re stin g ban k in g in fo r­
m ation w hich can be re fe rred to from
tim e to tim e d u rin g th e year.
M arvin R. Selden, vice p resid en t of
th e M erchants N ational B ank of Cedar
Rapids, in a recen t com m unication to
us says th a t we m ade a m istak e in
listin g some of th e gentlem en show n
in a p ictu re of “the M erchants N a­
tional B ank in 1903”, w hich appeared
on page 62 of our Ja n u a ry , 1940 issue.
In re fe rrin g to th is Mr. Selden said:

“D ear Cliff:
“L e t’s have a real te st as to how
long b a n k e rs keep th e N orthw estern
B anker on file for im m ediate use.
“Please refer to y o u r issue of J a n u ­
ary, 1940, in w hich you p ublished th e
p ictu re of th e force of th e M erchants

IO W A

NEWS

•

N ational B ank in 1903. A lot of fine
ban k in g intelligence is rep resen ted in
th is picture, w hich us younger fellows
are now glad to recognize, w ith the
passing of tim e.
“J u s t recently, it has come to my
a tte n tio n th a t th ere has been a great
injustice done. In this im p o rtan t pic­
tu re w as a likeness of H. G. M orrison,
cashier of th e F irs t N ational Bank,
P eterson, Iowa, ju st recently changed
to th e P eterso n State Bank. H erb is a
m odest fellow and I am in favor of let­
tin g it be know n th a t he is the fo u rth
from th e left, betw een George F. M iller,
now in our bank, and ‘Cap’ P utnam ,
form erly, cashier, w ith his bow tie in
p erfect order, ready for th e banking
d uties of th e day. I am sure the
N orthw estern B anker w an ts to give
recognition to th is case of m istaken
id en tity .”
W ho said th a t b anking is a stre n ­
uous life.
One b ank a t w hich we called recen t­
ly has a board of directors one-half

a boy S tan ley M aley, Jr., w ho g rad u ­
ated from Culver last y ear and is a
fresh m an at th e U n iversity of Ne­
braska. It is needless to say th a t th e
ju n io r m em ber of th e fam ily attended
the Rose Bowl gam e on Ja n u a ry 1st a t
Pasadena.
M. P lin Beebe, w ell know n b an k er
of Ipsw ich, South D akota calls our
a tten tio n to th e chorus of a song
w hich th e y sing a t various South Da­
kota b a n k e rs’ m eetings and w hich is
as follows:

Oh, Iow a sings about h er corn,
T h at grow s so big and tall;
T hey buy th e ir seed from old S. D.
Or th ey w ouldn’t have corn at all.
Oh, th e Sunshine State of old S. D.
She sure is rig h t up front,
We raise seed corn for Iowa,
And, Boys, th a t’s sure some stunt.

One of th e directors is 94 y ears of age.

M innesota’s got ten tho u san d lakes,
And, boys, th a t’s surely fine;
B ut you can ’t raise corn in th e m iddle
of a lake,
A nd corn is w here we shine.

S tan ley M aley, vice presid en t of the
F irs t N ational B ank of Lincoln, has

Ill-i-noy has got a lot of coal
F o r to keep us w arm ,

of w hom are 80 years of age or older.

S E C U R IT Y N A T IO N A L B A N K
SIOUX CITY, IOWA
Statement of Condition December 31, 1940
A S S E T S
C a s h on H a n d a n d on D eposit w ith B a n k s ................................................
U nited S tates G o v ern m en t S e c u r i t i e s ........................................................
B onds a n d S e c u r i t i e s ........................................................................................
L oans a n d D i s c o u n t s ........................................................................................
S ecurity B ank B uilding, V au lt a n d F i x t u r e s ................................................
F e d e ra l R e serv e B ank S t o c k ........................................................................
O ther A s s e t s ...............................................................................................................

$3,803,969.36
572,557.76
35,433.80
3,387,543.15
162,500.00
14,550.00
1,147.19
$7,977,701.26

Jd o w e d t C o d i
Our p o lic y p rovid es a m axim u m
assessm en t o f 2 */2 % in Z ones
O ne and T w o— and 3 */2 % in
Z on e T h ree (W estern Io w a ).

Hawkeye Mutual Hail
Insurance Association
Carver Bldg.

L I A B I L I T I E S
C a p i t a l .......................................................................................................................
S u r p l u s .......................................................................................................................
U n d iv id ed Profits a n d R e s e r v e s ................................ .......
D e p o s i t s ...............................................................................................................

$ 250,000.00
235,000.00
18,327.08
7,474,374.18
$7,977,701.26

M em ber F e d e ra l D eposit In su ra n c e C orporation

Fort Dodge, Iowa
N orth w estern


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

Banker

January 19^1

74

•
B ut th ey fill th e ir plate from th e Sun­
shine State
W hen it begins to storm .
J. M. Sorensen, executive vice p resi­
den t of The S tephens N ational B ank
at F rem o n t, N ebraska really likes th e
colored fro n tis pages w hich appear
in th e N or thw estern B anker every
m onth.
In a recen t le tte r to us he said:
“T han k s a m illion for sending m e th e
ex tra copy of th e p ictu re w hich ap ­
peared in y o u r last issue of th e
N orthw estern B anker .

“I th in k H en ry H ayn es is to be con­
g ratu la te d on his good ju d g m en t of

IO W A

N EW S

•

art. I tu rn to th e pictu re each m onth
and look a t it first. T hey are all good;
som e of th em are exceptionally good
and th is one, to m y notion, is a ‘jimdandy.’ E v ery tim e I look at it I
get a kick o u t of it. I am going to
fram e one of th em and h ang it in m y
den.
“T om orrow m orning th e gang w ill
have coffee betw een 9:30 and 10:00
o’clock, and I expect to ascend from
th e ‘dog-house to th e pent-house’ and
re st assu red th a t you are going to get
credit.
“Keep up the good w ork.”
D uring th e p ast y ear th e N orth ­
B anker has been ru n n in g a
series of ad v ertisem en ts for th e
Iow a In v estm en t B ankers A ssociation
w hich have a ttra c te d w ide atten tio n
th ro u g h o u t th e country. In a recen t
issue of th e F in an cial R eporter pub­
lished in New York one of these ad ­
v ertisem en ts w as reproduced and had
to do w ith “E lec tr icity ” show ing the
am o u n t of pow er used in Iowa.
In connection w ith th is ad v ertise­
m en t th e F in an cial R eporter said: “We
reproduce the above ad v ertisem ent
from th e N or thw estern B anker of Des
M oines because we find it in terestin g
both in conception and execution. We
are certain th e bro k ers and dealers
w ill be sim ilarly in terested .”
w estern

M ERCHANTS
MUTUAL

BONDING
COMPANY
In c o rp o ra ted 1933

Home Office
VALL EY B A NK BUILDING

Des M oines, Iowa

•

»

T his is Iow a’s oldest su rety com pany.
A progressive com pany w ith ex p eri­
enced, conservative m anagem ent. W e
are p ro u d of o u r h u n d re d and fifty
b a n k agents in Iow a.
To be the exclusive re p re se n tativ e of
th is com pany is an asset to y our bank.

W rite to

E. H. W A R N E R

a re tu rn to th e b ank of six to tw elve
p er cent on th e unpaid balance. T here
is danger th a t th e ra te m ay be too low
in some cases on account of com peti­
tion and a lack of know ledge or a dis­
regard of cost of operation.
T here is no th in g difficult or m ys­
terious about consum er credit or in ­
stallm en t loaning. It is not difficult
from a credit standpoint. It req u ires
a lot of h ard w ork and atte n tio n to
details. It is retail credit and it m ust
be m erchandised and it w ill take a
g reat deal of effort to secure a volum e
w hich w ill m ake th e business profit­
able. The easiest w ay to secure th is
pap er is from dealers w ho sell au to ­
mobiles, household equipm ent or
o th er m erchandise. It is difficult to
secure autom obile paper in an y vol­
um e from dealers for the reason th ey
have v ery w ell established connec-

S A F E T Y IN
INVESTMENT
A ccounts Insured Up To
$5,000.00

n s T"7 >

Federal Savings

|and L oan A ssociation
Or St Paul
350 C edar St.

W e h eard of a w ea lth y N ebraska
cattle m an w ho w en t to New Y ork not
long ago and got so tire d of “b u yin g
his hat back” from th e beautiful h at

St. P au l, M inn.

A G ood R etu rn
w ith In s u r e d Safety

check girls th a t he p u rchased a cap
and w h en ev er he en tered a n ig h t club
or an y o th er spot w here he had to
have his h a t checked, he fooled them
and ju s t took his cap off an d p u t it
in his pocket and saved all those tips.
W e did not see his financial statem en t
a fte r he w as through, b u t no doubt it
helped to pay for a good deal of his
expenses.

S u rp lu s fu n d s o f c o rp o ra tio n s , e s­
ta te s a n d in d iv id u a ls in v e s te d h e re
e a rn 3 p e r c e n t (o u r c u rre n t r a te )
a n d a re I N S U R E D , up to $5,000,
b y a g o v e rn m e n t in s tru m e n ta lity .

T w i n C it y F e d e r a l
Savings and Loan Association
801 Marquette
Minneapolis
Est. 1923
Resources 513,000.000

Secretary and Manager

C O N S U M E R CRED IT
O P ER A T IO N S PROFITABLE

DES MOINES BUILDING-LOAN &
SAVINGS ASSOCIATION

O ldest a n d L argest
in Des M oines
411 6 th Ave.

D ial 4-7119

ELMER E. MILLER
Pres, and Sec.

HUBERT E. JAMES
Asst. Sec.

Member Federal Home Loan Bank System

N orthw estern

Banker


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

Jan u ary 19^1

(C ontinued from page 56)
criticism an d often unw ise legislation
and an y m isrep resen tatio n or decep­
tion as to b ank rates w ill m ake a
rep u tab le ban k responsible for lend­
ing p ractices of those w ho deceive th e
m ost. The sm all loan field is especi­
ally a ttractiv e to deceit and abuse due,
no doubt, to th e economic w eakness
of th e average borrow er. The rates
charged on in stallm en t loans in th is
co u n try v ary from th re e to six p er
cent discount, m aking approxim ately

F «EMPLOYERS
MUTUAL
CASUALTY COMPANY
DES MOINES
An Agency C om pany — Assets O ver $4,000,000

L
L

• Automobile Insurance
• Workmen’s Compensation
* General Liability
• Elevator Insurance
• Plate Glass Insurance

75

-•
tions w ith finance com panies w hich
th ey h esitate to discontinue.
T he
m ost inexpensive w ay to secure direct
loans is p robably th ro u g h new spaper
advertising.
I th in k probably th e
m ost effective w ay is by circu lar le tte r
and perso n al solicitations.
Our in sta llm e n t loan d ep artm en t in
our b an k sta rte d October, 1935. In
th is d e p a rtm e n t we handle all th e in ­
stallm en t loans except F H A T itle II
loans. It took about tw o y ears before
we w ere fully convinced th a t th is
business w as desirable and th a t th e re
was sufficient volum e. A t th e end of
five y ears we have a volum e of ap ­
proxim ately $400,000 o u tstan d in g to
over sixteen h u n d re d borrow ers. T his
total includes appro x im ately 150,000
FH A T itle I loans. A bout fifty p er

LEGAL INVESTMENT
For

INSURANCE COMPANIES
Accounts Insured up to $5,000

Convenient . . . Safe

3%
(C u rre n t R ate)

St. Paul Federal
Savings & Loan Association
A xel A. O lson, Sec’y-Mgr.
4 E ast F o u rth St., ST. PA U L , M IN N .

HOME
¿7
F ederal S avings
AND LOAN ASSOCIATION
OF DES MOINES
— our Federally Insured up to
$5,000 savings accounts are
the solution to your invest­
ment and trust problems.
Current dividend 3^2 percent.
Statem ent on request.
904 G ran d A venue
D es M oines, Iow a

IO W A

NEWS

•

cent of our volum e is dealer paper.
W e have m ade FH A T itle I loans
since th e law first w en t into effect.
Our experience w ith these loans has
been v ery satisfacto ry and our losses
nom inal. In m ost cases we tak e se­
c u rity on th e p ro p erty im proved. We
do not relax our credit stan d ard s on
th ese loans m erely because of th e
FH A g u aran ty , w hich as you know
is 10 p er cent of th e volum e. Our ex­
perience on o th er in stallm en t loans
has been equally good. In five y ears
we have had four repossessions of
autom obiles w ith a loss of ap proxi­
m ately $67.00. W e find th a t w e have
m ore delinquencies in contracts on
radios and household equipm ent. Our
in stallm en t loan d ep artm en t has a
sam ple of n early every kin d of loan
available in the S tate of N o rth Dakota.
W e m ake loans on autom obiles up
to tw enty-four m onths. O ther in stall­
m en t loans are usually not longer th a n
tw elve m onths. R efrig erato r and
F H A T itle I loans are m ade up to
th irty -six m onths. W e try to m ake
car loans w ith as little delay as pos­
sible, because a p u rch aser usually is
in a h u rry to secure th e car afte r he
decides to buy and quick service is
appreciated. W e req u ire insurance,
com prehensive and collision w ith $50
deductible. W e have th e title certifi­
cate issued show ing our m ortgage and
we re ta in th e title certificates in our
files. W e re ta in a d ealer’s reserve
on pap er purchased. W hen w e buy
pap er from a dealer we w rite th e p u r­
chaser a le tte r giving him notice th a t
we have th e contract, th e am ount of
th e contract, am ount of th e paym ents,
due date, th e m ake, year, model, m otor
and serial n u m ber and req u est th a t
he advise us of any discrepancy. We
also enclose a coupon book for his
convenience in m aking paym ents and
advise him th a t paym ents m u st be
m ade p rom ptly on due dates.
W e ra re ly have any trouble w ith
new car paper; w e have learned th a t
if th e first four paym ents are m ade
p ro m p tly th ere w ill be little trouble
w ith th e contract. W e th in k th a t
special effort or even expense in en ­
couraging th e pro m p t pay m en t of th e
first fo ur paym ents is advisable. In
m aking loans d irect w e can select b et­
te r risk s th a n the m ine-run paper from
dealers. W e have discontinued h a n d ­
ling p aym ents as deposits to savings;
paym ents are now applied to reduce
th e balance of th e obligation, b u t not
endorsed on th e note. T he liability
card is th e record and th e custom er
has th e receipt or record in his cou­
pon book. W ith coupon books notices

of m a tu rity of paym ents are not neces­
sary.
Our problem is to keep up our vol­
um e. Our loans are liquidating at
approxim ately $25,000 per m onth. W e
advertise in our new spapers, use blot­
te rs and stuffers and circular letters.
P ersonal solicitation especially of
F H A Title I loans, has b ro u g h t in a
w o rthw hile volum e of business. The
fact th a t a loan is m ade u n d er the
F ederal H ousing regulations seem s to
have a good m oral effect on th e b o r­
row er. We have m ade over a half
m illion dollars in FH A T itle I loans
and losses w hich have been paid by

T

HE keen executive equips his

clerical force with G-F Goodform
chairs of aluminum.

He knows it's

good business to keep his office help
comfortable and relaxed.

KOCH BROTHERS

PR IM ER S - BOOKBinDERS - OFFICE OUTFITTERS
STflTIOIlERS - BUSII1ESS mflCHIIlES

gr a

n d nvenuE

at

Iow a’s L argest B usin ess T raining School

M a n y b a n k s, bond-houses, in su ra n c e
com p an ies a n d o th e r fin a n c ia l in s t i ­
tu tio n s em ploy A. I. B. g ra d u a te s .
W rite o r te le p h o n e w h en you need
efficient office em ployes.
E . O. P E N T O N , P re s id e n t

American Institute of Business
DES M O IN ES
10th an d G rand
T el. 4-4203

N orth w estern B anker


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

fourth

Jan u ary 19^1

76

•
the F ed eral H ousing A d m in istratio n
to date am o u n t to app ro x im ately $1,500.
M any of th e w rite rs on th e subject
of in stallm en t or consum er loans
seem to th in k th a t a volum e of about
$250,000 is n ecessary in o rd er to m ake
an in stallm en t loan d e p a rtm e n t profit­
able. R ecently I read abo u t a sm all
b an k in a tow n of ab o u t one h u n d red
people in W est V irginia w hich h ad a
volum e of $150,000 in in stallm en t p a­
per.
D uring th e p ast four years, we have
been convinced th a t “Tim e P ay m en t
L oan s” are reasonably safe and m ore
desirable th a n th e average com m ercial
or ch attel loan. In ord er to secure a
volum e of th is business, you w ill have
to become a m erch an d iser of credit
and go out a fte r th e business. You
cannot w ait for th e b o rro w ers to come
to you. You should ad v ertise in
various w ays to m ake su re th a t th e
people in y o u r com m unity w ill th in k
of y o u r b ank w hen th e y are buying
an y th in g on tim e. It m eans h a rd
w ork, in terv iew ing h u n d red s of appli­
cants, sym pathizing w ith them , and
teaching th em th a t even a poor m an,
if he is h onest and has an income, can
have b ank credit.

c N

e w

IO W A

NEWS

Chemical, New York
In its statem en t for D ecem ber 31st,
th e Chem ical B ank & T ru st Company
rep o rted deposits of $871,655,101, an in ­
crease of $134,550,809 over D ecem ber
30, 1939, and total assets of $958,388,741
com pared w ith $824,327,174 a year ago.
Cash on h and and due from banks
am ounted to $412,508,661 as com pared
w ith $391,152,269; U nited States gov­
ern m en t obligations to $219,030,694
ag ain st $170,359,459; b a n k e rs’ accept­
ances an d call loans to $37,663,398
ag ain st $39,844,637; and loans and dis­
counts to $124,870,570 ag ain st $121,540,434.
Capital rem ained unchanged at $20,000,000, and su rp lu s at $50,000,000. U n­
divided profits w ere $7,904,714, an in ­
crease for th e y ear of $1,160,660 after
th e usual an n u al dividends of $3,600,000 ($1.80 p er sh are). T he indicated
n et earnings on th e b a n k ’s 2,000,000
sh ares (par $10) am ounted to $2.38 per
sh are for 1940, as com pared w ith $2.36
p er sh are for th e preceding year.

Increased Earnings
N et earnings of $332,005.32 for the
y e a r 1940 have been rep o rted by the
A m erican N ational B ank and T ru st
Com pany of Chicago. T his figure re p ­

lio r is P o p u la r

HOTEL

LINCOLN

4 4 ™ TO 45 th STS.AT 8 thAVE.
OUR CHOICEST ROOMS From
1400 RO O M S each with
Bath, Servidor, and Radio.
* Four fine restaurants
awarded Grand Prix 1940
Culinary Art Exhibition
MARIA KRAMER
" d .

PRESIDENT

John L. Horgan
Gen. Mgr.
M p*

HOTEL EDISON

SAME OWNERSHIP

■ . l L i n u |i i |i u u i

IN THE CENTER OF MID-TOWN NEWYORK
N orth w estern

Banker


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

J a n u a r ij 1 9 4 1

•
resen ts n et operating profit afte r pay­
m en t of dividends on p referred stock,
and afte r provisions for reserves, taxes
and contingencies.
T he 1940 n et earnings rep resen t
$33.20 p er share on th e common stock
of th e bank, com pared w ith $29.56 per
share in 1939 and $23.41 p er sh are in
1938. D ividends of $6 p er sh are of
com m on stock, to taling $60,000, w ere
paid du rin g 1940.
In Decem ber th e b a n k ’s su rp lu s ac­
count w as doubled by th e tra n sfe r of
$1,000,000 from undivided profits and
reserves, m aking th e su rp lu s $2,000,000. Capital stock to tals $1,600,000,
$600,000 of th is am ount being in p re­
ferred stock; $50,000 w as also tra n s ­
ferred du rin g th e y ear from undivided
profits to p referred stock re tire m e n t
fund.
T otal deposits of th e A m erican N a­
tional B ank show a su b stan tial gain
for 1940, increasing from $69,611,149 at
the beginning of th e year to $79,089,872
a t th e year-end. D em and deposits in ­
creased from $57,690,992 to $68,631,136,
w hile savings deposits increased from
$5,400,405 to $6,092,428. R esources of
the b ank now to tal $84,433,856.
A su b stan tial gain in loans and dis­
counts w as also revealed by th e yearend statem ents, th e to tal as of Decem­
ber 31st being $21,399,701, com pared
w ith $16,957,052 a y ear ago.
“N ineteen hun d red fo rty has been a
y e a r of su b stan tial progress for th e
A m erican N ational B ank and T ru st
Com pany,” L aw rence F. Stern, p resi­
dent, said in his report. In addition to
th e grow th, as indicated by th e sta te ­
m en t and earnings figures, he points
out several significant developm ents.
“T he lease covering th e q u arters occu­
pied by us w as revised on a basis m uch
m ore satisfactory to th e bank. The re ­
vised lease also gives th e b an k th e
im m ediate use of one additional floor
in th e building, and contains an option
on th ree o th er floors w hich m ay be
tak en up as req u ired by fu rth e r
g ro w th .”
Mr. S tern also com m ents on th e P en ­
sion P lan w hich w ill be subm itted to
th e b a n k ’s stockholders for approval at
th e ir an n u al m eeting on Ja n u a ry 14th.
“The plan has been designed,” Mr.
S tern points out, “to set up a pension
system w hich will, as early as possible
and as fully as th e earnings of the
b ank w ill p erm it in accordance w ith
sound banking and business practices,
provide adequate and pro p er pensions
for officers and em ployes w hen th ey
reach re tire m e n t age.”
D aniel P eterkin, Jr., w as added to
th e b a n k ’s board d uring th e year, o ther
directors being A rth u r L. Blakeslee,

77

•
Jam es R. B rem m er, L. Lew is Cohen,
W eym outh K irkland, C harles A. Liddle, Carl S. Lloyd, L aw rence F. Stern,
M elvin L. S traus, R obert E. S traus,
E dw in N. V an H orne, and H. B elin
Voorhees.
Mr. S tern concludes his re p o rt w ith
only th is brief sta te m e n t concerning
th e fu tu re, “The continued g ro w th of
our b an k d u rin g 1940 indicates th a t it
is occupying an increasingly im p o rtan t
place in th e b u siness life of our com ­
m unity. A lthough I h esitate to m ake
an y gen eral p redictions in view of u n ­
settled conditions, I believe th a t the
com ing y e a r should be a satisfactory
one for o u r b an k .”

Annual Meeting
A t a m eeting of th e directors and
stockholders of th e Peoples State
Bank, B atavia, all officers w ere re ­
elected. T he m eeting w as held J a n ­
u a ry 2nd a t th e bank.

I O W A

N E W S

•
K

C
3
4
34
69
72
43
32
64
41

Central N ational Bank and Trust Company. .. .
Chase N ational B an k ....................................................
Chemical Bank and Trust Co............... - ....................
City N ational Bank— C linton.....................................
City N ational Bank and Trust Co............................
Commerce Trust Com pany.........................................
Commercial Investm ent Trust, Inc..........................
Continental Illinois N ational Bank and Tr. Co..
Continental N ational B an k .........................................

L

T he $297,636,000 new m oney w hich
savings, b uilding and loan associations
received d u rin g th e th ird q u a rte r of
th e y e a r w as 12 p e r cent g re a te r th a n
th e ir th ird q u a rte r, 1939, inflow from
investo rs and savers, th e U nited States
Savings and L oan L eague reported.
George W. W est, p resid en t of th e
League, said th a t it also rep resen ted a
seasonal u p tu rn of som e $65,000,000
over th e in tak e d u rin g th e second
q u arte r. July, w hich is a conspicuous
m onth for in v estm en t changes, gives
th e th ird q u a rte r of ev ery y e a r an edge
over th e th re e m onths preceding.
T he S eptem ber in v estm en ts in these
th rift and hom e financing in stitu tio n s
w as $75,249,000, w hich w as 24 p er cent
g re a te r th a n in 1939.
“W hy do you keep going out w ith
Jan ice?”
“Because I like to.”
“L ike to w h a t? ”

6
68

George La Monte and S o n ...........................
L ive Stock N ational Bank— Chicago . .
Live Stock N ational Bank— Omaha . ..
Live Stock N ational Bank— Sioux City

38
44

M

D

31
74

McGuire W elch and C om pany....................
Merchants M utual Bonding Company. . .
Merchants N ational B a n k ..........................
M utual Surety Company of Iowa..............
Midland N ational Bank and Trust C o.. .

D avenport Bank and Trust Co................................... 61
D avenport and Company, F. E ..............................43- •66
Des Moines Bldg. Loan and Savings A ssn........... 74
Drovers N ational B an k ................................................... 66

2

24
53

N

E
E llis and Company, L. E ...............................................
Elms Hotel . , ........... ........................................................
Employers Mutual Casualty Co...................................
Empire N ational B an k ..................................................

N orthern Trust C om pany.............................................. 71
N orthw estern N ational L ife Insurance Co............. 22

26
77
74
52

O
Omaha N ational B an k .................................................. 19

F

P

Federal Discount Corporation...................
31
F irst Federal Savings and Loan A s s o c ia tio n .... 74
F irst N ational Bank, Chicago ................................. 46
F irst N ational Bank, Lincoln ................................. 42
First N ational Bank, Omaha ................................... 40
F irst N ational Bank, St. L o u i s ............................. 70
F irst N ational Bank, St. P a u l ............................... 51
F irst N ational Bank, Sioux C i t y .......................... 60
First N ational Bank and Trust Co., Minneapolis 49

Philadelphia N ational B a n k ....................................... 54
S
Security N ational B a n k ................................................ 13
Stock Yards N ational Bank, So. St. P a u l............... 48
St. Paul Federal Savings and Loan A ss’n ............. 75

G

T

General Motors A cceptance Corporation................ 30

Twin City Federal Savings and Loan A ss’n ......... 74

H

New Money

75

Koch Brothers ..................................................

U

H awkeye Casualty C om pany.......................................
Haw keye Mutual Hail Insurance A ss’n .................
Home Federal Savings and Loan A ss’n .................
Home Insurance C om pany............................................
Hotel L in c o ln ...................................................................

27
73
75
5
76

U. S. Check Book C om pany....................................... 39
U . S. N ational B a n k .................................................... 36
Union Bank and Trust Com pany.....................
67
V

I

Valley Savings B an k ....................................................... 69

Interstate Business Men’s Accident Co...................
Inter-State Finance Corporation...............................
Iowa-Des Moines N ational Bank and Trust Co.. .
Iowa Investm ent Bankers A ss’n .................................
Iowa State Bank and Trust C om pany......................

26
33
80
28
65

W
W ant A d ............................................................................
Walters Company, Charles E .......................................
Waterloo Savings B a n k ................................................
Western Mutual Fire Insurance Company...........
W essling S e r v ic e s ...........................................................

J
Jam ieson and C om pany.................................................53

77

65
40
63
25
12

REST* P L A Y - R E S T O R E HEALTH

LET'S

PEP UP

WITH THE WORLD FAMOUS
M IN ER A L W ATERS OF

EXCElSlOP
s

p

m

r

i n

g

s

U IC C O IID I
MISSOURI

Curative mineral waters . . .

Index to
Advertisers

Opportunities for all sports
and recreations . . . Air

77

conditioned sleeping rooms
. . . Write for information

A
Allen W ales Adding M achine Corp..........................
Allied M utual Casualty Com pany.............................
A. C. A llyn and Com pany............................................
American Institute of B u sin ess.................................
A merican N ational Bank and Trust Co...................
Andrews H o t e l..................................................................

79
24
35
75
62
60

B
Bankers Trust Com pany............................................58-59
Brewer Company, V. W ................................................ 32

or reservations.

ELMS HOTELJ
N orth w estern


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

Banker

Jan u ary 19^1

78

In the D irectors ’ R o o m
Just a Hint

W hy?

Sm ith: “W h at are you c u ttin g th a t
piece out of th e p ap er fo r?”
Jones: “It tells about a case w h ere a
m an got a divorce because his w ife
w ent th ro u g h his pockets.”
Sm ith: “W h at are you going to do
w ith it? ”
Jones: “I ’m going to p u t it in m y
pocket.”

M other: “W hat are the young m an ’s
in ten tio n s?”
D aughter: “Well, h e’s been keeping
me p re tty m uch in th e d ark .”

Touch System
He: “I ’m groping for w ords.”
She: “W ell, you d id n ’t expect to find
them aro u n d m y w aist, did you?”

Malpractice
An in v itatio n to d in n e r had been
sen t to th e new ly-settled physician. In
rep ly th e hostess received an abso­
lutely illegible letter.
“I m u st know if he accepts or re ­
fuses,” she declared.
“ If I w ere you,” suggested h e r h u s­
band, “I should tak e it to th e druggist.
D ruggists can alw ays read doctors’
letters, how ever badly th e y are w rit­
ten .”
H is wife followed his advice. The
d ru g g ist looked a t th e slip of notepaper, w en t into his d isp en sary and
re tu rn e d a few m in u tes la te r w ith a
bottle, w hich he han d ed over th e
counter.
“T here you are, m adam ,” he said.
“T h a t w ill be seventy-five cents.”

It Makes You W onder
Six y e a r old M ary w oke up about
tw o in th e m orning. “Tell m e a story,
m am m a,” she pleaded.
“H ush,
d arlin g ,”
said
m other.
“Daddy w ill be in soon and tell us both
one.”

Cautious
Boss: “H ow long do you w a n t to be
aw ay on y o u r honeym oon?”
C lerk (tim id ly ): “W ell, sir—er—
how long w ould you say?”
Boss: “H ow do I know . I h a v e n ’t
seen th e brid e.”

Tact
Judge O’F la h e rty : “H a v e n ’t you been
before m e before?”
P riso n er: “No, y er honor. Oi nev er
saw b u t one face th a t looked loike
yours and th a t w as a p h o ty g raf of an
Irish kin g .”
Judge O’F la h e rty : “D ischarged! Call
th e n e x t case!”
N orth w estern

Banker


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

January 1941

‘Tain't Fair
She (on th e p h one): “I ’m afraid
y o u r d in n er w ill be bu rn ed a little to ­
night, darling.”
He: “W h at’s th e m atter? Did th ey
have a fire at th e delicatessen?”

No Hurry
Dot: “W hat w ould you do if you sud­
denly saw an o th er m an ru n n in g aw ay
w ith m e?”
F ra n k : “W hy, I ’d sim ply ask him
w hy he w as ru n n in g .”

Drastic Treatment
Just a Small One
T eacher (pointing to a deer a t th e
z o o ): “Johnny, w h at is th a t? ”
Jo h n n y : “I don’t know .”
T eacher: “W hat does y o u r m other
call your fath er?”
Jo h n n y : “D on’t tell me th a t’s a
louse!”

And How!
W illie: “W h at is th e difference be­
tw een capital and labor, Dad?”
Dad: “Well, son, th e m oney you lend
re p re sen ts capital—and gettin g it back
rep resen ts labor.”

O r Ever Saw One
S tate’s A ttorney: “A re you su re th is
is th e m an w ho stole y o u r car last
T h u rsd ay ?”
M uch befuddled plaintiff: “Well, I
was. Now afte r th e cross-exam ination,
I ’m not su re I ever even ow ned a car!”

Once Enough
A fa th e r called up th e new spaper to
re p o rt th e b irth of tw ins. The new s
editor, n ot h earin g clearly, said, “W ill
you rep eat th a t? ”
“Not if I can help it!” w as th e em ­
phatic reply.

Easier Riding

(S cratching): “How do you get rid
of these aw ful cooties?”
“T h a t’s easy. Take a b ath in sand
and ru b dow n in alcohol. The cooties
get d ru n k and kill each o th er th ro w ­
ing rocks.”

Alas, Poor Yorick!
W hen Mrs. B erg’s expensive new fu r
coat w as delivered to h er hom e, she
fondled it ecstatically for a tim e, and
th en looked sad for a m om ent.
“W h a t’s th e m atter, a re n ’t you satis­
fied w ith it? ” in q uired h e r husband?
“Yes,” she answ ered, “b u t I feel so
so rry for th e poor th in g th a t w as
skinned.”
“T h an k s,” said Mr. Berg.

Note This
T here w as an old girl of Genoa,
I blush w hen I th in k w h at Iowa.
She’s gone now to rest,
W hich I th in k ’s for th e best,
O therw ise I w ould borrow Samoa.

Ask the C a t
M other: “Stop asking so m any ques­
tions. Don’t you know th a t curiosity
killed th e cat?”
Small d aughter: “Is th a t so? W hat
did th e cat w an t to know ?”

No W onder

A girl w as driving in h e r new car
w hen som ething w en t w rong w ith the
engine. The traffic light changed from
green to red and back to green and
still she could not get th e car to budge.
The traffic cop cam e up.
“W h a t’s th e m atter, M iss?” he in ­
quired. “A in’t we got colors you like?”
like?”

Joe: “You look dow n-hearted, old
m an. W h at are you w orried about?”
Bill: “My fu tu re.”
Joe: “W hat m akes your fu tu re seem
so hopeless?”
Bill: “My p ast.”

“You say h e’s 94, nev er looked a t a
girl in his life, and doesn’t sm oke,
d rin k or gam ble?”
“Aye—B eats me w hy he w anted to
live so long.”

A young w om an w alked into a ra il­
road ticket office in Chicago and asked
for a tick et to New York. “Do you w ish
to go by Buffalo?” asked th e tick et
agent. “C ertainly not!” she replied, “I
w an t to go by tra in .”

More Than 100 Different ALLEN WALES Models
More Than 400 Distributing Points in U. S. A.
More Than 600 Percent Increase in Sales
In The Past 6 Years
These Figures Are Of Importance To All
Users of Adding Machines
M anufactured Since 1903 ALLEN WALES
Machines Are Recognized For Their
ACCURACY-SPEED and DEPENDABILITY
Our Low Priced
Counter Machine

To Let You Try One Without Obligation—Telephone Them or Write Us
ALLEN

W A LES A D D IN G

M A C H IN E

C O R P O R A T IO N

4 4 4 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.
SALES AND SERVICE IN 4 0 0 AMERICAN CITIES AND IN 4 0 FOREIGN COUNTRIES

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

A Year of Progress
★

Condensed Statements of Condition
★

D ecem ber 31, 1940

D ecem ber 31, 1939

RESOURCES

RESOURCES

Cash and Due from B a n k s ............................$21,415,291.23
*U. S. Government S e c u r it ie s ....................

7,831,336.44

State, County and M unicipal Securities

4,375,667.72

Federal Reserve Bank S t o c k ....................

105,000.00

Other Bonds and S e c u r i t i e s ....................

226,225.86

Loans and D i s c o u n t s ...............................

15,233,085.22

Interest Earned but Not Collected

123,025.54

Cash and Due from B a n k s ......................... $17,801,694.11
*U. S. Government S e c u r it ie s ....................

8,565,673.28

State, County and M unicipal Securities

4,008,966.12

.

Federal Reserve Bank S t o c k ....................

106,500.00

Other Bonds and S e c u r i t i e s ....................

322,518.98

Loans and D i s c o u n t s ...............................
Interest Earned but Not Collected

.

.

.

120,295.25

Bank P r e m i s e s .........................................
Furniture, Fixtures and Vaults
. . . .

1,548,495.51
91,479.69

Bank P r e m i s e s .........................................

O v e r d r a f t s ..............................................

2,102.38
10,150.00

O v e r d r a f t s ..............................................

Customers’ Liability on Letters of Credit

Furniture, Fixtures and Vaults

.

.

.

.

Customers’ Liability on Letters of Credit and
A c c e p t a n c e s .........................................

*$4,164,237.67 U. S. Government Securities pledged
to secure Public and Trust Department Funds.

......................... $ 2,500,000.00

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

None
1,633,136.62
191,292.91

Capital Stock, Common

......................... $ 1,750,000.00

Capital Stock, P r e f e r r e d ..........................
Surplus and Undivided Profits
Special Reserves

.

102,994.94

Interest Collected but Not Earned

10,150.00
46,524,285.12

Letters of Credit and Acceptances

.

.

.

.

.

1,250,000.00
977,205.61

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

Letters of Credit
....................................
D E P O S I T S ..............................................

Interest Collected but Not Earned

18,889.95

LIABILITIES

Capital Stock, P r e f e r r e d ..........................
Surplus and Undivided Profits
. . . .
Special Reserves

3,188.68

$46,025,024.9

LIABILITIES
Capital Stock, Common

1,600,430.00
95,587.34

$50,961,859.59

*$2,885,192.28 U. S. Government Securities pledged
to secure Public and Trust Department Funds.

13,381,281.22

277,851.25
83,395.64

.

.

.

18,889.95

D E P O S I T S .........................................

.

41,667,682.48

$50,961,859.59

$46,025,024.93

I o w a ' s L a r g e s t Ban k

Io w a - d es Moin es national
& Trust C om pany
Member oF The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation


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

bank