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https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis o T 11 E N ( ) R T II W E S T E R N N o rth w e ste rn N ational Life Insurance Company FOUNDED MUTUAL, OLD-LINE, WESTERN A . C H A M B E R L A IN , tio n a l B a n k P r e s id e n t F ir s t N a C. T . J A F F R A Y , P r e s id e n t “ S o o ” R a ilw a y J. JOHN T. BAXTER, President PURELY D IR E C T O R S F. E , W . D E C K E R , P r e s id e n t N o r t h w e s t e r n N a tio n a l B a n k MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA A July, 1924 B A NK E R COMPANY A . B A T T A , V ic e -P r e s id e n t N o r t h w e s t e r n N a t io n a l B a n k E , B . C A R P E N T E R , P r e s id e n t S h e v lin -C a r p e n t e r -C la r k e C o. B. F . N E B S O N , P r e s id e n t H e n n e p in P a p e r C o. A . F . P IC C S B U R Y , T r e a s u r e r P ills b u r y F lo u r M i ll s C o . T . F . W A B B A C E , T reasu rer F arm ers & M e c h a n ic s S a v in g s B a n k J O H N T . B A X T E R , P r e s id e n t N o r th w e s te r n N a t io n a l B ile I n s u r a n c e C o. 1057 O F F IC E R S F R E D E R IC K II. D A V I S , P r e s id e n t C . T . K O U N T Z E , V ic e P r e s id e n t an d C h a ir m a n Ask the Man W ho Knows T . B . D A V I S , V ic e P r e s id e n t F . W . T H O M A S , V ic e P r e s id e n t Does advertising pay ? E . B . D R O S T E , V ic e P r e s id e n t J . H . B E X T E N , C a sh ie r G . T . Z I M M E R M A N , A s s t . C a s h ie r A . H . C H IS H O B M , A s s t . C a s h ie r E . F . J E P S E N , A s s t . C a s h ie r When you ask the man who K N O W S , the one who has used advertising intelligently, you will get the real facts. J. F . M c D E R M O T T , A s s t . C a sh ie r Resources $25,000,000.00 N a tio n a l iBankofOmaha h a s e f f ic ie n t ly s e r v e d W e s t e r n B a n k s fo r 60 y e a r s. T o u r b u s i n e s s is in v i t e d . He will tell you that advertising placed in the right medium is a wonderful business builder. When you want to reach bankers use the publication that is really dominant in this territory. The Northwestern Banker FIRST -» « ' NATIONAL BANK ^ IN THE UNITED STATES Your Representative In Davenport and eastern Iowa should be a bank capable of handling any sort of financial trans actions. We have at your service an experienced Bond Department, a thoroughly equipped Trust Depart ment. These departments and many others together with our splendid new Banking Home, rapidly nearing completion, reflect not only the desire for progressiveness, but our desire to serve Iowa Bankers better than ever before. First National Bank Davenport, Iowa A . F . D A W S O N , P re sid en t https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis IR V IN J . G R E E N , C a sh ier All Essential Facilities This bank maintains all of the facilities which you may require of your Sioux City District correspondent and assures you of the friendly personal interest of its officers in the statisfactory handling of your account. The First National Bank of Sioux C ity , Iow a The Bank of Stability and Service July, 1924 THE XORTHWESTEEN BANKER LYTLE Co 7/ie Cagiidl Beauty Permanence and Small Cast C on su lt th e L ytle C om p a n y These are the three factors that concern the banker most who is contemplating building today. On the opposite page you will notice interior and exterior views of several of the splen did bank structures designed and built by the Lytle Company of Sioux City. Look them over carefully—you'll like the distinctive and attrac tive appearance of all of them. But most of all, you’ll like the amount involved. If you knew the exact cost of the finished building you would not delay the question of building any longer than to get in touch with Mr. Raven, president of the Lytle Company. The Lytle Company has gained the reputation among bankers of the Northwest as “ The Capitol of Better Bank Buildings." If you, too, are contemplating building, why not get the Lytle Company’s proposition? You’ll be astonished at the small amount needed for your new building. «J* A.. E A Y S N , F r e jr . A r c h i t e c h f E n f i n o Compl ot e B an k f Office B u i l d i n g ! ** jrio u x City; Iowa https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 3 THE N 0 R T II AV E S T E R N July, 1924 BAN K E R «illsg M l l -Courtesy Hoggson Br Jasper County Savings Bank, Newton, Iowa The ISi orth w est er n P u b lish e d a t 555 S e ve n th S treet, Des M o in e s , Iow a Number 443 CONTENTS FOR JULY,1924 Twenty-ninth Year Across from the Publisher......... By Clifford DePuy Prontispage.................................... C. ,1. Wohlenberg Domestic Business............. By Dr. W. Lichtenstein Why Some Advertising Pails........By E. B. Wilson Auto Financing.............................By E. C. Starrett Making the Small Account Profitable........... ......... ............................................ By R. W. Moorhead Page 6 8 9 10 11 Page The “ Adehequer” .................................By Craddick 14 15 The Dawes Plan........................................................... ‘ ‘ Ten Years Ago ” ........................................................ 17 In the Eyes of the Law .............................................. 18 Bank’s Responsibility in Renting Deposit Boxes.. 20 Special Section, Iowa Farm Mortgage Bankers. . . . 21 12 Personal Paragraphs...................................... Iowa Bond Dealers Section........................... Insurance Section............................................ Farm Mortgage Section................................... For Bankers and Their Wants......................... 42 47 53 65 68 South Dakota News.......................................... Nebraska News.................................................. Minnesota News................................................ North Dakota News................. '..................... Iowa News.......................................................... 69 73 79 85 87 The contents of this magazine are fully protected by copyright THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER, P u b l is h e d by D eP u y P u b l is h in g Co., I n c ., C a p it a l Stock, $100,000.00 Cl if f o r d D e P u y , P u blish er; G. A. S n id e r , Associate P ublish er; R . W . M o or h e a d , E d ito r; J. J. W e n g e r t , Associate E d itor. S p e c ia l R e p r e s e n t a t i v e : R ex V . Lentz, Care N orthwestern B anker, P hone W alnut 1844. M in n e a p o l is O f f ic e : F rank S. Lewis, 840 Lum ber Exchange B ldg., Phone M ain 3865. C h ic a g o O f f i c e : W m . H. Maas, 1148 First Natl. B ank B ldg., P hone Dearborn 6063. N e w Y ork O f f i c e - Philip J. Svms, 150 Nassau St., P hone 4836 Beelcman. S t . L o u is O f f i c e : Donald H. Clark, 408 Olive Street, P hone M am 1342. K a n s a s Ci t y O f f i c e : Glen D. Mathews, 405 R idge Bldg., P hone H a rrison 5857. E u r o p e a n R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s : The D orland Agency, Ltd., 16 R egent St., London, England, 24 B oulevard des Capucines, Paris, France. Entered as second class matter at the Des M oines postoffic© https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Subscrip tion Rates, $ 3 . 0 0 per year; 5 0 cents per copy July, 1924 TH E N 0 R TH W EST E RN B A X K E R Comprehensive Service Nine Active Departments enable this bank to fill the needs of its correspond ents in every conceivable phase of financial service. This unusual capacity, coupled with a spirit of helpfulness available at all times and under all conditions, have gained for the Iowa Loan & Trust Company an envi able reputation among its banker friends. DES MOINES Member Federal Reserve System https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Resources Ten Million Dollars 5 THE fi N 0 R T II W E S T E E N BA NK ER July, 1924 ACROSS THE DESK FROM THE PUBLISHER ï O YOU ever re-employ a man who has at any time left your bank to work for another institution? This is a question that I have dis cussed with bankers on vari ous occasions and the general opinion seems to be that they do not. If a man becomes dissatis fied with his work or his posi tion and wants to leave your bank the best thing for him to do is to go. It is also the best thing for your institution. No man can do his best work if he thinks the pastures are greener across the road. He, of course, does not see the burrs and thistles in the clover but that does not matter—he will have to find that out for himself. If such an employe, after leaving your organi zation then finds that he has made a mistake or that the new position has not proved to be as fine as he thought it was and wants to come back, is it a good policy to re-employ him? Personally I do not think it is. If he was not satisfied before he left it is not likely that he will be satisfied now. Loyalty is one of the greatest assets that any employe can have. It is worth more than many other attributes combined and if an employe can not have enough loyalty nor get a broad enough vision of his work so that he can help his bank grow and prosper by giving his institution the best that he has of brains and energy, then I do not think he is worthy to be placed on the pay D roll again after he has once left for what he expected to be greener pastures. One of the best known man ufacturers in the country has a rule that if an executive or an employe of his wishes to leave he does not make any in ducement of any kind to help Il him. He puts it this way, “ It would be inadvisable to make any inducement when a man feels that he has a better op portunity outside this business than inside it. He has lost the spirit which makes him a good man for us, and we should not try to keep him. We must have men who are with us not merely because they are receiving satisfactory earnings but because this is their home. When a man feels the call to leave this home he has lost something necessary to the success of this busi ness—he is no longer a part of it but is merely employed by it. Mere salary does not instill that feeling in a man. For the same reason I would not consider it advisable to take an executive back who had once left. We must have a family spirit which will keep us all together.” I think that every institution, if it is rightly managed, can offer opportunities for the full ex pression of every employe’s ability. If that is true there should be no need for the employe to leave, but if he has once left, the lack of vision which he originally should have had would make it unde sirable to re-employ him. A re Farm Loans Delinquent ? any period of temporary depression D URING there is always much talk about how “ bad” business is, when if the facts were known condi tions are usually much better than most people realize. Recently there has been much discussion about the delinquency of farm loans. The fact that the https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis farmer was financially embarrassed made it im possible for him to pay off his farm mortgage in debtedness or even the interest on such indebted ness, is a statement which has been repeatedly made by individuals who did not take time to an alyze actual conditions. At the recent state convention of the Iowa July, 1924 THE NOR T H W E 8 T E RN Farm Mortgage Bankers Association the presi dent, in his annual address, made this statement: “ There has been much comment about delin quency in connection with Iowa farm loans, and that there have been an unusual number of farms foreclosed. If you will turn to the Iowa In surance Report for December 31, 1923, you will find that twenty Iowa companies reported assets invested in mortgage loans of i$129,807,536.95; that they had only $909,526.83 interest past due on that date. Or, in other words, only .701 per cent of past due interest to total mortgage loans. Those same Iowa companies had invested, in Iowa, BAN K E R $96,220,109.85, or in other words 74.13 per cent of the total loans were invested in the state of Iowa. When you take into consideration that much of this interest was less than 30 days past due and that much of it was paid in thirty days, it is a remarkable showing.” What better answer could be given to prove that delinquencies in the payment of farm loans have been small indeed and that the number of farm foreclosures have been much less than many have thought. Iowa and the middle west are in much better condition than many people realize. Improved Conditions the last thirty days Minnesota, Iowa, D URING South Dakota, North Dakota and Illinois have had their State Bankers’ Conventions. Bankers have gathered from all parts of their respective states to discuss their mutual problems. At each one of these conventions either the writer or a representative of the DePuy Publi cations has asked hundreds of different bankers, “ IIow are conditions in your community?” In almost every case a favorable answer was re ceived. It is true, of course, that some banks have been closed and some farmers have gone bankrupt, but these figures have, in many cases, been greatly exaggerated. We were talking to a banker in New York three weeks ago and he said, “ Iowa must be in bad condition with 300 bank failures.” We said, “ You are certainly misinformed because the exact figures show that only 31 banks have closed since January 1, 1924.” As to failures among farmers only 7.2 per cent of the farmers in the northwest are bankrupt or in danger of bank ruptcy and failures among competent farmers has been less than 1 per cent. “ ft C A S H I E R ’S C H E C K ” for $3.00 is all that is required to secure the monthly visits of the Northwestern Banker for an entire year. Each issue contains from 108 to 200 pages of mighty interesting matter pertaining to banks and banking interests in the territory covered by the magazine. “O U R C O R R E S P O N D E N T S .” Every bank in the Northwest is in vited to a place on this list. Send us items of local interest, tell us y jK about your bank and its growth, prospects, etc., also any other financial news of interest to bankers in your section. We are always glad to hear from our friends. “ S I G H T D R A F T S . ” We always carry a large “ Reserve” of good will and additional service, and will promptly honor drafts made upon same by any bank. This department is for your special benefit. It may be made of very great benefit to your bank. Do not fail to avail yourself of its privileges. " A C L E A R I N G H O U S E . ” Our columns are a clearing house for all our readers. Express your views on any topic of interest to https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis A farm owner near Fort Dodge, Iowa, refused $250 an acre for his farm less than thirty days ago. In talking with the president of a large bank in Omaha, he said, “ We have plenty of money, our bank is in fine condition and our demand from our correspondent banks at this time is very small indeed. In fact I think the whole state of Ne braska is in much better condition than has been indicated by some reports which I have heard.” Many other examples could be cited of the opti mistic feeling and the greatly improved tone which is everywhere prevalent throughout the middle west. To be sure, the weak banks have closed and the over-expanded farmers have had to turn their assets over to their creditors, but this is resulting in clearing the situation very rapidly and the net result will be that the middle western states will be in a better position than they have ever been before. They are going forward on a basis that insures a safe and sound period of prosperity for a number of vears to come. submit same for publication. You do not bar« anyone else. Welearn things by an interchange whom we disagree often prove valuable teachers. hear from you. N O P R O T E S T ” has ever been offered to the statement that the field covered by the Northwestern Banker is the money-producing section of the American continent, rich in hogs, cattle, com , etc., and dotted with thousands of prosperous banks, all doing a good business, and the majority of them are readers of “ The North western.” “ S U R P L U S A N D U N D I V I D E D P R O F I T S ” increase very rap idly with those banks, whose advertisements appear regularly in the columns of this magazine. Full information as to rates and our special service will be promptly furnished on appli cation. Your business solicited and appreciated. The “ Bankhas been twenty-eight years in its present field. the banking fraternity and to agree with us, or with of ideas, and people with We shall be glad to 7 C, J. WOHLENBERG President, Iowa Bankers Association C. J. Wohlenberg, the newly elected president of the Iowa Bankers Asso ciation, is president of the Holstein Savings Bank of Holstein, Iowa, one of the strongest banks of its size in the state. Mr. Wohlenberg is a veteran banker and has always been prominently identified with activities in the State Asso ciation. During his thirty-nine years of banking activity, he has served on the Agricultural and Executive committees. Likewise, he has served as Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of his Group. Mr. Wohlenberg was for three years a member of the Executive Council of the American Bankers Association. mmm Î https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis me 3TAVI3S The N ecessa ry F in an cial Domestic Business and Some International Considerations Prosperity can only be attained by application of science to industry and restoration of trade ( From address d elivered b efore con ven tion o f N orth Dakota Bankers Association) By Dr. ¡Valter Lichtenstein Exec. Sec’y First National Bank, Chicago OU are in the wealthiest region of this great country, and still yon have had and are having financial difficulties. We are the richest country on earth and we have more individual material prosperity than any other, and still we are suffering. The business man suffered, especially in the year 1921, when the deficits reported by corpora tions were two hundred million dollars greater than were the profits of corpora tions. In the subsequent years, business recovered somewhat. Agriculture, or at least certain sections of the agricultural community, seems to be having more trouble than ever. Is it the fault of the government? Is it the fault of the peo ple themselves? Or, what is the rea son? I do not know that I can answer all these questions satisfactorily. I am ceiv tain that I cannot answer them to the satisfaction of everyone here present be cause there are many preconceived opin ions, some well-founded and some other wise, but in any event, difficult to change because they are rooted in self interest. Of this much I feel certain, that, if those who desire to bring about the millenium by means of legislative measures were to gain control of the government, one tremendous thing would be achieved ; that is, that these people would be made to realize the enormous difficulties with which the government of this country is faced. Sobered by this new understanding and fortified by a knowdedge of facts which they have not hitherto possessed, their attitude with regard to our prob lems, industrial and otherwise, would be more reasonable in the future, and their capacity to assist this country to over come its difficulties rather than to hin der would be proportionately increased, Y https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 1)R. WALT ER LI( ’ IIT E XSTElX whether the future were to find them in office or in opposition, for the bitter truth is that it is with remorseless economic facts, and not with reactionaries, that we have to do battle, but rather with events over which we. have too often lit tle or no control! You cannot blow up the tangible wealth of the world for four years and then expect to persue the rose-strewn path of prosperity and prog ress as if nothing had happened. In the nationalization of industry the panacea for all our evils is not to be found, for a derelict state industry is no better than a derelict private industry. All the socialist theories and schemes in the world, however well devised, will not bring relief to our suffering people. What this country wants first and last is prosperity. And prosperity can only be regained by twTo things: (1) the ap plication of science to industry, and (2) the restoration of trade. I am, therefore, not fearful of the ultimate results which will be accom plished by a victory of radicalism in our great northwest. You here in North Da kota have had some experience with radicalism, and many of you have learned the lessons which I have just sought to emphasize; namely, that a derelict state industry is no better than a derelict private industry. You may, howmver, ask me why did commerce and industry recover after 1921 and not agriculture ? It seems to me that this was due largely to the fact that industry and commerce found ample occupation in the expansion of building and the rehabilitation required by the railways of the country. These two fac tors have now7 pretty w7ell ceased to oper ate, and so you begin to see a slump in industry and commerce generally. You see it in the steady falling off of steel production and the retrogression in the other key industries. In short, we are all learning that we are a part of the world and that we must suffer with the rest of the world for the orgies of de struction which went on for Tour years. Now, too many of our agricultural friends have not learned the lesson which has been impressed upon you so forcibly here in North Dakota. They still be lieve in panaceas like the McNaryHaugen Bill and other legislative meas ures, which, in my opinion, may bring temporary benefit to the wheat growers, but will shoulder upon the nation as a whole a burden from which it will not 10 THE recover for years. Furthermore, mark I say, these measures may bring tem porary relief to the wheat growers. Permanent relief can only come by the two factors which I have mentioned be fore: (1) the application of science to industry, which in the case of agriculture means diversification, and (2) the restora tion of trade. Without desiring to enter into de tailed criticism of the underlying faulty features of the McNary-TIaugen Bill, which have been fully exposed by Mr. George E. Roberts and others, I should like to emphasize again the amount of national ill will which we would incur by such measures. “ Dumping,” which means unfair international competition, has been condemned by all countries. When practiced, it has been done by private corporations, but here we have ‘ ‘ dumping, ’ ’ not by a private corpora tion, but by a government itself. Do you suppose that the farmers of Canada and of the Argentine, who will see themselves confronted by our cut-throat competi tion and whose standard of living will be threatened thereby, will stand idly by ? Do you suppose for a moment that the various countries affected by this sort of trade will not undertake to adopt reprisals of various kinds? What the McNarv-Haugen Bill is contemplating NORTHWESTERN BANKER is nothing less than economic warfare, and experience teaches us that economic warfare often is a prelude to political warfare. I have mentioned the two factors neces sary to restore prosperity. The first of these, the application of science to in dustry and agriculture, is one which others have discussed so fully and so often that I shall not treat of this again. But I should like to say a few words about the restoration of trade. In my opinion, trade can be restored only when Europe regains prosperity; when Europe is able again to produce and with the profits of her production buy—buy not merely the bare necessities of life, but also provide for something beyond that. Do you realize that for the nine months ending March 31, 1923, our exports of foodstuffs in crude condition and food animals amounted to 329 million dol lars, while for the nine months ending March 31, 1924, we exported of food stuffs in crude condition and food ani mals just about one-half of what we did in the previous year, namely, 164 mil lion dollars? Doesn’t this tell the tale? Doesn’t it show vividly the fundamental difficulty? A first step has indeed been taken toward the restoration of Europe by the July, 1924 general adoption of the Dawes report. It has met with a favorable reception in practically all quarters, and it un questionably represents a step in advance. For the first time the reparation ques tion has been dealt with from a reasoned, economic point of view, and attention has been paid to other than political considerations. In this country there has been more optimism displayed as re gards the report than has been true in Europe. It lias been felt on the other side of the Atlantic that the Dawes re port, while marking a step in advance, does not completely settle the whole ques tion, as seems to have been the impres sion conveyed by American newspapers. Especially in France, there has been some skepticism, and it may be of interest to quote from a debate which took place in the “ Croupenent Universitaire pour la Société des Nations.” M. Robert de Jouvenel, a leading radical journalist of Paris, is reported to have said, among other things on that occasion: “ Here a third question arose: How to transfer the wealth thus concentrated in the Ger man bank to the Allies. That was a far more delicate problem, and I am dis posed to credit the general opinion that the experts adopted the solution of not solving it. ” W h y Some Bank Advertising Fails By Edwin Bird Wilson in bank advertising has been the rule, and that in spite of many mistakes in policy and methods. There have been some failures, most of which were avoidable. One of the causes of failure has been a lack of definite policy regarding ad vertising. A banker will say, “ I think we ought to advertise. Let’s try this scheme.” He “ tries it ” for a while and naturally is disappointed by the meagerness of tangible results. “ Try ing i t ’ ’has been the cause of much dis satisfaction and discouragement. “ Plan ning it ” and “ keeping it up” would have brought satisfaction and encour agement. There are bankers who “ try” some thing new every year and finally quit with the mistaken conviction that ad vertising for their bank is a wasteful expense instead of a profitable invest ment. I f they would stop “ trying” things and have their advertising de liberately, expertly planned to cover a period of years and then stick to their plan , they would win the goal of bank advertising, namely, increased good will and greater business. Another cause of failure or inade quacy of success has been a lack of in- S uccess https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis terest in the advertising of the bank by its management. “ One of the most im portant duties of a bank executive is its public relations,” said the newlyelected president of a great trust com pany. And he was right. But too many bank heads relegate advertising to a minor place in their consideration and after determining the appropriation wipe their hands of the whole petty business. I have never heard of a fail ure in bank advertising where the bank’s president maintained an active, sym pathetic, continuing interest in his in stitution’s advertising program and worked whole-heartedly with those di rectly in charge to obtain profitable results. Most bank executives are too busy to give a great deal of time to details of any department. The wiser execu tives delegate details—in advertising as well as in other matters. And they give the advertising officer freedom and au thority to get the best assistance he can obtain, within the limits necessarily pre scribed in advance by executive policy. Failure may be expected where nobody has the specific duty of handling the detail of bank advertising. Good counsel in bank advertising is just as important as good counsel in legal architectural or medical matters and not a few banks are limiting the success of their advertising by trying to be their own advisers on a subject in which they lack experience and prac tical training. Banks are human business concerns, public service institutions with hearts and souls. These facts are not always re vealed by the bank’s advertising—which accounts for other failures or near failures in bank advertising. The hu man touch is lacking and human hearts pass by untouched, uncharmed, unwon. The advertising in some cases is as cold as the marble of the banking room. It should be as warm and human as the hearts of those who spend their lives within the marble and bronze confines, rendering useful service to their human fellows. Bank advertising, intelligently planned, persisted in, wisely overseen by the head of the institution, guided by expert advice and made human in its appeal will not fail. The artist must look to his own in dustry and not to the criticisms of others for the true revelation of his own powers.—Hamerton. July, 1924 THE N O R T II W E S T E R N B A N K E R 11 W hat the Banker Should Know About ' A u to Financing Sound finance practices make reasonably priced autos possible and stabilize entire industry A S N ’T it you, Mr. Banker, who By E. C. Starrett said the other day, “ I f the peo ple don’t quit buying cars, the President Continental Discount Company Des Moines, Iowa whole state will be broke” ? I f it wasn’t you, I ’ll bet it was some member of the A. B. A. Well, let’s sharpen our pencils and do a little figuring. Remember back in 1921 when the Chicago banks made us blue by telling that Iowa owed ninety mil lion dollars in Chicago? And we did feel pretty tough about it until some optimist said, “ Yes, but that will just buj7 a. round of tires for every automo bile. ” Then we didn’t feel so bad, for we realized that while ninety million dollars was a lot of money, yet we had a lot of wealth. Of course, that round of tires story was an exaggeration, but I wonder if you realize how close it was. Up to January 1, 1922, Iowa had 424,000 pleasure cars and 38,000 trucks registered. The ninety million was not quite $195 for each car. When you Avere twenty-one, you hired a team of high-stepping bays to court the Mrs., didn’t you? Those good old times have gone forever. This is the period of jazz, knickers and bobbed hair. The garage takes the place of the livery stable for all the latest gossip. They E. C. STARRETT used to talk of you as one of the best horsemen in town; now the fellow with the classiest “ flivver” is the envied one. The basic idea is to so arrange the In those days the man on the section terms of payment that an honest man drew down about $1.25 per day and can and Avill meet the payments as they hardly knew how to spend it all. A mature. This requires an organization horse, buggy and harness cost about of AATell-trained specialists. Suffieent $125, which meant 100 days’ labor. To initial payment must be made by the day the section man gets about $3.50 and buyer, and the finance company must he can buy a mighty good serviceable charge a good stiff fee to cover the costs car for $350, the same 100 days’ labor. of its services. They must be, in a Avay, On that basis the young fellow Avith a bankers, credit men, collectors, laAvyers, car is no more extravagant than the insurance experts, and sometimes detec fellows in your “ gang.” And look at tives. Let the organization be weak on your “ gang” now, most of then pretty any of these and trouble is sure to folsubstantial citizens, aren’t they? 1oaat. A commercial bank with such It is the automobile finance company paper is in for a lot of grief and Avill sooner or later sustain heavy losses. that has made this condition possible, primarily by increasing the sales so that We all know that our present trouble the manufacturer can reduce his costs. is overproduction of farm products. In While about 70 per cent of all sales of 1922, there Avere nearly 12,000 garages, cars involve a note of some kind, only auto accessory dealers and car dealers about one-half of the sales are through in loAva. Suppose that each employed finance companies. These are merely fiAre men. That means 60,000 people. estimates. It is up to the finance com Now, about half of all our population is pany to furnish immense sums of very engaged in farming. That means 30,000 necessary money, to scan the credit rec to go back to the farms. There are ords and reputation of the purchaser, to about 210,000 farms in IoAva. In other teach the dealer what is sound in auto words, every seventh farm Avould have mobile finance and what is not. an extra family. That A\Tould increase W https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis farm production even more Avith still lower prices. Remember, these figures are for IoAva only. There are, of course, people driving cars Avho should be walking. But lots of people dress too Avell, live in houses Avhich are too expensive, and who order too many strawberries in January. But Ave are inclined to forget them and do all our knocking on the felloAv Avho bought a Cadillac instead of a Ford. Certain members of every community Avill ahvays be broke. In the good old days it Avas horses and hound dogs; now it is cars. But the felloA\T Avho buys a car on time is being taught by the auto finance company to make regular and substantial payments every month. When he is through paying on his car, it is not all wasted. He has accumu lated some property. If the auto sales man had not sold him the car, the same man AATould have been broke anyway, and would not e\Ten have a iised car to s Iioaa7 for his savings. He has been taught that regular payments will purchase some thing for him. Keep in mind the fact that no one saA’es for the purpose of liaAung money in the bank. They save in order that they might buy or be able to buy something. Even if it is to buy a bond, they haA7e the vision of the things that the interest from the bond Avill buy. If he has been paying $50.00 per month on his car, the manager of your savings department should get him to save at least $25.00 a month. If he can’t do this, he should take some les sons in salesmanship from the nearest auto dealer. Even a neAV Ford requires an initial payment of about $100. I presume more savings accounts haA7e been opened and then closed for this purpose than any other. In other Avords, the auto dealer sells him on the idea of saving his money in order that he may have a car. The finance company sells him on the idea of making regular payments. When they are through, it is up to the banker. Get after him promptly. He will save if you “ sell” him. There is another little point that I be lieve Avill repay your study. When you make a loan, try to get some sort of par tial payments before final maturity. Of course, it can’t always be done, but I belie\Te you will agree that there are notes in your “ charged off” file that would be money in the bank if small and regu(Continued on page 75) THE 12 NORTHWESTERN July, 1924 BANKER Is the Service Charge the Remedy for the Unprofitable Account? Bankers of the Northwest give their opinions on how to make the small account a profitable one OW can the banker change the small checking account from the loss to the profit side of his books ? Is a small checking charge for accounts of possibly one hundred dollars or less the solution for this problem ? To ascertain the feeling of bankers in the northwest on this point, the North western Banker recently sent out a num ber of personal letters of inquiry asking for an expression of opinion from leading bankers. Their comment, surprisingly uniform, is given as follow s: H Bankers Must Make Accounts Profitable By DON A. MULLEN Secretary Clearing House Section, A. B. A. ‘ ‘ The question of a service charge where the daily balance of customers falls be low a certain minimum, has often been discussed by bankers. In nearly all banks there are small and insufficient balances, which of themselves are unprofitable. The bank which has a proper conception of its service to the community, dislikes to throw out these accounts, and seldom does so, despite the fact that in holding the account it frequently entails an un warranted loss. ‘ ‘ The banks in an eastern city which recently adopted a uniform rule of charg ing one dollar a month on accounts with balances of $200 or under, realize the wis dom of the course. This rule provided that the assessment would be made only where the accounts were shown to be profitless and not connected with any other good business. Adopting a rule in this way left it discretionary with the banks as to which accounts they would charge. ‘ ‘ Let us consider both sides of the ques tion—that of the bank and that of the depositor. The banks of the country ren der to the general public many services for which they receive no compensation. The checking privileges permits the cus tomer to draw checks on stationery gratuitously provided, virtually keeping the books of the depositor and rendering periodic statements with all cost and risk attending. Let us inquire what the con tract of deposit includes. Upon opening an account, the bank agrees with the de positor to furnish the necessary station ery, ever increasing in cost, the labor necessary to handle the account and to pay checks as presented only when propery signed. It assumes the risk of for gery and alteration. When stop pay https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By R. W . Moorhead Editor Northwestern Banker merits are lodged against the accounts, it assumes the risk of paying over the stop payment notice with the attending haz ards. It is easily provable that every check paid by a bank involves seven dis tinct risks: As to the date; as to the sig nature ; as to the alteration ; as to the filling; as to the stop payment; as to the sufficiency of balance; as to the uncol lected funds. As compensation of these risks, the bank received the use of funds for its own account. “ It is also a provable fact that every check handled bj^ a bank involves a cer tain amount of cost, and it is not impos sible to get a fairly accurate cost of handling a single check. It is also pos sible to ascertain with reasonable exact ness the profit or loss on each account. “ Let us look at the question from the depositor’s viewpoint. He may well argue that he gives the bank all his busi ness and keeps as large a balance as pos sible. He looks upon the bank as a public institution and he honors it with his pat ronage. He helps it by his friendship. He gives it all he has to give of money and support. Moreover, he expects to give it more when he gets in a position to do so. The problem, then, resolves itself into what attitude to take in order to build good will for the future, render such service as the public naturally ex pects and still make a profit on the ac count. Therefore, four processes are pos sible : “ 1. To eliminate all so-called unprofit able accounts. “ 2. Encourage building up all such ac counts for the future business resulting therefrom. “ 3. Tolerate the accommodation ac counts as a necessity of the business, under the same theory that the grocer carries sugar, on which he makes no profit, hoping to cover the loss in the gen eral sales. “ 4. Penalize the unprofitable account, which will either drive it out of the bank, produce a profit or build it up into a profitable account. “ The banker is fully justified in an en deavor to make every account a profitable one, just as the merchant endeavors to make every sale a profitable sale; but there are some accounts on which a small loss is Unavoidable, just as the merchant must take a loss on some sales, or carry unreasonable and unsalable stock.” Duluth Has Favorable Experience By JOE H. INGWERSEN Vice Pres. First National Bank, Duluth “ We have made a comparatively com plete analysis of the so-called unprofit able accounts and found that a checking account that did not average $100.00 or more was a losing proposition. This analysis was made at or about the time the local clearing house association con sidered the question of making a service charge. We found from our experience that it costs from 50 cents to $1.00 per month to handle checking accounts aver aging below $100.00, but when the matter came up for discussion and settlement at the meeting of the clearing house, the ma jority opinion was that a charge of 50 cents a month should be made on all ac counts averaging less than $50.00 per month. This rule, accordingly, was put into effect, and as a result thereof, we eliminated something like 500 unprofit able accounts and in addition thereto the bank is now earning about $500.00 per month on small accounts that prefer to pay the service charge. “ We have a great many exceptions to the rule here and it is my personal opin ion that there should not be any excep tions, unless the minimum balance is made quite a bit higher than $50.00. U n ite d S ta te B ank This charge is made in conformity with a ruling of the Des Moines Clearing House Association, your account having aver- MAY 1923 aged less than one hundred dollars during........................................... C h a rge............. 50 Cents B '& v ........... July, 1924 THE ‘ ‘ The only work we have done so far to educate the public on the reasonableness of the charge is through the medium of literature which has been sent to the cus tomers with their monthly statements and through a certain amount of news paper publicity. The result has been to convert some of the unprofitable accounts into profitable ones. The question has always been a perplexing one and will continue to be, but we have found the people very reasonable and have had an exceptionally small number of complaints because of the institution of the service charge.” Service Charge Is Justifiable Bp J. R. CAPPS Mgr. Des Moines Clearing House Ass'n ‘ ‘ From our experience here in Des Moines I cannot help but feel that the small charge made for the handling of checking accounts is justifiable, and in our territory has been very successful. “ Arguments of a very forceful char acter can be presented, both for and against this charge, and were presented very forcibly at the time the banks in Des Moines were discussing this subject and before they finally decided to make the charge— some of the bankers feeling that it was absolutely against the policy of modern banks to force our customers to pay a tribute in order to deal with them. “ Generally speaking, this would seem to be the case; but in our actual experi ence we found that in every bank in Des Moines they were carrying' a large num ber of unprofitable accounts— especially the accounts of salaried people who were simply using the banks for bookkeepingpurposes. ‘ 1In our own bank we tried to make an analysis of the actual cost of each ac count. This was rather hard to do, as practically all of the figures used were estimates; it being really hard to tell what proportion of overhead, operating expense, and other items should be charged, or could be charged to each de partment. We estimated, however, that the average, small account, with a bal ance under $100.00, having from one to ten checks charged to it each month, cost the bank somewhere between 50 cents and $1.00, but due to the element of un certainty, we wanted to be perfectly fair with the customers, and simply made the flat charge of 50 cents per month where the average balance was under $100.00; the charge to be made only where one or more checks were charged to the account each month. ‘ ‘ Some of us were rather fearful of the results, feeling that this might establish a prejudice against the banks and a gen eral withdrawal of account, but actual experience taught us that while quite a number were closed, others were consoli dated, and still more were readjusted, increasing the balance to a point where https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTH W ESTERN BANKER 13 St. louis, Missouri, March 8, 1924 To Members of the M. B. A., and Banks Contributing Information for this Report: Gentlemen : The small checking-account problem has perplexed bankers for many years--in fact, ever since they themselves began to realize that thirty-dollar balances ofterrfail to pay for the stationery they require. A few months ago the Committee on Analysis of Accounts of this Association sent a questionnaire to two leading institutions in every American city with aggregate hank deposits of ten million dollars or more. The purpose of this questionnaire was to determine how small accounts were treated in such cities--what initial deposits are required, whether service charges are assessed and with what result. The response from the banks addressed was surprisingly general, nearly every city being accounted for. In submitting a tabulation of the information from the questionnaires, it is d e sired to thank contributing banks for their splendid cooperation. Very truly yours, Committee on Analysis of Accounts WHAT MISSOURI BANKERS FOUND OUT ABOUT THE CHECKING CHARGE A few months ago, the Missouri Bankers Association made an extensive survey of the small-checking account problem. Above is a copy of the letter sent out to repre sentative banks throughout the United States. The first three questions, together with a chart showing the answers for states in the northwest, were as follows: Question No. 1. Do you require a minimum deposit for opening an account and if so, what minimum? Question No. 2. Do you ask that accounts be closed or transfered to savings (or in terest) department if they do not maintain a required balance? If so, what is the required balance? Question No. 3. Do you make a service charge if accounts fall below a certain average? If so, what is the required balance, and how much the charge? (Iowa) City (Iow a) Are Small A c counts Closed Initial DepositsOut or TransRequired ferred?' Service Charge None .None to $50 $50 to $100 None No No No No 50c under $100 50c under $100 None 50c under $100 39 None None No No 50c under $100 50c under $100 and $1.00 under $200 54,948 191,601 9 18 $50 None to $100 No No 50c under $50 50c under $100 21,961 8 None No 50c under $50 Population D avenport............... 56,566 Des Moines ........... 126,468 Dubuque ................. , 39,141 Sioux City ............. 71,227 (Minnesota) Minneapolis ............ 380,582 St. Paul..................... 234,698 No. of Banks 12 25 7 14 42 (Nebraska) Lincoln ................... Omaha ..................... (North Dakota) Fargo ....................... (South Dakota) Sioux Falls............... 25,202 50c under $50 8 No None Question No. 4. Is the service charge made if the account simply falls below the minimum (as for one or two days) or if the average for the month is below the minimum? Answers: About evenly divided, with majority favoring charging when average bal ance falls below minimum. no charge could be made. There was quite a little shifting of accounts going from bank to bank, but we believe now that the charge is well established and causes very little difficulty, and really (Continued on page 64) THE 14 July, 1924 N O R T H W E ¡3 T E R N B A N K E R A D C H LQ U LP^ Being some Observations and Suggestions by CRADDICIC HimseJf AT LAST A B A N K IN G CODE! Since making comment and certain observations upon the subject of Busi ness Codes for Bankers in last month’s issue, two bankers associations have considered and accepted codes of busi ness practice for the guidance of the members of these two associations In May, C. L. Brokaw of Kansas City, Kansas, offered for the consideration of the Kansas Bankers Association the draft of a code which was adopted. This code consists of fourteen articles and lays definate stress upon the responsibility of a banker in the conduct of his busi ness, and in his relations with all those with whom he deals. First honor, therefore, for having de veloped and adopted a banking code, goes to the Kansas State Bankers As sociation. In June, the Wisconsin Bankers As sociation, in convention, considered and adopted a proposed Code of Correct Business Practice for Bankers, as for mulated by T. J. Spaulding of Marsh field, Wisconsin. Mr. Spaulding has been Avorking upon the draft of this code for more than a year and in making his compilation he has conferred with many business associations and a num ber of authorities experienced in code Avriting. In analyzing and comparing the codes as adopted by Kansas and Wisconsin it will be found that the Wisconsin code is more definite and specific in setting forth the obligations, responsibilities and relations as betAveen the banker and his public. But the point of consideration is that two bankers associations, in convention assembled, have adopted such codes. This indicates a beginning and it is only reasonable to predict that within the next tAvo years a majority of the bank ers associations throughout the country will have such codes under considera tion. It is doubtful if there will be an at tempt to standardize these codes for state associations— that may come later when the American Bankers Association takes up the subject and makes a study of all the various codes available. Two years ago this month the writer predicted in an article that banking codes Avould soon become a fact. The banking code has arrived. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis T E L L US, PLEASE. W hat particular advertising have you done in the past three months which proved successful and profitable in re sults, or quite the contrary? T ell it in three hundred words. Stress the objective, medium used, feature or inducement, results, cost. A dd your own comment, opinions and advice to your brother bankers. Communications will be held confidential unless permis sion is granted to use the bank’ s name. Speak freely. Y ou may help a brother banker to either make money— or to save money. Address all communications to “ A D C H E Q U E R ” in care of The North western Banker. ifMiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiinitiiiiiiif iiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiitiiiiitiitiiiuitiiiitf iiiimiitiititiiiiiiitiiiiiiiitiiiiittitii'iiiiiiiitiiit Advertising will never be one hundred per cent efficient because advertising is a human brain product— and there ÜA7es no one Avho is even near one hun dred per cent efficient. And yet, advertising is beyond argu ment the greatest producer of business of any agency we have. Transportation may be the greatest single factor in the development of modern-day busi ness, but advertising has developed the \Tolume of business which transporta tion must handle. Put into advertising truth, reason, logic, personality, human kindness and repeat the operation liberally, regularly, continuously and you will take out friend liness, good Avili, confidence, loyalty— and good lousiness. PUT AN D TAKE There is an old saying common to all business men that we get out of life just Avhat Ave put into it— though it does seem at times that the rule works weakly Avith some unfortunate individuals. But it is true of most of our life ’s actions and associations. Consider the returns you get from your church as sociations, your lodge affiliations, your clubs, your local chamber of commerce, your oAvn home. Y ou’ll admit that, aside from money returns, perhaps, the pleasure, satisfac tion, the happiness, the friendships, the good Avill and the pride in achievement is in fair ratio to the time, thought, ef fort, enthusiasm, cooperation and ac tivity you put into any of them. Getting resuts from advertising works someAvhat along the same lines. It is illogical for any business to ex pect large and substantial returns from a very small expenditure in advertising. It is unreasonable for any business to hope to firmly establish its name and business standing with the public through a temporary splash of adver tising. It isn’t sound reasoning to think that a formulated plan of publicity endeaA’or can be started and abandoned with profit to the business. Nor is it fair for a business to expect advertising in any volume to overcome conditions within the business which must naturally be an obstacle to its progress and success. Advertising serves Avell those who use it with reason and wisdom. It brings back a fair return on what goes into it. And if you fail to put in you will never take out. AND W HAT OF B A N K IN G ? The business of banking has been passing through one of its occasional periods of stress. And by a strange and ridiculous proc ess of public reasoning, there is, in many quarters, the impression that there is something radically Avrong with the banking business and that all lines of business have suffered because bankers have been remiss in the general conduct of their affairs. Even many farmers Avho should, if anyone can, understand what has brought about the closing of so many of the smaller banks, is ready to lay the blame for a major portion of his troubles, at the door of his banker. He ignores the economic situation entirely. Well, A v h at are b a n k e r s g o i n g t o do about it? Or rather, let us ask what are bank ers doing to correct the prevalent thought in the public mind ? Economizing to cut doAvn overhead expenses to offset losses? There isn’t a bank in the land that is not paying attention to some sort of an economy program. It is the first step. It is logical. But it is not solving the pres ent-day problem so far as public thought is concerned. Some bankers are hoping for legisla tion to relieve the situation. But legis lation will not change public opinion toA vard banks. Some bankers think it is a year in (Continued on page 75) THE July, 1924 NORTHWESTERN BANKER 15 W hat the Dawes Plan W ill Mean to America and Europe N ew reparations plan as outlined by Mr. Dawes will serve to stabilize disordered Europe and thereby help American business (F rom address d elivered T HAS been difficult for the people of the United States to fully realize the menace of a disordered Europe. They have not generally been able to follow the friction which has existed in Euro pean countries into the unsettlement in our own country; neither have they been able to trace the unfortunate and illadvised so-called radicalism which has developed in the United States, with all of the disastrous effects which such rad icalism has entailed, to European dis turbances, nor have they been able to see that a part of the cause for the great difference in relative values of farm labor and industrial labor has been due to an unstable Europe. I The farmers in many parts of our country have been passing through some very trying experiences. Instead of meeting their problems naturally, which is the only successful way to solve them, they have put their trust in men who have promised to regulate supply and demand by legislation, which has always been a failure and always will be. Legislative action, either threatened or made ef fective, which disturbs industry is cer tain to be followed by smaller produc tion, which means that fewer individuals can be supplied with their requirements. Such curtailment in production must re sult in direct loss to the masses regard less of what social system may be in force as distribution cannot be extended to more individuals than there are units produced. And yet it is these very same masses who delegate power to those who, while promising better living, undertake to accomplish it through destruction. The unsettlement in Europe, which is a form of disturbance of mind, has per meated all peoples and has been strongly evidenced where groups of European peo ples have colonized new lands. This has been true where citizenship has been taken out in the country of adoption and has been lived under for many years and it even has extended to younger genera tions who have been born in the new country. The great extension of the means of disseminating propaganda and the tremendous uses to which they have been put during this generation, par ticularly since the World War, by those whose ideas have been tempting but de structive, is primarily at the bottom of the trouble. As such ideas are accepted more readily by peoples -whose lives have https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis b efo re Iow a Bankers Association con ven tion at Mason C ity) By Fred 1. Kent Vice Pres. Bankers Trust Co., New York FEED I. KENT iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiMiiiiiHiiuiiiiimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiimiiiii The address given on this page is a part of Mr. Kent’s explanation of the “ Dawes” plan for stabilizing Europe. On account of the length of the address, it w ill be published in two parts of which this is the first. The second and last part w ill appear in the August issue of the Northwestern Banker— E ditor’s N ote. been made difficult because of the con ditions developed by the war, false prop aganda has become a very real menace. I f it is to be overcome, there must be general freedom from suffering and mental strain and only a peaceful Europe can bring about such a development. Conditions in Europe must either grow better or worse. There has been an un dercurrent of improvement going on for a number of years but it has been based on the hope that the Allies and Germany were working toward a final settlement of their differences. Should this hope prove to be futile, all the progress which has been made can be wiped out in a moment. On the other hand, if this hope is realized before such a happening, it will be found that the ground-work has been laid for a period of wonderful prog ress and such progress will partly be possible because a satisfactory settlement of European differences will remove the centers of discontent upon which false propaganda thrives. When this has been brought about, trade and commerce will enter the hearts of many discouraged groups of people in all lands and we can again spring to life, hope will once more look forward in America to another period of more rational mentality, which will be reflected in a higher class of rep resentative lawmakers. When conditions were nearing a crisis in Europe in the fall and winter of 1923, it became possible to take constructive action, which had before been prevented by political forces, because the strain upon the people had become too great for them to bear. The result was the establishment of the Committees of Ex perts under the Reparation Commission in order that a study might be made of the conditions existing in Germany and some method be devised that might result in the financial recovery of that country which was the first step that had to be taken in order to bring about peace in Europe. The instructions given the Dawes committee were very specific and this must be borne in mind when studying its report for there were cer tain parts^of the European problem which it could not consider. I f the plan of the committee is not put into operation, a very severe crisis can be expected in the affairs of the world unless the principles outlined are followed into some other form of effective and constructive pro cedure. Should the plan fail to be put into operation, such currency stability as has taken place in Germany cannot continue and the German people can hardly be expected to live through another currency crisis without its resulting in a catas trophe that would be very far-reaching in its effects. The exchange position of other European countries would also be jeopardized and the buying power which has gradually been built up in Europe since the armistice underneath the unstable political conditions would be destroyed instead of being conserved. While the strain of necessity would con tinue European buying, yet, with the depletion of credit which has taken place since the armistice, there would seem good reason to believe that we might run into a very real international de pression that would fall upon the United States with as great severity as upon other nations of the world. This being true, it is essential that we in this coun try understand the principles underlying the Dawes plan in order that we may T HE 16 N O R T H WE S T ER N BA NKER July, 1924 S U M M A R Y OF THE DAW ES PLAN The following summary of the Dawes Plan for the payment of reparations was prepared under the direction of Mr. Fred I. Kent, Chairman of its Commission on Commerce and Marine, for the American Bankers Association and shows briefly the details of the plan. Years Budget 1924-25 Balanced (If free from treaty charges.) Interest from Railroads peace Loan Transport Tax 330,000,000 gold marks S00,000,000 (200,000,000 gold marks gold marks of this sum is to be used for treaty payments, the remainder to be held un til the following year.) Industrial Debentures Interest Total 1,000,000,000 gold marks 465,000,000 gold marks 1925-26 250,000,000 gold marks (Obtained from the sale And in addition the sum of preference shares of held over from the pre railroads or, if this fails, vious year, viz.: from an internal loan. 130,000,000 gold marks. 250,000,000 gold marks 1926-27 110,000,000 gold marks 550,000,000 gold marks 290,000,000 gold marks 250,000,000 1,200,000,000 (The transport tax should gold marks gold marks increase materially with in a few years. This sum (See Note 1) shall go for reparations and the balance to the German government.) 1927-28 500,000,000 gold marks 660,000,000 gold marks (Subject to addition or reduction in certain con tingencies, i. e., con trolled revenues.) 290,000,000 gold marks 300,000,000 1,750,000,000 (Any excess received from gold marks gold marks this tax, over this sum, shall go to the German (See Note 1 government.) 1928-29 1,250,000,000 gold marks 660,000,000 gold marks (Subject to addition or Standard reduction in certain con (See tingencies.) Note 2) 290,000,000 gold marks 300,000,000 2,500,000,000 (Any excess received from gold marks gold marks this tax, over this sum, shall go to the German (See Note 2) government.) 125,000,000 1,220,000,000 gold marks gold marks N ote 1. If controlled revenues for 1926-27 exceed 1,000,000,000 marks (or for 1927-28 exceed, 1,250,000,000 marks) one-third of this excess, but not exceeding 250,000,000 marks, is to be added to the payment from the budget for that year. On the other hand, if controlled revenues for 1926-27 are less than 1,000,000,000 marks (or for Î927-28 are less than 1,250,000,000 marks), then one-third of the deficiency, but not exceeding 250,000,000 marks, is to be subtracted from the payment from the budget for that year. N ote 2. 1929-34 inclusive: Yearly payments of 2,500,000,000 marks from same sources as in 1928-29, plus such a percentage of 1.250.000. 000 marks as the “ index of prosperity” indicates is possible of payment. 1934-35 and subsequent vears: Yearly payments of 2.500.000. 000 marks from the same sources as in 1928-29, plus such a percentage of 2,500,000,000 marks as the “ index of prosperity” ndicates is possible of payment. be prepared to do our part to make it a success at the proper time. D etail While there may be questions in the minds of men as to how some of the de tail connected with the plan may work, yet, after all, this is a minor considera tion, for as progress is made under the plan weaknesses in detail can easily be corrected. The committee wisely refrained from attempting to develop such detail as in volved elements that would have to be subject to compromise in creating legis lation necessary to make the plan effec tive or that could better be left for con ference between representatives of the nations interested. It lias, however, shown the Way with sufficient, clearness, insofar as every general principle is con cerned, so that the working out of the detail should be merely a matter of form. If the committee had gone too far with the detail it might easily have made it impossible for the plan to have been put in operation even though it might have met with the general approval of all https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis the nations concerned. The value of the plan depends therefore upon the practicability of the great underlying principles upon which it is built. Con sequently the real concern of the inter ested nations, including the people of the United States, lies in the question as to whether such principles are sound. Two principal questions were put up to the Committee of Experts by the Repara tion Commission—they were to “ con sider the means of balancing thç budget and the measures to be taken to stabilize the currency of Germany. ’ ’ It was realized in the Allied Governments and by the Reparation Commission that it would not be possible to stabilize con ditions in Europe unless conditions in Germany could be so restored as to en able the resumption of industry in that country and provide a means to enable the payment of reparations without again upsetting the economic equilibrium of Germany after it had once been reestab lished. Before undertaking the development of a plan, it was necessary for the experts to determine as nearly as possible just what the condition of Germany was at the moment. The great depreciation in the German currency, together with the economic chaos caused" by it, made it necessary to study the physical condi tions which exist in Germany which had to do with the transportation systems and industrial plants before an estimate could be made of the future ability of Germany to provide for its own people and take care of its treaty obligations. If the producing and transportation plants of Germany were found to be in good order, then would come the ques tion of the ability of Germany to ob tain the credits which would be needed to put its plants in operation and en able them to take a proper part in the production of the world. It was partly for this reason that the second committee of experts was formed, whose duty it was to ascertain insofar as was feasible what foreign credits German interests had at their disposal. F oreign Credits While it was realized that such credits might not belong to the same German na- THE July, 1924 tionals who controlled the German indus tries, je t there was fair reason to believe that in large part this would be true. It was also clear that if a stabilized condi tion could be developed in Germany and a means devised under which reparation payments could be provided that would not represent too great a tax upon Ger man capital that German-owned foreign credits wrould naturally retui-n to that country. B ank of I ssue The first requisite to enable the balanc ing of the German budget was the sta bilization of the currency which clearly required a new bank of issue or the re organization of the Reichsbank, and the plan therefore provides for a gold bank to be formed with a capital of 400,000,000 gold marks. This institution is to have the exclusive right of “ issuing and circulating bank notes in Germany.” It shall also arrange for the gradual with drawal of the circulation of the Rentenbank and it will either take over the Reichsbank or liquidate it and the out standing Reichsbank notes shall be re deemed at the rate of one million marks to one gold mark. All payments of the German government for reparations will be credited to the account of the Agent for Reparation Payments in this bank. The further functions of the bank are practically those of an ordinary national banking institution. L oans In order to put the operation of the plan on a firm foundation at the start and allow the continuation of deliveries in kind which are required by the Allies, a foreign loan of the equivalent of 800,000,000 gold marks is to be raised. It is expected that by depositing the proceeds of this loan with the new Ger man Gold Bank while awaiting disburse ment that it will enable the bank to take a proper position toward furthering German industry immediately upon its organization. Such a loan, following a sincere acceptance of the whole plan by the Allies and by Germany and after such measures have been taken as would make the plan operate effectively, would be good beyond question and every nation called upon should do its part toward making the loan a success. Even if all other parts of the plan are effectively carried out, its successful working might be jeopardized unless the foreign loan can be obtained. Until such a loan is offered, no one can pass upon its goodness, but it is so important that we in the United States#do our part that we must be ready when the time comes to render careful judgment as to the effectiveness of the methods which are finally under taken to establish the plan of the com mittee of experts. Then, if the loan is (Continued on page 76) https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis N 0 R T II W E S T E R N BA NK E R 17 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ T e n Years A g o Today B rief bits of news from The N orthw estern Banker, July, 1914 The Central Trust Company of Illi were enabled to be in Clinton for the twenty-eighth annual convention and nois, Chicago, has issued a very beauti and in attendance at the dinner. F. H. ful and interesting book entitled “ Old Helsell, of Sioux Palls, who was Mr. Monroe Street.” The book is compiled Mills’ first employer in the banking by Edwin F. Mack and contains many illustrations, both of photographs and business, expected to be present until the last day, and sent a congratulatory original drawings, which add much to message to the other men. the interest of the book. — 1914— • —1914— Upon the resignation of Arthur G. J. L. Edwards, president of the Mer Christensen, cashier of the Commercial chants National Bank of Burlington, National Bank, Fremont, Nebraska, Iowa, and Avho was elected president of George C. Gage was elected to fill that the Iowa Bankers Association this year, position. For the past eight years Mr. is spoken of in one of his local papers as follows: “ Banking has not been a Gage has been connected with the Ex change National Bank, Spokane, Wash superficial pastime with Mr. Edwards. ington. He has made a thorough study of its — 1914— various aspects and by astute applica The Grand Island National Bank, tion the result of long experience, has Grand Island, Nebraska, have recently qualified as an authority on all matters pertaining to the complex banking sys moved into their beautiful new building. In the vault are two Manganese screAv tem of this country. The complicated reserve banking law, the numerous and door safes which the manufacturers have puzzling features of which caused more proven burglar proof. There is also the than one banker to lose sleep, was burglar alarm which automatically rings eagerly digested by Mr. Edwards and if the combination of the safe is not set he soon mastered in every detail its at a certain time or if the combination is tampered with in any way. This salient points to such an extent as to qualify as an expert. Antiquated and alarm will also ring if a drill is forced through the outer wall and comes in con haphazard methods of banking have uo place in the present day and the tact with the inner wall. The woodwork is all African mahog banker who expects to keep abreast any and gives the bank a rich appear with the times must know his business.” — 1914— ance. The officers are: President, C. C. At a meeting of the directors, held Hansen; vice president, J. W. Thomp recently, John B. Heitsman was elected cashier of the First National Bank, New son; cashier, T. J. Hansen. — 1914— Sharon, Iowa, to succeed P. C. Welle, A charter has been issued for the Citi who resigned to accept the position of zens National Bank, of Crosby, N. I). cashier in the new Sully Bank. — 1914— Capital $25,000. A. M. Eckmann, presi F. F. Danforth was elected president dent; Sigurd Bue, cashier. This is a conversion of the Citizens State Bank, recently of the First National Bank of Lake City, Iowa, made vacant by the of Crosby. — 1914— death of Hon. S. T. Hutchinson. Walter Jacobs is vice president, and G. G. The first annual meeting of the Tenth Hutchinson, cashier. John W. Jacobs District Bankers Association was held was made a member of the board of di in Anoka, Minn. rectors. J. S. Pomeroy, vice president of the — 1914— Security National Bank, of Minneapolis, C. B. Mills, formerly connected with and former president of the Minnesota the Peoples Trust & Savings Bank, Clin Bankers’ Associations, gave an address of greeting and discussed the organizing ton, Iowa, and now of Minneapolis, vice president of the National City Bank in of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. that city, gave a dinner party for thirty Among the other speakers were: A. S. men at the Country Club, Clinton, Iowa, complimenting the men who had been Dean, president of the tenth district presidents of the Iowa State Bankers group; J. W. Wheeler, president of the Capital Trust Company, of St. Paul, and Association. It is eventful to note that G. LI. Richards, secretary of the state of the twenty-five men elected to the presidency of the association, sixteen bankers’ association. 38 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 In J 'he Eyes’ O f The Law Facts A b ou t Bankrupt’s Set-offs and Counterclaims AN a bank set-off bankrupt’s de posit against notes held by the bank? The Bankruptcy Act of United States has made special provi sion for set-offs and counterclaims. In all eases of mutual debts or mu tual credits between the estate of a bankrupt and a creditor, the account shall be stated and the one debt shall be set-off against the other, and the bal ance only shall be allowed or paid. A set-off or counterclaim shall not be allowed in favor of any debtor of the bankrupt which, (1) is not provable against the estate; or, (2) was pur chased by or transferred to him after filing of the petition, or within four months before such filing, with a view to such use and with knowledge or notice that such bankrupt was insolvent, or had committed an act of bankruptcy. We will now consider a set-off against a deposit account of a bankrupt in a bank. Under this section of the Bank ruptcy Act, a bank has the right to set off the deposits of a bankrupt against notes due by the latter to the bank. It has even been held that a bank does not lose this right by accepting the check of a bankrupt for the amount of the indebtedness prior to bankruptcy and while the bankrupt is insolvent and in contemplation of bankruptcy. Just recently, an action was brought by the trustee in bankruptcy of Glanz to recover from the defendant bank a deposit of $2,740.00, which the bankrupt had with the defendant prior to the filing of the petition in bankruptcy. It apjmared that the deposit was trans ferred to the bank by a check given to it by the bankrupt, immediately before the filing of the petition, to pay notes due by him to the bank, in excess of the amount of the deposit. The case was heard upon an agreed statement of facts. The record presents the single ques tion of laAv as to whether the defend ant bank waived its right to set-off the deposit against the notes, under the pro vision of the Bankruptcy Act (given above), by accepting the check of the bankrupt, in advance of bankruptcy, and while the bankrupt was insolvent, and in contemplation of bankruptcy. The plaintiff contended that the bank, C https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis B y the Legal Department Questions of interest to bankers are discussed in this department and any subscriber has the privilege of writing for information and advice on legal sub jects. He will receive a direct reply from our attorney without fee or ex pense. A brief of any subject involv ing research in a complete Law Library, will be furnished for $10.00. In writing for information, kindly enclose a 2-cent stamp for reply and address “ Legal De partment,” care Northwestern Banker, Des Moines, Iowa. by accepting the check, waived its right to set-off the deposit against the notes. The authorities are conflicting on this question. In one decision, it was held that under the terms of the Act, if the bank and bankrupt knew of the in solvency of the latter when the pay ment of the check was made, it was a payment by way of preference and void, even though, had the bank relied upon its right of set-off it might have been available. Against this decision there are a num ber of holdings. The supreme court found in one case that the parties vol untarily made the set-off before the petition was filed, hence, it could not be illegal for the parties to do before bank ruptcy what the law would have re quired the trustee to do after bank ruptcy, and because the payment of the checks and the changing of the notes were both bookkeeping matters, it was equivalent to the voluntary exercise by the parties of the right of off-set. Under the Bankruptcy Act, the trustee could have been required to allow the same amount to the bank as had been done by the parties before the petition in bankruptcy was filed. In the Glanz case the court held that the bank had not waived its right to set-off and that, therefore, the plaintiff was not entitled to recover the deposit, saying: “ A preferential payment is one that gives to the creditor paid something he would not have obtained through bank ruptcy proceedings, and that would have been ratably distributed among all creditors of the same class after bank ruptcy had intervened. The payment of a note by a check on a deposit of the maker has no such effect. The Bank ruptcy Act itself would do what the parties voluntarily did, had they omitted to do it. That the payment of the check transferred to the bank was only what the bank would have obtained, as against other creditors of the same class, upon the filing of the petition, through the obli gation of the trustee to apply the de posit to the payment of the notes in stating the account between the bank and the bankrupt. The payment of the check could have no effect to give the bank a greater percentage of its debt than other creditors of its class, since it would receive through payment by check only what the Bankruptcy Act would give it, though no such payment had been made to it. As the payment of the check was not a preferential pay ment, but merely a voluntary accom plishment of an off-set, which was pro vided for by the Bankruptcy Act in the absence of voluntary action, we see no reason for disallowing the off-set be cause the parties anticipated the action of the law, even though the bankrupt was then insolvent within the knowledge of the bank.” Where a bankrupt is indebted to a bank on promissory notes or otherwise, in which he also has a balance to the credit of his general deposit account, the bank is entitled to have the one claim set-off against the other, and to account to the trustee in bankruptcy only for the balance of money on de posit after satisfying its own claims. If those claims exceed the amount of the bankrupt’s balance, then the bank may prove its claim for the remainder. A general deposit account in a bank subject to check becomes, upon the bank ruptcy of the depositor, a security for, and a payment pro tanto of, his lia bilities to the bank, by the operation of the law of mutual credits. A bank is entitled to set-off against the balance due to the bankrupt on his deposit account any debt or claim which it holds against him, if fixed and ab(Continued on page 50) July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 19 H ow W e Talk to Our Nebraska Farmer A bout “ His Problems” Sound economics and business-like farming will put the farmer back on a substantial basis S UCCESSFUL business has always recognized quick turnovers. This should hold true in the cattle in dustry as well, and a successful cattle feeder should study conditions closely as to whether it is advisable to feed a yearling, a two-year-old or whether to go into the heavier class and feed three or four-year-old cattle. This he must determine by Avatching conditions. It might be stated here that year in and year out the cattle business, whether ranching or feeding, has not proven more hazardous than other lines of in dustry. Our Federal Reserve Banks rec ognize the cattle industry and are will ing- to take paper for rediscount upon this commodity for a six months period with reneAval privileges until such cat tle are ready for the market. This ap plies mainly to range cattle, as it is assumed that feeders will not require in excess of nine months for fattening pur poses. Effect: Developments were rapid and certain after this country paused to take an inventory of itself. The land specu lator scrambled in an effort to unload; banks called loans in no uncertain terms; steady decline in prices of all commo dities; advance in freight rates; strikes and labor troubles; social unrest; busi ness morale at low ebb; in general, every one involved in anyway was attempting to cover up and get out from under their loan in the best manner possible. Land owners and speculators who had bought and sold lands at fabulous prices and profits, and had in many instances re purchased on the strength of such deals, were in most cases wiped out where suffi cient means Avere lacking. Tenants who bought during this pe riod with their life ’s saving were hope lessly insolvent. Retired men and women who invested their all in many spurious schemes of stock promotions, awoke to the fact that in many instances all they had purchased was a very elaborate dec orated certificate of what-not. Farmer union stores, elevators, lum ber yards and various organizations Avhich flourished lavishly during the "financial craze” now found difficulty in getting a quorum together to invoice the remains and ruins. While other industries suffered their proportionate losses, it is an indispu table fact that the agriculturist, who is the primary and basic foundation of all https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By E. C. Nelson Cashier City National Bank, York, Net). Editor’s N o t e :- The article on this page is the second and last part of an excellent discussion of farm problems by M r. E. C. Nelson of York, N e braska. The first part of the discus sion appeared in the June issue of the Northwestern Banker. E. C. NELSON wealth, apparently suffered in the larg est degree. His products were the last to take advantage of increased prices, and the first to feel the decline, and as yet the products placed upon the market by the American farmer are not keep ing pace in the advance of prices with the manufactured article which he must buy. This situation is largely due to the fact that foreign markets must be de pended upon and reckoned with as the outstanding factor in maintaining a rea sonable price for farm products. While it is true that present high freight rates contribute to the cost of production, it is also a well known fact that out of every dollar thus paid, a com paratively small percentage is distrib uted as earnings to the stockholders of such railroads. The cost of transportation is largely labor cost— that of the coal miner, skilled mechanic and other em ployees engaged directly and indirectly in transportation. During the war special stress was laid upon the agricultural industry. Con struction work Avas placed in the back ground. This may account for the fact that more attention is now given to con struction Avork than to agriculture. In the cities rents are much higher, cost of living higher, a shortage of dwellings necessitating construction work along that line. Railroad construction and ex pansion and various industries that were curbed during the recent war are now occupying the commercial stage and forcing the agricultural program in the background for the time being. It is a very slow progress to make readjust ments. Price Fixing: To propose regulation of prices is placing the cart before the horse. The old time-worn rule of supply and demand must necessarily govern this factor. Prices are indicators to produ cers whether supply is equal to the de mand—they are to be read, interpreted and obeyed rather than forced. The cold Aveather tells you to put on more clothes, but by putting on more clothes does not do away with cold weather. Just so with price barometers. Let it be your guide, but do not attempt to regu late the barometer— the condition it re flects is already here. Prices will adjust themselves in con formity to the supply and demand if left alone. If, for instance, there is a short crop of some commodity, a higher price compensates the producer, and has the further effect of economy from the consumer owing to the high price. In this way, force substitutes as far as pos sible, thus conserving the short supply. It is obvious then that prices are func tioning in a varied economic manner. There is no political, social or other panacea or cure-all that will remedy the condition. Depressions and reverses have been met and conquered by the American people time and again in a businesslike manner. History will again repeat itself. One of the main features in bringing about normalcy is to get away from the mistaken idea of acquiring wealth with- THE 20 out production. More sane and frugal habits, economical and right living, the reinstatement of the good old-fashioned home environment, more saving and less spending, these simple formulas coupled with hard and earnest work must neces sarily produce the desired results. The farmer of today who is located in the so-called corn belt and who owns or operates land which is normally worth $100 to $150 per acre, who pays high taxes, high prices for labor, pays high prices for the machinery he uses, cannot raise wheat and expect to successfully compete on the world market with our Russian, Australian or South American NORTHWESTERN BANKER brother, who in many instances, can produce this commodity at a far less overhead. There are only a few states in the U. S. that produce corn for commercial purposes, and the bulk of the central western farmer is fortunately located within this belt— this is our cue. In the state of Nebraska less than two per cent of our cattle is represented by the milch cow. The milch cow is indis pensable to the farmer. The by-products of the milch cow is manifold and one of the most staple commodities in range of price during and since the war, has been the butter fat. No adequate sub stitute for milk has ever been discovered July, 1924 and it is one of the many food propensi ties that cannot be successfully imitated. With the milch cow comes the by-product of raising the pig and the calf. As a revenue producer, the average milch cow ranks high, and overproduction along this line is very remote, notwithstanding arguments to the contrary. The aver age milch cow will produce $41.00 per annum; good ones as high as $80.00 and the best grades have been known to pro duce over $100.00 per head per annum. This is not citing any singular or particu lar animals. Whole herds have been known to produce such results. It is (Continued on page 74) The Bank’s Responsibility in Rentm Safe Deposit Boxes BANK is not held under the law to be an insurer of the safety of securities or of the contents of safe deposit boxes within its charge, Thomas B. Paton, General Counsel of the Ameri can Bankers Association, told the Illinois State Bankers Association in convention at Decatur. The bank holds the relation of bailee, he said, in reviewing the his tory and development of the law govern ing the duties and responsibilities of banks in the safekeeping of customers’ securities and in the rental for hire of safe deposit boxes. “ In the absence of contract defining and limiting its liability, the bank is charged with the duty of exercising ordi nary or reasonable care, which is the degree of care that a prudent person would take of his own property of like kind under similar circumstances or con ditions,” Mr. Paton said. “ The most fre quent causes of loss are those arising out of theft and burglary and the facts of each particular case are taken into con sideration by court or jury in determining whether reasonable care has been exer cised or the bank has been negligent.” The speaker cited a class of cases where bonds left for safekeeping had been mis appropriated by a bank officer. In most of these cases where the bank had no knowledge of the unworthiness of its officer, he said, it had been absolved from liability but where it has come to the knowledge of the bank that the officer has been speculating in the stock market, and he has been retained in the bank’s employ, such retention has been held in several cases to show a want of reasonable care and the bank has been held liable. “ In a recent case in Mississippi, the bank was held liable for an embezzle ment of War Savings Certificates held for safekeeping on the theory that the act of the officer was the act of the bank,” A https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis “ In the absence of a contract defining and limiting its liability, the bank is charged wth the duty of exercising ordi nary or reasonable care, which is the degree of care that a prudent person would take of his own property of like kind under similar circumstances or con ditions.” Mr. Paton said, “ but this decision is con trary to the general run of cases Avherein the acts and knowledge of the guilty o f ficer are not chargeable to the bank and it is not responsible unless it knows of speculative transactions on his part that make it imprudent to keep him in its employ. “ A number of recent cases have grown out o f losses caused by burglars Avho have broken into the bank’s vaults or safes and taken securities held by the bank for safekeeping. In a number of these cases, the bank has been held lack ing in reasonable care where it was shoAvn the securities were placed in the vault outside o f the burglar-proof money chest, even though some o f its own secu rities were kept in the same place and also stolen. In some cases, the fact that there was no burglar-alarms system nor night watchman employed and the fact that the vault was o f insecure character, have been submitted to the jury for them to decide whether under all of these cir cumstances the bank had exercised rea sonable care or was negligent; and in some cases where the bank has advertised or has declared through an officer that it Avould be responsible for securities placed in its custody, the question has turned upon Avhether it has made a contract under Avhich it became insurer of the safety o f the property. “ In at least tAvo cases, where safe de posit boxes of country banks in small communities haATe been burglarized, tes timony shoAA’ing the character of the vault and equipment, the lack of burglaralarm systems, night watchmen and other safeguards has been submitted by the court to the jury to be considered as bearing on the question of negligence and in both of these cases verdicts have been returned against the bank. The judgment in one of these cases which oc curred in California has recently been reversed by the district court of appeal in that state and the bank relieved from liability. The report of this case pre sents for the first time a decision of a higher court Avhich will shoAv the coun try banker Avho maintains safe deposit boxes, for which he receives small rental, just AA’hat is expected of him to comply with the requirements of reasonable care.” The speaker referred to a class o f cases where box renters haA7e asserted that securities AAdiich they had placed in the box AA’ere afterAvards found to be missing in which the bank, in some in stances, has been held liable because the testimony of the box renter establishing the fact of deposit and loss has created a presumption of negligence and throAvn the burden of showing due care upon the bank Avhich it Avas unable to sustain. Not all such cases have so resulted, but it is Avell for the banks to protect them selves as far as possible against a liabil ity of this kind by a clause in their rental receipts to the effect that the opening of the box by an unauthorized person is not inferable from loss of its contents. Mr. Paton recommended that the terms of liability should be clearly defined and limited by contract Avith the box renter and also advised the taking out of insurance to protect both bank and box renter. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN 21 BANKER IOWA F A R M M O R T G A G E S E C T I O N The Northwestern Banker Is the Official Publication of the Iowa Farm Mortgage Association O F F IC E R S President................................................................. E. H. Lougee, Council Bluffs Vice President....................................................... Frank B. Miller, Cedar Falls Treasurer......................................................................Frank Sage, Washington Secretary............................................................. . . . F . C. Fisher, Cedar Rapids E X E C U T IV E C O M M IT T E E Varick C. Crosley, ex-officio........................................ Geo. W . W illiam s............................................................. Daniel Rhodes...................................................................... Varick C. Crosley....................................................... ; . . . E. H. Lougee........................................................................ I. C. Stanley.......................................................................... F. C. W ap les........................................................................ .Webster City . . .Des Moines . . .Fort Dodge .Webster City Council Bluffs .Cedar Rapids .Cedar Rapids Proceedings o f the Iowa Farm Mortgage Bankers Association Convention Des Moines, Iowa, June 3 and 4, 1924 Aug. REPORT OF F. R. SAGE, TREASURER, OF THE IOWA FARM MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION Sept. For the Year Ended May 31, 1924 Sept. RECEIPTS: 1923— July 18—From I. C. Stanley, former Treasurer. . . $1,164.21 80.00 18—Dues, from Secretary July 23—Dues, from Secretary 500.00 July July 20.00 24—Dues, from Secretary July 28—Dues, from Secretary 200.00 Aug. 8—Dues, from Secretary 80.00 40.00 Aug. 22- -Dues, from Secretary Aug. 25—Dues, from Secretary 20.00 Sept. 6—Dues, from Secretary 40.00 17—Dues, from Secretary 60.00 Sept. 29—Dues, from Secretary 20.00 Sept. Oct. 60.00 3—Dues, from Secretary 20.00 Nov. 8—Dues, from Secretary 17—Dues, from Secretary 20.00 Dec. Oct. Oct. Dec. Dec. Total receipts ........$2,324.21 DISBURSEMENTS: 1923 July 19—To J. W. Wheeler, convention ............. $ —To N o r t h western Banker, printing. . . —To Miller Hotel, convention .............. ■ —To rubber stamps. .. Aug. 1—To Morris Sanford Co., envelopes ........ Aug. 1—To Torch Press, 300 cards ....................... Aug. 16—To F. C. Waples, convention ............. Aug. 25—To The Torch Press, stationery............... — To II e t h e r ington Letter Co., 100 letters multi......................... https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 1924 Jan. 26.53 150.00 80.00 1.12 Jan. Feb. 1.80 6.00 12.00 Feb. Apr. 25.00 Apr. May 1.55 28— To F. C. Fisher, Sec ’y, postage ex pense for July and August. 1923 .......... 6— To H e t h e r ington Letter Co., multigraphing ............... 17 —To H e t h e r ington Letter Co., multigraphing ................ 3— To F. C. Fisher, Sec’y, expense for September, 1923 . . 18—To Frank P. Bennett & Co., 100 copies of F a r m Mortgage Number, U. S. Invest or ..................... 17—Paid Secretary for sundry b i l l s ............ —-To F. C. Fisher, salary to Dec. 31, 1923 ....................... 31—To Midland Mort gage Co., postage, supplies, printing and traveling expenses..................... 5—To The Torch Press, 1,000 reprints from Des Moines Capital. 19—To W e i s-Lupton Printing Co., 500 re prints of Mortgage Loan article .......... 12 —To H e t h e r ington Letter Co., letters multi.......................... 27— To H e t h e r ington L e t t e r Co., 100 letters multi............. 23—To II e t h e r ington Letter Co., 70 letters multi............. 28—To II. S. Van Alstine 31— To Fred C. Fisher, 2nd half salary. . . . May May 5.00 May 11.05 1.85 8.16 May May May May 31— To Fred C. Fisher, sundry b il ls .......... 31— To The Torch Press, printing .......... 31— To H e t h e r ington Letter C o ........ 31—To Star Printing Co., printing ............... 31— To J. G. Wadsworth, Executive Meeting expense ............. 31— To Titus Loan and Inv. Co., telegrams. 31— To Midland Mort gage Co., telephone calls ............ 25.00 5.80 250.00 19.66 8.50 2.35 17.50 17.85 4.00 29.16 16.41 27.99 T o t a l Disbursements ..................... $1,275.23 May 31 Balance on hand. . . . $1,048.98 RECAPITULATION RECEIPTS: Received from former Treas....... $1,164.21 Received from dues..................... 1,160.00 DISBURSEMENTS: General expense....... $ 874.19 Convention expense.. 118.53 P rin ting..................... 253.35 Exec, meeting exp... 29.16 Balance on h a n d .... 1,048.98 $2,324.21 2.75 232.69 $2,324.21 Respectfully submitted, F. R. Sage, Treasurer, Iowa Farm Mortgage A ss’n. May 31, 1924. 2.70 2.25 30.56 250.00 Conversation is the music of the mind, an intellectual orchestra, where all the instruments should bear a part, but where none should play together.— Colton. THE 22 Report of Secretary of the Iowa Mortgage Association for the Year 192 3-1 92 4 MEMBERSHIP We close the year with a net paid mem bership of fifty-eight, as compared to sixtynine at the beginning of the year, a net loss of eleven members. This resulted from non-payment of dues by fourteen members, while three new members were obtained. Earnest efforts were made to hold all previous members and to collect their dues, but we were unable to do so. We have live prospects for new members, including représentatives of some of the largest com panies operating in the state, and we hope that next year’ s report will show an in crease rather than a decrease in our num ber. FINANCES Fifty-eight members paid dues at twenty dollars each, making a total of $1,160.00 re ceived by the secretary, and turned over to the treasurer, whose report shows in de tail the receipts and disbursements. ACTIVITIES Twelve bulletins or circular letters to members were sent out from the secre tary’s office during the year, or an average of one letter a month. Most of these let ters contained enclosures of various kinds, and in this way a large amount of read ing matter, beneficial to our business and the state of Iowa, has been distributed. While the legislature was in session- your officers made a sincere effort to keep in touch with pending legislation, but, owing to the fact that this new legislation arose in connection with the revision of the Code, it was practically impossible for us to make much progress along this line. Whenever any bills were brought out which appar ently required attention, your legislative committee was called upon and responded promptly. In the matter of the proposed increased tax on monies and credits, one of the mem bers of the committee did what was pos sible, but .the bill was passed. In the case of the Bowman Resolution, providing for the establishment of a State Loan System, your committee and also your officers did some active work which con tinued until we were assured that there was no danger of the passage of the bill. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Your Executive Committee held but one meeting during the year, at Cedar Rapids, on April 28th. At this meeting all mem bers of the committee were present but one, who was unavoidably detained. At this meeting plans were made for this convention, and also the secretary was given authority to conduct a ques tionnaire in regard to foreclosures of mort gages in the state of Iowa, to which I shall now refer at greater length. FORECLOSURE QUESTIONNAIRE In conducting this, letters and appro priate blanks were sent to the clerks of the courts of all counties in the state. Some responded promptly while in other cases it has been necessary to follow up with a second, third, or even a fourth let ter. In some counties the information was obtained from the abstractors instead of the clerks. Up to this time we have returns from sixty counties, widely scattered over the state, sufficiently so to enable us to es timate quite accurately the results in the entire state. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis N ORTH W ESTER N BANKER The cost of this work (largely in fees paid to clerks and abstractors), we feel safe in saying will not amount to more than five hundred dollars for the entire state, and in my judgment it would be well for your secretary to complete this work and present the results to the members in pamphlet form. Also, we feel convinced that the results obtained will be such as to justify us in giving this matter the widest publicity. An analysis of the returns from certain standpoints will be made by Mr. Waples in his address, but there are a few outstand ing features which I would like to com ment upon at this time. 1st. There have been 2,332 foreclosures in 60 counties from January 1, 1922, to May, 1924, or a period of nearly two and one-half years, or an average of about 37 to a county. I f we allow 504 square miles to a county and 160 acres to a farm, we have 2,016 farms to a county. Therefore, farms under foreclosure of all classes of mortgages, first, second or third, in these 60 counties, amount to one and eight-tenths per cent of all farms in those counties, or, in other words, about one farm in sixty has passed under foreclosure during this period. 2nd. The very large majority of these foreclosure suits were brought by indi viduals or local banks, showing that they were either to forclose junior mortgages or excessively heavy purchase money mort gages given during the boom days. 3rd. It may be argued that in many cases foreclosure has been avoided by the deeding back of farms, and that but for this the showing would be less favorable. To this argument we may reply that such deeding back of farms strengthens and clarifies the situation. The farms are now in stronger hands and are not pressing on the market to the same degree as before. Weak spots have been eliminated and pos sible trouble avoided. TIME OF MEETING According to our by-laws the Executive Committee has the power to fix the time and place of the annual meeting or con vention. In order to ascertain the wishes of the members upon this point, letters were written to them and replies asked for. Sentiment, as shown by these replies, was about evenly divided between a meeting in June and one in the early fall. Hence, the committee did not feel justified in de parting from the established custom of holding the meeting in June. I suggest that this question be taken up and fully discussed at this meeting. SUMMARY In concluding my year of work as sec retary of this association, I wish to record my firm conviction as to the fundamental soundness of the situation in this state and my unswerving belief in the fact that sub stantial progress has been and is being made toward normal conditions. I am firmly convinced that we are well around the corner and going steadily ahead. Respectfully submitted, Sec r e t a r y. Mr. Fisher: I feel that we should make an effort to increase our membership. I feel that outside of the officers the mem bers should also work on this. I believe there are a great many men who should belong who do not belong. The decrease for last year is explained by the fact that a great many smaller banks would rather drop out temporarily than keep up their dues. Some were banks which have been liquidated and apparently had too many other things to take care of. I believe July, 1924 with the coming of better conditions we will be able to increase our membership. Mr. Waples: The matter Mr. Fisher brought up with reference to time of meet ing, I think will bear aiscussion as this has been taken up a number of times with our executive committee, but we thought no action should be taken without action of the entire membership. However, as we have started late this morning I think we will reserve discussion until immediately after lunch and I wish you would think over what is the best time of the year to hold this meeting and be ready to express your views as briefly as possible. As is always customary, the president is sup posed to inflict upon the members his an nual views and we will proceed with the operation and if you will bear with me for a little while I will try and carry this out. Address of F. C. Waples, President I feel, as I stand here before you, that in the short year that has passed since our last meeting, the experiences which you, as mortgage men, have had have been so much more varied and different from any other year in your existence, that the mort gage man has developed so many new traits and new duties that there are many new problems to discuss. Many things which in times past are con sidered an incident in the mortgage busi ness have developed into departments and details that not only absorb time and profits, but are entirely changing the char acter of handling farm mortgages. Human nature dislikes to change set habits, and sometimes approaches such changes with fear and distaste. So it is that during the changes of the past few years many peo ple have been greatly disturbed by new conditions, which, on the whole, I believe are all for the best, and will, when finally developed, put the agricultural mid-west on a more stable and sound basis than it has been for many years. In your own experience you are finding that the farm lands at the present time are getting into the hands of more substantial owners, of better farmers, and of real farmers; and that speculative-owned lands are becoming scarcer. All such tendency is for the best. During the past three years, farm mort gages have passed through a test of their stability. They have come out of that test tempered and tried. Their true steel qual ities have demonstrated that no other se curities could stand up under such a crisis and gain in favor with the large inves tors as farm mortgages have done. This association alone, although not large in numbers, represents through its members farm mortgage investments of over a half billion dollars. The bulk of this is held by insurance companies, and these insur ance companies during the past three years have steadily increased their investments in the state of Iowa until, today, such in vestments are in excess of five hundred mil lion dollars. Fortunately, for the agricul tural interests, these investment funds are handled by broad-gauged men with a far sighted vision who are not swayed by the pernicious propaganda or the unwarranted and unwise statements which have floated around the country showing very gloomy adverse reports, and an entirely distorted view of actual conditions. Fortunately, these broad-gauged men, who are handling the funds of their com panies, base their judgment on years of in- July, 1924 THE vestment service and on the fact that farm mortgages, better than any other class of investments into which they could put their funds, have been taken care of more promptly, have had their interest paid more promptly, and have suffered less from loss or trouble than any other kind of securities that those companies can find. I f this were not so, they would not steadily increase holdings of mortgages, nor con tinue them on the basis which they have in the past. We have heard many wild statements, fostered largely from a colloquial or local viewpoint, about conditions, but still I have yet to find the man or the insurance com pany who invested their funds in farm loans, that two years after such an invest ment would be compelled to accept fifty cents on the dollar for the same; never theless, securities have been sold in every city and town and village, and by that I do not mean wildcat oil stocks or promo tion stocks, but bonds and other securities of that nature, which within the brief period of two years could not be mar keted for fifty cents on the dollar. NORTHWESTERN BANKER of which must be taken into consideration in such valuations. I f it were not so, you could go into cer tain communities today and buy land from a speculative standpoint at very small values per acre, which will produce very large returns in any one year, and yet there is no market for those low-priced lands. There are other elements that must be taken into consideration. We, who are in Iowa, are more concerned about Iowa than any other section of the country. The elements that are involved in giving Iowa land its stable, sure, dependable values are some of the things that we wish to dis cuss, and around which this program has been built. We have tried to eliminate wild fancies and enthusiastic optimism which does not have a sound basis for its ground work, and wish to spend the time studying and discussing the elements which right now many are prone to overlook, and to forget in their snap judgment of what is back of it all. The statement made by President Pear son of the Iowa State College at Ames, that the top few inches of soil of this state were worth several billions of dollars For over fifty years, until 1920, in the mid-western agricultural sections we had if they had to be replaced in the way of fertilizer, alone, can be weighed and di witnessed a constant increase in the value of lands each year. Like all other indus gested with considerable thought. Do you think for one minute that soil, tries, agriculture inflated, immediately after the war, both the income from its which will produce such crops and such a variety of crops, or the state covered with land values, and suffered consequently from that soil, which has no equal in the amount such unwarranted and rapid inflation. They say it is the tendency of the Amer of cultivable land any place in the United ican people not to understand a descend States, is going to lack in values? Do you think that men are going to move out of ing market. Possibly it is human nature to such a community or such a state where want something when the other fellow there is less illiteracy than in any other wants it; to buy on an ascending market; state in the Union? Do you think that men to disregard it on a descending market; and are going to pass by such a community yet the time to buy right is when the other or state where there is no point that is fellow does not want it. more than twelve miles from a railroad As is always true, many theories and station, where there are more telephones penaceas are advanced to cure the sick per capita and better school facilities than man. During a period like this, you mort in most states? Do you think that the gage men know how difficult it is to place twenty thousand students in our three a conservative value on the security on state universities and colleges alone are which you are loaning. In other words, not going to realize the potential value of what constitutes that value, and how shall their own home state, and that the future it be figured? The tendency has been for generation is not going to recognize this? the extremist in many communities to be We were given a birthright in this state as wildly depressed in his opinions of such to the richest soil, the most fertile agri values at the present time as he was wildly cultural section, the most wonderful inflated in his opinions during the recent land boom. Neither of these opinions are natural resources that have ever been given safe or reliable on which to base conserva to a people, and as long as they are going to produce crops and as long as those crops tive judgment. are being sowed more energetically each Our land did not produce any more dur year, and as long as the population of this ing the wildly speculative period of high country increases each year, there will be values than it produces today. It did not a steady, substantial demand for farm feed any more people, it did not pasture land. Fifty years ago, the demand for the or forage any more live stock, nor is it products of the farm was limited to certain feeding any less people or foraging any very narrow fields, and to certain close less live stock today than it did prior to home markets. Today, the farmer is pro this time. There was a tendency during ducing in this state a variety of crops, the inflated period to capitalize land on its making his market so varied and so wide income at that time, without consideration and so stable, that there cannot help but for what that income might be over a be a sound future for the conservative longer period of years, and without con farmer. sideration of all other elements that must On the program of our meeting, we wish be taken into account in connection with to show you a few of the additional in any stable value, and the same thing is come-producing sources that the farmer is true today. rapidly developing at this time, and will For instance, in the South, when cotton . develop in the future. In our own city, sold at very high prices and when crops corn is being made into sugar and corn were good, cotton lands were valued at syrup, creating a very large new demand $150 to $200 per acre. I f an acre would for that product. As long as New York produce a crop worth $150, they figured the and the east ship in Danish butter and land worth that much; and today, three Danish eggs, and other products, there is years after, when it produces a crop worth no reason why dairy products and dairy $25 or $30 an acre, they say the land is farming and poultry farming cannot be not worth any more than $25 or $30 an profitably carried on; and when you try acre. You cannot have such a constantly to value land strictly from the standpoint sliding scale for land values. There must of corn and oats sold, without taking into be stablizing and equalizing elements, all consideration the possibilities of varied https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 23 products, the possibilities of dairy farming, the possibilities of the income from poultry, it is then that we fail. There is no question but what there has been too wide a divergence between what the farmer has obtained for his products and what he has to pay for things he must buy. General business and labor re covered too quickly and too rapidly from the deflated period to be on a substantial basis. Agriculture has come back very slowly, but its come-back has been sub stantial, and I venture to say that in two years’ time the agricultural sections will be producing on a more satisfactory basis than any other class of business, and that their products and returns will be of such a sound nature and their recovery of such a substantial type, that our prosperity will be far greater than we can anticipate at this time, and it will be a sound pros perity. Why do I say this? I f you will turn to the front page of the Chicago Tribune for May 18, 1924, you will note that they are sounding a keynote of a slackening in all manufacturing and general business lines; that labor itself is realizing this; that there is considerably more idle labor; that in New England the cotton textile industry is running on curtailed time; that in the shoe industry, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, sixteen hundred shoe workers voted to accept wage cuts of 20 per cent; that in the steel industry there is a general slack ening; and buying by railroads is reported falling off; in the automobile industry the buying is slackening; the same thing is true of building conditions; and there is a feeling in many communities that build ing in many lines has been overdone at the prices that such building has had to be carried on. Humors are coming quite generally from the western coast that conditions there are in bad shape. Departments stores, tele phone companies, and other concerns em ploying large numbers are letting off thou sands of employees; real estate values in the cities which had been increasing by leaps and bounds are at a standstill or becoming depressed. I am not making these statements to reflect on any other line of business, but we in the mid-west have had a tendency to call upon all the world to See our little trouble when we forgot that the world might have a larger sore than we had ever thought of. And what does this all mean? All this points directly to the farmer being able to buy his products on a better basis, that the labor that enters into those products is going to accept less jvages, and it means that the man who has a good farm in a good community—which means a good home and a good living— is going to look with considerable sympathy toward the city dweller who may be seeking a job in the very near future. I well remember a number of years ago, when I entered the farm mortgage busi ness, a little statement made by that dean of farm mortgage men, the late Fred Thompson. I was anxious at that time to develop a market for our loans in the East, when he called my attention to the vast market that lay at our own door in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin; that we were so prone to think that the things far away were better than what we had before us; and so we today in Iowa in many places gaze with desire on the ends of the rain bow in the oil fields or in the industrial field or in the manufacturing field, and forget that the pure gold lies at our very door. 24 THE Today there is no safer or better invest ment than Iowa farm land. Today it can be bought at less prices than you will ever buy it again in the future. It is our OAvn, let us cherish it and let ns develop it. Now, to turn for a few moments to some specific items which have greatly affected the minds of many of our people and about which there have been many wild and unfounded rumors. We have gathered some statistics which I am sure you will all be interested in. There has been much comment about de linquencies in connection with Iowa farm loans, and that there have been an un usual number of farms foreclosed. I f you will turn to the Iowa insurance report for December 31, 1923, you will find that twenty Iowa companies reported assets invested in mortgage loans of $129,807,536.95; that they had only $909,526.83 in terest past due on that date—-or, in other words, only .701 per cent of past due in terest to total mortgage loans. Those same Iowa companies had invested in Iowa $96,220,109.85, or in other words, 74.13 per cent of the total loans were invested in the state of Iowa. When you take into consideration that much of this interest was less than thirty days past due, and that much of it was paid within thirty days, it is a remark able showing. I f figures were obtainable for non-Iowa companies who make invest ments in the state of Iowa, I venture to say that the showing would be more re markable than this, because as a general thing the eastern companies loaning at a long distance, obtain a lesser rate on their loans, and would possibly not loan quite as heavily as our own companies would. Mr. Fisher, in his report, has referred to the statistics gathered with reference to the foreclosures in the state of Iowa, and I think you will find this a remark able showing, compared to what rumors you have heard. These questionnaires were sent to the Clerk of the District Court in the ninety-nine counties in the state. At the time of this convention, we have had replies from sixty of those counties, which I believe will give us a typical report. In other words, the Clerk of the District Court was either busy or court was in ses sion, or for some other reason has not replied. Insurance companies have invested in the state of Iowa over five hundred mil lion dollars in farm mortgage loans. Dur ing the past two years, out of this five hundred million dollars, they have only foreclosed in the sixty counties, on eightyone loans, with a total amount involved under foreclosure o f '$1,224,200, and up to this date they have acquired by sheriff’s deed only eleven of these farms at a total invested value of $239,600. Twenty-three of these farms have been redeemed. The other forty-five are in process of foreclos ure and time for redemption or deed is not up. Our statistics, of course, do not show how many of these have been disposed of after sheriff’s deed. Assuming that those in process of foreclosure are on the same pro portionate basis, and the number acquired on the same proportionate basis of the others, there would not be to exceed $360,000 of acquired land, which is onefifteenth of 1 per cent of the total invest ments of the insurance companies. It is interesting to note in these sta tistics that twenty-one of the sixty coun ties have no foreclosures whatsoever by insurance companies. The largest number in any one county was six foreclosures, and https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKE R in the majority of counties it ran from one to two. It is also interesting to note that in only nine counties in the state have any companies acquired land. I f you can show any other investment of five hundred million dollars in any other class of securities in as many d if ferent units as you have farm loans, to as many different individuals and types of borrowers as are represented in this five hundred million, and you will show me that such investments have had a less percen tage of delinquents or loss, I would like to know what it is. This showing is based on facts. There may be some clerical errors in the same, but they are taken from the records for the years of 1922, 1923, and up to the pres ent time, covering almost two years and a half. I f we had opportunity to check up on the lands that were finally acquired, I am certain that we would find a very large majority of these have been sold at little, if any, loss, and I am also satis fied that in many of the foreclosures which are now pending on which the time is not up, if we could check into the records, we could find that the certificates have been assigned and are held by some subsequent lien holder. This showing is also a tribute to the wisdom and the judgment of the man in charge of the investment funds of those insurance companies. It confirms their ideas and the policy that they have car ried out for many years in loaning their funds, that that policy is safe and sound and stable, as far as their investments in the state of Iowa are concerned, and it also justifies the furtherance of those in vestments and is one of the reasons why those investments have steadily increased during the past three years, despite the general agricultural depression. It is a tribute to the state of Iowa, and to the agricultural interests that they have steadily plowed their way through a depression of this sort, paid their in terest as promptly as they have on this half billion dollars investment and had enough left over to buy and keep up over five hundred thousand automobiles, to send be tween twenty-five and thirty thousand of their young men and young women to col leges and universities each year, to build roads and public buildings, and to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside enterprises, which, if left in our own state, would have more vastly increased our own wealth than when unwisely spent outside. Gentlemen, this convention is your con vention. This meeting is particularly vital in that we wish to place before the public as much as possible the real facts about Iowa. We trust you will use this meeting to its utmost, that you may go away with a broader vision and a better viewpoint than you have had before. Mr. Waples: As I have stated we have tried to make this program to cover some of the varied farming which is being car ried on in Iowa and the increased uses for farm products. In our own city we have a very large factory, one of the fac tories of the Penick & Ford Plant. This company has recently announced that it is starting to build a sugar factory to make sugar from corn. At the present time they are using a very large amount of corn each day in the manufacture of corn oils and cereals and it was in view of the in creased use to which corn is being put that we asked Mr. E. H. Bingham to come here and address us and at this time we will have Mr. Bingham’ s talk. July, 1924 "The Use of Corn in industry" By E. H. Bingham, Manager Cedar Rapids Grain Department, Penick & Ford, Ltd. Speaking on the subject of “ The Use of Corn in Industry,” I will first ask your pardon if I digress and give you some in formation that may not, apparently, have any direct bearing on the value of farm lands. Corn is a remarkable crop. There are very few crops where a person can put a seed in the ground and get one thousand per cent returns, as can be done with corn, provided you have the right kind of a crop. Of course, the average crop as you know, is about three hundred and twenty per cent, but it should be nearer six hun dred and forty per cent of the amount planted. Possibly you will pardon me if I go back to ancient history. I am doing this to show that corn is an American product. Columbus, when he made his report to Queen Elizabeth, said that he had passed through fifteen miles of corn fields. La Salle, in 1680, we are told, found enormous stores of corn in Illinois, and in 1685 the British are reported to have destroyed over a million bushels of corn belonging to the Indians, showing that at that time corn was an important factor in the welfare of the country. Corn was originally found in this coun try, but it is a question whether that was its original state. Luther Burbank had an idea that it came from some other grain. There is in Mexico a tall grass known as Teosinti, and Burbank had the idea that this was the original progenitor of corn. Burbank crossed this Teosinti seed and after sixteen years produced a small ear of corn which was of an unusual variety and different from the ordinary kinds of corn that we are accustomed to see at the present time. This particular ear pro duced by Burbank was red and of a pecu liar shape, but very small. It was grown to show that Mr. Burbank’ s theory was correct. I have always been very much interested in the subject of breeding corn, and an other thing that greatly interested me was the fact that some time ago when archeol ogists were digging in the Aztec Indian’ s ruins, near where the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah join, they found some kernels of corn in an earthen jug buried thirty feet under the ground, pre sumably having been there for hundreds of years. They planted that seed and se cured a few ears of corn which were al most identical with the corn that Burbank raised on the Teosinti, which would tend to confirm Burbank’s theory and indicates that perhaps all of our corn passed through this same stage and was originally pro duced by the Indians from Teosinti seed. There is another kind of corn, supposed by some, to be the form in which all corn was grown at one time. This corn has an individual husk about each kernel, but this variety has now practically become extinct, as other varieties are so much more satisfactory that there is no object in breeding this kind any longer. To show the variety in which corn is produced in various countries, I have a sample here o f a very small corn grown in India; a sample of that grown in the Ar gentine, which is a hard, round variety; and corn grown in Peru, which is very large and has a very starchy kernel. I simply mention this to show the variety in which corn can be produced. You, of course, know that we are very July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER careful in the breeding of animals, but the starch and glucose, which are separated you may not know that there are places from each other by pumping the entire where they breed corn in a similar man mass over long tables with just a sufficient ner and can give you the pedigree of an flow to permit the starch, which is a little ear of corn for ten generations back. We heavier, to settle and the gluten runs off all know that corn consists of various the end. The gluten is dried, and this, parts. There is the hull, which is the together with the bran and the residue outside part of the corn; the starch, the from the steep water, is made into a high gluten, and the germ. You can easily protein cattle feed. The first process of take a kernel of corn and see all these steeping takes out from the corn certain different parts by cutting it in half. You solubles, and in order to recover these may be interested in knowing something solubles, the steep water is eAmporated and of the products manufactured from corn. the residue when dried is put into feed. In the first place, we grind in our plant These solubles are, as one chemist said, at Cedar Rapids from 25,000 to 28,000 ‘ ‘ the salt o f the earth. ’ ’ bushels of corn a day. This is the crop There is a certain chemical used by hos of a little over a square mile of corn as pitals and physicians to differentiate be grown by the average farmer in Iowa. The tween typhus and typhoid fever. When Corn Products Company’ s plant at Chi the supply of this chemical Avas cut off cago has about double this capacity, and by the war, one of the corn products their plant at Peoria also has a larger laboratories extracted some of this very caapcity than we have, and Clinton, Iowa, chemical from the steep water and it was has about the same capacity as we have. used by certain New York hospitals with The total grinding capacity of all the entirely satisfactory results. plants using what is known as the wet We are still in the infancy of the de process, is about 88,000,000 bushels an velopment of corn, and the more you study nually. The actual grind last year for all the more you find there is to learn. The of these plants was about 65,000,000 superintendent of the Argo plant in Chi bushels. cago said a person could spend his entire life stuyding a kernel of corn, and still There are two distinct processes used. One is known as the wet method and the not know all about it. other as the dry method. The Dry Method The starch, after the gluten has been is used by the Quaker Oats Company and separated from it, is either refilled or con others in the same line. We use what is verted into glucose or corn sugar. Corn known as the Wet process, which first sugar is a product very similar to the sugar steeps the corn for 48 hours. By steep produced by our bodies after Ave haA7e ing, I mean we soak the grain in warm eaten starch from potatoes, cereals, or other water with a slight acid mixture which is starch-bearing foods. Before our stomachs kept in circulation all the time. This can digest starch, it must be converted into softens the corn and causes it to swell to a form of sugar called “ blood sugar,” two or three times its original size. We, which is then digested. Therefore, glu then, put it through machinery which cose or corn sugar is a semi-digested breaks it up in several pieces. In this food, and as such is recommended by phy process the germ comes out practically sicians for invalids, because it is easily whole, because the machines simply break assimilated and is a very good food. A up the kernels but do not grind them up noted physician has said that a man can fine. The germs are separated from the do more work on corn sugar than on any balance of the kernel by pumping the en other element of food that Ave can com tire mass into a tank with two openings, monly use. one at the top and the other at the bot Out of a bushel of corn Ave can get ap tom. The germs float out through the top proximately 36 pounds of starch or 40 opening and most of the remainder goes pounds of glucose, also 13 pounds of feed, out through the bottom. Some little starch and about 2 pounds of corn oil cake meal, adheres to the germs, and this is carefully separated by further washing. The sur and 1V2 pounds of oil. These figures, of course, are only approximate. The gluten plus moisture is removed from the germs feed has that part of the corn which con through a gress, and they are then dried with heat so that practically all the mois tains the highest protein. It is a much higher protein value than ground corn ture has been eliminated. They are then put under tremendous pressure and the itself. Bor this reason farmers can afford oil is extracted in this manner. The resi to sell their corn and pay a higher price for gluten feed, for in the gluten feed they due after the oil is extracted, is ground are getting products that are particularly up and sold as corn oil cake meal, which valuable to their stock. When corn starch is a very fine stock food, particularly for is converted, chemically, to sugar, by a hogs. process similar to that used in our stom The ordinary kernel o f corn contains achs, it is then boiled doAvn until it be about 4 per cent oil, practically all of comes a very thick liquid Avhich will barely which is in the germ. There is a little oil run. I f you should taste it, you Avould in the balance of the kernel, but not enough find it very much like old fashioned gum to Avarrant extracting same on a commer drops, Avhich Avere largely composed of cial basis, and the oil in the balance of glucose, and which were typical of that the kernel has different characteristics product. from that in the germ. We extract oil, We have heard a great deal, lately, about only, from the germ. After the crude oil corn sugar. Although corn sugar has been is extracted from the germ, it is refined manufactured for quite a long Avhile, most and made into salad or table oil, which of it bears a bitter taste, but recently corn is a substitute for olive oil, and which is sugar has been put on the market in which used for a good many other purposes. One this bitter taste has been entirely elimi firm in Chicago uses from 400 to 500 bar nated. This sugar is entirely suitable for rels of oil in a month, for the purpose table use, although it is not quite as sweet of making salad dressing. as cane sugar. We are at the present time After the germs have been separated, building a plant to manufacture this par the balance of the kernel consists of ticular kind of sugar, which will be ready starch, gluten, and bran. The bran is for operation this fall. the outside hull of the corn and is separ Another product of corn is imitation ated by sieves, and is then dried and put rubber or rubber substitute, which is made into the cattle feed. This separation leaA’ es by vulcanizing corn oil, a sample of Avhich https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 25 I have here. It is not quite as resolent as rubber, but is used in a good many places as a rubber substitute. I could not give you at the present time all of the uses to which different parts of the kernel and corn plants are adapted. There are a great many of them but I will simply call your attention to some of these uses. Glucose is used very largely in the man ufacture of candy. Starches, of course, are used for foods in puddings, and by bakers. It is one of the chief ingredients of baking poAvder; also used in making candy and brewing beers and ales. At the present time a con siderable amount of corn sugar is appar ently used in the manufacture of “ hootch,” but we believe that the demand for this purpose is rapidly declining. These products are also used in laundries; in the manufacture of paper; for cosmetics; manufacture of asbestos; and the adhesive gums on stamps and envelopes is largely made from corn starch. Glucose is also used for the manufacture of jellies, to bacco, shoe polish, various extracts, and in iron foundries. It is also used in strength ening the fibers of twine, manufacture of mucilage, inks, and “ sparklers,” such as used on the 4th of July. Different prod ucts of corn are used in the manufacture of gun powder and dynamite, and in fact there seems to be at the present time and in the future, an almost unlimited field for the use of corn. In addition to considering corn as it is ordinarily grown, there is also the ques tion of what can be done by changing its character by careful breeding. I f you will read some of the government’s pamph lets, you will find that they can change the height of the ear on the stalk. They can breed to get the ear low doAvn, or higher up. They can breed corn to shorv either more protein or less protein; or more oil or less oil; but the most vital factor in which we are interested is that Ave can increase the yield of corn. I had a chart here from the Iowa experiment station, showing that the average yield of corn for Iowa for a period of 33 years has in creased 10 bushels to the acre, as of course you know, and it is now a little over 40 bushels to the acre. This yield is not as large as it should be, as you can easily find records where people have raised 100 and 110 bushels to the acre. There has been a good deal of work done along this line, but naturally the people Avho are Avorking toAvard this end often find some dif ficulty in educating the farmer. Prof. Holden tells how they did this at one time some years ago. They would get a sample from each farmer’s planting in the spring and then they would take the corn and go to the poor farm and plant a row of each farmer’s seed. In order to be sure that the test would be correct, they Avould plant the corn in three different locations. In the fall they would announce a picnic and at this time they would show the corn to the various farmers. There Avas a rather interesting incident in connection Avith one of these exhibits. When Prof. Holden Avas taking the farmers along the various trial patches, they came to a very small stunted row and right alongside of it was a very fine tall row, and as he explained, it took the farmer just as much time and trouble to cultivate the small kind of corn as it did the farmer who grew the large, healthy crop. One farmer asked Mr. Holden if there was anyone in that county foolish enough to plant corn like the little stunted row and said he Avould like to knoAV Avho it Avas that did it. Mr. Holden 26 THE told him to go down to the other end of the patch and he would find the name of the farmer at the end of the row. He did so and came back with a very sad face and said, ‘ ‘ My name is at the end of that row.” They then went to another plot, which also showed the row with his name on, to have the same stunted corn with a fine, large row next to it, happening to belong to the man living across the road. The man who planted the poor seed told Mr. Holden that his grandfather had brought their seed over from Kentucky years ago and they thought it was the very best seed in the county. This is one of the points in which you gentlemen are particularly interested in, namely, in raising a larger amount of corn on each acre of land. I f the state of Flor ida was cultivated as intensely as Japan, we are told, that state would be able to support the entire population of the United States. As stated, the total capacity of the corn products plant is about 88,000,000 bushels per year, in this country. We are grinding about 65,000,000 and we are constantly looking out for new uses of corn. We have chemists and others try ing to develop new uses and they are being developedvfrom time to time. For example: A man recently came into our office who had a new process for mak ing starch into glue to fasten plywood to gether, and veneer on furniture. We are now selling this firm regularly in carload lots for the purpose of making this glue. At the present time the cost of Argentine corn in Europe is lower than American corn, and for this reason the corn prod ucts plants abroad are using Argentine corn in preference to American. The Corn Products Refining Company, in New York, one year, used about 6,000,000 bushels of Argentine corn. The average crop of this corn is, in round figures, about 3,000,000,000 bushels, but as ordinarily less than 20 per cent of the corn grown in this country ever leaves the county in which it is grown, therefore, the entire amount of our crop that goes into commercial channels is never more than 600,000,000 bushels, of which the corn products industries grind about 65,000,000 bushels. Corn sugar will, of course, be sold some what cheaper than cane sugar. It can be manufactured cheaper and it will be neces sary for the manufacturers to keep the price below cane sugar as, of course, it is not quite as sweet, and therefore, we have to use more corn sugar for sweetening an article than we would were we using cane sugar. The cost of manufacturing corn sugar will, of course, depend on what price we are receiving for feed and at what price we sell other ingredients. Oil, for example, sometimes sells for 8 cents a pound and sometimes 10 cents. Corn sugar, either the refined or the unrefined article, is on the market at the present time and can be secured through whole salers and jobbers, as the manufacturers do not sell direct to retailers, although they do sell to bakeries and manufacturers of various products of which corn starch and gluten form a part. In answer to various questions, the fol lowing information was given: In our plant at Cedar Rapids, the main product, originally, is starch, but a large part of this starch is converted into either glucose or corn sugar. The largest proportion of our products at the present time is being turned into glucose. But we can put the starch out as refined starch or corn sugar, or glucose, whichever the demand calls for. We can get about 25 pounds of refined https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER sugar from a bushel of corn when we are equipped to make this particular product. Replying to the inquiry as to the relative value of Argentine and American corn, they are about the same value, so that the corn products industries can afford to buy Argentine corn within a half cent a bushel of the price that they are paying for American corn. The contracts in the Argentine Chamber of Commerce provide that Horsetooth corn, such as is grown in this country and which we call Dent corn, is not deliverable on the contracts for the reason that such corn will not ordinarily stand the journey across the equator, which takes a month or two when bringing the corn from the Argentine to Europe. With reference to the food value of corn sugar and the wholesomeness of same— one of the directors of the Near East Re lief, says, in referring to the children: “ Many of them are under-nourished, their entire bodies need building up, and the carbohydrates found in the corn sugar is what they want. Our orphanage directors testify as to the wonderful food values of corn syrup, and have put it to excellent economical use in the place of cane sugar. It may be the means of saving their lives.” I understand that Dr. Wells, at one time Dean of the Medical Work in the Univer sity of Chicago, in speaking of corn, is quoted as saying, “ I would pay more for corn syrup for a food than I would for sugar; in fact, I would not give cane sugar as a sole food to any invalid, under any conditions, because it represents, first of all, a uniform single sugar, and would be absorbed in an abnormal way, that is all at one time, at relatively one digestion; secondly, it is so very sweet that it would be obnoxious, and that is another reason. In other words, corn syrup is something more nearly what we would get from the digestion of natural starchy foods, than cane sugar does. ’ ’ There is no reason in the world why corn sugar may not or should not be used for table use, the same as cane sugar. Corn sugar is not of the same granular ap pearance as cane, but is a little more like powdered sugar. Mr. Van Alstine: I believe it is greatly worth while for the corn belt farmer to make a campaign to start the use of corn sugar in the place of cane and keep away from imported sugar just as far as he can. At the present time we are told that our corn is sold on the world market and we don’t get the benefit of the tariff. The difference with the home consumption of corn is very similar and if we can increase our home consumption we will be putting dollars in our pockets. At the present time we are consuming in the United States about ten billion pounds of sugar, of which eight billion is imported from foreign coun tries. I f we could induce our people to use 25 to 35 per cent of corn sugar in lieu of cane sugar it would absorb our own surplus. Whenever a corn belt resident buys 25 pounds of sugar he would buy a bushel of his own corn. We would simply be buying our own corn from ourselves. When we buy a pound of cane sugar we have, the sugar and the foreigner has the money; when we buy corn sugar we have the money and we have the sugar. When we put corn sugar on every grocer’ s coun ter we will be giving the farmer the benefit. Mr. Waples: There is no question if this association would get behind a movement of that sort and increase the use of corn sugar we would be doing the best thihg we can do for Iowa. I f any of you have July, 1924 an idea o f how that can be started, what do you think? Should we have a special committee or have you any suggestions as to definite action? Mr. Van Alstine: I haven’t any idea of how the campaign can be started, but we should have a strong combination for us all along the line. I don’t think anyone can tell the difference in the sugar. We find it just as good for our jells and table use. The manufacturers claim it is bet ter for canning and particularly for pre serves, since it takes a certain amount of sugar to bring about the necessary preser vation of the food and you can use a suf ficient amount of corn sugar in preserves without making them sickeningly sweet. We all know about years ago when beet sugar was placed on the market and it was some time before the beet people could induce the people to think beet sugar was as good as cane. The food value of our corn sugar is just as great and by using it we are helping our digestive sys tem if we can just put across the idea that we are benefiting ourselves by buying our corn from ourselves. Mr. Waples: Prof. Bliss has come to us today to give us another angle of varied products, and that is the dairy industry. Possibilities of Dairying in Iowa By Prof R. K. Bliss, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. Your president invited me to point out some of the future possibilities of agri culture in Iowa along the line of dairying. With his permission I am going to point briefly to several lines of activity in Iowa agriculture. First of all I want to answer the ques tion asked a few minutes ago concerning the retail market value of soil fertility in Iowa soil. According to our soils depart ment, the retail market value of the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous con tained in the upper seven inches of Iowa soil is 87 billion dollars and the retail value of the same soil elements contained in the upper forty inches of our soil is 425 bil lion dollars. This means that money loaned on Iowa land has very good security back of it. It also means that the resources of Iowa, if handled properly, are*practieally indestructible. I was greatly interested in the report made by your president which showed such really small losses in connection with farm loans. The Iowa farmer intends to pay and will pay if he can get the money. I was particularly pleased with the sug gestion made by Senator Van Allstine as to the possible use of corn sugar I think that we here in Iowa should all sign a pledge to use corn sugar. The disturbing conditions in connection with agriculture the past few years has been due to the fact that the farmer has sold his produce on a low market and pur chased in a high market. Iowa farmers enjoy a higher standard of living and have more conveniences than most farmers, be cause each hour of a farmer’s labor in Iowa produces more than it does elsewhere. The average farm family in the United States produces enough food to feed itself, two additional families living in the city and some surplus for export. The average farm family in Iowa produces enough food to feed itself and seven other families. It is this increased production per man that enables the Iowa farmer to enjoy more of the comforts and conveniences of life than does the average farmer throughout Jiilv. 1924 THE the United States. With three per cent of the farm population of the United States, Iowa produces eight per cent of the food. The Department of Agriculture issued a statement the other day showing that the average efficiency of farmers in the United States has increased twenty per cent within the last ten years. I have no figures on Iowa, but I am confident that the increase is just as large here or per haps even greater. According to a report issued by the Iowa Secretary of Agricul ture, the production o f corn in bushels per acre has increased 33 1-3 per cent in the last thirty years The average production of bushels of oats per acre has increased 25 per cent in the last thirty years. More over, the acreage of both of these crops has increased, while the farm population has remained practically stationary. Iowa presents wonderful possibilities along dairy lines. However, up until the present time the milking of cows has been looked upon as more or less of a side line. There are many farmers’ herds in the state that are producing around 300 pounds of butter fat per cow. The aver age throughout the state, however, is only about 140 pounds. The college has always advised farmers to work into the busi ness gradually, because dairying is a spe cialized occupation. Farmers have been advised to test their cows for butter fat production and to dispose of the least profitable cows. In short, to milk fewer cows and better ones, because it takes al most as much labor to milk a cow that produces 150 pounds or less of butter fat per year as it takes to milk a cow that produces 250 pounds or more of butter fat per year. Fewer cows, less labor, larger profits, has been the teaching. Sixty cow test associations are now or ganized, in which the farmers themselves employ sixty men to work out their prob lems. We, of course, advise every farmer to produce enough milk and butter for his own family use. It is also possible to greatly increase the consumption of pure milk in this state to the betterment of our people. Suppose, for example, we could increase the consumption of milk one glass for each individual in this state each day. This would require 1,250,000 pounds of milk daily, or 456,000,000 pounds for a year. If you figure that each cow gives 6,000 pounds of milk during the year, it would take 76,000 cows to produce the addi tional milk required to supply each indi vidual in the state with one additional glass of milk per day. Or to put it in the basis of a county, it would take 38 cows on each farm in an average county to supply this milk. Iowa is not considered a butter state, but during the past few years the college has been working with the creameries and county farm bureaus in improving the product put out by these creameries. Last year we had three men working all the time and could not meet requests made for assistance. Substantial progress is be ing made 'along the line of improving the quality. Last year at the National Dairy Show, held at Springfield, Massachusetts, Iowa won four out of five of the prizes offered to individual creameries for the best butter produced, this with twentythree states and two foreign countries com peting. At the National Buttermakers ’ Convention at Madison, Wisconsin, with sixteen states competing, Iowa won five out of six medals offered to individual creameries, won the banner for the ten best creameries competing and four out of five medals offered for the judging of butter. Iowa brand butter is now selling https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTH W ESTERN BANKER at a substantial premium on the New York market. All this work helps to mar ket butter at a higher price. Just a word in regard to poultry. We have records from 436 farms for last year which were operated in accordance with directions given by extension specialists. These farms increased the average egg pro duction of their hens to 117 eggs per hen, or nearly double the average production per hen throughout the state. We have 30,000,000 hens on the farms of the state of Iowa. In order to illustrate the im portance o f the egg industry let me call your attention to the fact that a net in crease of one egg per hen in this state would amount to $450,000, provided you could sell such eggs for 18 cents a dozen. Poultry and] poultry products, however, represent only about seven per cent of the farmer’s income. Where the best known methods have been used, Iowa has been quite successful in producing fruit. During the past eleven years the Extension Service has held sum mer spraying demonstrations in a total of 134 orchards in 75 counties. Sprayed trees have been compared with unsprayed trees. The trees were treated exactly the same except for the spray. The sprayed trees have produced an average annual yield of 4.86 bushels of clean fruit and 1.45 bushels of culled fruit per tree and the unsprayed trees have produced .5 bushel of clean fruit and 2.63 bushels of culled fruit per tree. It would seem that there are many sections in Iowa where fruit can be produced more cheaply than it can be shipped from distant points. There are many places in Iowa that have been quite successful in growing truck crops. In the region of St. Ansgar, Iowa, farmers have raised from 400 to 700 bushels of onions per acre. Cabbage is also an excellent crop. Small fruit does well, especially where it is possible to supply some additional water through ir rigation. I have called attention briefly to the various kinds of things that can be grown in Iowa not with the idea of encouraging our farmers to undertake to grow such crops, but merely to show the possibilities of producing food in Iowa at some future time when our population will need it. Of course, our main crops at the present time is corn and hogs and our farmers must continue to produce these main crops for some time to come. We have encouraged farmers to study the business side of their operations, to keep account of the income and outgo in order that they might derive as much net profit from their operations as possible. The selling or distribution of farm products is a question that ought to be studied, not only by the farmers but by others as well, because all the people in Iowa are interested in the more economical dis tribution of farm products. As has alrealy been pointed out, the average farm family of Iowa produces enough food to take care of itself and seven additional families. Five of these additional fam ilies live outside the state and the food must be sent to them. The amount of money which Iowa has to spend depends very largely on the price received for this exportable surplus. In other words, broadly speaking, Iowa is a great big farm and the amount of money the people have to spend who live on that farm depends on what they get for what they sell off of the farm. If, for example, the value of food products in Iowa in any one year amount to $600,000,000, farm value, more than half must be exported. Iowa will export at 27 least two-thirds, or $400,000,000, of a $600,000,000 crop. We are told that the producer of food stuffs get less than half of the consumer’ s dollar. It has been es timated all the way from 36 cents to 50 cents. For the sake of convenience let us assume that the producer of food gets 50 cents of the consumer’s dollar. On this basis, $400,000,000 of exportable surplus farm value will ultimately be shipped, packed and resold to consumers living out side of Iowa for $800,000,000. I f it were possible through efficient methods to save enough freight, storage, commission and manufacture, so that the farmer would get 60 cents of each consumer’ s dollar instead of 50 cents it would add $80,000,000 to the farmer’ s income from food stuffs sold outside the state. This would mean that Iowa would be approximately $80,000,000 richer. This saving would immediately go into channels of trade, for the most part, and all Iowa would be benefited.. Since Iowa is a food-exporting state, any system of distribution that will bring a larger share of the dollar paid for farm products back to Iowa means just that much more wealth to the state. In regard to the future, I was glad to hear your president say that he believed we were around the corner. Personally, I think we have indulged in a little too much gloom here in Iowa. It has a bad psycholigacl effect. I f I go down the street and the first person I meet says that I look a little pale, and the next one says that I don’t look well, and the next one says that I look bad, I am pretty likely to feel a bit off no matter how I felt when I first started. I have faith in Iowa and Iow a’s future. I believe that out here in the garden spot of the world the age old problem of agri culture is going to be worked out. I be lieve it first of all because Iowa people are descended from the very best blood of the white race. There is more of the old Puritan blood in Iowa today than there is in New England. Iowa is where the best New Englanders have settled. So it is with the peoples o f northern Europe. Iowa has the highest literacy of any state. May we not all look to the future hopefully? Iow a’s great natural resource, agriculture, wisely managed, is indestructible. Iowa has abundant raw materials and there is always a tendency for labor, raw materials and food to get together as economically as possible. The food products of Iowa are increasingly in demand. Between two and three souls are added to the popula tion of the United States every minute, all clamoring for food. Each month 116,000 have added themselves and in a year the total increase is 1,400,000. Iow a’s market is an ever growing one. With her bound less resources, her schools and churches and high moral standards and with intelligent organization and cooperation on the part of Iowa people, Iowa should face the future with confidence. Dismissed for lunch to reconvene at 1:30 P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION Mr. Waples: Discussion of time of change of meeting. F ifty per cent want the meeting in the fall and about fifty per cent at the present time. As far as the by-laws and articles of incorporation are concerned it is up to the Executive Com mittee, but they have not wanted to change without consulting the entire organization. Mr. .Davis: There are very few of the organization present at the present time and I think we should wait until more are 28 THE here, but it doesn’t make any particular difference to me -at what time of the year the meeting is held. Mr. Waples: We have found it neces sary sometimes to hold the meeting a lit tle later in June. Eight now is commence ment time in high schools and colleges and it takes attendance from our meet ing, and the State Bankers Convention is always held in June and some of our members don’t like to attend two conven tions so close together. Another one I heard is this: In the fall of the year you are at the beginning of the farm loan sea son for the year and there will be more things of real interest coming up at that time to discuss. In Minnesota their as sociation has several meetings a year. Of course, they are situated a little different, because the largest percentage of their members live in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with only a small membership outside in the state. The state of Nebraska also holds more than one meeting a year. G. M. Titus: After you get back from your vacation in the fall yau are busy and do not have so much time and this is the quietest time of the year, but I like the two session idea As our legislature is going to meet next fall, if we meet in the fall we can consider matters for our leg islature to take up and we might be the inspiration of better things. Mr. Shepard: This is the first meeting of the Iowa Farm Mortgage Association that I have been privileged to attend. I have never missed a national meeting. It Strikes me that the first two days in June, with a banquet the first evening, and a meeting the next day, I think you would have a good attendance. It seems to me that this is just about as good a time as you can hold it and having all your committees appointed and on the fir ing line and having time during the sum mer to think things over and go to the national convention in the fall, and I think we are all more likely to go to two con ventions if they are not too close together and if you hold it the first few days in June, I think it is a very good time. I think, so far, this has been a very suc cessful meeting. Mr. Fisher: The idea in suggesting a possible change is that we may possibly get a larger attendance at some other time of the year. My only criticism is that we don’t have a large enough at tendance and if we had it at a different time we thought possibly we could have a larger attendance Mr. Crosley: In the abstract business this has come up every year and it has been thought June is the best time. Later in the summer vacation interferes and fall is the national convention and I believe this is the best time of the year to hold this meeting. Mr. Waples: I think possibly we had just better let it rest. We will have a re port of the nominating committee. Nominating committee reports and sug gests for action by this convention the election of the following: President, E. H. Lougee. Vice president, E L. Johnson. Treasurer, A. J. Fawcett. Secretary, Fred C. Fisher. Mr. Waples: It is assumed that inas much as the national convention meets at Omaha and Mr. Lougee lives at Council Bluffs that he will entertain the entire Iowa delegation. Mi'. Lougee: I agree to entertain the entire Iowa delegation if you will with draw the report of the nominating com mittee It would be mighty unfair for this https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER association to make me their president, for I believe from the amount of corre spondence that I receive from the presi dent and secretary of this association that they have real jobs and it is necessary that they be on the job all the time. I have just gotten home from a four months’ trip abroad and I took a trip last year and I took a similar trip three or four years ago and I shall probably take another one next year. I t ’s a habit I ’ve formed that I don’t intend to get over, but it places me in a position that I can’t serve this association with any credit to them or my self. I wish I could accept the compliment that has been offered to me and that I could serve in a way to feel satisfied that I have given to the association a year of real service, but I know that I can’t do it and know that it is not to the interest of this association to make me its presi dent and I agree again if you will with draw the report I will be mighty glad to entertain the entire Iowa delegation. I am mighty serious and I know that you must agree with me. H. H. Shepard: A man who has his business in such a running condition that he can leave it for four months must be a “ gee whizer” and I think Mr. Lougee must have somebody around his office who can carry on his business. Mr. Lougee: I f Fred Fisher would be willing to be president and secretary, I would be glad to wear the title. Mr. Waples: All in favor of the ques tion as put will signify by saying I, op posed the same sign. Motion is carried. Mr. Lougee: I Avish y o u w o u ld recon sider. I don’t want y o u to “ stick” m e Avith that. Mr. Waples: I think you will find Mr. Fisher a very efficient secretary and you Avill find that the letters Avritten were by Mr. Fisher and not by me. We will have a further discussion of this subject later. We will now hear from Mr. Griff Johnson of the Equitable Life. Mr. Griff Johnson said in part: Any thing I may say will be like repetition. Sometimes I am practically convinced there is nothing new under the sun and the best thing is work, economize and either get ourselves back to the farm, or urge all young men we possibly can to become permanent title holders of a par cel of productive land in this middle west at an early day, for farm lands in Iowa are not going any cheaper during the present age. Eecently, in a bulletin, I saAV a selling plan as inaugurated by an out-state mortgage company. It impressed me as being so unusual that I wrote the com pany for a more specific statement. That company was kind enough to give me a letter fully explaining. They state they are so confident in the future of farms and the farming industry that they are offering to sell any farm they own, also some owned by their clients, and guar antee the purchaser 6 per cent interest and the return of his original invested sum at the end of five years from date of purchase. Or, i f any one buys, only for an invest ment, and not for a home, the company will manage such farm, pay all taxes, keep buildings incured, take all rentals, pay such purchaser 6 per cent on his inA^estment and at the end of five years return to him his original purchase price, or sell the farm at that time and give him twothirds of the profits. I believe that com pany will sell all its farms within a year. Some may say if they are so sanguine about the situation why not keep those farms for the five years, then sell and July, 192J get all the profit. My ansAver is that the mortgage company is primarily engaged in loaning money; not in foreclosing mort gages to get title to farms to start a real estate selling agency. I can learn from their letter that they are trying to put their farms back into the keeping and ownership of actual farmers who will make homes of them and build up agricultural interests. Can we Iowa people get an object lesson there? Namely, that Iow'a farms should be owned and operated by Iowa farmers as their homes and not bar tered by speculators, or non-residents. But let us not Avait to be shown. It is time that we busy ourselves very dili gently in routing the pessimist, whether trying to set a minimum price on corn, wheat, cotton, cattle or hogs. Or, as Mr. Allfree has indicated, why let our money continue to go elsewhere into worthless projects when we have in Iowa acres of the best annual diamond crop producers to be found on earth. Nothing is wrong with Iowa. I mean Iowa as originally given to us with its rich soil still intact, plus what little im provements we have done in the way of buildings, fences, drainage, roads, etc. There is opportunity for a great deal more if done right and economically. It is all here with our transportation facilities which, by the way, can be greatly im proved. The trouble is with ourselves. A large company of us have lost our vision and some of us do not seem to care. We have abused Iowa shamefully the last feAV years. We started on this wild Avhirl by letting the state be robbed of nearly all the Lib erty Bonds its golden harvests had so lib erally bought for us. Not satisfied with that we let others unload millions of dol lars of worthless oil stocks, packing-house stocks, rubber-tire stocks, boomerang stocks and what nots onto the state. Not satisfied with that, many of us concluded there was no end to the diamonds the grand old state would produce from year to year for us to wear and waste, so we suddenly became very much inflated with hot air stocks; considered ourselves rich on a coat pocket filled with neatly folded, broad bordered gold paper, turned the goose (namely, the farm) that quietly con tinued to lay the golden egg over to the hired man or the oldest son, or to a tenant and got ourseWes to town, to live on the retired list, Avhere we proceeded, perhaps, to mortgage the farm, or increase the exist ing one. Instead of the farm supporting one family sumptuously and ha\'ing a chance to lay by a goodly sum each year, it was expected to support two families, on this plan, to pay the taxes, to pay the interest on one or two mortgages. As the Englishman might express it, it was a right down, jolly bunch, going down this toboggan slide hooting as though there was no end to it. But there was. We all know who got hurt, but the business sym pathies of the state are so interlocked that nearly all were affected more or less by the terrific jar. But the joy riders began to look for ex cuses. In some small districts of the state there had been a few farm sales and re sales mostly on paper and among neigh bors as a diversion, or side line from the usual oil stock sales, etc. This was only a diminutive side issue, a cloud in the sky no bigger than a man’s hand, but it served the purpose for a scapegoat and all the troubles were heaped on. In passing let me say the 1919 land boom, so-called, would not have caused a ripple on the tranquility of Iowa business, or the agri cultural interests of the state, for the riches in the productive elements of its soil July, 1924 THE would have digested and fully absorbed this without effort, but the deplorable, criminal waste of millions in worthless channels made the load almost unbearable. Any other state in the Union would have gone bankrupt. But not so for Iowa. There was the call from its fertile acres to the spendthrifts to come back, roll up their sleeves, go to work, economize, save, practice thrift and not only would the fatted calf be made ready for the feast, but all working together again, as of old, the bad debts would be paid and we could once more stand up like men and lawabiding citizens. Have we all gone back? No, not all. But last year thirty-one families left the little towns in one county and put back to the old farm homes. Other counties may have done as well. I do not know. All counties did something. What were the results? Last year was a better debt payer than any one of the three previous years. This spring more families went back to the farms and indi cations are strong that this will still be a better year for liquidating debts. Friends, this is a wonderful state to live in and every mother’s son of us should be proud of it. There are a few who never were farmers still doing a lot of grumbling. They have their faces turned toward Washington and are expecting a windfall from the government to liquidate their share of the damage. Good old Iowa is not going to lift such chaps out. Neither is Congress going to donate them out. Per haps it would be well to repeat that lest we forget. One fellow in Minnesota has tuned in on the right thrift wave when he says to a farm journal that the ‘ ‘ auto has spoiled us farmers as it has gotten us into the habit of going visiting and when a fellow goes visiting he can’ t raise corn, hogs, tur keys, chickens or milk the cows. ’ ’ Every business man knows that the farming industry is the basis of all busi ness and the only way to keep business going is to keep the farmer going prosper ously. He cannot be squeezed very long on prices or delayed and buffooned on trans portation without general business being crippled. General business is not going to stop at this point and already the strong forces are getting closer to the farmer’s assistance. Newspapers and other publi cations are coming in to help fight his battles on taxes and other financial mat ters. Nothing like having friends in court; ready and willing friends who are stead fast and putting their energies on the helping side. Have you kept a close run on our Iowa land sales the past eight months? Those sold because somebody wanted them? Usually a neighbor? Most of them have been above $200.00 an acre. Many of them $300.00— or more. Have you noticed they are on a cash basis? No trade? Have you noticed there is always plenty of money to close such sales? No paper affair. No slipping back. No speculation. Bought because wanted is the sign pinned to every one of these deals. Have you also noticed the purchasers in many cases do not bear the usual United States name, so to speak, such as plain Smith, Jones and Brown, but it is Dominick Konicek, Ben Heronimus, Jacob Schmidt, Harm Strum, Joe Uhlencamp, Herman Froelich and the like? Does that signify anything to you? Perhaps some of us calling ourselves Americans are losing out. Sold our birthright for a mess of pottage. I hope not. You know my abiding faith in the future. You have seen the small leaflets recently broadcasted under the headings of ‘ ‘ Keep the Farm, Pay the Taxes, Pay the Interest, Be an Optimist, Work and https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN 29 BANKER Economize. ’ ’ In the vernacular o f the news urchin of the street them’s my sen timents. About a month ago I made up the statements of that leaflet and had the same printed to be mailed with our interest notices to encourage, but not to antagon ize, and on this account to have it bear no authorship. Twenty thousand copies have been freqly distributed in Iowa as a courtesy without charge and without thought of any advertisement and only with the hope of being some help. It has been re-printed in full, or in part, by a number of the county newspapers of the state with favorable editorial comment, also without any charge. It seems if we as loyal Iowa people had the right push, we would have sufficient vision to tell the world at large that Iowa is not for sale; that it is already sold to good Iowa farm ers for themselves, their children and their grandchildren to further improve into rich, prosperous, lasting, homes. Do you think that various institutions are putting the millions o f trust funds, thrift funds, savings funds of the thou sands of people in this Iowa agricultural industrial game for the fun of it, or with utter heedlessness? I f anyone has any such notion, he has another and more in telligent thought coming to him soon with the light of a new day quietly slipping in— so quietly that he may not be able to see it until it is too late for his salvation. And this Iowa dirt is going to produce the pigs, the milk, the poultry, the eggs, the corn, the wheat, the oats, the alfalfa, the clover,, the beef and other valuable products to pay the interest promptly on every dollar loaned under these mortgages, to pay the taxes on these properties, to sumptuously feed and care for all these good farmers and their families and when the call is made to pay in any of the principal of these same mortgages^ or any renewals of any of them, there will be a prompt response and these same good farmers will see that it is done. I f any one thinks he can shuffle through and not meet that call in due time like a man he had better get out of the way for the other fellow is right on his heels who will either help Iowa do it or see that it is done. Are we Americans going to get off our hobbies of pride, roll up our sleeves, dig in the dirt, rub against the calves and pigs, if neces sary, and see that Iowa is helped properly to carry on or will others come in to do it and leave a rich legacy to their children. Take your choice. Be a man on the walk or run your bluff a little longer only to get pushed off and out beyond redemption. But some are still saying it don’t pay and they are still making calculations to prove that this Iowa golden corn ore pro ducing pay dirt is worth only so much as their calculations would designate. Here is the real answer to all such. Just across the country here a few miles is a farm of several hundred acres; rich soil, good fences, fine houses, barns, silos, etc. Several years ago the family bought the larger portion of it. The father, mother, five sturdy sons and one daughter moved in. They assumed a big mortgage debt for those days and a high interest rate. The neighbors began early to con tribute their share of aid in condolence and expressions of feeling sorry. There is now not a dollar of mortgage against an acre o f it. The same can be said of many other Iowa farms. The father is gone and the faithful mother is now more than 80 years old. She still retains title to 320 acres— the original home place in part. Each of the five sons has been given the same amount. In 1917 they paid a neigh bor $400.00 an acre cash for his 160 acres. They have recently offered $300.00 an acre for another neighbor’ s quarter section to fix it up for one of the grandsons. Three generations o f farmers holding the original purchase and adding to at almost any price because they want it and need it for increasing homes for an increasing fam ily. No better homes on earth in the land of Canaan, Florida or even California. Yet, you and I have applications coming before us occasionally for a farm loan and in answer to the question thereon as to how old are you, the answer is 35 and what is your occupation, the answer is retired farmer and for what purpose is the loan wanted the answer is to pay on a home in town and some notes at the bank. Think of it. A healthy farmer, retiring at age 35. Perhaps he may be tired and will not cut much ice anywhere. Do you know of any tradesmen, merchants, profes sional men or bankers who can retire at age 35? Have any of you noticed the movements recently of the National Association of Lumber Dealers? They seem to think city building is to be quiet for the next few years but farm improvements in the middle west will greatly increase during the same period. Do you have any idea of the closeup grip the farm owners of your commu nity would take if you should go home and tell a very few of them that next week two or three men were coming with plenty o f money for each one to buy a good farm. Nearly every farm in your county would suddenly become one of the best in the mind of its owner and he would advance the price. Gentlemen, go out and buy a farm if you do not now own one. Do not try to buy a township, or let any one else try it. But buy 160 acres. That is enough. Put good buildings on it and permanent storage houses for all produce so you can sell such products when you are ready and when the price suits you without the aid of any co-operation scheme. Then keep that farm. Have it for yourself and your children. It will be great to have your family name permanently fixed on the county records to the title of such a farm and some day soon it will be worth $500.00 an acre. Taxation and Tax Exemptions By Geo. F. Heindel I have in this book two speeches on taxes and taxation which will take me an hour to read. I have another one which I think I can give in about ten minutes. I went up to the room this noon and wrote it. I didn’t want to prepare this speech until some recent events had been dis posed of. Standing on a platform of hypocrisy and preaching a gospel of hate, a man by the name of Brookhart was nominated by the Republican party of Iowa Monday to mis represent us for six years in the United States Senate. The Chicago Tribune had a special supplement of eight finely printed pages yesterday containing the new reve nue law adopted by Congress and signed by the President of the United States, accompanied by a statement from the President, between the lines of which you may read his opinion that it was promoted by politics rather than by any good eco nomic principles. Now, it would be pre sumptuous of me to stand here and within a limit of ten minutes attempt to say much o f anything that would be of value on the question of taxation, for if I should under take to do so I would, of necessity confine my remarks to criticism of things that have taken place within recent years. This, unless accompanied by some constructive suggestions would serve no good purpose. 30 TH E Taxes are high— Brookhart is nominated. They will be higher before Brookhart and his ilk get through handling the affairs of this country if we don’t bestir ourselves. I want to say that Brookhart was nbminated by a majority of over 32,000 be cause we have convinced a large part of our population that they are oppressed and that in some way legislation can cure economic and business ills. I had an application the other day for a loan from a good county in Iowa; the taxes were $5.50 an acre and I rejected that loan because I couldn’t see how the man was going to pay his taxes and inter est. However, that farmer’s taxes were no higher, in fact not so high, as some others in the same community. I have a friend who owns bank stock in the same township. This bank stock has a book value per share just equal to the value per acre of the farm in question and the tax was $8.00 on each share according to my informant. The farmer’s tax was no higher than the tax of the banker. It was lower. The farmer is not paying more tax than anyone else who owns taxable prop erty. We have gone wild on the sub ject of indebtedness. We have increased our indebtedness five-fold within fifteen or twenty years. We have increased our taxation five-fold in this country. We have been told at this meeting that we can issue bonds and pave all of our primary roads without increasing taxes. There is no use in trying to fool ourselves. I f we issue bonds and pave our primary roads we are going to tax ourselves to pay both principal and interest. The fact that we do it by imposing a tax of two cents a gallon on gasoline doesn’t answer the ob jection. I am not opposed to good roads nor am I opposed to a consumption tax on gasoline. What I am trying to say is that we will not settle this question o f high taxes until we look the issues squarely in the face and fully appreciate that all of the public improvements and public service which we are demanding must be paid for. We must apply to public affairs the same principles we apply to our own affairs. We get nowhere condemning high taxes when we are demanding that the money be expended for public improve ments and public service. Let us either practice economy in public affairs or pay the bill and keep still about it. I said I was not opposed to a consump tion tax of two cents a gallon on gasoline, but why select gasoline as the one commod ity upon which we shall impose a con sumption tax? I f a consumption tax on gasoline is a good thing for building roads let us adopt the policy of taxing consump tion and apply it to other articles, but at the same time let us not lose sight of the fact that every one of these taxes which we impose, no matter what the form, in creases the total burden, and let us con sider before entering upon a system of con sumption taxation whether we should not, at the same time, attempt to reduce our property taxes which are now imposing so heavy a burden upon agriculture and other business enterprises. While we are seeking new methods and new subjects for taxation let us try to use some of them as substitutes for some of our present taxes rather than as additional sources for rais ing revenue. One dollar out of every eight or prac tically 12% per cent of our annual income is now taken for taxes, yet we try to fool ourselves and others into believing that so long, as we have no property someone , else is paying the tax, but whoever buys a pound of meat or a loaf of bread, in fact, helps to pay the tax o f the butcher or baker, the income tax of the contractor https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis N O R T H WE ST E R N BANKER who built the building in which he does business, and the income and property tax of everybody who furnished anything which went into it. There is no system by which any consumer may escape pay ment of a part of the taxes. Last year we voted six hundred million dollars for the purpose o f roads in this country and the farmer, the banker, the lawyer, the merchant, the doctor and the preacher are all helping pay for them, but the people who had six hundred million dollars to invest in the bonds which were issued to pay for the roads don’ t help pajr for them. This investment is exempt from taxation. The six hundred million dollars is planted permanently. Had it been bor rowed for manufacturing or other produc ing enterprises it would have been turned over again and again in buying labor and material to be converted into finished product and sold, but the money put into public improvement is permanently in vested, it is never coming out, and there never will be a turnover. One-fifth of the property in this coun try is exempt from taxation. The prac tical remedy for the vexing problems of taxation is first, that we apply to the pub lic affairs the same economy, the same common sense and the same business judg ment that we apply to our own affairs, and second, that we adopt a system of taxation which will equalize the burden. Every in telligent man knows that no effort to tax one class of citizens because they have more money than another will not get us anywhere. Regardless of the question of tax exemption, the taxes imposed upon the man with a large income are passed on and on until the consumer finally pays most of them. The farmer is the only producer in the world who doesn’t control his commod ity and he is the only consumer who cannot, in a degree, fix the price he will pay, hence ultimately the discrimination is against the farmer rather than in his favor. It has been suggested here two or three times during this meeting that we should have legislation which will raise the price of the farmer’s commodity to a point where it will yield him as large an income as the $18.00-a-day mechanic. I don’t know any $18.00-a-day mechanics, but I do know that the last thing I want to see in this country is an inflation which will put farm products and other products on that basis. What we want to do is to deflate and we will not permanently help the farmer by inflating artificially his prices to a point that they will correspond with inflated labor prices. I f legislation and other artificial regulation and control are eliminated, prices will all ultimately adjust themselves to practically the same level. This we want. We talk about diversified farming and government aid of some kind to enable men to go into it. I think the first thing neces sary to bring about diversified farming in the wheat country of the Northwest is di versified farmers. Those people up there are wheat farmers but they want the gov ernment to in some way guarantee them prices for their wheat which will enable them with 100 to 150 days labor to earn as much as men in other callings earn by working 300 days in the year. They don’t want to be diversified farmers. I don’t think you could give away 500 head of the best dairy cattle in the world in a wheat farming country if you imposed as a condition that the farmers to whom you gave them should be at home morning and night 365 days each year to milk them. You could do this in a diversified farming country, but not in a specialty country. July, 1924 After all, the best remedies for our condition are old-fashioned honesty, in dustry, frugality and common sense, and if these are practiced and congress and legislature will cease their efforts to substitute statutes for economic principles and laws for industry and common sense, our most serious problems will soon be solved. Do Hard Roads Increase Land Values? By Hugh H. Shepard This subject “ Do Hard Roads Increase Land Values?” can be answered in one word, Yes. I could spend days and weeks talking it over and not exhaust the sub ject. I have been a good road “ bug” for many years. It happened by accident. I have been to Denver with a friend and we were going to drive home and went from Denver to Colorado Springs and through Western Kansas following the Golden Belt road. We came through beau tifully marked highways that looked like the road to a circus with beautifully graveled roads out of Topeka, Kansas, the marked highways and improved roads were splendid. We left the marked highway at Topeka and undertook to find our way to Omaha through the middle of September after several days of rain and the roads were reported impassible. After stopping many times to inquire the road we finally ar rived in Omaha at night, tired out and worn out. From Omaha we took the Lin coln Highway, which was in wonderful con dition, and we were going so good when we passed Ames and seeing the sign, “ Ma son City 100 miles” we drove on to Marshalltown. It was Saturday night and it rained all night and the next day we left over the graded highway north of Marshalltown and it was so slippery a fly couldn’t stand on it, but we stuck and finally worked our way to Eldora. At Eldora we got out and inquired our way to Iowa Falls, finally arriving in Iowa Falls at night and again it rained all night. We were both attorneys, and this being Mon day morning, we had cases that would not hold over any longer and we finally pock eted our pride and decided the best thing would be to put the car in a box car and ship it home after 1,281 miles. We thought of the wonderful soil around Mason City and wondered why we couldn’t have good roads. The shipment of the car home was a sacrifice to our pride, but we rode the cushions home. That was ten years ago, and a little later I went down to Iowa City to the Homecoming and I was talking about the fine town we lived in and a road fanatic said, “ You lost the Red Ball Route and you are going to lose the Interstate Trail” and we asked what the Interstate Trail was and he told us it ran from Kansas City to Des Moines and they were looking for a route to the Twin Cities and I told him I was going to my town and I was going to write to Mr. Hopkins and I wrote to Mr. Hopkins and told him we had the shortest route be tween Des Moines and the Twin Cities and we marked this trail out and formed our organization in 1915 and I was elected secretary with the wonderful salary of nothing. They told me it would take a lot of work and that we would have to spend a lot of money, but I told them if they would help me I would try to put it over. We knocked at the door of the Greater Des Moines Committee and they gave us $100.00. The St. Paul Associa tion refused to help us, but finally someone outside of the association gave us $200.00. July, 1924 THE Those were the large contributions to ward making the trail from Des Moines to St. Paul. We got a few responses from the towns along the way. I spent $20.00 for a list of automobile owners between Des Moines and St. Paul and I sent them a circular letter, telling them what we were trying to do, that we were trying to improve the road and make a real road out of it. We sent out 5500 letters and got back $115.00. In the fall of 1915 the Jefferson Highway was organized in New Orleans and we wrote them that we had 500 miles of road al ready laid out and marked from Kansas City to St. Paul and I am pleased to say that this got us the Jefferson Highway. In Cerro Gordo county we have paved from Mason City to the South County Line. Between Des Moines and Mason City the 135 miles have 45 miles paved and the remaining 90 miles are on gravel. You can go from Des Moines to the Twin Cities on a good highway. The pavement has been extended between Mason City and Clear Lake. Algona is paved to con nect with Charles City. All you have to do is to look at a road map of Iowa to see the paved, graveled or dirt roads. Des Moines and Mason City stand out as regards paving. The work that we have done for good roads has advanced the cause five years in Iowa. We are responsi ble for the roads in Manitoba from Winni peg to the International Boundary com pletely hard surfaced at the present time. We are responsible for the hard surfacing of the roads in Louisiana, due to the 500 miles we had at the beginning of the Jeffer son Highway idea. The governor of Louis iana made a trip over this highway and re ported it splendid. That shows how an idea grows. We have millions of automobiles in the country today. Eighty per cent of the travel now is carried by automobiles. We have a live issue confronting us and we have to get good roads just as we had to get railroads a few years ago. We have had pleased expressions from the people who have helped to pay for these roads. The only help we had was from the fed eral aid and we are in favor of putting paving where it is needed, gravel where it can be used and leave the dirt roads where they can be used, but to keep them up. Our highway commissioners tell us that where travel exceeds 300 cars a day your dirt roads should be graveled, where they exceed 700 cars a day they should be paved. I was somewhat interested in hearing our friend from the southern part of the state, who is more informed in mat ters of taxation than in good roads, say that you don’t get anything back from money spent on roads. He thinks it is money thrown in rat holes, but we know better than this. Here is a clipping out of a Min nesota paper: ‘ ‘ Trunk highways serve four out of five road users in Minnesota, government fig ures show, and that means 360,000 out of the 450,000 motor vehicles now reg istered. At an average of 5,000 miles the 360,000 cars and trucks travel 1,800,000,000 miles a year. A tenth of the collective vehicle mileage at the present running cost averaging 10 cents a mile, the bulletin figures, mean $18,000,000 an nual saving to trunk route users. A further saving at 2 cents a mile in runningcosts on adequately improved roads on shortened locations is figured at $32,400,000 annually. Thus, the potential earning capacity of the Minnesota trunk highway system on present traffic figures approximate $50,400,000 a year.” I am now running a Cadillac Suburban and get more than twelve gallons of gas to https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER the mile on the good paved and graveled roads and have used the original tires more than 16,000 miles and they are still good. We have the authority of Prof. Eugene Davenport, saying, “ There are already many and powerful influences tending to force the price of land above its commer cial value and these influences are no mystery. For example, men buy land for any one of the following reasons: 1. As a means of farming. 2. For a home. 3. For the mere love of owning land. The first two reasons are generally com bined but only the first is economic and the home feature may so overshadow the other to make many a purchase impossi ble from a strictly economic point of view and therefore out of the question for the borrower. Incidentally, last year I was pleased to know I was to get a benefit from my good roads activities. I found that the farm loan extensions were coming up in February when we had 5 per cent money for a little while and I could show the farms when they couldn’t any other place in the state of Iowa and I saved one-half of one per cent because I was getting the men out when no other company could. The farmers got a little benefit and I realized a little myself. I call your attention to a little work that I picked up recently, entitled “ An Introduction to Economics,” by Turner. We usually get away from this and in dulge in cheap talk without really getting down to the basic elements and find out what the economic principles are that con trol the subject matter. All land under cultivation is valuable. Men do not labor to harness a valueless use and this they would do should they culti vate valueless land. One is marked as a poor business man who makes lavish ex penditures upon cheap land. Land is not cultivated when the cost of getting service from it is equal to or outweighs the worth of such services, be cause such lands afford no net yield, it is of no value. Only valuable land, land that renders net uses above cost, is culti vated. The land, tools, seed and labor jointly produce a crop. A single agent is non-pro ductive and is valueless unless there are other factions to combine with it. Any factor which is an integral part of a pro ductive agent is valuable. Therefore, if you have a splendid farm with fine build ing, abundance of grain, but no way to get to it, your value is lost because of your inability to get to market. Where land is valuable and the travel is heavy I think it is perfectly fair for the land owners to pay a portion of this ex pense because we advocate in northern Iowa that it adds about $50.00 an acre to farm land to have paving. We have in terviewed the farmers who have paving and they wouldn’t be without it. We paid 25 per cent for paving our roads and we have interviewed farmers along the roads and there is not a one in Cerro Gordo county who would be without them for the price of what they cost. I par ticipated in two of them myself. I will just summarize by saying that the expense of hard surfacing is justified, that it does raise the value of land. We find that we have to have paved roads around Cerro Gordo county because our traffic records show we get over 700 cars daily. They have wonderfully graveled roads in Mitchell county and they are very satisfactory, because of the fact they don’t have the heavy travel. 31 The Minnesota gravel roads that you hear so much about have nothing on the graveled roads of Iowa. We know how to build them, but they cause so much trouble and repair that hard surfacing is much more practical. There is an article in the Chicago Sunday Tribune of May 18th which quotes Commissioner C. M. Babcock: “ An average mile of gravel roadbed on one of the main state routes last year cost exactly $3,001 in maintenance and re pair. ’ ’ Gravel on roads where they have heavy traffic is whipped off about as fast as it is put on. Don’t kid yourself that you can build gravel roads so much cheaper than you can hard surfaced roads. I live in northern Iowa and we paid for our paving up there, but I am perperfectly willing to contribute my share to have this Lincoln Highway paved through Cedar Rapids. You people of southern Iowa haven’t studied your roads and you are not up to date on roads. When you educate your farmer and he can see it through the light of other people he will understand better and you can get along with him. Don’t kid yourself in thinking you can get along with a graveled highway on the Lincoln because you cannot. The traffic census shows there are 7,000 cars daily over this route. Receivership Clauses in Actual Operation John F. Webber. I am in full accord with just what Mr. Shepard has said to us on the road ques tion and what we need in Iowa is a good old-fashioned campaign on education so the people will know more about the cost of roads. I can find you people who think it will cost them $35.00 an acre to pave their roads and some who think it will cost $60.00 an acre. As a matter of fact the figures will show that the Durant highway cost $2.64 an acre, and graduates back until the highest is 93 cents and others along that same scale. In a county in Illinois last year they paved 23 miles of highway and they now have under con tract about 15 miles more and I haven’t seen a farmer along that highway or ten miles from them that is not boosting for a paved highway. They are all for it and what we need in Iowa is to let the people understand and then they will all be for it. I must confess that I have had some per sonal experience in matters of that char acter during the past few years and have had considerable experience for other peo ple and it has been considerable of a prob lem of what time I have been in the mort gage business that question has come up daily. I recall some years ago in Jefferson county o f a fellow who mortgaged a farm and finally left between two days and sent to the state of Montana I had a mort gage on the farm. I am using a form which calls for a receiver to be appointed with out notice. I went in and got a receiver without notice. Some other fellows came in and had the receiver vacated. I im mediately served notice and renewed ap plication for receiver and got it. In the meanwhile two fellows had rented that farm for $800 and paid cash to the fellow who had gone to Montana and were in possession. The matter came up for hear ing before one of our district judges who is now a member of the supreme court. He not only named a receiver, but he said among other things, in his opinion of the case that the mortgage covered the rents as well as the mortgage. The receiver 32 THE turned around and rented it to these two fellows again. Their case never came to the supreme court. Now, we have a propo sition in Iowa in a general way with ref erence to the appointment of receivers, this is without reference to contract or anything else. I think most o^ you here know something of that statute. There is the general law of receivership that has been on the code books of Iowa for always. There has been some question arise from time to time as to your right to have a receiver appointed in a mortgage fore closure of that kind when there is no pro vision in the mortgage for a receiver. There is the outstanding case, I think, on the subject, Gilbert against Berry, re ported in 180 N. W., page 197. Now there was one of the outstanding cases that first denied the right of a receiver and one of the things entering into that case was the question of homestead. Justice Salinger, then on the supreme bench, wrote a dissenting opinion and I must say at this time that I think Justice Salinger’ s dissenting opinion is at least better law than the majority of opinions in some of these cases. Now, in that mortgage there was a clause, “ A receiver shall be ap pointed to take possession and charge of the mortgaged premises at once, and to hold possession of same until the debt is fully paid, and until the time of redemp tion expires, and all rents and profits de rived from the mortgaged premises shall be applied on the debt secured by the mortgage.” And also in the same con tract, the mortgagors “ relinquish all our contingent rights in and to said premises, including the right of dower and home stead, to the said grantee.” When that reached the supreme court they decided, I believe, for the first time, that that ques tion of homestead in there was important. Now, under our law we have always had, or I understand, that the homestead could not be disposed of. You can mortgage the homestead, you can sell it. Now then, this mortgage is joined in by both husband and wife and so it carries with it the pledg ing rents and profits both. Now, if I can take away the rents and profits which are pledged isn’ t it just as reasonable to say you have to make a showing of inadequate security in order to foreclose on 4-40s of 160 instead of 3. Isn ’t it just as reason able to say that the 3-40s are worth more than your debt, why include the 4? Now, that is the question that is up to us to consider. Time will not permit me to go into this matter at great length, but just let me call your attention to a case I had some experience in in the southern part of the state where a receiver was named on a default, involving a large farm of 1,100 acres. Eleven days after parties came in and by affidavits and put witnesses on the stand in showing that the land was worth twice as much. The receiver was vacated. Later on after execution sale, there being a deficiency judgment of ap proximately $1,400.00, and then a renewal of an application for a receiver on the ground that the property didn’t sell for sufficient to pay the debt. The district judge held that the fact that the land had not sold for a sufficient amount to pay the indebtedness was not significant. That reliable men had came in and testified that it was worth twice the indebtedness. This is what happened. It was getting along the middle of March. They boasted that they were going to skin the land and put it all in corn. The result was an application was made for a temporary receiver and a temporary restraining order was issued to prevent their doing this on the ground https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN July, 1924 BANKER that it would be waste and would result in detriment to the ground. In the mean time they compromised and agreed to leave the land in grass and drop the injunction proceeding and likewise the receivership, but that illustrates the question in regard to this receivership. I want to be under stood as saying that when those things are provided for in contract they are entirely fair and ought to be reasonably con trolled by companies. There was a case decided on May 6th from Page county. Receiver appointed for 80 acres including a homestead. A re ceiver was appointed for a tract of land which included a homestead. Whether that would go clear through the piece or whether it will indicate the courts are turning away from what they determine .................................rulings on that, I don’ t know, but there was a case where a mort gage foreclosure was started, no question, but that the security was not adequate for the debt. Some place along in the proceed ing they got together and the party was going to give up. In fact, they had a pub lic sale and got a job running an oil sta tion and for some reason or other he saw fit to change his mind a few days later and decided to go through with that agree ment. The foreclosure was followed up and the court appointed a receiver. I tried a case in Wapello county involv ing a large tract of land. They sold this at $122.50 an acre and took a mortgage back for $25,000. It had been operated for a number of years as a dairy farm and it traded so fast you couldn’t keep up with it and finally came into some hands in Des Moines. I put up a fight on that for a receiver and I got thrown out of court. The difficulty, I noticed in that case, was that man after man was put on the stand, to the extent of six or eight, who testified that the farm was worth $200 to $250 an acre, yet not a single one would go on record as saying he would pay $100 an acre for it, and we put a number of witnesses on the stand who said it didn’t have that value, but I could not get a re ceiver. The people in Des Moines got a tractor and plowed up every piece and to day it isn’ t worth half of what it was five or six years ago, without reference to land booms or anything else. At the present price o f clover seed you would spend onehalf of its value in trying to sow it in clover. In the ease of Whiteside v. Morris and others, Commercial Savings Bank, of Des Moines, intervenor, 197 Northwestern, Page 56, the mortgage contained with ref erence to receivership the following provi sion: “ And i f suit is brought to foreclose this mortgage hereby authorize the court to appoint a receiver, for the benefit of the mortgagee, of the rents, issues and profits.” Under the above provision, the court held that the pledging of rents and profits was in case of foreclosure only; that the rights o f the mortgagee thereunder did not arise until such action was commenced and that before the bringing of such ac tion, the mortgagor or his assignee could dispose of them without being liable to ac count to the mortgagee. I think our courts have generally held this that you don’t have any right until you have defaulted and brought an action. Now, they have a case down here where a banker holds a second mortgage and they have gone ahead and grabbed the rents, not only for this year, but for next. They rented the land for this year and for next and then by the time the first mortgage holder could get into court they wrote to them and told them what they ‘had done and told them to foreclose whenever they are ready. The people can’ t get into court till next September and there is two years gone by. I wouldn’ t be surprised there may be a protest on that case. I think there will be. I believe some place along the line courts are going to recognize some of your rights of contract. “ Iowa Not for Sale“ By H. B. Allfree, Newton, Iowa. “ From times known people’s minds have always been such that they were not ab solutely certain, did not have complete confidence in either their possessions or within themselves. And, we have, every one of us, often witnessed the case of the man selling his home or his farm and seek ing other locations, and then when he had made this search and was honest with him self, how often he has come back and re purchased that which he first sold. “ So it is in this state of Iowa whose area is small, but where its capacity for real accomplishments in the way of production of wealth has no parallel, cannot be com pared nor considered in comparison with any other like area in the entire world. “ There is not a farmer living outside of our state who is not envious of the Iowa farmer and his possessions. And, the idea of awakening the people of this state to what we own, to what we have and what we must not part with is the reason I say Iowa is not for sale. “ Let us make a careful survey of the conditions now existing in Iowa as per taining to land values, remembering that one failure does not bankrupt the country, nor one success make everybody successful. “ We are constantly confronted with the statement that land is only worth what it will produce. Is it not true that there is no mathematician, nor accountant who can truthfully make an accurate return of the production of an Iowa farm? Cold facts and figures are wholly inadequate to set forth the real income of our farms. ‘ ‘ The men and women who originally settled Iowa did not come here with their pockets bulging with money. They came here, most of them, with one purpose and that was to establish homes and try to become successful people. Our lands were cheap but no cheaper than today in com parison with our other assets. Have you ever stopped to think what the cost must have been to take this barren, raw prairie and within a period, you might say, of sixty years transform it into what it is now? To build and supply all of the neces sary equipment of the very highest type so that every parcel of land in this state functions? And to do this it was neces sary to build our towns and build the rail roads, and all of this had to be paid for, either directly or indirectly. The state has done it and has done it in the shortest period possible known for such permanency. Then in addition to this, to think of the thousands and thousands of good citizens we have sent elsewhere, not with their pockets empty but supplied with all they would need for the remainder of their lives. All of this coming out and from the soil. “ Our properties, both real and personal, have always advanced in comparison with our general assets. I f you should look at the bank deposits of thirty years ago in Iowa, and then each year as they have in creased, figure the value of your real prop erty and its advancement you will find that the deposits and prices of land have grown side by side. This is what gives July, 1924 THE our properties a quick marketable value. I f we had not had the earnings from the soil then we could not have had the as sets we now possess, and what one can realize for his property is not wholly al ways what it will return, but what the abilities are of those who are in that midst to be able to pay for it and who have the ability to buy it. You might own the most valuable piece of property in the world, but if it was located so that nobody else wanted it, if there was nobody in that locality who had any money to pay for it, then its value, even though it possessed a certain intrinsic worth, would not be rec ognized nor would there be any market for it. ‘ ‘ We school every youth in the state. The boys and girls from the country have crowded our high schools. The cost is enormous but it is the one big thing that causes our high taxes and to which not a single person dare object, because in the end this investment is going to pay a per centage that will make us ashamed of the small amount we really spend. ‘ ‘ There is no way to get away from the fact that the premises in the city of Des Moines at Sixth and Walnut have increased in value in the last thirty years. There has been a gradual increase but when you credit that corner with its income you cannot do so without also crediting the environments which made that increase. There is no way for the premises at Sixth and Walnut to increase without returning to the investor upon that increase a rea sonable income, and, the only way it can return that income is for the tenants to pay it. These tenants in one way depend strictly upon the agriculture of Iowa to do it. for if Iowa did not possess its ability to produce wealth what other interests would substantiate, necessitate or establish the cities and towns and the population in the state? “ Anything that has value can be as certained only from three things: From its past; what the present is and what the future will bring. Up to now we have con sidered Iowa only as an agricultural state. True, we have made wonderful advance ment in other ways but they have never as yet been large enough to be recognized as a general asset, but the time has come when we must so recognize them and the future will bring this more thoroughly to us than we think. “ We have awakened to the possibilities of manufacturing in Iowa. The manu facturers are finding that the towns and ofties of our state are the ideal loca tions for their businesses. This will mean an increased population, more available as sets, and a demand for our products at our own doors. ‘ ‘ What an acre of land can produce in Iowa is almost an unknown quantity. It should not be so. We should never hear any talk in Iowa of restricted production or restriction in the commodities which we can raise and grow so much better than any other place in the world. Is it not as great a sin for the state of Iowa to violate itself in preventing the bringing of things into this world to feed her people as it is to violate any of the other command ments? We are superior, not boasting of it. It costs no more in Iowa, broadly speaking, to raise 75 bushels of corn per acre than it does in some countries to raise 20. Therefore, should we hold back and not raise that 75 bushels because our neighboring states cannot produce the same? Should we restrict that raising and fattening of hogs and cattle because we do it better and quicker than it can be https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NO R T H W B S T E R N BAN KER done any place else? Should we not go ahead, should we not do all we can; should we not attain the height of our possibilities instead of trying to conserve or hold back? It may not at all times be beneficial; it may not bring us as great a return, but in the end have we any right in this state of Iowa to restrict that which we for tunately are able to do and which is so greatly needed for the entire world? “ I f you could build a structure that would be as good in 200 years from now as it is today, then would there not be a value there that no one has ever yet been able to figure upon such a structure? Our grandfathers, when they came out to this country, told us that our lands, like the lands of New England, would not last, that they would wear out, that they would de teriorate and in the end we would meet the same condition as those farms in the east ern part of the United States had met. This is not the truth. If experience teaches us anything, it teaches us that the land of Iowa is capable of increasing its pro duction and properly handled there is no deterioration therefrom. We say, ‘ Yes, if intelligently and properly handled, ’ but is it not a fact that we need have no fear. No one has ever stopped to give proper consideration to the fact that your build ings, that all the structures that you build and all the things that you try to do in an artificial way are only temporary, but the farm lands of Iowa are no temporary mat ter— they produce year after year. “ The unfailing, everlasting perpetuality of the soil of this state in furnishing the crops and the yield of these crops increas ing instead of decreasing. ‘ ‘ The fine new building of the Equitable Life will in time serve its purpose and be taken away, but not an acre in sight of its tower but what will be producing more than it is today when that time ar rives. We have the proper climate, we have the proper rainfall and we need fear nothing. Therefore, with these things in mind why need we fear competition? Why should we not make all competition fear us, and tee can and we do. We should have no apologies or explanations to make, and we should make none in our ability to lead the world in producing the things that sustain life. “ Every city man spends a large part of his earnings for a house to live in. It is wholly an outgo and never considered in any other way. Should not the homes on the farms be credited with a like amount and which the farmer has never been allowed to take into consideration? When Iowa is ten years further along with her road building program every available site along these highways will be in as much demand by the people residing in our towns and cities as they are now for homes of the farmers. This alone is going to add and increase the selling value of every acre of property in the entire state. “ We also have the markets at our door. Just think that there flows along our east ern border the water that will carry our products to any part of the world. We could not be better situated as to location. “ Iowa should be absolutely opposed to all restricted immigration. We do not mean by this that we should not hand-pick the people that come here, but knowing that we have the resources here to feed the world, then we should have as many of the world in our midst as it is possible for us to take care of. Furthermore, Iowa itself needs more inhabitants. There is not a county in the state that could not use 1,000 additional farmers. I f the Farm Bureau would send its representative to the Northern European countries and let 33 them spread the propaganda of what can be done in this state it would be one of the greatest moves that could possibly come today. We know that the cry for re stricted immigration comes from one source only. It comes from the source that ab solutely domineers in its methods. To do this they use all of the jingo about im migration that the average person so much fears. But these people of ours, need they worry if there should come to our country a few wild-eyed radicals? They can neither upturn nor tear down or cause any real disturbance among us. “ We are not always so sure of ourselves anyhow when we talk about immigration and restrictions. We only have one sun shining on this world of ours— each of us enjoys it and maybe it was meant that we should all enjoy and be a part of that which the sun shines on. “ Investments are based upon the return they pay. The greater the security or margin, the lower the income. We have unfortunately had a conflicting policy in regard to our farm lands and their in come. There is no one who will not rec ognize and admit that the safest and the soundest security known is real property, especially Iowa farm lands, Avhere its acres can in no Avay be destroyed by the ele ments, but immediately upon admitting this Ave then try to figure a rate of inter est from it that would be figured upon a more hazardous investment. Why does the banker Avho, Avith his training, his experience, and machinery of handling money is only able to pay 3 per cent to 4 per cent for the funds and then expect the IoAva farms to be figured upon a higher basis than this? ‘ ‘ The farmers ’ troubles are often mag nified by the publicity that is generally given them, for the reason that the farmer is one individual whose credit can be at tacked, Avhose financial standing can be im paired, but this does not as a rule prohibit him from going ahead Avith his vocation and doing just the same in depressed times as he Avould if the opposite was the case. There is no other business that could stand the scrutinizing of its affairs as the farmers business and yet continue. The merchant, the banker and all other busi nesses have suffered, I think even more so than the farm has, but the circumstances around them has made it so that the own ers of these businesses or the ones engaged therein have had to keep a stiff upper lip and keep their affairs from becoming public, for if they did, this business would be at once Aviped out. I f our farmers could have known the actual facts as to the condition of other businesses during the depressed times, they would have then figured it was a general depression which they nor anyone else would be able to control. The farmers’ troubles have been taken advantage of by the politicians and the agitators. Wonder if the politicians of this country and the men who like to work upon the sympathies of different classes of people do not under-estimate the real intelligence that really exists in the average man’s head. The intelligence of the farmer as a class is superior and greater than any other class of people. Here in Iowa we have had farmers during these depressed times who have contin uously accumulated Avealth. They have worked hard, maybe harder than some of their neighbors, maybe they have been more fortunate, but the think that helped them would help their neighbors. “ I know a farmer who in 1914 bought a farm of something over 300 acres and went in debt $28,000.00 for it. He has con fined his efforts almost entirely to the rais- 34 THE ing of grain. His farm has produced suf ficient so that in that time he has paid off: his $28,000.00 mortgage and he has enough money in the banks at this time to buy an other farm and pay cash for it. Of course, he has had exceptional years, but in the high priced period his corn land paid in the neighborhood of $100.00 per acre per annum return, and on that basis in com parison with present prices it would cer tainly be paying a most excellent return upon the investment. This farmer may have had exceptional ability, but his soil was no different than that of his neigh bors and thousands of other farms in the state and it was its production that paid the debt. Let us remember one thing which is plain truth: That if these conditions are economically wrong, if the condition of the farmer is not right, then there is only one place that it can be made right and that is on the farm and not in the halls of congress. I f agriculture cannot stand alone, then there is no artificial support than can sustain it. If the intelligence of the farmers which they possess had been used in 1920 and 1921 in seeking their own relief on their own premises instead of waiting on politicians to continue to hand them false hopes we would today be in a much better situation. But we are get ting along in this state. Have you ridden over it lately? Hid you see any dilapidated buildings? Hid you see any houses look ing like they would tumble over or blow away? Hid you find any uncultivated lands, any unkept fences? Hid you not find everything in a most prosperous contition? Ho you think this could continue to look this way if we had really had for the past five years the depressed times that a few would give us credit of having? “ Ho not understand that we do not feel that the manner of deflation was made in a grossly unjust manner. The farmers of the middle west were absolutely treated unfair. I remember in the fall of 1919 of being in the east for some little period and I was constantly reading in the papers there where the mayors of those large east ern cities and the governors of the states were appointing committees to investigate the high cost of living. And the result of those short-sighted eastern people, who could only see the whole matter from one angle, and that was if they had to pay a trifle more for their loaf of bread yet they themselves could not think of taking less for what they were producing and fur nishing to the world. But the matter started and once started the ball was hard to stop, and when it was stopped it seemed to have been in the central west where agriculture functions wholly with general business and therefore we were the people who received the blow. “ The only way we can feel in this mat ter is that the law of average, while it sometimes works slow, yet is generally in the course of time efficient in doing the things that we think will not be done, and if the farmer and the people who depend upon him in the middle west had to meet this deflation, there no doubt is going to come a time and very soon when he will not have to meet a condition which our friends in the east may have to and may have to meet very soon. “ I know down in my own locality of farmers who have paid their mortgages, who have relieved their farms of debt during the time when a part of the people of Iowa were making such a cry for re lief. A business man fails and goes under in a financial way and we think nothing of it being one of the instances of life, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER but a farmer does not fail that way, in fact, there are very few farmers who ever do fail. They may come to depressed times, they may have adversities come to them, but they keep on and on, and the per centage of success among their class is higher than any other class of people. “ At the present time we have the situa tion of the present generation or the young man who is starting out for himself who is passing up the farm or farming and seeking a vocation that will seem to bring him more immediate returns. But in periods of depressed times, in our towns, as at Christmas time when we distribute baskets you might say as indirect charity, did you ever know of any baskets be ing distributed to the farmers of Iowa? Absolutely no-—it is unnecessary. If the average city man could have on his table the things that the average farmer has upon his table, he would never be able to be out of debt to his tradesmen. These are the things that a mathematician or an accountant cannot figure when he figures what the income is from a farm. A woman in my office recently told me that she sold in 1923 $1,180.00 worth of eggs and chick ens from their farm. She, with her hus band, occupies 80 acres of land. They pay their interest promptly; they are reducing the principal; they are riding in a 1924 car and there are no installments due or coming due upon that car. These are the by-products of an 80-acre farm. Every 80 acres in Iowa is capable of the same results. “ The Iowa Milk Bottle has succeeded the bottle that formerly came from Mil waukee. I f you do not think this is true go down through any of the factories where the men are doing real he-man work and see the number of milk bottles that they have beside them and which they use dur ing their working hours. In one factory in my town they use 250 quarts of milk every day, and here is another thing where there should be no restriction. There can be no over-production in dairy products. There never has been and there never will be sufficient as the people’s- appetites in crease for the dairy products. “ We are today awakening to the fact that the principal product of Iowa— corn -—has other uses besides fattening hogs and beef. The corn products companies of the country are absorbing our corn and they have just commenced. Within the next few days you are going to see a new market that will have such a great demand for this article that we will be scratching every fence corner and every piece of ad ditional land that we can find to produce it. In producing this corn for the fatten ing of these hogs and cattle of which we might say we are at the top of the list, if we are able to do this on a higher and more productive basis than any other coun try, then why should we not have the same ability to handle the marketing of the same? We can, and we will. I f just a small part of intelligence that Iowa has furnished to the world in helping set tle and bring about adjustments in other world matters could be used in helping form a plan whereby that which Iowa pro duces can be marketed in a more proper and efficient manner, we certainly would be bringing back to the state of Iowa to day enormous sums that we do not now receive. Let nobody scare you about sur plus or about South America. That is nothing but tales for those who want to bear our market down. We can compete with them and we can do it on land that sells for $300.00 per acre. The valuation that the environments have built up around our land in Iowa must not be depreciated. July, 1924 Everybody the world over has always rec ognized that valuation except some of us here at home. “ In the past we have had first call upon all of the investment funds of the country; the security of the Iowa farms has been recognized as the very top of the list. One reason for this is the fact that the return from that investment has been almost the full return that came direct from the borrower— the overhead you might say, or the cost of handling the investment of farm loans has been the smallest when figured by the length of time and the amount of any investment in the world, and the losses from those investments has been practically nil, and when you figure that today Iowa borrows a billion dollars upon her farm lands, not because she is in financial trouble but because all strong business is done upon credit and the credit we are able to demand and have in Iowa is the very best. “ We, as a people, are not worrying about any particular piece of legislation. After four years of continuous bunk handed us in regard to artificial legislation we are firmly convinced that we do not want to listen to it any longer. If our markets can be improved let us do it, but we must not spend out time whining and complain ing about why there is not something done for us. All we want is to wake up the people of this state to what they have, let them fight for it and let them not forget that we must not let it be taken from us. We are no different today than we were 100 years ago, nor 3,000 years ago. Our minds run in the same way, our habits and manners and methods of living are identical in comparison with those times. Let not yourself be troubled about our habits or about the way we live, and stop preaching what they used to do. There were just as many notes given in propor tion to the amount of wealth in the state of Iowa for county rights, of fence build ing machines and the like 40 years ago as there are notes given today for automo biles. We should be proud that the farm ers of Iowa have, and can and do enjoy the things that we are all blest with. The man who buys a Packard automobile to drive down the streets of his town should not make any complaint about the man who brings his family to town in a Eord. They are both entitled to that which they can obtain and we must quit preaching and talking that we are living a wrong manner. We are not. We are living as we always have and always will. “ The most vital thing about ‘ Iowa Not for Sale’ is the fact that we must not let it go from our hands. Ho we realize how much grief and how much sorrow is caused by these talks we make about our neighbors’ farms and their property not earning a sufficient return; do you know the injustice we have done to the farmers of Iowa in constantly harping upon the fact that land would not pay a reasonable return, and that hundreds of men have been advised to sell their lands, and then what has been the result? I remember during the land movement a few years ago of a farmer down in my community, owning a. splendid farm, well equipped, with only a small mortgage on it, inde pendent you might say, in every way. His farm was a real attractive one and was in demand and he finally asked $85,000.00 for the quarter section. He sold it then, he realized all of his money. Today he has not a dollar. It is all gone, all because the wise men on the side line told him he could not afford to continue to own it at that price. This is not an isolated case. There are thousands and thousands of them July, 1924 THE all over the state of Iowa. There has never been anything that has held money together, held it so as not to be dis sipated as real property. I f you would take 100 men and present each one of them with $10,000.00 and tell them they were to use these funds for a period of five years, but they would not be allowed to invest in real property, would it not be an absolute fact that at the end of the five years 95 per cent of them would have lost it completely? Let us remember that safety can only be found in real property. The property that does not burn up, that cannot be destroyed, the property that we have here in Iowa, that things never de teriorate either in the farming of it, handling of it or in the marketing of what it produces. “ 1Iowa not for sale.’ We do not need to sell it. The world wants us to keep it. They want us to keep it because the intelligence of its owners is such that they can bring forth for the world the things that are absolutely needed. And let us men, who deal wholly and directly, you might say, with the farmers who are as well versed in all the matters pertaining to their business as any other class of people in the world, let us bring to the farmer of Iowa this message: Stay on your land, continue to own it. If you do not own a farm buy one and the Farm Mort gage Bankers of Iowa and of the United States are absolutely going to use every thing in their power to see that the re sources that you need, see that the things you will have to have are furnished you. We know this can be done. We know that when we recommend to the investor your ware that we are recommending to him the things that are very safe security invest ment market. “ Let us keep constantly in our minds that we have no shop-worn goods to offer; that what we possess and own should not be for sale and that every banker, finan cial man and the man with money to in vest should keep constantly in front of him the fact that the mines may be worked out and the oil wells go dry, but the farm lands of Iowa will neither fail, nor will the elements that protect those lands fail. “ Over to the town that I live in we have lost very few business men or men of affairs from our town in the last twenty years. We tell the outsiders that we have a “ Live and Die Club” in Newton. If Newton is good enough to live in, it is good enough to stay in until the end, and I believe that we have the same unanimous opinion about Iowa and let us not change our ideas. ‘ ‘ See Iowa with her rolling prairie— her waving fields of ripening grain— her cat tle on a thousand hills— her magnificant citizenship, then ‘ roam no more— no more is left for mortal eye.’ ” Will Correct Wrong Thinking The efforts of the bankers of the country to remedy the lack of public in formation on economic subjects were re vealed recently by Frank W. Simmonds, deputy manager of the American Bank ers ’ Association, in an address before the Idaho Bankers’ Association. 1‘ There never was a time when wrong economic thinking was more prev alent than it is today, or when right thinking was more needed, ’ ’ Mr. Sim monds said. “ We are again experi encing a wave of mob psychology led by selfish blocs, political charlatans and https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER economic fakirs, the core of whose prop aganda is a confusion of the meaning of money, credit and capital. More than half of our radical propaganda would be spiked if there were a general understanding that capital has a far broader meaning than mere money. Cap ital consists of factories, farms, rail roads, buildings, machinery, tools and brains, and everything that is used to produce things. ‘ ‘ The demagogue ignores the fact that the real capitalists of America are the hundreds of thousands of frugal, thrifty people throughout the length and breadth of our land, owning their own homes, holding small units of stocks and bonds in railroads, industries and public utilities and representing thirty million savings accounts. When people understand that radical attacks are at tacks upon their own interests and prop erty, they will eliminate the services of the political charlatan who preaches a belief that business is bad because it is big, when, as a inatter of fact, business usually grows big because it is render ing a needed public service and is be ing conducted along fair lines. “ Economic problems in recent years have outrun the ability of the majority to understand them. Economic educa tion has been neglected, and has fallen twenty-five years behind our industrial development, and this today constitutes a peril unless corrected. The need for better public understanding, through economic education, is a ringing chal lenge for active leadership and cooper ation in cultivating a sound, intelligent public opinion regarding business and governmental processes. With this goal in view, the American Bankers Associa tion has mapped out and is conducting effective educational programs through the American Institute of Banking, the Public Relations Commission and the Public Education Commission. ‘ ‘ The educational arm of the Ameri can Bankers Association, the American Institute of Banking, has developed un til it now has one hundred sixty chap ters with an enrollment of over fiftyfive thousand members and with thirtythree thousand junior bank officers and clerks as students. The course provides a practical education combined with a scientific study of economics, banking and finance, and affords training in pub lic speaking so that the students are well prepared successfully to challenge and combat in the public forum, when necessary, the economic fallacies of the demagogue and the political charlatan. The Institute in reality is a university with an enrollment greater than that of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, West Point and Annapolis combined.” There is no time in life when books do not influence a man.—Besant. 35 Can Not Rely on European Markets “ For the United States to plan its agricultural future on the assumption that Europe may be induced to buy large quantities of American foodstuffs at higher prices than now prevail would be to build on quicksand.” This is the conclusion of the Institute of Econom ics, based on an exhaustive study o f European needs, European purchasing power, and the competition offered by other food-producing countries. The study has been made by Dr. Edwin Q. Nourse, a member of the council of the Institute and president of the Ameri can Farm Economics Association. “ The limited European market which now confronts the American farmer,” says the Institute, “ is the result of con ditions which were developing even be fore the war. About the turn of the century American agricultural experts began to decline, owing to a combina tion of influences. European countries were increasing their own production of foodstuffs, and the competition of Can ada, South Africa and Australia for the European markets was increasing. At the same time, the growth of our own domestic market was lessening our exportable surplus. “ The Great War reversed this cur rent for a time. Not only were the European demands for foodstuffs in creased, but, in consequence of the ship ping problem, the United States became the most available source of supply. In response to the increased demand and to the cry ‘ food will win the war,’ food production was greatly increased. Prices were high and unprecedented prosperity came to our farmers, resulting in the disastrous land boom with which all are familiar. “ When the war ended, it was naively assumed that these war-time demands and war-time prices would continue in definitely. Immediately following the armistice they did continue for a time, being made possible by additional ex tensions of credit. This piling up of debts to the United States, however, could not go on forever, and the inev itable collapse came in 1920. ‘ ‘ Today, ’ ’ concludes the Institute, “ the pre-war trend of decreasing ex ports has been renewed in intensified form. Europe’s agricultural production js being restored faster than her indus try, and, consequently, than the buying power of her cities. And the competi tion of rival producing areas is keener than ever before. The whole economic tide is against an increase of European demands and high prices for American foodstuffs in the immediate future. The solution of the farmer’s ills must there fore be sought in internal readjust ments to a changed world situation.” 36 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 Iowa as an Insurance Center Past ten years have witnessed tremendous growth in the Iowa insurance business I OWA is a great state. Frank Crane, a noted American lecturer, once said: “ I f congress were to offer me my choice of any state in the Union, as a reward for my worth and modesty, I should say unhesitatingly, give me Iow a; because Iowa is the most American state in the nation. In that great common wealth there are few millionaires, few paupers, no scum, no dregs, to speak of. They are just plain United States folks. ” Iowa’s wealth is staggering. Her farms are worth more than all those of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Mas sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Ala bama, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mex ico, Montana and Wyoming combined. Her farm buildings are of more value than all those in New Hampshire, Ver mont, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Arkansas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia combined. The increase of the farm land values of the state in the past ten years is greater than the increase in the value of all the farm land in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Ari zona, Utah, Nevada, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oregon combined. Her annual corn crop is of greater value than the wheat crop of all Canada or the Argentine. In fact, her corn is worth more in money than all the iron ore, or anthracite coal, or petroleum products, or the gold, cop per or silver of all the United States. Her swine production is worth more than all the farm crops of any of the eleven mountain and Pacific states, except Cali fornia. In fact, the swine of Iowa ex ceed in value all the farm crops of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Mas sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Florida, Delaware, Montana, Idaho, W y oming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, or Oregon. Iowa has more automobiles per capita than any other state, and yet, the horses of Iowa exceed in value the total farm crops of twenty-seven states. Her women and children sell more eggs every year than would buy all the oranges raised in the United States, in fact, Iow a’s hens produce more wealth each year than all of Colorado’s mines. We are thought of as a poor apple state, and yet Iowa has more bearing apple trees than any two of the Pacific states. The cattle we market every year are worth https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By Hon. W . R. C. Kendrick Iowa Insurance Commissioner HON. W. R. C. KENDRICK more than the whole tobacco crop of the United States. Iowa is seventeenth in population among the states, and twenty-third in area; but she ranks first in total value of farm products, in value of live stock, in value of. farm property per farm, in percentage of farm property improved, in percentage of total area in farms, in number of automobiles per thousand of population, in the value of her horses, in the value of her cattle, in the value of her swine, in poultry, in egg production, in farm implements, in tonnage of for age crops, in corn production, in timothy seed and in farm owned telephones. But the greatest possession of Iowa is not her material wealth, nor her power of producing wealth, though both are stupendous. It lies in her people, in her free institutions, in her growing body of great traditions. She has produced many great men and women; but her greatest wealth is in that fine body of great men and women of whom the world does not hear. A famous French statesman once vis ited the United States for his first time, and asked the reception committee to show him the most interesting place in this country. The chairman of that com mittee replied: 11Cross Iowa in the day time.” To you who are unfamiliar with this great commonwealth, I would highly recommend the same journey. You would find it extremely interesting and a de lightful pleasure. Even though Iowa is important as an agricultural state and has developed from a howling wilderness to the richest state in the nation within the memory of her older citizens, still greater develop ment is yet in prospect, and that lies in the field of insurance. The growth of that industry in this state reads like fic tion. From an obscure insurance state a few years ago, Iowa, today, ranks third in the number of home companies. The enormous development of the in surance business in this state has oc curred during the past ten years. It is an interesting fact that the amount of insurance in force of one of the larger Iowa life companies at the end of the year 1922 was considerably more than the amount of insurance of all Iowa life companies at the end of the year 1912. It is also a fact that the total admitted assets of each of two of our larger life companies at the end of 1922 exceed the total admitted assets of all the Iowa life companies ten years previously. To better illustrate the comparative growth of Iowa companies during said ten years period, I have prepared some schedules covering life companies, as sessment life associations, fraternal beneficiary societies, fire companies and casualty companies found on this page. From these schedules, it will be obsexwed that the legal reserve life insur ance written during the year 1922 is 489 per cent of that written during the year 1912. That the premium income of such companies shows a gain of 286 per cent of that in 1912, and that the total income shows a gain of 297 per cent. That the amount paid to policyholders in 1922 shows a gain over the similar item in 1912 of 206 per cent, whereas the total disbursements show a gain of 269 per cent. That the capital stock increased 366 per cent, and the surplus 220 per cent. It will be further observed that the fig ures affecting assessment life associa tions are practically the same in both 1912 and 1922. This is a remarkable showing in view of the fact that ten years ago there were three such associa tions in Iowa, and now there is only one. The figures relating to fraternal bene ficiary societies disclose an annual situa tion. While fraternals lost heavily in membership, due to rerating of most fra- 111,1 July, .1924 THE ternals on an adequate basis, yet a re markable gain is shown in their assets. During the ten-year period, the insurance in force in Iowa fraternals increased only 13 per cent, whereas the insurance written increased 119 per cent. As affecting fire companies, it will be observed that their total admitted assets increased from $7,599,931.71 to $25,697,845.84. That the net risks in force in creased from $1,237,912,062 to $3,125,474,607, and the net premiums in force increased from $9,401,168.22 to $17,640,644.38. With reference to casualty companies, it will be noted that the admitted assets increased from $465,298.19 to $12,195,856.63; and the net premiums in force increased from $86,924.82 to $7,097,183.23. An examination of the records in my department discloses a further interest ing fact. Iowa life companies receive more in premiums from business outside of Iowa than all non-Iowa companies re ceive from business in this state. The balance in favor of Iowa companies at the end of the year 1922 amounted to $13,040,356.34. I doubt that this record is excelled by any state west of the Mis sissippi river, and by few east thereof. The statutes of Iowa provide that the capital stock of all insurance companies organized in this state and the legal re serve on all life contracts of Iowa com panies be invested in a prescribed class o f securities and those securities depos ited in the insurance department for the protection of all their policyholders. As evidencing the rapid growth of the in surance business in this state, the se curities deposited upon the creation of the department on July 1, 1914, amounted to $56,790,095.38. At the con clusion of the nine-year period, that is, on June 30, 1923, the securities on de posit aggregated $175,487,662.13; an in crease during that period of $118,697,566.75. The phenomenal growth of the insur ance business in this state has occurred during the most discouraging period of a company’s existence—the formative pe riod, when success or failure is in the balance, and the company officials are confronted with handicaps almost insur mountable. Now that the experimental stage is past and the companies are upon a solid financial foundation, there is ■every reason to believe that the insurance business in Iowa will experience a more rapid growth during the succeeding ten years than occurred in the decade just past. There are 266 insurance companies in Iowa of which thirty-five are life and 231 •other than life. Of these fifty-three have their home office in the city of Des Moines. I am frequently asked: “ How -do you account for so many large and https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER - 37 LIFE COMPANIES Premium Income ....................... $ Total in co m e ............................... Paid to policyholders................. Total disbursements ................. Ledger assets ............................. Admitted assets ......................... Eeserve liability . i ..................... Liabilities except capital.......... Capital s t o c k ............................... Surplus ......................................... Insurance in force..................... Insurance written ..................... 1912 1922 10,307,909.39 $ 39,753,518.75 $ 12,420,032.32 49,305,284.75 6,039,690.24 18,506,226.44 8,830,491.42 31,740,339.99 40,784,298.41 145,160,689.47 41,236,273.99 151,873,985.39 36,763,748.41 130,145,857.52 38,216,920.29 141,000,197.19 825,000.00 3,842,730.00 2,194,331.12 7,031,082.78 612,090,413.24 1,435,457,233.44 58,578,752.27 287,343,211.85 Gain 29,445,609.36 36,885,252.43 12,466,536.20 22,909,848.57 104,376,391.06 110,637,711.40 93,382,109.11 102,783,276.90 3,017,730.00 4,836,751.66 823,366,820.20 228,764,459.58 IOWA FRATERNAL BENEFICIARY SOCIETIES 1912 1922 Gain Assessments received ............... $ 4,971,347.57 $ 10,989,394.64 $ 6,018,067.07 Total income ............................... 5,252,990.15 12,092,049.39 6,839,059.24 Paid to members......................... 3,341,670.33 6,887,854.51 3,536,184.18 Total disbursements ................. 4,549,366.64 10,542,352.15 5,992,983.51 4,862,639.57 20,264,041.34 15,401,401.77 Ledger assets ............................. Admitted assets ......................... 5,362,539.09 21,638,309.31 16,275,770.22 Total liabilities ......................... 877,795.88 11,383,646.20 10,505,850.32 »Insurance in force..................... 445,961,900.00 502,481,264.14 56,519,364.14 Insurance written ..................... 70,508,350.00 154,142,267.38 83,633,917.38 »During this ten year period, Iowa fraternals were transferring from an inade quate to an adequate rate and lost a large number of old members. ASSESSMENT LIFE ASSOCIATIONS 1912 1922 Gain 1,261,475.71 $ 1,260,514.85 $ — 960.86 Assessments received ............... $ Total income ............................... 1,332,033.54 1,357,869.62 25,836.08 Paid to members......................... 475,413.09 498,157.49 22,744.40 1,016,073.27 959,646.59 — 56,426.68 Total disbursements ................. Ledger assets ............................. 1,596,290.69 1,923,671.04 327,380.35 Admitted assets ......................... 1,469,881.47 1,947,480.81 504,599.34 Liabilities ................................... 663,926.17 609,669.57 — 54,256.60 Insurance in force....................... 84,753,000.00 72,896,500.00 — 11,856,500.00 Insurance written ..................... 25,668,000.00 16,683,500.00 — 8,984,500.00 »In 1912 there were three assessment life associations in Iowa. At the end of 1922, there was only one. FIRE COMPANIES 1912 Net prem. assessments and fees.$ 5,141,995.44 Net losses paid............................. 2,781,733.35 Ledger assets ............................. 8,442,038.68 Admitted assets ......................... 7,599,931.71 Surplus ......................................... 1,798,466.50 Net risks in force....................... 1,273,912,062.00 Net premiums in force. . . . . . . . . 9,401,168.22 1922 13,918,609.00 8,673,897.94 25,786,036.68 25,697,845.84 8,379,931.41 3,125,474,607.00 17,640,644.38 $ Gain 8,776,613.56 5,892,164.59 17,343,998.00 18,097,914.13 6,581,464.91 1,851,562,545.00 8,239,476.16 $ CASUALTY COMPANIES Net prem. assessments and fees.$ Net losses paid............................. Ledger assets ............................. Admitted assets ......................... Surplus ......................................... Net premiums in force................ 1912 1,037,742.30 439,006.17 427,328.48 465,298.19 232,141.16 86,924.82 successful insurance companies in Iowa'?” My answer is: 1. The efficient conservative and hon est administration of company officials. 2. The strict insurance laws of Iowa, particularly the law requiring the de posit of securities. 3. The close supervision of the state insurance department. 4. The fact that Iowa is located in the heart of the nation, possesses the most productive soil on the face of the earth, and is the richest state in the Union. 1922 10,985,554.05 4.898.195.23 12,596,282.80 12,195,856.63 1,714,565.77 7.097.183.23 Gain 9,947,811.75 4,459,189.06 12,168,954.32 11,730,558.44 1,482,424.61 7,010,258.41 Bank of Winner At a special meeting of the stock holders of the Bank of Winner, South Dakota, all of the old officers were re elected for the year. They include: President, R. R. Jones; vice president, T. C. Montgomery; cashier, L. D. Evans; assistant cashier, Albert Scheinost. The following directors were elected: P. O. Beaulieu, Theodore Smook, T. C. Mont gomery, L. D. Evans and Robt. R. Jones. That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed with profit. —Alcott. 38 T IR E NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 W h y South Dakota Bankers Must “ Lay Their Cards on the Table" I F a bank is fundamentally sound, its affairs in such shape as to justify continued business, if its officers are competent and trustworthy, it should be supported whole-heartedly by its regular patrons, and by such others as are at present without banking connec tions. This should be done, not alone for the sake of the bank, though it undoubtedly deserves consideration, but for the sake of ourselves, and for the community, because the bank, and the circulation of money and of credit, are essential under our present economic system. The time has come, it seems to me, for full coordination of effort. If ever there was a condition that called for co operation of banker, business man, pro fessional man, farmer, and all indi viduals, it is now upon us. The farmer and the ffiisiness man, and all others, must do business through the banker if he would best serve his own interest. The banker must continue to do business in order to survive, no matter how solid the foundation of his business. But the man doing business with the bank has the right to know that he is doing business with a dependable insti tution and trustworthy individuals. The unfortunate condition, and cer tain unscrupulous persons, have brought about a feeling of distrust that can be, and should be dissolved only by the ut most frankness. Case after case where a distracted banker has kept up the bluff and accepted deposits when he knew nothing short of a miracle would ever again bring the cash to light; case after case where unscrupulous man se cured funds by blatant and dishonest protestations of solvency, seem to have made it necessary for the banker who hopes for continued confidence of the Insurance a Business Asset Calling attention to the fact that a survey of factories in a certain district revealed that of twenty in existence thirty years ago, twelve had ceased oper ations during the first five years, 33 per cent of the remainder during the next five years, and that at the end of thirty years but one survived; while the aver age age of an individual is 56.32 years, C. W. Collins, manager of revenue for the city of Denver, holds that business insurance should be more popular even than life insurance. This for the reason that business men as a class may reason ably be expected to give more considera https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis community, to disclose fully the condi tion of his institution— and prove it. No longer will a good-looking state ment be satisfactory, without proof that the item “ loans and discounts” is not a collection of “ Cats and Dogs,” that “ cash and due from banks” does not contain a material amount “ due” from a hopelessly involved bank. In other words, the banker today has to prove his dependability— not pro claim it. To use the terse but expres sive language of the streets, the banker has “ got to come clean” or “ lay the cards on the table.” He must brush aside the conventions and precedents that have long served to shroud the banking business with an air of mystery, and take the community into his confidence. He must do this in order to deserve, or at least, if he hopes to secure the confidence of the community. It is realized that there will be many objections to this course, the hopeless case will protest in blind desire to hang on, but for the safety of the other bankers and of the public, this bank should be forced by the public, acting for itself, to close, since it seems the public has not been able to depend upon its delegated representatives to close such institutions as long as the bluff can be maintained. The ordinary run of bankers will ob ject to such frankness or various grounds involved in the traditions of his business, such as reluctance to dis close a customer’s transactions, but these qualms, however justifiable under usual conditions, must be swept aside by public necessity. It would be presumptuous for me to suggest just how this frank understand ing between the responsible bank and the public is to be brought about, as this in many instances, as I realize, must depend upon local conditions. However, in many instances a committee might be formed of representative citi zens, who command the confidence of the public, to which committee the bank should throw open its books, its note register, and its vaults. This committee could makes its report to the community, not in detail but in general terms, and give its recommendation. The solid in stitution, the one which, with reasonable support will continue to function and to perform its part in readjusting the situation, has nothing to fear from the procedure, if the public, on its side, is fair and considerate and makes its com mittee truly representative, and not liable to influence or personal feeling, prejudice and passion. This might be arranged, it occurs to me, by having the community, through its civic and agricultural clubs or or ganizations or in mass convention, nom inate a group of individuals of from two to three times the number that are ac tually to serve and have the committee selected by the banker from these names. That seems fair enough—that’s prac tical arbitration. The banker who has something to conceal will still object, but we want to eliminate that fellow from the situa tion, anyhow. But, the principal point that must be gotten across is to awaken the public to the fact that it is slowly but surely shut ting off its own very breath of life, un less it seeks out the solvent and re liable bank, the dependable bank, and through it restores cash to normal cir culation. tion to all factors affecting the welfare of their business organizations. Mr. Collins points out that by means of business insurance loans may be se cured at nominal rates in abnormal times. In explanation of this statement, he says that when an insurance policy is taken out on the life of an executive a contract is entered into between the insured and the insurer under which the insurer agrees to loan a specified amount, depending upon the age of the policy, at a given rate, which cannot be changed. This rate is lower than the ordinary commercial rate at any time, yet when the price of money soars to abnormal heights the same rate prevails. The busi ness man takes his policy to the bank and finds it a preferred collateral. He may encounter business conditions which will make it impossible for him to raise money from any source, but his policy stands as a source of emergency. Mr. Collins makes the point that if a client of his were contemplating a bond issue and there were few individuals who were responsible for the success of the business, he would strongly recom mend insurance policies on the lives of these individuals, as with this additional safeguard he would expect the individual to receive a better price for the bonds. By Senator B. F. Myers McCook County. So. Dak. Union Trust Build ing—M a d ison and D ea rb orn Streets, Chicago In the Service of Correspondent cBanks— T he U nion Trust Company of Chicago offers the seasoned judgment of a directorate thor oughly representative of the best business in terests in the M iddle W est, and the counsel of an official staff widely recognized for broad banking experience of large caliber. Directors W IL L IA M R. A B B O T T President, Illinois Bell Telephone Company R IC H A R D J. COLLINS The Fulton St., Wholesale Market Company R IC H M O N D D E A N Vice-President, The Pullman Company H O W A R D F LTIN G President, Heath & Milligan Mfg. Company C H AR LE S K. FOSTER Vice-President, American Radiator Company H A LE H O LD E N President, Chicago Burlington & Quincy R. R . Company M A R V IN H U G H IT T , Jr. Vice-President, Chicago & Northwestern Ry. Company G E O R G E E. M A R C Y President, Armour Grain Company BENJ. H . M A R S H A L L Marshall & Fox GEORGE A . R A N N E Y Vice-Pres. & Treas., International Harvester Company G E O R G E G. T H O R P Vice-President, Illinois Steel Company FRED ERICK L. W ILK iormerly Vice-President, Union Trust Company C R A IG B. H A Z L E W O O D Vice-President, Union Trust Company C H AR LE S R. H O L D E N Vice-President, Union Trust Company H A R R Y A . W HEELER President, Union Trust Company FRED ERICK H. R A W S O N Chairman cl the Board, Union Trust Company UNION TRUST COMPANY C H IC A G O ONE https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis OF CHICAGO’S OLDEST AND MOST FAVORABLY KN OW N COMMERCIAL BANKS 40 THE STRENGTH NORTHWESTERN F¿Ili BANKER Business insurance stabilizes bank credit, Mr. Collins holds, because it sta bilizes the stock of the corporation, which often represents the collateral be hind the bank loans and also because it indicates conservatism and forethought on the part of the management. A cor poration that carries business insurance can safely operate on a small balance in the bank, and in case of immediate tem porary demands can put the insurance policy up as collateral, and if the money is required for a longer period the loan from the insurance can replace the bank loan. Corporations are coming more and more to view business insurance with favor, Mr. Collins says. If the corpora tion is a closed one conditions may arise in which it will be necessary to raise money promptly or to sell an interest in the corporation, while the death of one of the stockholders may make it neces sary to sell his holdings to an outsider. Insurance will provide protection in both of these cases. Where one man domi nates the business and is largely respon sible for its success, nothing is surer than that the business will be seriously affected upon his death. This being the ease, it is vitally necessary that funds be available with which to carry the company through the period of readjust ment, possibly reorganization and espe cially important is it to continue the usual dividends. The continuity of divi dends may not only be maintained after the death of the principal executive, but they may also be maintained during pe riods of depression and loss by carrying an insurance policy on the life of the executive, the loan value of which will be available for this purpose during his life.— From Chicago Journal of Com merce. SE R V IC E SE C U R ITY SATISFACTION ‘ * • : ~■• - -•__ *' July, 1924 »A, Sell the W ell Known Thousands, when they hear the word ST A N D A R D link it with this company’s sound insurance. The name is a direct asset of Standard Life agents. — And as you know, it takes less time to sell the “ well-known” than it does the new and strange. Ask Standard Life agents “ How is busi ness?’’and they will tell you— “ Better every day.” Resigns at Nemaha Let us help you make “ Better Business.” Tie up with this forward moving company that has its agents’ interest really at heart. George Strietz has resigned as cashier of the Nemaha State Bank, Nemaha, Iowa, and will locate in California after July 1st. He has been connected with the bank at Nemaha since October, 1919. A new cashier is to be selected at an early date. Installs Radio Market Service PRESIDENT The Farmers National Bank, of Web ster City, Iowa, is planning the installa tion of a radio receiving set for the benefit of their customers in receiving market reports. The reports are to be broadcast by Station WHO, Des Moines, three times each day. Î I A N the: D À NAME R iS D L i FITTING" F E Is Elected Cashier Emil Mack, for the past year assistant cashier of the Petersburg State Bank of Petersburg, Nebraska, has been elected cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Raeville. He succeeds Anton Wolff, who resigned. Insurance Company St https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis L o u i s , TViis s o u r i THE July, 1924 N ORTH W ESTERN 41 BANKER Facts A bout Insurance Tax Laws HE revenue act of 1921 provides that the proceeds of life insurance policies paid upon the death of the insured shall not constitute income. There fore, insurance is not taxable income either to the decedent’s estate nor to any beneficiary named in the policy, who re ceives the insurance upon the death of the insured, nor are the premiums paid on such insurance allowable deductions from the taxpayer’s income. T Business Insurance Insurance payable to a corporation as proceeds of a policy upon the life of an officer or employe of the company is not taxable income to the corporation, nor are the premiums paid by a taxpayer on an insurance policy on the life of an officer, employe or other individual financially interested in the taxpayer’s business, for the purpose of protecting the taxpayer from loss in the event of the death of the officer or employe of the insured, deduct able from the taxpayer’s gross income. If, however, the taxpayer is in no sense a beneficiary under such a policy, except as he may derive benefit from the increased efficiency of the officer or 'employe, pre miums so paid are allowable deductions. In either case the proceeds of such policies paid upon the death of the in sured may be excluded from the gross in come, whether the beneficiary is an in dividual or a corporation. Individual Insurance Where the proceeds of a policy of in surance are left with the insurance com pany upon the death of the insured, and thereafter the same is paid to the beneficiary in installments, where the beneficiary has no option to receive the insurance in a lump sum upon the death of the insured, then such installments of insurance are exempt from the provisions of the income tax law and are not taxable income to the beneficiary. If, however, the beneficiary has an option to receive the entire proceeds of insurance in a lump sum upon the death of the in sured, then it is considered that the bene ficiary is making a loan to the insurance company and all dividends and interest in excess of insurance is taxable income to the beneficiary. State Inheritance Tax All insurance payable to the decedent’s estate is subject to the Federal estate tax, and all insurance in excess of $40,000, procured by the decedent upon his own life, regardless of how payable, is to he included in decedent’s gross estate from which there will be allowed a specific ex emption of $50,000. Where insurance is taken out to pro vide funds to meet decedent’s Federal estate tax and other taxes and charges which are enforceable against his estate, and prospective customers, on it de pends the future growth of your Retaining the good will and friend Bank. ship of present customers through THE SERVICE GLARE SHIELD the service you give means much to illustrated above makes a lot of your Bank tomorrow. friends for you and costs but little— Making the acquaintance of new it’s the best Glare Shield made and LOOKING AHEAD https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis such insurance will be included as a part of the gross estate if there is an obliga tion legally binding upon the beneficiary to use the proceeds of such insurance in payment of such taxes or charges, and the manner in which the policy is drawn is immaterial. It is only where the decedent procures the insurance upon his own life that the insurance in excess of $40,000 will be considered as a part of his gross estate. Insurance is deemed to be taken out by the decedent upon his own life in all cases where he pays the premiums either di rectly or indirectly, whether or not he makes the application for the insurance. On the other hand, the insurance is not deemed to be taken out by the decedent, even though the application is made by him, where the premiums are actually paid by the beneficiary, who may be either a person or a corporation. Where the decedent takes out insur ance in favor of another person or corpo ration, as collateral security for a loan or other accommodation, and either directly or indirectly pays the premiums thereon, the insurance must be considered in deter mining whether there is an excess over $40,000. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.— Beecher. sold at the lowest price of any we know of. Won’t you let' us quote you in the quantity you can use? On re ceipt' of fifteen cents we shall be glad to send you a sample. C. E. ERICKSON CO., Inc. D E S M O IN E S , IO W A . 42 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 Personal Paragraphs William L. McKee, formerly vice pres ident of the Ft. Dearborn National Bank of Chicago, who moved to Los Angeles in 1923, has been elected an assistant vice president of the Heilman Commercial Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles. — $— Upon the foundation of sixty years’ experience and growth is based the present organiza tion of THE F IR S T N ATIO N A L B A N K OF C H IC A G O and the FIRST T R U ST AN D SAVINGS BANK: C h i c a g o This experience has de veloped a highly specialized service in both banks, applic able to the needs of banks and hankers. Calls and correspondence are invited relative to the facilities afforded for the transaction of domestic and international financial busi ness of every conservative character. Homer Jacobs, formerly in the bank ing business at Mitchell, South Dakota, has been made a federal bank examiner in Texas. Grant McPherrin, president of the Cen tral State Bank of Des Moines, was a speaker at a recent meeting of the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Mc Pherrin spoke on business conditions. — $— Geo. F. Heindel, of the Phoenix Trust Co., Ottumwa, is a candidate for the pres idency of the Farm Mortgage Bankers Association of America, which will hold its annual convention September 16 and 17 in Omaha. Mr. Heindel was selected as a candidate at the regular spring meet ing of the Board of Governors in Chi cago. — $— Harry T. Blackburn, veteran vice presi dent of the Iowa National Bank, Des Moines, has resigned as a member of the Des Moines municipal water board on ac count of ill health and the press of other duties. Mr. Blackburn was originally named to that that position for the pur pose of securing “ economy ” on that board. — $— J. A. Power, Leonard, North Dakota, banker, is being endorsed by various banker groups in the northwest to fill the vacancy in the office of the federal reserve agent and chairman of the board of directors, caused by the death of the late John H. Rich. Ivan O. Hasbrouck, cashier of the Cen tral State Bank, Des Moines, was re cently elected president of the Polk County Bankers Association. Combined Resources exceed $350,000,000.00 JAMES B. FORGAN, Chairman Board of Directors of both banks FRANL O. WETMORE, President First National Bank of Chicago MELVIN A. TRAYLOR. President First Trust and Savings Bank https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes, chairman of the board, Central Trust Co. of Chicago, Illinois, made an address to post commanders and adjutants from the 700 units of the American Legion in Illi nois, at a reunion held at Belleville, 111., on June 8. —$— Gould Dietz has been elected a direc tor of the Omaha National Bank, fol lowing his purchase of a large block of stock from George and Mark Woods of Lincoln, Nebraska. Mr. Dietz is asso ciated with his brother, C. N. Dietz, in the wholesole and retail lumber business in Omaha and in the Sheridan Coal Com pany, which operates extensive mines in Wyoming. He has been especially active in civic affairs in Omaha for thirty-five years and during the war was director of the Omaha Chapter of the American Red Cross. He was a delegate to the re cent Republican convention at Cleveland and represented Nebraska in the group which brought about the nomination of General Dawes for the vice presidency. — $— Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, headed the list of recipients of honorary degrees awarded at the 170th Commencement of Columbia University. Secretary Mellon received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. — $— E. V. Krick, national vice president of the American Institute of Banking, is being boomed by California chapters for national presidenit. The election will occur at Baltimore in July. — $— William A. Burnham, who has served for a number of years as vice president of the National Shawmut Bank, Boston, has resigned and associated himself with the Boston office of Hayden, Stone & Co. Mr. Burnham enjoyed a month’s vacation preliminary to assuming his new duties. — $— George M. Reynolds, chairman of the board of the Continental & Commercial National Bank, Chicago, recently spent two weeks at Battle Creek, Mich. — $— W. Frank McClure, vice president of Albert Frank & Co., who has been chair man of the advertising council of the Association of Commerce for five years, has resigned in favor of Homer J. Buckley. Mr. McClure founded the council, and at a testimonial luncheon given in his honor at the Hotel La Salle, Chicago, he was presented with a painting and engrossed resolutions. — $— The closing session of the joint con vention of the Missouri-Ivansas bankers was given nation-wide significance by resolutions offered by Richard S. Hawes of St. Louis. He urged that in voting for legislators, both state and national, hereafter, all party lines be disregarded. The present congress was denounced for ‘ ‘ paternalism and for being governed by political expediency alone.” Mr. Hawes made a ringing appeal for his motion of adoption and it went over with July, 192:1 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER Advertisement No. 2 W ritten by the cashier of one of our correspondent banks— He says: “ On Saturday morning I wired two of our correspondents to purchase $10,000 in call paper for our account. This morning I received an advice covering the pur chase from the ‘Republic’— and a letter from the other bank, explaining that our ‘wire was received too late for business and that the transaction will have our atten tion on Monday. . . . ’ In other words, the ‘Republic’s’ prompt service saved us two day’s interest, and convinces us that when it’s a case of unusual service, it’s usually ‘Republic’ service.” But as a real matter of fact, this is not unusual service at the “Republic.” It's “Republic s” usual service. M ay w e not tell you more about it? The National B a n k o f the R E P U B L IC • • OP “ THE C H I CAG O * • B A N K E R S ' S E R V IC E S T A T I O N " O FF IC E R S An Effective Correspondent O uR intim ate k n o w le d g e o f co n d itio n s prevailing th ro u g h o u t the various sections o f o u r cou n try, gained b y freq u en t visits o f officers a n d representatives, is an asset w o rth y o f co n sid era tion b y banks co n te m plating the establishm ent o f a N e w Y o r k co n n e c tio n . T h is close u n derstan din g o f th e needs o f banks, w h erever loca ted , is reflected in th e effective c o o p era tion w h ich w e are in a p o s itio n to offer to ou r corresp on d en ts. Established i8 y6 TH E N A T IO N A L P A R K B A N K OF N E W YO RK 2/4 Broadway https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 43 THE 44 NORTHWESTERN a whoop. Fully fifteen hundred bankers attended the closing program and the electric amplifiers made it possible fo r all to hear every spoken work. “ Bank Fixture Headquarters”— f o r B a n k s a n d B a n k e r s o f th e N o r th w e st. O ver fifty y e a rs of hank July, 1924 BANKER fix tu re e x p e r ie n c e , c o u p le d w ith a la rg e c o m p e t e n t a n d efficien t p r o d u c tio n fo r c e , h a s m a d e p o s s ib le th e c o m p le tio n o f th o u sa n d s o f b o th la rg e a n d sm a ll b a n k jo b s. M a y w e serv e y o u ? Edgar L. Mattson, vice president o f the Midland National Bank, Minneapolis, Minn., was recently in an automobile ac cident on a country road near Minne apolis, sustaining slight injuries when the car in which he was riding overturned. John L. Kennedy, president of the United States National Bank, Omaha, was one of the principal speakers at the annual middle west regional convention of the American Institute of Accountants held in Omaha. Economic conditions of the world would greatly benefit if the United States granted her financial and moral assistance to the European nations, Mr. Kennedy pointed out. — $— Lloyd W. Smith, president of Harris, Forbes & Co., New York City, has been elected a director of the Harris Trust & Savings Bank of Chicago. Boom Webbies Candidacy T h e Carpenter S I O U X F A L L S , S. D . 1 7 5 Rooms, 1 2 5 W it h Bath Rates: Fro m $ 1 . 5 0 T he Cataract S I O U X F A L L S , S. D . 1 7 5 Rooms, 1 0 0 W it h B a th Rates: Fro m $ 1 . 5 0 T h e Fontenelle OM AHA. NEB. 3 5 0 Rooms, 3 5 0 W it h Bath Rates: $ 3 to $ 5 Hotel Rome O M AH A, NEB. 2 5 0 Rooms, 2 0 0 W it h Bath Rates: Fro m $ 1 . 5 0 T he Lin c oln L IN C O L N , N E B . 2 5 0 Rooms, 1 7 5 W it h B a th Rates: Fro m $ 1 . 5 0 T h e L in c o ln SCO TTSBLUFF, NEB. 1 0 0 Rooms, 6 5 W it h Bath Rates: From $ 1 . 5 0 T he M ontrose C E D A R R A P ID S . IO W A 3 0 0 Rooms, 2 5 0 W it h Bath Rates: From $ 2 . 0 0 T he M a rtin S IO U X C IT Y . IO W A 3 5 0 Rooms, 3 0 0 W it h B a th Rates: From $ 1 . 7 5 A ttractive Sam ple Room s In EPPLEY HOTELS E X E C U T IV E O F F IC E S , Each Hotel COMPANY C. C. Trine Made President Hotel Fontenelle, Om aha, Neb. “HEADQUARTERS OF H O S P IT A L IT Y ” T w e n t y -f if t h Year FREE TO BANKERS W rite on your letter head for this new Holley Catalog— 490 pages— thoroughly indexed and illustrated. Have the office supply market at your elbow— time and labor-saving equipment, blank books, loose leaf, filing devices, com mercial stationery, rubber stamps. Value, service and satisfaction guaranteed. L. W. Holley & Sons Co. 1 0 0 -1 0 - E a s t G rand A v e . D e s M o in e s, Io w a INCREASE Y O U R DEPOSITS B y th e u s e o f U n c le S a m ’s m a ils a n d o u r e x p e r t A d d r e s s in g , D u p lic a t in g L e t te r a n d M a ilin g S e r v ic e . P r ic e s a n d s a m p le s u p o n r e q u e s t. DES MOINES DUPLICATING CO. 114 W E S T ELEVENTH https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ST. :: :s The many friends of E. Webbies, presi dent of the First Iowa State Trust and Savings Bank of Burlington, were much pleased at the assurances given him at the convention of a very large measure o f support for president of the Association next year. Mr. Webbies withdrew from the contest this year, announcing that he would be a candidate for president in 1925 and this action certainly seemed to be appreciated by the friends of the Wohlenberg candidacy. Mr. Webbies i& eminently qualified for the position, be ing the successful president of one of the largest banks in Iowa, and he has re ceived promises of support from all sec tions of the state. DES M O IN E S , I O W A Following thirty-nine years of faith ful service, Charles C. Trine, vice presi dent of the Marshalltown State Bank, was recently elected president by thedirectors, to succeed Albert F. Balch, recently deceased. Directors of the Mar shalltown State Bank Building Com pany also elected Mr. Trine, who hasbeen secretary of that corporation, to be president and fill the vacancy^caused by Mr. Balch’s death. Step by step, from office boy, janitor and errand runner, at a salary of $3.00 a week, Mr. Trine has climbed to the highest office at the disposal of these corporations, through years of contin uous, efficient and painstaking service in the employ of the institution. The vacancy on the board of directors has been filled by the election of Harry W. Jennings, cashier. He is another faithful employe of many years in the institution. July, 1924 THE Charles S. Dewey, vice president of the Northern Trust Co., Chicago, has been appointed Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. He is said to be a relative of the late Admiral Dewey. Mr. Dewey is a graduate of Yale, 1904s., and married Miss Suzette Hall of New York in 1905. Fiscal bureaus of the treasury will be under Mr. Dewey’s immediate supervi- NORTHWESTERN BANKER 45 SEEKING N E W BUSINESS O N O U R RECORD The Spirit o f 1824 HE Chemical Bank has a lot of tradition behind it, but no ceremony inside. All you have to do is to walk in and you will find that the officer you want to see is equally anxious to see you. T C H E M I C A L BANK CENTENNIAL 100 Y E A R S O L D — 1 0 0 % M O D E R N CHAS. S. DEWEY sion. These include the bureaus having to do with the public debt, engraving and printing, the mint and the secret service. Garrard Winston of Chicago, now under-Secretary of the Treasury, formerly was assistant secretary in charge of fiscal bureaus. The place has been vacant since Mr. Winston suc ceeded to the office formerly held by S. Parker Gilbert. g^\ U THE h e m i c a l N A T I O N A L . B A N K OF N E W Y O R K BROADWAY AT CHAMBERS, FACING CITY HALL FIFTH AVENUE OFFICE AT 29th STREET MADISON AVENUE OFFICE AT 46th STREET Advertise in The N orthw estern B a n k er THE STATE CENTRAL SAVINGS BANK KEOKUK, IOWA <2)10 The cheerful robin comes from a BLUE egg Western Advertisers—-Omaha https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis C a p ita l ......................................................................................... $ 200,000.00 S u r p lu s and U n d ivid e d P ro fits .................................................... 329,574.16 D e p o sits ......................................................................... ............. 2,803,196.77 W I L L I A M L O G A N , P r e s id e n t L . J . M O N T G O M E R Y , V ic e P r e s id e n t A S A P H B U C K , V ic e P r e s id e n t C . J . B O D E , C a s h ie r H . T . G R A H A M , A s s is t a n t C a sh ie r H . B O Y D E N B L O O D , A s s i s t a n t C a sh ie r :: ACCOUNTS OF BANKS AND BANKERS INVITED :: 46 THE McPherrin May Run for President During the closing day of the Iowa Bankers Convention it was rumored that Grant McPherrin, President of the Cen tral State Bank of Des Moines would be a candidate for the presidency of the Iowa Bankers Association next year. Mr. McPherrin is particularly quali fied to look after and develop the best interests of all members of the Associa tion, having been a country banker at Clearfield, Iowa, a little later President and principal owner of an outlying bank in Des Moines, and during the past ten years Executive Officer in the Central State Bank in Des Moines. N ORTH W ESTERN BANKER most ably qualify him for the position of president of the Iowa Bankers Asso ciation. grant c. M cP h e r r i n During the past year he has been Chairman of the Executive Council of the State Bank Section of the American Bankers Association, and has been par ticularly active in espousing the cause of the independent country bank as Chair man of the Committee of the A. B. A. opposed to Branch Banking. The country banks of Iowa have prob ably never faced a more serious ultimate problem than in this fight for their ex istence, and as a result of the efforts of Mr. McPherrin’s Committee, branch banking will probably not continue to grow outside of certain large cities. However, it seems imperative that the fight against branch banking be con tinued, and that the Iowa Bankers Asso ciation be very firmly assertive against branch banking. Mr. McPherrin’s many excellent qual ifications as a banker and as an executive https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis retary-treasurer, Chas. Beacham, Farnhamville. The main address was given by Senator C. F. Kimball of Council Bluffs. Report of Comptroller . A summary of the returns from 8,115 national banks, March 31, 1924, shows total resources of $22,062,888,000. This compares with $22,406,128,000, Decem ber 31, 1923, the date of the preceding call, and $21,612,713,000, April 3, 1923. Loans and discounts of $11,952,287,000, March 31, 1924, show an increase since December 31, 1923, of $75,725,000, and an increase of $284,328,000, since April 3, 1923. United States government securities amounted to $2,494,313,000 March 31, 1924, and show a reduction since De cember 31, 1923, of $72,538,000, and a; reduction in the year of $199,894,000, while other miscellaneous bonds and se curities to the amount of $2,511,637,000, were increased $33,794,000, between De cember 31, 1923, and March 31, 1924, and show an increase since April 3, 1923, of $164,722,000. The capital stock of national banks, March 31, 1924, was $1,335,572,000, show ing an increase since December 31, 1923, of $9,747,000 and an increase in the year of $16,428,000. Surplus and undivided profits amounted to $1,581,268,000, March 31, 1924, and show an increase between the dates of the last two calls, of $38,930,000, and an increase in the year of $27,444,000. Is Political Candidate President, Central State Bank Des Moines, Iowa July, 1924 Edward McDonald, president of the First National Bank of Coon Rapids, Iowa, has been nominated on the Demo cratic ticket for state treaturer. He was a member of the 32d and 33d General Assembly, Carroll County. He helped to organize the Coon Rapids State Bank in 1892, and changed to national bank in 1900. Mr. McDonald bought out A. Dixon of the First National Bank, Coon Rapids, in 1909 and has been its president ever since. Calhoun County Meeting The annual meeting of the Calhoun County Bankers Association was held at Manson, Iowa, with 120 in attendance. An excellent banquet supper was served, everybody decorated with a paper hat and sounding a cat-call (for getting business and all financial dif ficulties) and enjoying a real time of good bank friendship. The hall was well decorated with red, white and blue streamers and Japanese lanterns. A good program was presented and unani mous vote for all banks to close for the meeting of Group 2 and for all legal holidays was passed. The following o f ficers were elected for the coming year: President, John D. Kolp, Manson; vicepresident, John F. Gutz, Pomeroy; sec Dubuque County Bankers Meet The regular meeting of the Dubuque County Bankers Association was held at the Chamber of Commerce in Dubuque, Iowa, on Tuesday evening, May 6th. At this meeting the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: H. H. Reeder, president, Epworth Saving Bank, Epworth; Carl Kleinschmidt, vice pres ident, Iowa Trust & Savings, Dubuque; Albert Wharton, secretary-treasurer, Consolidated National, Dubuque. Jos. W. Meyer, cashier of the Consolidated National of Dubuque, was the president of this association during the past two years. Plans were made to have the bankers of Dubuque county attend the Group meeting at Elkader in a body, making the trip by automobiles. The association is also planning on holding an outing and social session for the members of the association during the coming summer. Reorganize at Early The Citizens State Bank, of Early, Iowa, has been reorganized with the fol lowing officers and directors : President, Mathias Reiff; vice president, F. R. Blut; cashier, A. F. Yender; assistant cashier, L. R. Hirons. Other directors are as follows: F. W. Kirkpatrick, John Reiff and Fred C. Brockman. Mr. Yen der returns to the position he held once before for a number of years. Election at Georgetown The capital stock of the Georgetown State Bank of Georgetown, Minnesota, has been increased from $10,000 to $15,000. Officers of this institution are : H. A. Stein, president; Wm. Messner, vice president; P. A. Stennes, cashier; A. F. Hokanson, assistant cashier. Art does not represent things falsely, but truly as they appear to mankind.— Ruskin. No man can escape this vitiating ef fect of an offense against his own senti ment of right.—Eliot. Reveal not to a friend every secret that you possess, for how can you tell but what he may some time or other become your enemy?— Saadi. Calamities that seem insupportable when looked at from a distance, lose half their power if met and resisted with fortitude.— Cooper. The strength of criticism lies only in the weakness of the thing criticised.— Longfellow. July, 1924 THE NORTH W ESTERN BANKER 47 IO W A BOND DEALERS SEC TIO N The Northwestern Banker Is the Official Publication of the Iowa Bond Dealers Association O F F IC E R S President.......................................................Walker Hanna, Burlington Vice President........................................ Warren Ferguson, Ottumwa Secretary-treasurer......................................John Corley, Des Moines R O A R II O F G O V E R N O R S Walker Hanna..........., .................. ............................................Burlington Warren Ferguson.......................................................................... Ottumwa John Corley..............................._..................................................Des Moines S. E. Coquillette......................................................................Cedar Rapids George M. B e c h t e l..................................................................Davenport Iowa Bond Dealers Form State Association HE Iowa Bond Dealers Association is the name of the new organization of Iowa bond firms organized at a banquet held at the Hanford Hotel in Mason City in connection with the thir ty-eighth annual meeting of the Iowa Bankers Association. The purpose of the new organization, as set forth by the constitution and by laws is “ to encourage a spirit of cooper ation among Iowa dealers in investment bonds, to foster and maintain standards and ethics, and to otherwise promote the welfare of the profession for the pro tection of Iowa investors.” Walker Hanna, president of HannaShreves, investment bankers of Burling ton, wms elected first president of the organization; Warren Ferguson, of the Phoenix Trust Company of Ottumwa, was elected vice president, and John Corley of Polk, Corley and Wheelock, Des Moines, was elected secretarytreasurer. A special committee presented a con stitution and by-laws for the new or ganization. It was adopted with minor changes and a vote of thanks was ex tended to the committee that had spent a great deal of time in the past few months drawing up the plans. The Northwestern Banker was made the official publication of the new or ganization by a unanimous vote of those attending the convention. Twenty-seven men representing twelve firms were present at the meeting. Those present were : H. Ç. Priester, president of Priester, Quail & Cundy of Daven port; W. H. Ferguson of the Phoenix Trust Company, Ottumwa; James A. Cummins of Ringheim Company of Des Moines; S. G. Glaspell, treasurer of T https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis OFFICERS ELECTED President, W alker Hanna, Burlington V ice President, Warren Ottumwa Ferguson Secretary-Treasurer, John Corley Des Moines White-Phillips Company, Davenport; C. H. Barber of the Federal Securities Cor poration, Chicago; H. A. Dwelle of H. A. Dwelle Company, Mason City; C. T. Sim mons of the First Iowa State Trust & Savings Bank of Burlington; R. E. Gam ble of A. B. Leach & Company, Chicago; Frank Ward, manager of the bond de partment of the Iowa Loan & Trust Company, Des Moines; H. B. Eckey of the First National Company of Mason City. S. E. Coquillette of the Merchants Na tional Bank of Cedar Rapids; Walker Hanna, Hanna-Shreves, Burlington; E. S. Cowgill, First National Company, Ma son City; George M. Bechtel of the George M. Bechtel Company, Davenport; J. S. Coiley, Polk, Corley and Wheelock, Des Moines; Carl Wackerbarth of Dillion Read & Company; A. R. Bailie, Priester, Quail & Cundy, Davenport; G. H. Bandy, Iowa Loan & Trust Company, Des Moines; F. C. Welch, Peoples Sav ings Bank, Cedar Rapids; Hanford MacNider, president of the First National Company, Mason City; Charles Cushing, president of Brokaw & Company, Chi cago; Maurice Leahy, Brokaw &> Com pany; and Edward J. Kelly, Brokaw & Company. The Board of Governors of the new organization consists of the officers and two other members. S. E. Coquillette and George M. Bechtel were elected to serve on this board in addition to the officers elected. Open Chicago Branch The officers of Priester, Quail & Cundy, Inc., Davenport, Iowa, have an nounced the opening of a Chicago branch office at 29 South La Salle Street. The formal opening took place June 1st. The new office is under the management of T. C. Beyland. The home office will continue to be in Dav enport, Iowa, and will take care of the company’s business in Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri besides the Tri-Cities. The Chicago office will take care of the com pany’s rapidly expanding business east of here, particularly in the city of Chi cago, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. Mr. Beyland is a bond man of long experience and training. During the war he served as first lieutenant in the Railroad Transportation Department both in France and Germany. He be gan his financial career with PearsonsTaft Company, Chicago, and later was made manager of the Chicago office of Stanley & Bissell, an eastern bond house. Priester, Quail & Cundy, Inc., have made an unusual record of growth. Be sides participating in the larger gen eral market bond underwritings, they have underwritten a number of bond is sues in the Central West. Their spe cialty has been public utility companies and industrials and their underwritings total many millions of dollars. Among the latter are: The Louis F. Dow Com pany of St. Paul, the Moline Body Cor poration of Moline and Nichols Wire THE 48 Sheet & Hardware Company of Daven port and Kansas City. Some of the public utility companies financed by Priester, Quail & Cundy, Inc., are Northeastern Iowa Power Company, Consumers Power Company of Iowa, Western Iowa Power Company, Hawkeye Electric Power Company and the Michigan Public Service Company. The officers of the company state that they anticipate that rates for invest ments will probably continue to show a downward trend for the balance of this NORTHWESTERN BANKER year. Large reserves of money will con tinue to accumulate in eastern financial centers, which condition is normally fol lowed by stronger bond prices and con tinuing lower interest rates. Contentment with today’s lot makes candidacy for a better lot tomorrow.— Parkhurst. It is the treating of the commonplace with the feeling of the sublime that gives to art its true power.— Minet. July, 1924 Wheelock Joins Polk, Corley & Company The appointment of Lewis F. Wheelock, well-known investment bank er of Des Moines, to the firm of Polk, Corley and Company, and a change of the firm name to Polk, Corley, Wheelock and Company, has been announced by officers of the institution. Polk, Corley and Company have been in the investment and bond business in Des Moines for some time and, with the new expansion, are now one of the largest institutions in this line of busi ness in the state. ^ Y U T E - P n n . L ifJ s V IN V E ST M E N T g------ B A N K E R S -------- D U B U Q U E , IO W A B. «& 1. B u ild in g D E S M O IN E S , IO W A 2 1 9 Securities Bldg. D A V E N P O R T , IO W A Putna m Bldg. G E O . W H I T E , President '^O OMAHA. N EBR A SK A 7 2 0 Bankers Reserve L ife Bldg. B. A. P H I L L I P S , V ice President ANNOUNCING th e a p p o in tm e n t o f Mr. Lewis F. Wheelock t o th e F irm o f P o lk , C o r le y & C o . and a change of the Company name to Polk, Corley, Wheelock & Co. Incorporated, Investment Securities O F F IC E R S New Offices: 201 Equitable Building Des Moines H a rry H . P olk , P res. John S. C orley, V ic e P res. L. P. W h eelock, V ic e P res. S. M. L oren z, S ecretary D IR E C T O R S John S. C orley Jay N. D arling J. G. Gam ble B . P . Kauffm an Geo. W . K oss H a rry H . P o lk L . P . W h eelock JO H N H. B R E N N A N & CO. IN V E STM E N T BANKERS 30 N o rth L a S a lle Street C H IC A G O , IL L . This house affords its clients the utmost service of a modern and com pletely equipped Investment Banking Organization. The bonds offered by us combine the highest possible yield commensurate with safety. An opportunity for wide diversity of investment. Prompt payment of prin cipal and interest. Protection against depreciation in price. We specialize in underwriting and marketing First Mortgage Bond Issues —secured by income producing Real Estate, in the larger cities through out the United States; and the First Mortgage Bonds of industrial cor porations having established dividend records and ample tangible assets. Our bonds are recognized as a Standard of Safe investment by Banking Institutions, Insurance Companies, Trustees and Executors of Estates. Your Correspondence Is Invited https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis LEWIS F. WHEELOCK Mr. Wheelock will devote himself to bonds, handling transactions both locally and throughout the state. He is a grad uate in law from the State University of Iowa, and was formerly connected with George M. Bechtel, investment banker, of Davenport, Iowa. Mr. Wheelock had a year’s active service in France and Poland during the World War. He was a first lieu tenant with the 352nd Infantry for eight months in France, and was a member of the General Haller expedition to Poland for four months. Polk, Corley, Wheelock and Company are now located in larger quarters on the second floor of the new Equitable build ing, having recently moved from the Hippee building. The officers of the company, as given out with the change in name, are : President, Harry H. Polk; vice presi dent, John S. Corley; vice president, Lewis F. Wheelock; secretary, S. M. Lorenz; directors, John S. Corley, Jay N. Darling, J. G. Gamble, B. F. Kauff man, George W. Koss, Harry H. Polk, and L. F. Wheelock. July, 1924 THE W ill Feature New Bond Service Recognizing the growing trend toward establishment of bond deartments gen erally in banks throughout the country during the past year, the Nathan Ad vertising Company of Chicago, through its president, Henry Nathan, has an nounced the inauguration of a new ad vertising service contemplated to stim ulate the sale of bonds and high-grade securities to bank customers. With the flotation of the various gov ernment loans during the World War, NORTHWESTERN BANKER of investments places him definitely in that class known as financial specialists and as such it is but right and proper that he should play an important role in bond distribution. To me it seems inevitable that he will do so. “ Further, it is evident to observers that those banks operating bond depart ments progress rapidly. With such de partments they more nearly offer a 100 per cent financial service to their pa trons. They have their savings and trust departments, their commercial de partment and safety deposit vaults. Serving often in the capacity of invest ment counsellors, it is but natural that 49 they should also function as distribu tors of bonds. “ As few bankers can devote much time to the development of advertising ideas and the actual preparation of ad vertising copy, our new bond advertis ing service will be placed at their dis posal. Its purpose is to preach the gospel of bond investment and to pro mote the sale of bonds for the bank.” There is no great painter, no great workman in any art, but he sees more with a glance of a moment than he could learn by the labor of a thousand hours.—Ruskin. Co-operating with Ban\s % N E o f the most important functions o f the modern bank is the buying o f bonds, either for its own account or for the account o f customers. O HENRY NATHAN the numerical figures of bond holders jumped from approximately 300,000 to something like 12,000,000 to 15,000,000. Mr. Nathan, in a recent interview for the Northwestern Banker, said that in his opinion, “ it is only a question of time before a great majority of the banks on the country will have estab lished bond departments. The exten sive investigations we have made, cov ering practically all of the banks in the mid-west states, confirm this opinion. “ Among laymen it is the consensus of opinion that the banker, in addition to being an excellent judge of bonds, is conservative. He has rightly earned this reputation. When he approves of cer tain bonds, these securities are invari ably accepted as good. His knowledge To such banks we offer co-operation in its fullest sense— statisti cal information on all securities, unbiased investment counsel and a wide selection o f bonds. W e invite inquiry regarding our facilities and offerings. cJ BROKAW AN D fi 105 Government Municipal Railroad Corporation BONDS FORGAN, G RAY & CO M PAN Y Incorporated Investm ent Ba nke rs 1 0 5 S. L a S a lle Street Chicago Telephone Dearborn 7 3 6 3 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Sout h COM PAN Y La Salle S t r e e t , C h i c a g o Iowa Representatives: EDWARD J. KELLY MAURICE F. LEAHY THE 50 A Timely Service An interesting example of how an upto-date investment banking house is often of genuine service to investors and taxpayers was noticed recently upon the day following the announcement that President Coolidge had signed the new revenue bill. Coincident with the news item in the morning papers that the bill had been signed, in the financial pages of leading newspapers in New York, Chicago, Bos ton and other cities, appeared an an nouncement that Messrs. A. C. Allyn and Company, Chicago bond house, had available for immediate distribution copies of a booklet giving in full the text B O N NORTH W ESTERN of the new law, together with a digest, of the new provisions. Naturally the de mand for these booklets proved exceed ingly heavy and it was necessary for the Allyn organization to secure not only one, but two additional supplies. The booklets were printed in anticipa tion of the president signing the bill and advertisements offering the booklet were sent to various newspapers with instruc tions to await release by telegram. Therefore, when the announcement came over the wires that the bill had been signed, it was simply a matter of tele graphing the newspapers for release of the advertisement the following day so that those taxpayers who were suffi D S for July Investment H E N your customers ask your advice about their July investm ents, you w ill find our current list of high grade and conservative securities including W M U N IC IPA L and C O RPO RA TIO N BONDS of great help to you in m aking your recom m endations. T h ese securities yield from 6.00 to 7.00 Per Cent Send for this list today— or ask our representative Hyrtey Emerson. & Co. B A N K SERVICE D E P A R T M E N T 3 9 S ou th L a S alle Street, C h ic a g o 1st W isco n sin N a t’ l B a n k B ld g. M IL W A U K E E https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis BANKER 1 1 8 -1 2 0 B urdick A rcade KALAM AZOO July, 192T ciently interested, were able to secure a copy of the law as soon as they called for it in the morning. IN THE EYES OF THE LAW (Continued from page 18) solute, although not due at the date of the bankruptcy. Where a bank, holding a note of the bankrupt and also having funds of his on deposit sufficient to satisfy it, paid over the entire fund to the trustee in bankruptcy, through over-sight, with out first satisfying the note, it was entitled to recover the amount of the note from the trustee in a Court of Equity, without first offering to satisfy the note or bring ing it into court for cancellation. I f a bank, after the commencement of pro ceedings in bankruptcy, collects money on drafts deposited with it by the bank rupt before that time, it may apply the money towards the payment of a note of the bankrupt held by it. Where, on motion of the receiver to compel a bank to turn over a deposit by the bankrupt, the bank claims a right to hold the deposit by way of set-off on claims not yet matured, its right to re fuse a check of the depositor or the order of the court as to disposition of the deposits depends on whether a claim of the nature of the one set up is prov able against the estate. A bank will not be allowed to set-off its claim against a deposit made by a bankrupt, where the money was depos ited under an agreement that the bank rupt should use it to pay salary and pay-roll checks and for certain other specified purposes. Nor where the bank received a deposit from a customer merely for safe-keeping, the money to he ultimately appropriated for the bene fit of his creditors, and the bank knew him to be insolvent. The mutual account between a bank rupt and his bank of deposit are closed by operation of law at the time when the petition in bankruptcy is filed, and no right of set-off exists in the bank as to deposits made after that time, even though neither party knew of the filing of the petition when the deposit was made. On, the bankruptcy of a bank or banker, a depositor, having a balance to the credit of his deposit account, is entitled to set-off the same against a note on which he is indebted to the bank. W. A. Addison Retires W. A. Addison, cashier of the First National Bank, Fontanelle, Iowa, has re tired from his position on account of ill health. Mr. Addison is succeeded by C. 0. Wilkinson, of Paton, Iowa, who has had several years of banking experience. Mr. Addison has sold his interest in the First National to J. F. Bäudler, E. R. Faurote, C. F. Hulbert and George G. Kilburn. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 51 Bonds Should Be Investigated After You Invest, as W ell as Before OCKED up in the safety deposit boxes and secret hiding places are thousands of highly engraved pieces o f paper known as bonds, prosaic enough in themselves, but in reality pregnant with significance. They have a twofold mean ing and are the expression of two dif ferent forces. To the owner they may represent a life-time saving, the accumu lation of an estate for the protection of dependents, the beneficiaries of an en dowment or the investments of a trust fund for the protection and upkeep of associated interests, or they may repre sent the investment of the surpluses of an insurance company upon which depends the payment of liabilities and losses. This is the static aspect of a bond. On the other side is its creative aspect. The bond may represent practically any kind of a project or development, for a bond reduced to its simple term is nothing more than a promise to pay—it may be secured or unsecured. Somewhere in its history there has been a dreamer who saw the possibilities of development in the project and started an idea on the road to the creation of a bond. It probably did not occur to him that liis idea would ever come to you in the form of a bond to borrow your money. The average individual has little con ception of the intricate and manifold functions of an organization that is en gaged in the creation of bonds. Modern bond houses are in reality bond factories, highly departmentalized and organized to render a complete service in finance. In no business extant today is so little left to assumptions and probabilities as in the organization engaged in the crea tion of bonds. To the individual pur chaser or owner of the little piece of engraved paper locked up in the strong box, this probably has little meaning. Millions of dollars have been spent in teaching him that to “ Investigate Before You Invest” is the sign post on the road to safety and independence. And yet more recently many established bond houses have told him to place entire trust and confidence in them. This is sound advice as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. Relying either upon some advisory agency or the bond house through which he made his purchase, he was convinced that the bond was good, safe and conserv ative in the judgment of these men, up to the point at which he bought it. He was, in addition, assured that in their opinion it would stay good, safe and conservative within the bounds of reason and subject to the unknown element of risk that is L https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By Win. A. Busch Wm. A. Busch & Co., St. Louis always contingent upon the future. But henceforth the value of the bond does not depend upon the wisdom or sagacity of its creators. It now depends upon the value of the property pledged to secure it. What is going to happen to the property in the next ten years— who is going to keep it safe and conservative? He has neither the time nor facilities for watch ing his investment personally. The property is now in the hands of the individuals who borrowed Mr. Aver age Citizen’s money and upon their skill and wisdom in operation depends the suc cess or failure of his investment. The property may be sold many times within the next ten years; the management may A M ORE and more local bankers are becoming bond buyers’ counselors. A man has confidence in his banker’s judgm ent in other financial matters; therefore, it is only natural to refer to him in bond investments. W e believe this to be a proper function of a bank. A t all times we are pre pared to offer to banks with bond departments a comprehensive list of high grade issues at attractive yields and with a substan tial bank concession. P. W. CHAPMAN & C0 ..1NÇ 116 S . L a S a l l e S t. C H IC A G O P . "W. C H APM AN & CO., INC., 116 South L a Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois. N am e 4 2 C ed a r S tre e t N E W YORK Please send us you r current list o f special offerings for banks w ith bond departm ents. ________ __ Address________ _____________________________ C ity ------ ------------------ State _____________ _ THE 52 frequently change; fluctuating labor con ditions, the peril of strikes, varying mate rial prices, financial crises, and all of the many constantly changing economic fac tors to which any business is subject, are all having their effect on the bond locked up in the strong box and forgotten. It is when this effect is adverse and when the managers of his investment are un able to successfully cope with changing conditions, that failure results and the piece of engraved paper becomes in re ality that, and nothing more. If it does, what recourse has the owner of the bond in the ordinary chain of bond finance? The question naturally arises, “ Is it possible to overcome this element of un NORTHWESTERN BANKER certainty and is this not a condition be yond the control of man, regardless of how wise or shrewd he may be?” This same question was asked fifty years ago when life insurance first made its general appearance and later again when other various types of insurance were intro duced. Simple insurance is nothing more or less than the pooling of many risks to cover the probability of the actual loss to a few. The life insurance actuaries and statisticians know exactly what an indi vidual's probability of living or dying is at any given time. In a like manner students of first mortgage bonds have determined the actual probability of fail ure in certain classes of mortgage invest A Profitable, Worthwhile Service for Bankers T T I 7 'H E N y o u r cu stom in com e-p rodu cin g city ers talk in vestm en ts p ro p e rty , m ay be had in a to you , are y o u fo r c e d to v a r ie ty o f suitable m a tu ri a n sw er them a b stra cted ly , ties and d e n o m i n a t i o n s or can y o u m ake sound rec- ( o r m a y be p u rch a sed on o m m e n d a t i o n s and back the p a rtia l paym en t plan ) them u p ? and are alw ays w orth 100 Y o u can, i f y o u are an a u th orized d istrib u to r o f cents on the dollar. T h e y w ill w in f r i e n d s o u r 7% F i r s t M o rtg a g e and ne w c u s t o m e r s B ea l E sta te G old B on ds. y o u r bank. T h e y w ill back T h ese b on ds have n ever lo st a d o lla r in p rin cip a l o r in terest f o r a n y in vestor. They carry fu ll 7 % interest, are secu red b y w e 11 -im p rov ed , for B ecom e an au th orized d istrib u tor of these S a fe 7% G old B on d s. is It George Williams Has New Son Mr. and Mrs. George Way Williams, of Des Moines, are the parents of a fine new son. Mr. Williams is vice presi dent of the Iowa Loan and Trust Com pany. a p rofitable and w orth w h ile service. R obert S.Strauss &Co. First Mortgage Investm ents https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ments. They have found that this mor tality rate on first mortgage bonds is a constant figure over long periods of years and so proceeding in exactly the same way as in the case of simple insurance, they have pooled the risks of many to protect the few. Again parallel to sim ple insurance— each bond is made to pay an annual premium, which is ordinarily one-half of one per cent. This premium, as in the case of simple insurance, goes into a separate fund which is held in re serve and constantly built up through its premium incomes, so that in the case of the failure of any one risk, there are sufficient funds available from premium incomes to discharge whatever loss may be sustained. Bonds can now be purchased that, in addition to all of the usual safeguards with which a modern bond factory sur rounds its underwritings, carry with them the additional safeguard of an insurance against loss. This takes the form of a guaranty which is secured by the main tenance of a separate trust fund held in an amount sufficient to cover the risk incurred. It is quite necessary, of course, for the guarantors to be thoroughly fa miliar with the property underlying the security. They are ordinarily vested with rights of supervision, examination and general overseeing of the project as long as there are any bonds outstanding. To protect himself he must exercise a con stant watchfulness over the property Changing managements loses its perils for the bondholder under this sort of scrutiny, for in safeguarding his own interest the guarantor is of necessity safeguarding the bondholder. Thus while Mr. Average Citizen has been taught the lesson of safety and con servatism and to “ Investigate Before He Invests,” it is now possible for him to fill his strong box with bonds that are “ Investigated After He Invests” as well. up y o u r recom m en dation s. Write your name in margin of this ad and mail to us for com plete information re garding our bankers’ service and full data about these Safe 7°/o Bonds. 108 So. LaSalle Street CHICAGO July, 1924 Kahl Building DAVENPORT Bank Directors Meeting ' The directors of the Citizens State Bank, Oakland, Iowa, recently met and reelected the officers who have served the bank for the past term. The unanimous vote expressed the appreciation of the directors for the excellent business in the past year. A man without character and a type of thought of his own, may appear to be many things, but in reality is little more than nothing.— Sterling. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 53 IN S U R A N C E SEC T IO N H ow Dubuque Reduced Her Fire Loss by 72 Per Cent in 1923 HE Chamber of Commerce of the city of Dubuque is somewhat proud of the record of achievement made in the 1923 fire waste contest conducted by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the National Board of Fire Underwriters. Dubuque was awarded first prize in this contest in the class 3 cities of the United States. The record submitted by the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce is remarkable. It shows that the total fire loss for the year 1923 was $57,177.66, and the total num ber of fires was 411. The remarkable thing about the Dubuque record is the very low annual fire losses for the years 1921, 1922 and 1923. The losses for these years, as well as for the three pre vious years, are shown in the following record: 1918....... ....... $ 89,468.00 1919............... 384,800.00 1920............... 475,147.00 1921....... ....... 56,338.00 1922............... 44,093.00 1923............... 57,177.00 An interesting sidelight on this record is the fact that the radical reduction in fire waste took place coincident with the effective date of the city manager plan of government and the arrival in the city of Joe Fisher as chief of fire department. The outstanding work done by the fire prevention committee of the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce was the arrange ment for thorough and complete inspec tions of all mercantile property, schools, hospitals and churches. These inspec tions were made by forty-five members o f the Iowa State Fire Prevention Asso ciation during Fire Prevention Week. These men spent two days in Dubuque and during this time made 601 inspec tions and over 13,000 recommendations. In addition to these activities, talks were made in every school in the city, including the high schools, Columbia Col lege and University of Dubuque. Every pastor in the city made men tion of fire prevention from their pul pits on the first day of Fire Prevention Week. The Boy Scouts put out 350 posters pertaining to fire prevention in the win dows of retail merchants throughout the city and on the bulletin boards of fac tories and wholesale houses. Newspaper T https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis B y H. M. Van Auken Secretary Dubuque Chamber of Commerce M R. BA N K E R ! W e are, it is said, a nation of “ fireworshippers.” Every day thousands of dollars’ worth of property and many lives are sacrificed on the altar of the fire-god. Are you doing anything in your own town to cut down fire loss? Is your chamber of commerce doing any thing to minimize the awful loss? Dubuque, Iowa, has accomplished much along this line and the story of the work is given in full on this page.— Editor’s N ote. publicity given to the program was most generous. Stories of special interest were carried each day before and during the cam paign, and facts and figures telling the appalling losses by fire were kept con tinually before the public. Nine win dow displays were arranged by local merchants and these attracted consider able attention and comment. During 1923 the local fire department made 8,029 inspections of mercantile and industrial properties, schools, hospitals and churches. It succeeded in securing 100 per cent cooperation from the public in carrying out various recommenda tions. The fire chief and his men are ac quainted with the fire hazards of the buildings they inspect and when a fire occurs they are consequently able to fight it more efficiently. The fire depart ment also gave eighty-six lectures and demonstrations during the course of the year. As a result of its arson activities two arrests were made and one convic tion secured. Chief among the year’s accomplish ments was the laying of new water mains costing $131,000. A contract was awarded and work advanced on a new artesian well and pumping station including nec essary pumps and machinery. Eightyfive new hydrants were installed during 1923. These are equipped with the na tional standard fire hose thread which has been adopted by the city of Dubuque. A new fire alarm receiving station was built and modern alarm equipment in stalled in all fire stations. The wiring of the fire alarm system was placed under ground in order that the possibility of interruption of service might be mini mized. Three new fire-resistive schoolhouses were erected during 1923. It is interest ing to note that these are the first public buildings in Dubuque to be built of this type of construction. A new building Birdseye View of Dubuque, Iowa THE 54 NORTHWESTERN BANKER paign were: E. A. Fitz, chairman of the committee; Bishop E. D. Howard, now of Davenport; C. H. Reynolds, F. M. Jaeger, C. B. Trewin, Wm. Kretschmer and F. G. Stevenson. The trophy awarded to the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce is a beautiful bronze plaque suitably mounted and bearing the following inscription : C h a m b e r of C om m erce of T h e U n ited S ta te s of A m e ric a In te r-C h a m b e r F ire W a s te C on test 1923 Presented to Dubuque C h a m b e r of C om m erce W in n e r of C la s s T hre e C itie s of 20,000 to 50,000 Pop u lation A w arde d for B e st A cc o m p lish m e n ts in Fire P reve ntion The plaque won by Dubuque in the InterChamber Fire Waste Contest, put on by the U. S. Chamber o f Commerce is reproduced above code was prepared during the year which went into effect last April. It is said to be complete in respect to covering all fire hazards of building construction. Its provisions will be enforced by an adequate supervisory staff. Among members of the fire prevention committee most active in the local cam < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < Dressing for dinner is one of the pen alties of getting rich. Friendship, a dear balm,— Whose coming is as light and music are Mid dissonance and gloom;— a star Which moves not mid the moving heavens alone; A smile among dark frowns; a beloved light; A solitude, a refuge, a delight. — Shelley. July, 1924 Central Federal Fire Licensed The Central Federal Fire Insurance Company of Davenport, Iowa, has re ceived its license from the Iowa insur ance department. This company, organ ized by the officers and directors of the Federal Surety Company of the same city, will be separate and distinct from the Federal Surety, the two companies having separate and distinct assets. In other words, there is no pyramiding of assets nor does either company own a dollar’s worth of stock in the other com pany. The officers of the fire company will be the same as the surety company ex cept that W. L. Taylor is first vice president and general manager. Mr. Pettibone is underwriting manager of the company. He will have the exclu sive management of the underwriting. Mr. Taylor will look after the general executive affairs of the company and Clyde C. Smith of Des Moines will look after the field forces. The fire company starts with a $200,000 capital paid in and $100,000 paid in surplus, without one cent of promotion expense. About ten or eleven thousand dollars was spent to get the company ready to start, including all furniture and fixtures, maps, a carload of sup- A Strong Officiary and Home Office Departmental Organiza Interests of Its Policyhol An institution is but the lengthened shadows o f the men and women who administer its affairs. The growth and progress of the Royal Union Life Insurance Company are directly attributa ble to the able executives who form its personnel. IRW IN A . KLINE, Assistant to President DR. CHARLES M. W H ICH ER , Medical Director WILBUR M. JOHNSON, Vice President and Actuary M. R. SCOTT, Associate Actuary A. C. S A V A G E , Vice President and Auditor R. A . YAR C H O , Assistant Auditor B. M. KIRKE, Assistant Secretary GEO. F. GREENLEE, Assistant Secretary H. L. W O RSLEY, Cashier TED A N T H O N Y , Agency Vice President (Active Supervision W est of Mississippi) A . C. T Presi C. COSTELLO Secretary ROYAL UNION LIFE Paid to Policyholders________ Over $ 16,000,000.00 Insurance in Force___________Over 112,000,000.00 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis July, 1924 THE plies, and two or three years ’ supply of registers. Mr. Pettibone came to the new com pany direct from the Great American in New York, where he had been for the past ten or twelve years and for the W. L. PETTIBONE NORTHWESTERN BANKER past three or four years had been man ager of their reinsurance department; a man who has had twenty-five years’ experience in the fire insurance business, starting in at Chicago as a map clerk and “ going through all the chairs” of the business. He is especially well qual ified to take over the management of a company like the Central Federal. Clyde Smith needs no introduction to the Middle West agents. He has been one of the genial specials in this part of the country for several years. He will have the title of “ executive special agent,” but with headquarters in Des Moines, where he will also assist the Des Moines branch office in handling the business there. Auto Losses for 1922 I f placed in a single line, the automo biles stolen in the United States during 1922 would have extended from New York to Washington. Automobile thefts in the United States have assumed alarm ing proportions coincident with the rapid increase in motor vehicle registration during the past few years; today there is one automobile in this country for every eight persons. The insurance ad visory committee of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States recently completed a detailed investigation of the automobile theft situation. Its findings and recommendations are incorporated in a report which will be considered by the membership of the national chamber at its annual meeting in Cleveland next month. The enactment of certification of auto mobile title laws by the various states is recommended by the committee as an im portant means of decreasing auto thefts. Fifteen states have adopted this type of legislation since 1919 when the first title law was passed in Virginia. Other states which have adopted similar laws since that time are Colorado, Maryland, Indi ana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Utah, Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wyom ing. The legislatures of several other states are considering the matter this year. The chief feature of automobile title laws, according to the committee’s re port, is that the burden of proof regard ing ownership is placed upon the posses sor of an automobile. In order to regis ter his car for license, the owner must first obtain a title certificate which will show his right to possess the automobile. In the event he sells the machine, the title is assigned and the new certificate recorded by the state. In this respect there is a decided similarity between such certificates and deeds in real estate. Both the deed and the automobile certifi- tion Comprise One of a Company’s Greatest Assets in the ders and Its Field Staff The successful experience and qualifications o f the m en and w om en listed herein in the various offices and departm ents they actively direct w ill continue to assure a strong and progressive m an agem en t in the interests o f this organization. UCKER dent W IL L IA M KO CH # First Vice Pres, and Field Mgr. C. E. DAILEY, Assistant Treasurer L. E. BUTLER, Asst. Mgr. Mortgage Loan Department CARRIE A . VIESER, Manager Policy Department GRACE ZEHNER, Manager Claim Department SARAH STOLTZ, Manager Medical Department E. A . LE V A N , Manager Policy Loan Department RALPH J. W A T K IN S , Manager Conservation Department SARAH B. COOPER, Laboratory Technician JOE H. BYRNES, Superintendent Supplies and Printing W . C. HOFF, Vice President of Agencies (Active Supervision East of Mississippi) INSURANCE COMPANY Royal Union Life Building DES MOINES, IO W A « https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 55 56 THE cate are evidences of ownership and no legal transfer of property can be made without them. The report stresses the fact that a person wTould not consider purchasing a house or lot to which he could not secure title. Likewise in states which have automobile title laws, a man would not ordinarily buy an automobile without an accompanying certficate of title. Incorporated in most of the laws now in force are provisions which tend to prevent the theft of cars, make more difficult the transfer of stolen machines and assist in their recovery. Penalties for violations of these provisions are in cluded in all of the present laws. Some NORTHWESTERN of these deal with attempts to own, oper ate, sell or purchase cars without certifi cate of title. Others pertain to actual thefts and alteration of identification marks. Authority for enforcement is usually vested with the secretary of state, motor vehicle commissioner or other state authority. The value of uniform legislation of this nature in all states is readily appar ent. The committee, therefore, urges that these laws be placed upon the stat ute books of all states. This legislation should be uniform in prnciple, contain adequate provisions for enforcement and penalties for violations. The Des Moines Lif e - A BANKER nnuity ' COMPANf July, 1924 Resigns as State Agent Frank M. Pond has resigned as Ne braska state agent of the Alliance, of Philadelphia, and has bought all of the stock of the local agency of G. L. Mar tini, of Omaha, and will in the future de vote his entire time to the affairs of the agency. J. E. Powell, formerly with the Southern Surety, of Des Moines, will be associated with Mr. Pond and will have charge of the casualty end of the busi ness. Mr. Pond was Nebraska state agent for the Fidelity-Phenix for nearly twenty years. W. S. Chesbro Dead W. S. Chesbro, assistant superintend ent of the Prudential Life at Davenport, Iowa, died recently following a collapse in an elevator in his office building. Mr. Chesbro was a graduate of the law de partment of the University of Iowa and was fifty-five years old. He had been in the insurance business for twenty-seven years. Besides a host of friends, a widow and one son are left to mourn his death. 'The Company of Co- operation' Ince Elected Assistant Secretary Few Agents Realize until they have transacted business with the Des Moines Life & Annuity Company the true meaning of coopera tion as commonly applied to the Life Insurance business. They do not realize what friendly personal cooperation from the home office—which means individual attention to individual agents—means to their working spirit, consequently their production. After all this IS the reason Des Moines Life & Annuity agents find courage and determination during these times to keep business good— and as a consequence IS good. Indeed it is the real reason why live progressive agents find the Des Moines Life & Annuity their logical connection. J. J. S H A M B A U G H , President OINESJLIFE AND AnnuityCompany BES MOINES https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis W. G. Ince has been elected assistant secretary of the Bankers Life Company, of Des Moines, by the board of directors. He is promoted from the position of home office cashier and is the ranking veteran of the office force. Will Enter Texas Secretary L. J. Daugherty, oi the Guaranty Life Insurance Co., has been notified that the company was granted a license to enter the life insurance busi ness in Texas. Life insurance companies in general have found Texas to be a good state for operation, because of the large production of new business and the low mortality rate. For this reason the offi cials of the company are pleased to be able to extend their field to the southern state. The Texas territory will be di vided into four districts and district man agers will be appointed in a short time. Publish Pepper Box The Farmers National Life Insurance Company has recently recommenced pub lication of its weekly called the “ Pepper B ox,” which is devoted to the interests of its agency force. The paper was pub lished in former years, but discontinued for a few months because of lack of an editor. Paul Y. Willett, of the conserva tion of the company, has recently been appointed assistant to the agency direc tor and editor of the “ Pepper B ox” and publication has again been resumed. In the adversity of our best friends we always find something which is not wholly displeasing to us.— La Roche foucauld. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 57 Large Number of Insurance Policies There has been a marked increase dur ing the last ten years in the number of larger life insurance policies written. In May, 1914, the Equitable Life, of New York, averaged only twenty cases a week for $25,000 or more, while during the last month an average of more than eighty such cases a week were recorded. So far this year there have been numer ous policies written, running from $30,000 to $300,000, while ten years ago com paratively few applicants for more than $25,000 each were received. Those who have given the subject considerable thought assert that there still is a big need for life insurance policies propor tionate to incomes, in view of the fact that the estimated annual income of Americans is $60,000,000,000. The total amount of insurance in force, including ordinary and industrial, is $56,903,000,- of Bo s t o n . M a s s a c h u s e t t s Select As tbe Logical Life Insurance Connection One of the Oldest—L argest-S tron gest—M o s t Reliable O rgan ized in “ T he Civil W ar Period” 1862 Harry S. Haskins, State Agent ~ 701-703 H lp p ee B u ild in g Des M o in e s , Iow a ~ 000. Agents Celebrate Stevens’ Birthday In honor of J. W. Stevens, founder and for many years resident of the Illi nois Life and now chairman of the board, the agents of the company put on a spe cial drive for business on his recent birthday. They broke all former records, with a total of 452 applications for $11,371,500 of insurance, as compared with 409 applications on the same occasion last year, for $1,336,160 of insurance, the greatest number of applications for the largest amount of insurance ever be fore received at the home office of the company in a single day up to that time. The average of the policies written dur ing the drive this year was $3,033, as against $3,266 in 1923. Salary Continuance Policy Pays fifty dollars, one hundred dollars, one hundred fifty dollars, or two hundred dollars a month (first payment im mediately upon receipt of proofs of the death of the insured) and continues the payment of like amount for stated periods of from six months up to twenty years. O F F IC E R S E . M . S E A R L E , J r. P r e s id e n t H. E . WORRELL S e c .- T r e a s . Ask us more about it. Omaha Life Insurance Company O M A H A , N EBRASKA Goes with National Life D. P. Caldwell, field superintendent in the Middle West for the National Fidel ity Life, of Kansas City, has been ap pointed supervisor for the National Life, U. S. A., for the greater part of Iowa, with headquarters in Des Moines. Bank Urges Life Insurance In a letter to the borrowing customers of the bank, W. C. Carr, vice president of the Second National Bank, of Toledo, Ohio, urges them to carry sufficient life insurance to at least meet all their obli gations. This for the reason, he points out, that in the event of sudden misfor tune the insurance company will step in and pay their debts, while their families would have the protection of whatever other assets there were. With the state ment that he believes it good banking and sound advice, Air. Carr emphasizes the need for borrowing customers to take out enough life insurance to meet all their obligations while they are in the proper physical condition to obtain it. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Your Insurance Connections — you want to receive and give the same service in selling life insurance— the kind of service in keeping with your banking standards. The North Am erican National Life affords you such a connection. W e will welcome the opportunity to place the facts in your hands and let you jud ge for yourself. ‘NorthAmericanNationalLife IN S U R A N C E C O M PANY -lì O M AH A, NG AS THE STRONGBI NEBRASK A. THE 58 NORTH W ESTERN BANKER July, 1924 Add New Territory For convenience in handling the John Hancock Mutual L ife ’s business in Kan sas, the eight counties in the eastern part of the state adjacent to Kansas City, Missouri, have been added to the terri tory covered by general agent John H. Flora. The eight counties referred to are as follow s: Brown, Doniphan, Atchison, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Douglass and Johnson. — here is greater financial return fo r y o u — w ith one o f A m e r ic a ’s Strongest What Are You Insurance Companies — Far-seeimr bankers are associatine with life insurance— in this com pany, one of the strongest, most progressive old line companies in the W est. Worth to Yourself? Would you Insure the contents of your vault for one-fifth of the amount you mig-ht lose and con sider it economy? Or your $50,000 building against fire at $5,000 and feel that you were saving money? Or your $3,500 car for $500? Then how about yourself and that most valuable asset— y o u r tim e t W e do not have to pay you ten or fifteen dollars every time you cut a finger or have a cold to prove the value of good disability insurance. Good insurance costs money. Real insurance against sickness, regardless of house confinement, would cost less if sensible people would insure for larger amounts. First, enough to cover the ex pense of a short illness, including surgical operations, doubling the amount after two weeks, doub ling again after four weeks, and again after three months, so that in case of a real physical break down, there will be guaranteed a definite income. Nearly Thirty Years in Busi ness. Largest Disability Premium Income in Iowa. BAN KERS ACCI D EN T INSURANCE CO. DES MOINES ‘“ Y ou % can bank on the B a n k e rs” We have an agency proposition for banks that will interest you. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis They have built up a greater finan cial return and a more interesting and substantial business than in their past endeavor. This is the actual, outstanding experience rep resented by the figures of their achievement. To y o u — we offer the same oppor tunity ! Become our representa tive ! Sell insurance in your own community or elsewhere! W e will help you find business, close busi ness and develop your agency You will build up an unlimited in come! W e want men who can earn $15,000 to $20,000 per year. George C. Mauss, associated with the Des Moines agency of the John Hancock Mutual Life, has been promoted to be general agent of the company, with head quarters at Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Mauss has had charge of agents in Iowa for the last four years. W e will maintain a deposit in your bank. Write to us immediately, n o w ! W e will hold your correspondence in the strictest confidence. F. L. M iner, Pres., E. C. Budlong, V. P. J. A. Kize r, Se c'y é> Mutual Life’s Field Club Meeting The annual meeting of the $250,000 Field Club of the Mutual Life, of New York, will be held July 18th and 19th at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles immediately preceding the annual meet ing of the National Association of Life Underwriters. At this meeting each member who has qualified ten times for the club will receive a medal in the form of a ten-pointed star to commemorate this distinction. W e are one of the dominant old line life insurance companies in the W est. Our policies in force total more than $125,000,000. Our ratio of assets to liabilities is one of the highest, and our percentage of re jections is one of the lowest, found anywhere! W e have policies with new selling features and settle ment provisions, not yet issued by any other company. If this proposition appeals to your good common sense, write your name, age, occupation, and address on the margin of this ad vertisement, mail it to us, and a proposition will be submitted to you in writing. Bankers Take Action At the convention of the seventh dis trict of the South Dakota Bankers’ Asso ciation, comprising the northwestern part of the state, held at Mobridge, S. D., a resolution was passed that the bank ers of that group should encourage the writing of life insurance only for com panies that are willing to invest a por tion of their surplus in farm mortgages from that section of South Dakota. Address A. L., care of this paper. Is Made General Agent New Boone Agent Robert Marshall, who has been sales man for the Boone Coal Co., has entered the insurance business at Boone, Iowa, taking the local agency for the Massa chusetts Mutual Life. Mr. Marshall, who has a large acquaintance in this city and county, has opened his office in the room of the Boone Coal Co. on Eighth street. Will Extend Loans in Dakota The Equitable Life, of New York, has just put into effect its home purchase plan, which enables owners of homes and prospective home owners to borrow money at a very low rate of interest in connection with life insurance plan, in North Dakota, and is making such con tracts through both the Fargo and Grand Forks offices. Custom Burke. reconciles to everything.— July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN 59 BANKER Celebration Held The Northwestern National Life held a three-day convention in June of 1924 to celebrate the passing of the $200,000,000 mark in insurance in force, which is expected early next year. A business session was held at the home office, with an adjournment to one of the Minnesota lakes. The retirement was $125,000 of direct personal paid-for business written during the year ending May 1, 1924, and paid for before June 1, 1924. The com pany paid the railroad and sleeping car fares of the agent, with his entertain ment at the convention. New Medical Director At the annual meeting of the Manhat tan Life, G. Holbrook Barber, M. D., was appointed medical director and F. Tay lor Emery, M. D., was appointed con sulting medical director. DO YO U R E A L IZ E that the National Life D oubled Its A s s e t s during the last four years? DIRECTORS James P. Hewitt E. T. Meredith Clyde E. Brenton Harry P. Gross M. L. McCoy A F A C T in d ica tin g th e p ro g re ssiv e an d su b sta n tia l ch a ra cte r of this D e s M o in e s c o m p a n y — a n d o f in ter est t o e v e r y th in k in g b a n k er. James P. Hewitt, Pres. E. S. Kinney, Secy. N a t i o n a l Life A s s o c i a t i o n H o m e O ffice DES MOINES IOWA B u s in e s s in F o r c e $ 8 2 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 — Talk by John G-. McHugh John G. McHugh, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and member of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, was the speaker of the day at the last monthly meeting of the Minneapolis Life Underwriters’ Association held at the Radisson Hotel. Mr. McHugh recently returned from the meeting of the national organization at Cleveland. In his address he ex plained that part of their work was the adoption of a code of ethics which he likened to that of the Minneapolis Asso ciation, whose standard, he said, was as high as any. Save On Your Automobile Insurance You can save 30 per cent on your Automobile Insurance by placing it with these companies. We write— Autom obile Liability and Property Damage. Honor New Officials Autom obile Fire and Theft. June was designated “ Paisley Month” and September is to be “ Whitfield Month” for the International Life, of St. Louis, and will give the field men an opportunity to pay tribute to their new company executives. The Standard Life, controlled by the same interests, pre viously had set June aside as “ Paisley Month” and Setember as “ Whitfield Month.” Thousands of policyholders can tell you of the savings we have made possible for them— and of the unqualifiedly square treatment they have received. Great Northern’s Gain —And then— why not “cash in” on the popularity of these companies through your Insurance Department. The Great Northern Life, of Chicago, for the first four months of 1924 had issued business amounting to $2,500,000, bringing the total business in force as of April 30th to $21,250,000, a net increase over business in force since December 31, 1923, of $1,400,000. New Agency Director Chester I. Dale, for several years agency director of the International Life, of St. Louis, Mo., has gone with the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company as agency director and will work directly out of the home office at Fort Wayne, Indiana. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Autom obile Plate Glass. — also General Plate Glass Insurance. As a banker you should take advantage of the 30% savings. As a bank you can safely recommend this insurance— and this company. JVrite us about our rates and our banks agency proposition. Iowa Mutual Liability Insurance Co. Iowa Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. J. W. LOVELLETTE Secretary— General Manager C ED AR R A P I D S , I O W A THE 60 N O R T H AV E S T E R N URING eighteen years of Western Life’s successful progress the most valued asset accumulated in its business is the Non-Ledger Asset of Public Confidence and Approval. The financial assets speak for themselves and are the accumulation of trust funds held for the benefit of Policyholders and Beneficiaries to be distributed at the matur ity of the Policy Contract. The asset of Public Confidence and Ap proval is less concrete than the assets in the financial statements but nevertheless is most apparent whenever reference is made to Western Life. A disposition to render a real service and de\Telop a family of satisfied Policyholders has resulted in a steady development of Western Life as an institution of service to the people of the West. nsurancoCompany OP DES MOINES. IOWA ‘Out of the W est Comes the Best” BANKER July, 1924 Sioux City Change Chris Berthelsen and Fritz Borman have purchased the A. A. Ellerd Insur ance Agency at Sioux City, Iowa. The new firm will represent the Aetna Life and affiliated companies as general agents and will be known as the Berthel sen and Borman Insurance Agency. Mr. Berthelsen has been engaged in the in surance business in Sioux City for more than five years and Mr. Borman has been a special agent for the Ellerd Agency since the end of the war. Escape Earthquake Loss The Japanese earthquake and fire caused a profound shock to the insur ance community late last year as demon strating the hazards of the business in territory within seismic zones, though American companies were practically un affected by the resultant losses. Through the medium of the American Foreign In surance Association, the Continental and Home have been doing business in Japan for a short time, but all policies carried a strong earthquake clause which elim inated any possibility of loss. An incon sequential loss only was sustained by some American companies which were caught on reinsurance under marine con tracts. Iowa Agents Convention The date for the annual convention of the Iowa Association of Local Agents has been set. Guy W. Andrews, presi dent of the association having announced September 23d-24th as the time for the two-day session at Sioux Ciy. Conven tion headquarters will be in the West Hotel. The date was selected in order that the officers of the association may have an opportunity to attend the naional association convention in Milwau kee the first week in September. Iowa Blue Goose Splash R. P. Osier, wielder of the goose quill of the Iowa Blue Goose, announces the Iowa field men’s midsummer meeting will be held at the Manhattan Hotel, Lake Okoboji, July 17th-18th. The pro gram will be issued soon. In the mean time field men are urged to make reser vations at the Manhattan, because the meeting is held at a time when the hotel accommodations at Lake Okoboji are hard to secure. Joins “ Hole in One” Club Clarence A. Lay, general agent at Davenport for the Guardian Life Insur ance Co., joined the local “ hole in one” club when he made the twelfth hole at the Credit Island course in one stroke. The distance on this hole is 115 yards. Itinerary for Commissioners Convention The National Convention of Insurance Commissioners has completed its itiner- https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis July, 1924 THE ary for its meeting at Seattle, July 28thAugnst 1st. The eastern delegation will go by way of Toronto to Winnipeg. Those from the Middle West and South will join them there and leave Winnipeg July 19th, with stops at Calgary, Lake Louise, Banff and other points, reaching Seattle on the evening of July 27th. The party will leave Seattle Ausust 2d, with visits at Portland, Spokane and Butte, and will arrive at St. Paul August 7th. Buy Out Creston Agency A deal was completed recently where by J. G. Hadley and H. T. Schoon be came owners of the E. Goodman real estate and insurance business in Iotva. Mr. Hadley has been in the real estate business in Afton for a number of years and Mr. Schoon was assistant cashier in the Afton State Savings Bank. They will go under the name of Hadley and Schoon. New Grinnell Agent Rev. W. B. Wilson, of Grinnell, Iowa, has secured a contract to represent the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in Poweshiek, Iowa, and Tama counties. A number of agents will be appointed in this field, and Mr. Wilson will have supervision of the district. Mr. Wilson will be associated with the Davenport district, of which Mr. Carl LeBuhn is general agent. The Daven port agency has been operating for ten years, and now has over $16,000,000 in surance in force in the east half of Iowa and western Illinois. NORTH W ESTERN Will Write Group Insurance Vice President Robert K. Eaton, of the John Hancock Mutual Life, of Bos ton, in a notice to agents informs that the company is now writing group insur ance in accordance with the announce ment made at the last annual meeting, having prepared and issued a special policy contract for this purpose. Mr. Eaton also announces that the group de partment is being organized at the home office with Charles P. Glueck as manager, and that assistance will be rendered by https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 61 Have You Created a “ Barrier ” to Future Sales? How many applicants have you had rejected as unfit? Each of these rejected appli cants, simply because he prizes life insurance all the more highly through being rejected» is a “Barrier” to your future sales. For, to conceal his own defects, he ridicules the idea of insurance to his friends, thereby injuring your solicitation. W hy make your soliciting harder? Medical Life has a policy for these impaired prospects— a very liberal policy at attractive rates. Add Medical Life’s unusual facil ities— Standard, Sub-standard and Child’s Endowment policies— to your sales equip ment. Make all of your sales efforts pay returns. Detailed information about this money-making agency proposition forwarded upon request. M e dCiO McP Aa l l if e NY OF A M E R IC A IN S U R A N C E W ATERLOO I. G . L O IVD E R G A N , V i c e P r e s i d e n t & G e n ’ l M g r . N O R T H LI FE D O U G L A S IO W A E . E . B R O W N , A g e n c y S u p e r v is o r W E S T E R N INSURANCE AND S E V E N T E E N T H COMPANY O M A H A , N E B R A S K A Opportunity in Iowa l H a v in g recen tly entered Io w a we have som e ex cep tion a l op p ortu n ities fo r i p a lli m Form State Association An advisory committee of life under writers, which will cooperate with the home associations in promoting activi ties advantageous to policyholders, was the outcome of a conference of life insur ance men at Des Moines. The committee at present has sixteen members, two from each of eight local associations. J. Prank Yost, of Des Moines, is chairman of the body and Prank McDevitt, also of Des Moines, secretary and treasurer. A new member will be elected from each of the local associations yearly. BANKER ÊÊÈ f 1 General Agents— or Agents We o ffe r— P r o s p e r o u s T e r r ito r y — R e a l and C o o p e r a tio n Nonforfeitable Renewals nui Y o u sh o u ld w rite u s N O W The Integrity of Ideals “ F irst— W e b elieve that The L in coln N ational L ife , in ord er to have the rig h t to succeed, must be o f real service to its clients, and that any unusual success m ust result from unusual service ren dered. “ Second— That real service con sists of issu in g safe p rotection to the great est p ossib le p ro p o rtio n o f applicants at the low est p ossib le prem iu m .’ ’ A b u ild in g p rogram fou n ded on the bed ro ck of service. T his same spirit of service in real and generous m easure aw aits those who *K UP®)WITH THE(fi)LINCOLf3 The Lincoln Rational Life Insurance Company “ Its Name Indicates Its Character’ ’ Lincoln Life Building Fort Wayne, Indiana Now More Than $300,000,000 in Force. THE 62 NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 this department to the field in the writ ing of this class of insurance. The John Hancock rates are similar to those of participating companies writ ing group insurance. The provisions of the contract are liberal in every respect, and the company will give its usual ex cellent service to the group policyholders. The company is prepared to write the group insurance on both the non-con tributory and the contributory plan. In the former plan the employer pays the whole premium, and in the latter case a portion of the premium. Arrangements are made to have the policies continued by the employe in case he terminates his service. Policies will be issued in amounts varying from $500 to $5,000 maximum on each employe. O L D LINE GUARANTY Zife -Jnsurance C ompany D A V E N P O R T ----- - - I O W A Are You Looking for This? Buying Money by Simply Paying Interest By Ralph A. Tracy, Supervisor of Agents F Y O U are seeking a company whose chief aim is to keep each one of its agents satisfied and help them to become really big producers, doing so by its hearty cooperation; I The following selling talk can be used in approaching the banker and business man on life insurance. I had a very pleasant interview with a prominent banker in Georgia. I asked him if it were not true that most of his customers found it easier to pay interest than to repay the principal. He gave me a searching look over his glasses and proceeded to explain to me that he could lend all the money the gov ernment could mint if he could tell the borrowers that they could keep it just as long as they kept the interest paid. I pulled up my chair a little closed and confidentially asked him if he would pay the interest at three per cent per annum on $25,000 if we would deliver the prin cipal sum to his bank immediately upon the death of his cashier. He saw the point and signed for $25,000. It presents the subject of life insur ance in a unique way that is almost cer tain to arouse interest.— Fidelity Field Man. And a company that strives to give policy-holders every possible advantage, and is financially strong and capable enough to do so— then you are looking for the G U A R A N T Y LIFE. In all of these the G U A R A N T Y LIFE is the kind of company every agent is seeking. Strong, progres sive, growing rapidly— the G U A R A N T Y LIFE of fers a number of progressive men an excellent op portunity— everything that means success. And— if you are an agent of ability, the G UAR A N T Y LIFE is looking for you. Let’s get better acquainted— now! L. t I.DOUG fi En TK M a n q u e r One Great Virtue o f Insurance Lies in the Peace o f Mind It Gives B u t th e a c c o u n tin g d a y w ill co m e. S e le c t c a r e f u l l y , t h e n , t h e c o m p a n y y o u rec o m m e n d th a t n e ith e r y o u n o r y o u r p a tr o n s m a y b e d is a p p o in te d . The test is in the Claim Settlements. IVe B A N K on ours and so may you. CHO O SE T H E GREAT W E S T E R N — IT ’S GOOD Great Western Insurance Company DES MOINES, IOWA https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis “ Where Does the Big Money G o?’ ’ Commenting on the recent series of articles published in the “ Dearborn In dependent” under the heading, “ Where Does the Big Money G o?” , T. T. Lowdermilk, at Judsonia, Arkansas, has the following to say: “ ‘ Where does the big money g o ? ’ “ If, in my solicitations for life insur ance I have occasion to answer this query, I say, ‘ We are investing this money in the best securities in the world, land mortgages, U. S. bonds, and like in vestments, so that our policyholders will by and by collect the value of their poli cies. We certainly are not investing it in Henry Ford auto stock or other auto securities. “ Then, in my feeble way, I would at tempt to show my prospect what it means to him and his family to own a July, 1924 THE life insurance policy in my company, how after his death, when, his sorrowing wife was asking the neighbors to help her get a job to afford the privilege of placing a shelter over her little ones, in stead of gazing upon the shattered re mains of a wheezing Henry flivver of the vintage of 1914, that cost her husband $600, she would have the assurance of cashing in on her good old life insurance bond in the sum of $1,000, $2,000, or whatever sum he had been able to pro tect her with. ‘ ‘ Then I would ask him where the three billion five hundred million dol lars that Henry has tickled out of the people on the seat of his flivver has gone ? What has Henry done with the billion dollars profits made on the seven million flivvers he has unloaded upon the people? How has he alleviated sorrow, suffering and hunger with these immense profits, and my answer will be all suffi cient. Let Henry do some explaining.” Stung Stung Avith the javelin of inquiry, someone has figured out that the honey bee must necessarily sink its shaft into 56,000 clover heads in order to obtain a pound of honey. Not satisfied with this situation, the seeker for proof that it takes a lot of calls to win, informs us that there are about sixty flower tubes in each clover head, which means the busy bee works its proboscis pump sixty times fifty-six thousand times for a pound of winter supply. Some salesmen Avill make as many as ten or twelve calls in a day, but Avhoever heard o f a salesman trying out 3,360,000 prospective places in order to get sixteen ounces o f honey? A salesman is “ in clover” when he follows the example of the industrious bee and its system of the law of average. — The Silent Partner. NORTHWESTERN BANKER 63 Grow with the Universal D irected by m en w ho have had long experience in the life insurance business— the U niversal L ife is grow ing safely and persistently— and its banker agents are grow ing with it. Each and every official o f the U niversal L ife deems it a pleasure to w ork with Iow a bankers, and on this basis the com pan y has b ecom e closely con n ected with the hundreds o f Iow a bankers w ho are anxious to have their insurance departm ent show a real profit in 1924. W rite us n ow and let us explain ou r p rop osition in detail. UNIVERSAL L IF E IN SU R A N C E CO. DUBUQUE, IOWA ' tfz ii v p J T j - a f i i / 'Tin. e* B " 1905 1924 Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company Insurance in Force - - - $88,442,000.00 December 31, 1923 Hanna Made Vice President At a meeting of the board of direc tors of the Greeley State Bank, Greeley, Nebraska, Don C. Hanna was elected vice president of that institution. Mrs. Hanna takes the place of the late P. J. Kerri gan. The vacancy on the board of di rectors has not yet been filled. Total Admitted A ssets....................... 10,941,045.07 Policy R eserves........ 9,439,248.00 Dividends left on De posit (drawing 5 per cent interest)........... 226,337.68 Other Liabilities........ 192,804.53 SURPLUS: Assigned - - - $432,944.32 Unassigned - - $649,710.54 Farmers State, York At a special meeting of the board of directors of the Farmers State Bank of York Nebraska, J. P. Gillilan was elected vice president of the institution. He was formerly associated with the Nemaha County Bank of Auburn, and was like wise county treasurer of Nemaha county. Children think not of what is past, nor Avhat is to come, but enjoy the pres ent time, which few of us do.—La Bruyere. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 1,082,654.86 $10,941,045.07 Just write a line and we will explain our special bank agency plan. H om e Office— Chicago T em p le B u ildin g 77 W . W ashington St. C H IC A G O , ILL. 64 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER IS A SERVICE CHARGE THE REM EDY FOR THE UNPROFIT ABLE ACCOUNT? (Continued from page 13) Something additional to help you ¿et new accounts ERE is a big, broad step in banking service by means of which thousands of banks are adding new accounts— and more surely holding their present busi ness today. Checks that, in them selves, furnish bank and depositors with positive protection against the .check raiser. Protection that does not depend upon chemical or me chanical devices. They are good as far as they go—but insurance is the only p ositiv e protection. It is a feature of service which is tangible— something people can see and realize every time they make out a check. And it is backed up by a most comprehensive merchan dising plan— a real, powerful sell ing-plan for banks. Super-Safety I N S U R E D Bank Checks are advertised regularly, every month, to the millions who read America’s most influential publications. In each ad we spread the gospel of “ paying by check” — give people the sound, convincing reasons for handling funds through a checking account. This we capitalize, for banks furnish ing Super-Safety INSURED Checks, by furnishing interesting, compelling display matter, and actual advertis ing material. Yet this service, and the protection of these checks, cost you no more than unprotected checks of equal or even approximately the same quality. Let us tell you how and why. H The Bankers Supply Company World’s largest New Y ork Atlanta manufacturers checks Chicago Dallas https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis of bank San Francisco Denver gives the bank reimbursement in a meas ure for actual services rendered. “ It is really baa’d to tell whether a charge of this type would be satisfactory in. the smaller districts or not, as they are not burdened with the large number of small accounts as we are here in Des Moines where so many people are em ployed on a salary basis in clerical posi tions with insurance companies and other concerns of a similar nature.” Service Charge Has Merits By J. E. MORTON Cashier Iowa Loan & Trust Co. Bank Des Moines, Iowa “ We have not made an analysis of the cost of small accounts for several years and I am unable to lay my hands on the information we had at one time. The policy of making the service charge in Des Moines appears to be working very satisfactorily. The policy of making a similar charge by the banks in smaller community centers would necessarily have to be considered from a different angle. They no doubt would not be sub ject to the continuous shifting of small accounts as in the city and the overhead in connection with the handling of their accounts might be materially different. 11The funds of the small depositor who does not care to be burdened with the expense of the service charge is being very well taken care of in the savings department where funds may be deposit ed and withdrawn in small amounts by calling at the bank. While this involves some overhead, this can be materially de creased by the saving of pass books when the account is closed and reopened.” Using Your Own Medicine Not so long ago, a Metropolitan agent, in the course of his collection calls, slipped on a treacherous stairway, plunged through an open window and was killed when he struck the frozen ground. Later it was found that, aside from a few hundred dollars in insurance, he possessed no estate. The small claim was absorbed by the funeral expenses, and his wife and children were left with out means. Let it be said without disre spect that he was not highly successful as an agent. More recently, another agent was killed in an automobile accident. His estate consisted of nearly $20,000 insur ance, including a $5,000 accident policy. Now it so happened that in this district accident and health business had re ceived scant attention. But the agent in question believed in the contract. His July, 1924 first prospect had been himself. Many sales had followed. The obvious moral is that one agent believed in the thing he was selling and found success as a result. The other looked on his agency as a mere means to a living. And in any selling endeavor, enthusiastic belief in your product is one of the first requisites. There is a St. Louis manager who never goes out on a canvass without a whole life contract, issued to himself, in his pocket. In the course of the canvass he displays the policy— 111 carry one my self, ” he explains. His whole life pro duction is high. Now this is not a plea for business on agents. But when agents go forth to preach protection as an obligation, shouldn’t he begin at home? By so do ing he not only fulfills his own obliga tion, but he gives concrete proof of his belief in the thing he sells.—-From “ Tower Talks.” Garner Banker Retires Isaac Sweigard, president of the Farm ers National Bank, Garner, Iowa, has retired. He is succeeded by J. N. Sprole, vice president. Mr. Sweigard is seventyfive years of age and has been with the bank for more than twenty-five years. Read This! You will undoubtedly run into cases where the prospect is willing to take out life insurance if he can see his way clear to take care of the premium deposits, and says that he could see that way if only the deposits were to be monthly in stead of quarterly. Frank W. Pennell, of the Mutual Benefit in New York City, handled such a case— and in solving the problem wrote the prospect for more than twice as much. The prospect said, “ Do you know I believe I would like to buy my life in surance in monthly payments, paying for it the first of each month just as I do the rent. In that way I would be ready every month to meet the premium. I believe I can put as much as $30 a month in life insurance on that basis.” Mr. Pennell offered a plan providing for $12,000 insurance, accommodating him by the quarterly payment plan. He wrote him three $4,000 policies, dated one month apart, and wrote them on the quarterly basis. In this way there were twelve payments due, one the first of each month. The premium amounted to $29.60 a month. This suited the pros pect’s needs and resulted in the sale of $12,000 insurance instead o f $5,000.— Dotted Line. Culture is like wealth; it makes us more ourselves, it enables us to express ourselves.-—Hamerton. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 65 IO W A FAR M M O R T G A G E S E C T IO N The Northwestern Banker Is the Official Publication of the Iowa Farm Mortgage Association • O F F IC E R S P r e s i d e n t ............................................................................E . H . L o u g -e e , C o u n c il B lu f f s V i c e P r e s i d e n t ................................................................F r a n k B . M i l l e r , C e d a r F a l l s T r e a s u r e r .................................................................................F r a n k S a g e , W a s h i n g t o n S e c r e t a r y .............................................................................. F . C. F i s h e r , C e d a r R a p i d s E X E C U T IV E C O M M IT T E E V a r i c k C. C r o s l e y , e x - o f f i c i o ..................................................................W e b s t e r C i t y G e o . W . W i l l i a m s ............................................................................................... D e s M o i n e s D a n i e l R h o d e s ................................................................................................... F o r t D o d g e V a r i c k C. C r o s l e y ............................................................................................. W e b s t e r C it y E . H . D o u g e e ..................................................................................................................... C o u n c i l B lu f f s I. C. S t a n l e y ................................................................................ C e d a rR a p id s F . C. W a p l e s .......................................................................................................................... C e d a r R a p i d s Farm Purchasing Power (Address delivered at banquet of Iowa Farm Mortgage Bankers I APPROACH this subject with consid era te trepidation. Por some time the term ‘ ‘ farm purchasing power” has been the grand hailing sign of distress. I do not expect to use it in this way to night. Because of this I will offend some and please others. Por it is a fact that the condition of the farmer is an issue around which rages a controversy. Some say he is bankrupt, unhappy, broken in spirit; others assert that he is prosperous, inde pendent, with a forward outlook on life. The answer is important. It is more than ordinarily important at this moment because industry and com merce in the United States need, during the next few months, the sustaining in fluence of a sound agriculture. Since the depression of 1921 urban pros perity has been well maintained. The building industry had enormous deficiencies to cover. Railroads entered upon a large replacement program. Wages were kept high and workers well employed, resulting in good consuming power in the cities. Agriculture played only a small part in the general recovery. Now business is facing another uncertain period with decline in activity setting in and with some of the supporting factors greatly weakened. Will agriculture in this emergency prove the reserve force that of fers hope to the business world? I believe that it will. Before I have finished my remarks this evening, if not already, some of you will accuse me of optimism. I explain it this way. I lived in the far west several years and have never been able to quite get back to normal. The optimism I pass on to you tonight is also true, or if I must qualify this I insist that I believe it is true. It is my purpose to present the facts honestly as I see them. There is much said about optimism and pessimism that is superficial. Our problem is to get at the facts and be willing to face them. Part of the time they will be favorable; and part of the time unfavorable. Agriculture has been gaining strength since the disaster of the depression. Its income for the year ending this June 30th is two billion dollars greater than the low year, 1921-22. The outlook for the coming https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By H. W. Moorhouse Vice President Howard-Moorhouse Agri cultural Business Service, Chicago crop year, as far as it can now be analyzed, promises cash returns approximately as large as this year. Nor is the purchasing power of agricul ture much lower than in pre-war days. The farmers’ income, after allowing for higher taxes and interest, can buy 95 per cent of the volume of goods that it could in 1913. This sounds more hopeful than the figure of 75 per cent which is based upon a price comparison alone and does not take into consideration the volume of production. I want to talk over with you very care fully this evening just how we measure farm purchasing power. This is a subject which has been possessing all of our minds the last few years and I think we ought to be sure that our minds are meeting on it. Does farm income measure farm purchas ing power? Does a comparison of farm prices with other prices measure it? Does a comparison of farm income with prices of goods which farmers buy measure it? How can we get the correct answer and know whether the farmer is able to buy as many or more or less of the good things of life than he was at some previous period? The popular method recently has been to take a definite unit of a farm com modity and say, for instance, that one bushel of wheat would buy so many other goods in 1913 and will buy 84 per cent as many now. Or one hundred pounds of pork would buy so much of such and such com modities in 1913 will buy 59 per cent of that now. An average is then taken of the various products to arrive at the gen eral purchasing power figure of 75 per cent. This method leaves out of account the number of bushels of wheat or the quan tity of pork or the volume of products gen erally which farmers have to sell. Natur ally this is a grave error and influences the result favorably or unfavorably, as the case may be. The true way to compute farm purchas ing power would be as follows: Take gross income from sales of products, and money borrowed, subtract debts repaid, subtract Convention). taxes and interest and compare the re sult with retail prices of goods purchased. Unfortunately, we do not have all the facts at hand to use this formula. The best we can do is to take gross income, sub tract taxes and interest and compare with wholesale prices. This is superior to a price comparison alone and gives a figure for farm purchasing power of 95 per cent of pre-war which can be relied upon as substantially accurate. Tou may ask why we do not subtract farm wages as well as taxes and interest. Because the farm laborer is here counted as a farmer. When we speak of purchasing power of the farmer we mean all those engaged in farming whether as owner, renter or laborer. So far I have been generalizing. Any particular listener may say: That may be true on the average but it does not apply to my section. Very true. Let us tonight note some of the variations from the aver age. In the two years since the depression of 1921-22 the dairy region of the north eastern and extreme north central states, and the cotton states have been better off than the average, while the corn belt, the wheat states and the cattle ranges have not fared so well. Let us particularize even further. The cotton crop this last season was better than the year before and the price was considerably higher. The south was looked to as in a fine condition, comparatively. Let five states had a smaller income than the preceding year. Southern prosperity was decidedly spotted. In the corn belt, the purchasing power of Iowa farmers is higher than in most of the corn belt states and averages up pretty well with the rest of the country. I arm income in Iowa has come back since the depression in about the same ratio as agriculture generally, namely, around 25 per cent. This is mainly accounted for by the market increase in the per acre yield of corn which has increased from 32 bushels in the past fifteen years. This is a much greater increase than for other corn belt states and has made possible a heavy hog production which has tended to compensate for the lower prices. THE 66 NORTHWESTERN BANKER 5# Farm Loans 5^ Life insurance companies have in vested millions of dollars in Iowa farm mortgages. They have more funds for this class of security. Urge your custom ers to refinance while the rate is low. Send us your applications Stanley-H enderson Com pany Farm Mortgage Bankers 207-214 Higley Bldg. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 5% F a r m L o a n s 5% R EFIN A N C E Y O U R 1925 LOANS N O W W H IL E R A T E S A R E C H E A P WE ALSO MAKE 20 AND 34 YEAR AMORTIZED LOANS M id l a n d M o r t g a g e C o m p a n y W E S T E R N IO W A O F F IC E 809 FRANCIS BUILDING SIOUX CITY, IOWA 220 T H IR D AVE. C E D A R R A P ID S , IO W A C E N T R A L IO W A CARROLL IOWA O F F IC E F . C . W A P L E S . P r e s id e n t R . J . S O E N E R S ecretary-T reasurer C L I F F O R D D E P U Y , VICE PRESIDENT C L A I R H . P O S T , A s s is t a n t S e c r e ta r y R . S . S I N C L A I R , . V ic e P r e s i d e n t P . T , W A P L E S , M g r . W e s t e r n O f f ic e I N G R A M B I X L E R , VICE PRESIDENT t *, VM Farm Loans Five Reasons W h y Y o u W i l l Appreciate O ur Service 1. 2. 3. 4. EDWIN HULT 5 We offer liberal rates. Our Inspection Service is prompt. We loan up to $100 an acre on Iowa land. We use our own funds—closing promptly. Service to applicants is our first thought. P r e s id e n t Send us your applications if you want genuine service. FARM ERS BOND Fifth Floor Hippee Bldg. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis & M ORTGAGE CO. DES MOINES July, 1924 Inside the state of Iowa there is varia tion in income as between districts. This variation is not as great as in many states, for Iow a’ s agriculture is fairly homogen eous, but it is marked enough that I wish to call your attention to it in this map showing the degrees of change in income this year from last. An interesting shift is taking place in the wheat situation this year which will affect favorably the hard winter wheat states centering around Kansas. Less wheat was planted this season than last in all of the wheat regions, but conditions have been so good in the Kansas area that a 60 per cent larger crop is forecasted for Kansas, 60 per cent larger for Ne braska and 20 per cent bigger for Okla homa. With the average price of wheat promising to be a little higher this year those sections are due to reap a rich har vest of cash as well as wheat. There is one subject which I hesitate to say much about to you, since it is your specialty; namely, the fixed charges of ag riculture, taxes and interest. These charges are proving a great burden. They take a large fraction of gross income; before the war, 10 per cent; now close to 20 per cent. We estimate that farmers pay 900 mil lion dollars in direct taxes, 675 million for mortgage interest and 175 million for in terest on personal loans; one and three quarter billion dollars in all, as an annual fixed charge. This is almost, three times as much as before the war. Please remember, however, that the farm purchasing power figure, 95 per cent of pre-war, which I gave you earlier this eve ning, allows for these higher fixed charges. I have tried to give you an airplane view of the agricultural situation. In general, it is more favorable than the pictures which have been drawn recently. We recognize that in certain regions and localities and in individual cases the distress has been acute. We realize also that the abrupt fall in farm income from the peak of 1920 must have caused, inevitably, tremendous discouragement. Since then, however, we have had two years of improvement. We are beginning another crop year which promises to hold its own with this year. We have had time for readjustments and it is becoming easier to think in terms of the present instead of pre-war which is now tw.elve years in the past. The period is here for us to build upon the present. This year was better than last. Next year will be as good as this. Let us lay the ghosts of long ago and look to the future. Iowa prosperity is directly dependent upon agriculture. Iow a’ s farms produce four times as much wealth as her factories. Moreover, the leading manufacturing in dustry is slaughtering and meat packing— an industry which is a direct adjunct of agriculture. With the income of farmers fairly well stabilized the business men and bankers of Iowa can look to the future with more confidence. To an amazing extent agriculture is woven through the industry of the whole country. The Chicago Association of Com merce tells us that the value of the output of the meat packing industry of Chicago is greater than all other manufactures of the city combined and that iron and steel, second in the list, has a value only onesixth as much as the meat industry. We find the influence of agriculture paramount in the biggest industrial and financial cen ters. It is a matter o f nation-wide grati fication, therefore, that in this present period of business uncertainty this great July, 1924 T II B N 0 R T II W E S T E R N B A N K E R branch of activity has secured a solid foot ing and can lend support to the whole in dustrial and commercial structure. Population Figures The population of the United States totaled 112,826,000 on January 1, 1924, according to estimates announced today by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., 474 West 24th Street. NeAV York City. This compares with 110,883,000 on January 1, 1923, and census count of 105,711,000 on January 1, 1920. The most remarkable gain was re corded in the last half of 1923, the net increase being 1,162,000, a greater growth than in any other half year dur ing the last two decades and probably greater than any six months period in the nation’s history. The gain for the entire year was 1,943,000. The National Bureau of Economic Re search estimates the population of the Continental United States for each half year since January 1, 1920, to have been approximately as follows: January 1, 1920... 105,711,000 July 1, 1920... 106,422,000 January 1, 1921... 107,575,000 July 1, 1921.. . 108,533,000 January 1, 1922... 109,298,000 July 1, 1922. . . 109,898,000 January 1, 1923... 110,883,000 July 1, 1923. . . 111,664,000 January 1, 1924... 112,826,000 All the figures after January 1, 1922, are necessarily tentative, for the Bureau of the Census has not as yet published complete monthly data for births and deaths covering the periods since 1921. Banker Sells Home L. Whitlatch, president of the State Bank of Allison, Iowa, has sold his resi dence property and in all probability will build another home next year. D. G. Wiley Elected President I). G. Wiley, of Orient, Iowa, at pres ent County Auditor of Adair county, has been elected to the presidency of the Greenfield Savings Bank of Green field, Iowa. Mr. Wiley succeeds W. W. Burrell, deceased. Mr. Wiley is a vet eran banker, being connected with the First State Bank of Adair county at Orient for thirty years, at which time he made the bank one of the strongest in the country. Fred Zabel Is Proud Father A daughter was recently born to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Zabel. Mr. Zabel is vice president of the Union Davenport Trust & Savings Bank, also dictator of the Davenport lodge of Moose. Phoenix Trust Com pany Ottumwa, Iowa DEALERS IN Iow a and M issouri F arm M o r t g a g e s Som e Ju ly Bond Suggestions Our semi-annual circular describing the bonds we offer and recommend for safe investment is now ready for distribution. The Statistical Division of our Bond Department renders a free informal tion service to banks and investors in analyzing any securities in which they are interested. THE N O R TH E R N TRU ST C O M PA N Y C APITAL A N D SURPLUS $5 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 Northwest Corner LaSalle and Monroe Streets Pocahontas Bank Organized Organization has been completed for the new First National Bank of Poca hontas, Iowa, capitalized at $75,000. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis C H T C A fiO 67 THE 68 NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1921 For Bankers and Their Wants This department of THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER is to assist SUBSCRIBERS in obtaining goods or service hard to find. It is free. Use it. ASK US, as we can tell you where to buy anything you need in your bank or for your bank. TELL US, as your ‘ ‘ want” will be published under the above heading free of charge. In answering classified advertise ments which have key numbers please enclose a two-cent stamp. This is used to forward your letter. P osit ion W a n t e d as assistant cashier or cashier of good country bank. Eight years’ actual banking experience in one institution. Desire change. Twentyeight years old and married. Best of ref erences. Can invest. Speak German. Address No. 2734, The Northwestern Banker—5—6—7. Can furnish references as to character, ability, etc. Address No. 2739, The North western Banker—7. B a n k P osit ion W a n t e d by young lady with several years’ experience in gen eral bank work. Five years in present location. A-l bookkeeper. Operate Bur roughs Posting Machine. Would like to have a savings department or position as head bookkeeper, but will accept any place and work up. Prefer to be in large bank in city where there is chance to ad vance. Address No. 2731, The Northwest ern Banker—6—7. W a n t e d : Position by young man as as sistant cashier. College graduate. Three and one-half years’ experience in coun try banking. At present employed but desire change. Available on short no tice. Can invest $1,000. Address No. 2735, The Northwestern Banker—6—7. Posit ion W a n t e d with In ve stm e n t of a few thousand dollars if conditions are right. Nine years’ experience in the banking business, four years as cashier and the remainder of the time as assist ant and acting cashier. Steward of a state institution for four years, also con siderable experience in the handling of farm leases. Common school education, two years of normal school and a course in a business college. Hold certificate from American Institute of Banking, short course, and have completed 100 lessons in the American Extension Uni versity correspondence law course. Have interest in three farms so keep in close touch with farming situation. Feel com petent to take the cashiership or a small bank or to act as assistant in one of larger size. Address No. 2740, The North western Banker—7. P osit ion W a n t e d as assistant cashier in country bank. Single man twenty-six years of age. Can speak Swedish and Norwegian. Five years’ banking expe rience, including nine months as cashier in country bank in North Dakota. Can use posting machine, also operate type writer. Address No. 2738, The Northwes tern Banker—7. Posit ion W a n t e d in good bank by mar ried man 36 years old. Fifteen years’ ex perience as assistant cashier and cashier. Steel and Copper Engraved S T A T IO N E R Y , B U S IN E S S ANNOUNCEM ENTS AND CARDS F or The q u a lit y H om estea d w ork ad d ress C om pany, D e s M o in e s , BANK EQUIPMENT and SUPPLIES We ».re the logical firm to supply your needs. Our immense stock makes it possible to fill your orders promptly. You’U find our prices right, too. M c N A M A R A O F F IC E S U P P L Y CO. 5 0 7 - 5 0 9 L ocust, Street Iow a’s Lead ing B a n k and Office Equipm e nt Store https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis For Sale: One Burroughs posting ma chine in first-class condition. Used about one year. Price right. Write Leach & Thompson Co., Spencer, Iowa—7. Po sition W a n t e d as assistant cashier or bookkeeper in Iowa bank. Seven years’ thorough banking experience in country bank. Twenty-eight years old and married. Best of references. Ad dress No. 2741, The Northwestern Banker—7. M ortgage M an W anted: An experi enced lender who knows the mortgage institutions are prepared to sell quality merchandise and furnish prompt shipments. business and can select and secure farm loans of the highest class only in east ern Iowa, might make a connection by addressing INSURANCE, care The North western Banker. Give experience, quali fications and full particulars. Kelliher Banks Consolidate The First State Bank of Kelliher, Min nesota, has been merged with the Citi zens State Bank of that city. Business is being continued under the charter of the Citizens State Bank. Celebrate Fortieth Birthday The First National Bank of Sauk Cen ter, Minnesota, recently celebrated its fortieth birthday. C. M. Sprague, the first cashier of the bank, is now the president and has been the actual head of the institution during its entire exist ence. The bank has deposits of $879,300 with capital of $50,000 and surplus and undivided profits of $50,831. Bejou Bank Will Reopen The Farmers State Bank of Bejou, Minnesota, is to be re-opened according to an announcement given out recently by A. J. Yiegel, state superintendent of banking. J. F. Farrell is president, and W. N. Morrell, Jr., is cashier. r r ^ H E S E J - H IG H C L A S S W o r k m a n s h ip a n d Q u a lit y A s s u r e d W h en Y ou O rder F rom LEMARS PRINTING COMPANY M ASO N C IT Y , IO W A i* \ \ L O O S G - L E A F -OGVICGTs^ARD __ VAACCOUNTINC - S Y S T E M » _____; J S o ld i n I o w a b y J. H . W E L C H P R IN T IN G CO. 1 3 1 3 -1 5 L o c u s t S t ., D e s M o i n e s . P r in te r s , B in d e r s , M n f g . S t a tio n e r s . F L O W E R S A N D S E R V IC E ALPH A FLO RAL COM PANY P h o n e W a ln u t 362 J . Si. W I L S O N F L O R A L D r a k e 584 D E S M O IN E S CO. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 69 News of South Dakota Banks and Bankers Official P u b lica tion S ou th D akota B an kers A ssociation EXECUTIVE COUNCIL South Dakota Bankers Association P r e s i d e n t . . . .A . K o p p e r u d , P r e s i d e n t S e c u r i t y B a n k & T r u s t C o ., W e b s t e r V i c e P r e s i d e n t . . . F r e d B . S t ile s , V i c e P r e s . F i r s t N a t l. B a n k , W a t e r t o w n S e c r e t a r y .................................................................................................... L . J. W e l c h , M i t c h e l l T r e a s u r e r .............H . C. S n o d g r a s s , C a s h i e r S t a t e B a n k o f I n t e r i o r , I n t e r i o r E i n e r J o h n s o n , G r o u p 1 .....................................C a s h i e r V o l i n S t a t e B a n k , V o l i n F. M . E n r i g h t , G r o u p 2 .........P r e s i d e n t H o m e N a t i o n a l B a n k , D e l l R a p i d s J. W . B r y a n t , G r o u p 3 . . V i c e P r e s . C o m ’ l T r u s t & S a v i n g s B a n k , M i t c h e l l E . R . Z a l e s k y , G r o u p 4 ........................... P r e s i d e n t F i r s t N a t i o n a l B a n k , E l k t o n T h o s . O ’ B r i e n , G r o u p 5 ................................P r e s i d e n t H o v e n S ta t e B a n k , H o v e n T . E . G a g e , G r o u p 6 .....................................C a s h i e r F a r m e r s S t a t e B a n k , G r o t o n C. D . S m it h , G r o u p 7 ........................... P r e s i d e n t F i r s t N a t i o n a l B a n k , L e m m o n S. J. C la r k e , G r o u p 8 .................................. C a s h i e r F a r m e r s S t a t e B a n k , N e w e l l J. W . S t e w a r t , G r o u p 9 ........................... P r e s i d e n t F a r m e r s S t a t e B a n k , D a l l a s Real A ction Displayed at Convention o f South Dakota Bankers Association p p r o x i m a t e l y 350 bankers at, tended the 33rd annual convention tion of the South Dakota Bank ers Association, held June 17 and 18 at Huron, So. Dak. The first day’s pro gram was opened at the Elks Hall in the Marvin Hughitt Hotel, by President A. Kopperud, the president giving his an nual report. A very interesting talk was given by P. L. Kelso, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau, on the great work that the farm bureau is doing in the state and how they are cooperating with the bankers of South Dakota for a bigger and better Sunshine State. At the afternoon session the Hon. Carl Gunderson, lieutenant-governor of South Dakota, pointed out to South Dakota bankers some real facts and figures on the condition of South Dakota. The Wednesday afternoon session of the convention was particularly interest ing to every member present, inasmuch as many of the members took part in an informal discussion advocating several changes in the state banking laws. A motion was made by R. B. Eldredge, vice president of the First National Bank of Pierre, So. Dak., that the association go on record as in favor of repealing the guarantee bank fund law which now ex ists in the state of South Dakota. This motion was adopted after considerable discussion, by members of the convention. Right along this line M. Plin Beebe, president of the Bank of Ipswich, a mem ber of the State Depositors Guarantee Fund Commission, told the bankers that there is a necessity for more minute re striction, absolute need of strong enforce ment and closer supervision to avoid banking catastrophes similar to those A https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By R ex V . Lentz DEAN H. LIGHTNER Newly elected president of South Dakota Bankers Association which the state has just suffered. Dean H. Lightner, cashier of the Citizens Trust and Savings Bank, Aberdeen, made a sug gestion that a motion be put before the convention that that part of M. Plin Beebe’s paper relating to the guarantee fund bank law, should be copied and sent to every member of the association to be read and suggestions sent in to the legislative commission for action at the next session of the legislature. J. L. Driscoll, state treasurer of South Dakota, gave a very interesting and instructive talk on the finances of the state. The resolutions passed by the conven tion were as follows : “ Resolved, That this meeting of the South Dakota Bankers Association take formal action regarding the passing of one of the former presidents of this as sociation, Mr. Harry Wentzy, of Rapid City. We desire to express our apprecia tion of the high qualities, ability and pub lic service of Mr. Wentzy during his life time and to say that the South Dakota Bankers Association has lost one of its most willing and capable workers and the state has lost one of its outstanding citizens. “ Whereas, Congress has failed to pass adequate legislation to bring about a bal ance between agricultural and manufac tured products and has taken the position that this is a problem to be worked out by the farmers, themselves, and that such result can only be secured by cooperative marketing along the line of the pooling of commodities ; in view of this situation, we believe the time has come for the peo ple of South Dakota and the northwest to unite in a definite marketing program : “ Therefore, Be It Resolved, That the South Dakota Bankers Association pledge their most hearty support to commodity pooling in the marketing of farm pro duce; and “ Resolved, That the membership here present extend a vote of thanks to the retiring officers of this association for their efficient efforts during the past year, which has been so full of respon sibility. “ Resolved, That the sincere and hearty thanks of the association be rendered to the people of Huron and particularly to the banking fraternity, for the courtesy THE 70 NORTHWESTERN 1810 A Distinctive Service for Your Nev> York Business THE M e c h a n ic s & M etals n a t io n a l b a n k O F T H E C IT Y O F N E W Y O R K July, 1924 BANKER and hospitality extended during our stay in the city.” Officers were elected as follows for the ensuing year: Fred B. Stiles, vice presi dent, First National Bank, Watertown, elected president; Dean FL. Lightner, cashier Citizens Trust and Savings "Bank, Aberdeen, elected vice president; Frank Boerger, Milbank, elected treasurer. Additional members of the Executive Council are Andrew Kopperud, Webster, retiring president, ex-officio, member for one year; F. W. Bryant, Mitchell, Group 3; G. W. Burt, Watertown, Group 4; W. R. Penfold, Belle Fouche, Group 7 and Ed. Youngquist, Carter, Group 9. Eastern bankers, manufacturers, mort gage and bond houses would have been thoroughly convinced if they had been present at the 33rd annual convention of the South Dakota Bankers Association, that the state of South Dakota, and every banker is looking forward to a very optimistic future. In spite of the condi tions of the past year, South Dakota bankers are optimistic and are now work ing along a safe, conservative road, which is bound to show real results within a short time. J. L. Mitchell, vice president*of the First National Bank of Sioux City, Iowa, made a flying trip to the South Dakota convention Tuesday night and spent Wed nesday renewing old acquaintances. —$— Capital, Surplus and Profits, $26,500,000 G. W. McGARRAH Chairman of the Board JOHN McHUGH President Messrs. M. M. Wheeler, cashier, First National Bank, Deadwood, So. Dak.; R. B. Eldredge, vice president, First Na tional Bank, Pierre, So. Dak.; H. R. Ivibbe, president, Commercial Trust and Savy . .•v: V ! •- y. .V “ Om aha’s A B an k fo r B an kers In O ur T e r r ito r y ••J •A..'-- ’ . • • L iv e ■vrn S to c k M a r k e t is n o t e q u a lle d a n y w h ere. Security National Bank w ir e F ift y -e ig h t c o m m is s io n l iv e firm s to serv e sh ip p e r s o f liv e sto ck . W h e n a c u sto m e r o f y o u r s SIOUX FALLS, S. D. is s h ip p in g , r e m in d h im th a t O M A H A is H I S m a r Capital, Surplus and Profits, $500,000.00 k e t .” O F F IC E R S : W Z SHARP President DELMAR C. LOWE, Assistant Cashier D.' A." McCULLOUGH, Vice President J. V. LOWE Assistant, Cashier JOHN BARTON Cashier OLIVER A. BRAY, Assistant Cashier F. W. KONEMAN, Manager Farm Loan Dept. E S T A B L IS H E D https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 1890 US.CHECK BOOK CO. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER ings Bank, Mitchell ; J. R. Klatt, cashier, Dakota State Bank, Tripp ; K. B. Cressey, vice president, First State Bank, Sioux Falls, gave very interesting extemporary talks on the question of repealing the South Dakota guarantee fund bank law. 71 ELECT as your correspondent a bank S which knows intimately the N ew York end o f the business in which your customers are engaged. You will then R. A. Gilmore, cashier of the Bank of Jefferson, Jefferson, So. Dak., was one of the golf devotees at the convention. choose T he Bank o f America. John Barton, cashier of the Security National Bank, Sioux Falls, attended the convention, accompanied by Mrs. Barton, for the first time in five years. The South Dakota bankers were glad of the opportunity to welcome him to the Huron convention. BANÂÉÎVMERICA /N kstabushed mia N EW Y O R K C IT Y Fred Stiles, new president of the South Dakota Bankers Association, gave a brief talk on the real work of the Agricultural Farm Credits Corporation. South Da kota bankers were glad to get the inside information from their neiv president. L. J. Welch, the genial secretary of the association, was to be found “ buzz ing” around, greeting old friends, mak ing plans for entertainment and supply ing information to those who requested it. C. L. Frederickson, cashier of the Live Stock National Bank of Sioux City, Iowa, was found on deck early Tuesday morn ing, greeting old friends and telling all about the wonderful opportunities Sioux City has as a live stock city. C a p ita l, Surplus an d U n d in id ed P rofits o°'er $ 1 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 N ew Building T h e Bank o f A m erica N o w in course o f construction iite ir" i J p t ? T ilt e d M E 0 1 l^ ^ iio n SIO U X FALLS, a lj^ ^ o o m ie J p a n n t m y r a SOUTH n c e roan D A K O TA . Sound Management Real Co-operation Service that is Service —$— These are the three paramount reasons why the Policyholders Na K. B. Cressey, vice president of the First State Bank of Sioux Falls, reports very fine progress on the First State Bank of Sioux Falls. tional Life Insurance Co. is so popu lar with South Dakota hankers. OFFICERS 3 Guy C.Barton PRESIDENT S.H Witmer VICE-PRES. M&R.A&ENTS H.O Chapman M. Plin Beebe, president of the Bank of Ipswich, Ipswich, So. Dak., was congrat ulated quite a few times on the splendid paper which he read at the Wednesday forenoon session. —$— G. C. Fullinwieder, president, National Bank of Huron, very ably served as chair man of the entertainment committee of the Huron bankers. Everyone who at tended the Tuesday evening dance can truthfully say that Mr. Fullinwieder was a real success. —$— ' “A SOUTH DAKOTA COMPANY* IN A B E R D E E N w e s t a n d r e a d y to serve t h e fin a n c ia l and c o m m e r c ia l in t e r e s t s o f t h is te r r ito r y . L. T. Morris, vice president of the Citi zens National Bank, Watertown, made an automobile trip through miles of mud to be present at the Wednesday session of the convention. Real enthusiasm, we say. Citizens T ru st & Savings Bank —$— ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA S. T. Kiddo, president of the Live Stock National Bank, Chicago, former South Dakota banker and president of the as sociation, was present at the Huron con vention, and pronounced it a real success. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis SECRETARY TREA SU RER G. N. HERREID, President D. H. LIGHTNER, Cashier THE 72 NORTHWESTERN O M A H A P R IN T IN G C O . PRINTERS-LITHOGRAPHERS O F F IC E SUPPLIES m 5 ° 1 O F F IC E Fu r n i t u r e m m DE S K S TA BLES LOOSE CHAIRS LEAF D E V IC E S FARNAM F IL IN G D E V IC E S ' STEEL £ W O O D H AT 131T * PHON O M A H A DOUGLAS 2 7 9 3 BANKER July, 1924 Paul Leeman, vice president of the First National Bank of Minneapolis ; and L. W. Scholes, assistant cashier of the First National, very ably represented the First National Bank of Minneapolis. Old friends were glad to see them again this year. John Barton invited the association to hold its convention at Sioux Falls in 1925. R. B. Eldredge, of Pierre, invited the association to hold its convention in Pierre, and M. M. Wheeler, of Deadwood, earnestly invited the bankers to Deadwood for 1925. At the Wednesday after noon session, Sioux Falls was selected as the 1925 convention city. Is Elected President Ray Tierney, former state bank ex aminer and for ten years president of the Chadron State Bank, was elected president of the American State Bank of Sidney, Nebraska, at a meeting of the board of directors of the bank. Mr. Tierney has acquired the McNish inter ests and succeeds the late Jesse C. Mc Nish as the president. He immediately entered upon his new duties. Mr. Tierney was for ten years presi dent of the Chadron State Bank. He has also had a wide experience in the cattle industry and is what might be termed an expert in that business. For the past year or more he has been in the employe of the state, being identified with the Department of Trade and Com merce. Capital and Surplus $ 7 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 W e offer our facilities to out-oftown banks and bankers desiring a com plete Chicago correspondent service in dom estic and foreign banking. A n opportunity to ex plain the benefits o f both our serv ice and a strong banking connec tion is desired. CentralTrust COMPANY OF ILLINOIS C H IC A G O Advertise in the Northwestern Banker https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Cash Reserves Increase Cash reserve in the state banks of South Dakota increased more than $1,000,000—from $25,790,496 to $26,913,038— in the five and a half months prior to March 31, according to a com parative report made public by John Hirning, superintendent of banking. Group Nine Meets Fairfax was chosen for the next meeting of Group Nine Bankers con vention, South Dakota. The president for next year is G. E. Kvitrud of the Farmers State Bank of Fairfax; vice president, William Jelinek of the Citi zens State Bank of Bonesteel; and the secretary-treasurer is J. V. Tistulka of the First National Bank of Fairfax. The executive committee follow s: J. E. Burns of the Peoples State Bank of Dixon, J. D. Freemeier of the St. Charles State Bank, H. L. Millay of the Gregory National Bank, J. A. McCullough of the Winner State Bank, John Stewart of the Farmers State Bank of Dallas. C. V. Youngquist, of the Carter State Bank, was selected as the group member of the executive committee of the state as sociation. July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN NEBRASKA BANKER BANK 73 NEWS O F F IC E R S O F T H E N E B R A S K A B A N K E R S A S S O C IA T IO N President. .. .C. A. Minick, Vice President First National, Bank, Crawford Chairman Executive Council...C. A- Smith, Vice Pres. Tilden Natl. Bank Treasurer. . . . H . C. Nicholson, Vice Pres. Packers National Bank, Omaha Secretary........................Wm. B. Hughes, 908 Woodmen Building, Omaha General Counsel. .Edward M. Martin, Brandeis Theater Building, Omaha E X E C U T IV E C O U N C IL H. G. Wellensiek............. J.............................President Harvard State Bank Carl W eil.................. Vice President National Bank of Commerce, Lincoln H. C. Nicholson.................. Vice President Packers National Bank, Omaha Fred Kuenneth.................. Vice President First National Bank, Hastings S. J. W eekes..................................................President O’Neill National Bank Mark Spanogle.........................................................Cashier Bridgeport Bank Dan V. Stephens............................................ President Fremont State Bank George W. W oods....... ....................... Cashier Lincoln State National Bank J. H. Donnelly................................................ Cashier State Bank of Omaha J. B. Gibson...................................President Nebraska State Bank, Norfolk Walter M. Rodman.................... President American State Bank, Kimball P. L. Hall, Jr.................................Cashier First National Bank, Greenwood C. A. Smith.......................................... Vice President Tilden National Bank I. R. Alter................................. Cashier First National Bank, Grand Island W. P. Rooney.....................................Cashier Chadron State Bank, Chadron F. W. Thomas..........................Vice President First National Bank, Omaha G-roup One Meets at Lincoln George Liggett, of Utica, Nebraska, is now president of Group Number One, the Nebraska Bankers Association. He was elected at the annual business meet ing held recently at Lincoln, and along with him were chosen Henry Schneider, of Plattsmouth, as vice president, and J. A. Sire, of Dewitt, as secretary. A resolution, stated that : unanimously passed, More county associations of bankers should be organized. Weak banks should be consolidated with stronger ones wherever it would help the banking system. Every bank should have a board of directors thoroughly conversant with the conditions of the institution. The bureau of banking is of sufficient importance so that it should be con stituted a separate department segre gated from other activities. The working of the guaranty fund commission law has fully proved its worth, but the present law would be more efficient if all applicants for state bank charters were examined by the commission. Excessive interest on short time de posits violates all rules of economics and results in unstable banking; few places in this district would be justified in paying more than 4 per cent interest on deposits of six months. Legislation to establish the double liability of a stockholder in a bank as a lien on his property from the date of failure of the bank should be urged, and time be extended one year in which to pay deposits in a failed bank. The Lincoln Clearing House Associa tion was thanked for its entertainment of the association. At the annual banquet in the evening at the Lincoln hotel, furnished by the Lincoln Clearing House Association, E. M. Warner of the association greeted https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Colfax County Bankers Meet The Colfax County Bankers Associa tion held their annual meeting in the office rooms of the Farmers State Bank at Howells, Nebraska. It was one of the largest attended and most successful gatherings in the history of the associa tion, every bank in the county having been represented. Business of interest to the members was discussed and a de cision reached to hold quarterly meet ings in the future, the next one to be held at Howells. Officers for the en suing year were elected as follow s: J. D. Some railroad problems were also ex W olf, president; John II. Moeller, vice plained by the speaker. Considerable president; Jaroslav Folda, secretary; misunderstanding of the part that L. R. Coufal, treasurer. The several freight rates play in economic dis banks of the county were represented tances is prevalent, he declared, and too at the meeting as follow s: Banking much is blamed on the railroads. If House of F. Folda, by E. F. Folda of the freight rates were now put on a Omaha arid Jaroslav Folda of Schuyler, pre-war basis, the carriers would stand Schuyler State Bank by R. O. Brownell, for a loss in running expenses of about Schuyler Savings Bank by F. W. Shonka, $4,000,000,000 a year. But the charges Rogers State Bank by F. W. Dudek, Rich can be cut some, and the rail commis land State Bank by F. W. .Shonka, First sion is doing all in its power to cut National Bank of Leigh by John H. them. Moeller and Julius Zastera, Leigh State Bank by E. M. Nelson and Wm. Vlach, Colfax County Bank of Howells by John Group Six Meeting M. Folda and F. C. Hrabak, Howells F. M. Rentschler of the Stockman’s State Bank by L. R. Coufal, Farmers Bank at Springview, Nebraska, was State Bank of Howells by J. A. Novak, elected president of Group Six of the Clarkson State Bank by Emil Folda and Nebraska Bankers Association at its Emil Petr and the Farmers State Bank twenty-fifth annual meeting held at of Clarkson by J. D. W olf and Adolph Crawford. Mr. Rentschler was secretary Dudek. of the group last year. Clyde Daven port of the Nebraska State Bank at Is Elected President Valentine was elected vice president At a recent meeting of the stockhold and I. A. Goss of the First National ers of the Minatare Bank of M.inatare, Bank at Hays Springs was elected sec Nebraska, G. F. Haas, who has been vice retary. An enthusiastic meeting was president for several years, was made held and the attendance was large, there president. W. F. Graham, cashier, was being 200 bankers from the district reg also added to the board of directors. istered. Speakers were Dan V. Stephens of Fremont, W. H. Brokaw, director of The Bible stands alone in hum,an the extension department of the state agricultural college, and K. C. Knudson, literature in its elevated conception of secretary of the department of trade manhood, in character and conduct.— Beecher. and commerce. the visitors, and then turned over the meeting to Claude Wilson o f Lincoln, who introduced John E. Curtiss, secre tary of the Nebraska Railway Com mission, as the speaker of the evening. Musical entertainment was given by Elizabeth Funke, Archie Jones, Bernice Thompson and Ivoby Sirinsky. Mr. Curtiss’ address was one of op timism, patriotism and good humor. He declared that Nebraska and the nation have everything for which to be glad, and for which to uphold the government. 74 THE HOW WE TALK TO OUR NEBRASKA FARMERS (Continued from page 20) not necessary to have pure-bred cattle in order to attain this standard. Good grade Holstein, Jersey or Shorthorns can be relied upon to produce the goods. Products of the milch cow was one of the few commodities which did not suffer during the deflation period. Corn, hogs, cattle, the milch cow and the lowly chicken are all mortgage lift ers. Build up your herds with good sires, cut out the undesirables every year, manage to raise two crops of pigs each year, rotate your crops. Plant al falfa and tame grasses which are great producers in the central and western states. These lands make very desirable fields for rotating crops. Farm less land and farm it better. Eliminate useless waste in old and wornout machinery; use fewer but better horse power, a good horse will consume very little more feed, if any, than a poor one. Have enough milch cows to defray all household expenses for the entire family, and use the hogs and fat cattle for mortgage liquidators. Especial stress is laid upon alfalfa on the farm. Everything from a chicken to a horse will feed upon this plant in one stage or another, and the farmer who O F F IC E R S NO R T H W E 8 T E R N B A N K E IS adheres to the outline regarding the cow, pig, alfalfa, tame grasses and rotating crops, is seldom found in stringent cir cumstances. Counsel with your banker. If he is irot willing or able to counsel with you, change bankers. There is always plenty of money awaiting to be used for produc tion. Use your head and keep your feet on the ground; hug the milk stool close; wear the skin off your hands car rying slop to your pigs; plow deep while the sluggard sleeps and do not expect to liquidate a $3.00 debt with a $1.00 crop; time alone will take care of this little item. When you have observed the sim ple rules laid out in the above, then you will have solved the farmers’ problems. In conclusion, do more thinking, less joy l-iding; pay less attention to the yel low sheets that parade under the title of newspapers; and even the legitimate press of today would do well to give more space to constructive molding of public sentiment rather than record the pessimistic and calamity side of our existence. taken by that body at a meeting in Cale donia, Minnesota. Officers of the asso ciation are C. J. Scofield, president; Hollis Briggs, vice president; L. J. Beddow, treasurer, and J. M. McCaffrey, secretary. The organization believes that boys’ and girls’ club work is a project which should be encouraged, due to the greater efficiency which results and because of the training in citizenship and thrift which it offers. The agri cultural committee consisting of J. A. Heymann, W. F. Deters and John White are authorized to decide in what manner the money shall be distributed. Pres ent plans of the committee are to co operate with the Houston County Agricultural Society in distributing the amount where it will offer the greatest timulus to the work. New Bank at Pilger A new bank, to be known as the Pilger State Bank, has been organized at Pilger, Nebraska, and is now running. Emil Folda is president of the new organiza tion, which is capitalized at $25,000; James Zoubek is vice president and Fred Jelinek, of Clarkson, cashier. Will Help Club Work Fifty dollars will be appropriated by the Houston County Bankers Associa tion to stimulate interest in boys’ and girls’ club work as a result of action The desire of riches does not proceed from a natural passion within us, but arises rather from vulgar, out-of-doors opinion of other people.—Plutarch. D IR E C T O R S S. H. Burnham President H. S. Freeman Vice President P. K. Easterday Vice President J. H. Burnham Vice President A. J. Sawyer Vice President W. B. Ryons Cashier Leo J. Sehmittel Assistant Cashier B. O. Campbell Assistant Cashier S. H. Burnham E. J. Hainer Ceo. W. Holmes H. S. Freeman A. J. Sawyer Charles Stuart F. M. Hall C. Ii Towle P. R. Easterday E. J. Burkett W. R. Ryons J. C. Seacrest S. C. Waugh F. H. Woods Joe L. Burnham J UST as water finds its level, so will a certain particular type of concern be attracted to a bank, that is first of all sound and con servative but at the same time pro gressive, and— when it suits the occa sion—aggressive. The Seaboard seeks other customers like its present clientele. First National B ank L IN C O LN - NEBRASKA S in c e 1 8 7 1 th is b a n k h as se rv e d July, 1924 its c o r r e s p o n d e n ts The f a it h f u lly a n d w ith a p e r s o n a l in te r e st th a t h a s r e su lte d in , not o n ly great S e a b o a r d of th e N a t io n a l B a n k C it y o f N e w Y o r k sa tisfa c tio n , b u t lik e w ise a la stin g fr ie n d s h ip . Capital and Surplus $1,050,000. M A IN O F FIC E B road and B ea ver S treets M E R C A N T IL E B R A N C H 115 B roadw ay at Cedar S treet UPTOW N BRANCH 20 East 45th S treet near Madison Ave. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN Vo BANKER WHAT TH E BANKER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AUTO FINANCING (Continued from page 11) lar payments had been agreed upon. Many loans are made with maturities of six months or a year that depend for payment on savings from salaries or earnings from business. If this is true, why not make the note call for payments each week or month? You might lose some interest, but you won’t charge off many notes. I believe that lots of loans are asked for and granted that if re duced to the required number of regular payments both borrower and banker would agree should not be made. An Essential Service To the ontstate banker is the collection of live stock proceeds for his customers at the South Omaha Market. Our experience and location at “ the yards” insures prompt and painstaking care in this important business and makes an account with us very valuable. PackersNatio “ THE ADCHEQUER” (Continued from page 14) which to sit quietly until the fall elec tions are over. But the elections will not re-establish public confidence in banks. Banks must help themselves— just as bankers have been telling farmers that they must find a solution of their prob lems—how?—through a constructive pro gram in agriculture. Bankers must meet their problems con structively. They can do it and do it ef fectively through publicity. If ever there was a time when the public needed to be told all the truth about banking—given instructions, in formation, the elementary workings of a bank and its methods of rendering service to its customers and to its com munity—it is now. Economy is all very Avell but prac ticing economy on the bank’s advertis ing is not bringing money from hiding places into the bank. And the money in our communities is not all in the banks, any man with ordinary sense knows that —and he knows why. When the average bank customer begins to doubt the soundness of his bank, he may say never a word, but he stops putting his money in the bank. Thousands and thousands of indi viduals are today carrying or keeping their money at hand and doing busi ness on a cash basis and the one and only reason is a lack of bank con fidence— not in one particular bank— but in all banks. There is one corrective remedy for this situation and that is publicity. If you doubt this, look to the public utilities of this country. Ten years ago their credit was at low ebb. A third of the traction lines of the country were in bankruptcy and a material part of the other public utilities were in the hands of receivers or bankers com mittees. The companies were subjected to political blackmail in every local, state and national political campaign. The public had been educated to believe https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis UNION STOCKYARDS OMAHA O ffe r in g W id e S e le c tio n Banks, investment bankers and individual investors are invited to avail themselves of the opportunities presented at all times in our list of Municipal, Public Utility and Industrial bonds. Let us send you our offering sheets regularly. A.C.A L L Y N 71 W . Monroe St. N E W YO RK and co m pa n y EST A B L ISH E D 1912 CHICAGO M IL W A U K E E Phone State 6440 M IN N EAPOLIS BOSTON THAT PERSONAL SE R V IC E which we render to our customers in connection with live stock matters, is of inestimable value. This is made possible by our location in the Stock Yards. We urge you to take advantage of it. ST O C K YA R D S N ATIO N A L B AN K of South O m aha O F F IC E R S F ord E. H ovey , P resid en t F. J. E nerson, V ic e P resid en t H. C. M iller, A ssistant Cashier Jas. B. Owen, V ice P resid en t W . L . P ier, V ice P resid en t C. L. Owen, .Assistant Cashier J. S. K ing, V ice P resid ent W . H. D ressier, Cashier T. G. B oggs, A u d itor 76 THE BAN K NORTHWESTERN July, 1924 BANKER S U P P L IE S From a D E P E N D A B L E S O U R C E Your orders will be shipped quickly from our stock of standard bank supplies. Special ruled and printed forms made to order without delay and at prices that pay us a reasonable profit. Send for Our Stationery Catalog H A M M O N D P R IN T IN G CO. FREM ONT, NEBRASKA that every public utility manager was a Simon Lagree and every utility owner a brigand. There was begun a definite program of educational publicity all over the country. It was a big program— so big, in fact, that the public could not avoid seeing the advertisements and articles carried in publications of all classes— newspapers, magazines, trade and fra ternal periodicals. As a result the public utilities are in an unusually strong financial and credit position today. Publicity was the right medicine for the demagogues who sought to destroy their business. And publicity is the one dependable remedy on which banks can depend for a renewal and revival of public faith and confidence in the banks of the country. WHAT THE DAWES PLAN WILL DO FOR AMERICA AND EUROPE (Continued from page 17) found to be justified, we must take our share. THE U N IT E D STA TE S N A T IO N A L B A N K THE U N IT E D STA TE S TRUST COM PANY OMAHA The Federal Land Bank Has Demonstrated — F IR S T : The economic soundness of amortized farm loans for agriculture. The salability of bonds secured by farm loans assembled In groups at a low interest rate. SECOND: The benefit to borrowers and the attractiveness to investors which the cooperative feature adds. T H IR D : FOURTH: Dependable low rate funds. The best country banker, like the good merchant, sells his customer that which will in the end benefit the customer most. F E D E R A L L A N D B A N K o /O M A H A https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis I n d u st r y An examination of pre-war German in dustry showed that it had obligations out standing which had been undertaken in building up German industry something in excess of five billlion gold marks. As pre-war German industry had been able to carry on effectively, it was evident that with the same plant capacity, a mortgage placed upon German industry o f five billion gold marks would not repre sent too great a burden in principal and interest, nor one that would react upon the people in a harmful way. It further was found that during the depreciation of the German mark the industrial or ganizations of Germany, in order to keep their capital in something that would not depreciate, had extended their plants, re placed old machinery with new, recon structed buildings and had altogether placed their plants in such shape that their ability to produce is far in excess of that which prevailed before the war. The pre-war burden of indebtedness of German industrial organizations hav ing been entirely wiped out through the depreciation of the German mark in which such indebtedness was undertaken, there seemed no question but that Ger man industry of today could more easily bear a mortgage burden of five billion gold marks on a basis of 5 per cent in terest and 1 per cent sinking fund than pre-war industrial Germany could bear under its pre-war indebtedness. It was also realized that in order to have economic stability in Europe that such plan as was undertaken should be one that would be faithfully carried out and that the nations of the world out side of Germany must have confidence that the German people considered it to THE July, 1924 their interest to live up to its provisions. It was therefore considered important for all concerned that German indus try be tied into the plan in some way ,that would result in its having a burden which was entirely separated from that of the German government and in some such manner as to hold German industry regardless of any default of the govern ment in order that it might be directly interested in the payment of reparations. The committee of experts therefore placed a mortgage of five billion gold marks on German industry to help meet German reparations and thereby accom plish two very important things. First, it found a means of obtaining an annual payment which was to go toward repara tions of 6 per cent on five billion gold marks, or 300,000,000 gold marks, with out changing in any way the basic con ditions which prevailed in German in dustry before the war and consequently without increasing taxes nor the cost of living to the German people, and sec ond, it wound German industry into the situation in such manner that its in terests would be jeopardized to an im portant extent in case of default, thus increasing the confidence of the Allies in the sincerity of Germany’s accept ance of the plan. R ailroads A study of the German railroad situa tion was made at the same time and it T NORTHWESTERN BANKER was found that vast sums in marks had been spent not only for the purpose of keeping the railroads up-to-date, but as well to increase their transportation capacity. Railroad equipment and rail road facilities were found to be modern and effective. Further, the pre-war in debtedness of the railroads had been eliminated through the depreciation of the mark. The investigation showed that the Ger man railroads could be conservatively valued at 26 billion gold marks and it was found that, based on pre-war condi tions in Germany, the German railroads could be expected to earn a minimum net income of one billion gold marks that could go toward reparations and on a basis which would allow the payment of proper wages to railroad employees and the fixing of freight and passenger rates that were in line with those which prevail in other countries and that would not act to curtail industry, trade and commerce. It was therefore decided to issue eleven billion gold marks in bonds, to be trusteed for account to the Repara tion Commission, which were to pay 5 per cent interest and 1 per cent sinking fund, or a total of 660,000,000 gold marks a year for reparations. The bal ance to make up the one billion gold marks, after payment of the 660,000,000 interest and sinking fund on the bonds, is to be obtained from a transport tax, which is expected to pay 290,000,000 gold marks annually. As the German railways, when taken out from under the German government and incorporated, could be used as ef fective security for reparation payments, the eleven billion bond issue actually be ing so made through delivery of the bonds to the Reparation Commission, and as the one billion gold marks which the railroads would pay toward reparations would not entail any change in taxation or expense to the German people, the committee has found a means to enable the annual payment toward reparations of 950,000,000 gold marks without dis turbing the economic situation of Ger many. Of course, if the German govern ment had previously received from the railroads 950,000,000 gold marks net for its budget, this would not be true, but as the railroads under government owner ship have been run at a loss in recent years, whereas it is believed that as a corporation with a proper business management an amount considerably in excess of 950,000,000 gold marks can be obtained from the railroads, it is fair to accept the whole of this amount as being available without changing conditions under which the German people have been living as to income and purchas ing power of income. (Continued in the August Issue of the Northwestern Banker) O BE accurate, p rom p t and resourceful — this we recognize as the essence of satisfactory correspondent service. THE OM AHA NATIONAL BANK THE OMAHA TRU ST COMPANY OMAHA, NEBRASKA https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 77 1 — M > Needed At All Times TN times like these, a bank can make o f its advertising a power for accomplishments which will have a far reaching effect upon the future. Customer contact; Customei loyal ty; customer good-will— these are the things o f prime importance at this time, because with the tur n for better business evidently just ahead, with crops beginning to move toward their markets, with the elections out o f the way in November, you will need them to assist you in securing for your bank the lion’s share of the banking busi ness that will follow this fall. No banker can afford to neglect his advertising today just because he sees no immediate deposits awaiting its in vitation, no more than an engineer can allow the boilers o f his locomotive to grow cold just because he must wait at a crossing a few minutes for another train to pass. The road will soon be clear ahead and the signal to progress should find your bank with steam up, ready to go. While Craddick Service advertising is ever alert to every opportunity for securing deposits for its clients in dor mant times as well as in good times, it is perhaps the only service that can function equally as well in increasing customer contact, customer loyalty, customer good-will for your bank when times are as they are today. Craddick Service advertising is not a sunshade to be used only when the sun o f prosperity and good times is shining brightly upon your bank, but is as well a good old-fashioned um brella that will protect your interests when the rains o f adversity and poor business are whipping about your shoulders. While some bankers, unaware o f their opportunities at such times, are attempting poor economy by eliminat ing much or all o f their advertising efforts “ for the present,” Craddick Service clients are today calmly, cheer fully, hopefully, intelligently proceed ing with their advertising efforts, gathering to themselves rich rewards in better understanding with their customers. Let us give you more detailed in formation about our service and how easily and economically it may be ap plied to your bank’s needs. CRADDICK SERVICE, INC. - MINNEAPOLIS - MINNESOTA Southern Office : ATLANTA, GEORGIA R A https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis I C July, 1924 THE . * NORTHWESTERN M IN N E S O T A BANK NEW S O F F IC E R S C. A. CHAPMAN President M IN N E S O T A BANKERS 79 , w A S S O C IA T IO N C. A. Chapman, President.......... President First National Bank, Rochester F. P, Fellows, Vice President, Vice President Capital Trust & Savings Bank .................................................................................................... St. Paul J . J. Maloney, Treasurer, Cashier Farmers State Bank......... Heron Lake G. H. Richards, Secretary.......................................................... Minneapolis Minnesota Bankers Convention The thirty-fifth annual convention of the Minnesota Bankers Association was held in St. Paul on June 4, 5 and 6. C. A. Chapman, president of the association, presided at the meetings and introduced the speakers. The evening meeting preceding the convention proved a real success this year, the same as it did last year. At these gatherings topics of interest were discussed and many new ideas helpful to the banking fraternity brought for ward by the members present. On the first day of the convention Geo. W. Hinman, of Chicago, spoke on busi ness and politics. He emphasized the fact that bankers and business men should take a more active part in the election of our representatives to con gress if we don’t wish to turn over the control of the government to the radical element of the country. On the second day of the convention Samuel B. Wilson and Ralph Parlette both gave very interesting addresses. On the last day of the convention A.. G. Divitt, of Fargo, N. Dak., spoke on the danger to constitutional government involved in proposed amendments to the constitution. On Wednesday evening a very delight ful entertainment was prepared for the guests on the large dancing floor at the Mercantile building of Montgomery, Ward & Co. Dancing, vaudeville and re freshments kept all the delegates in a happy and cheerful mood. A very optimistic feeling was ex pressed by almost all of the bankers pres ent and they are all firm in the belief that general business conditions are rap idly improving. In fact, Minnesota, with its large diversification of industry and agriculture is having very little trouble at this time. Robert W. Lindeke, vice president of the Merchants National Bank, St. Paul, was elected president of the Minnesota Bankers Association at the closing ses sion of the convention. J. J. Maloney of Heron Lake was chosen vice president, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis BANKER and J. K. Marton of Little Falls was selected as treasurer. Buys Rochester National The First National Bank, of Rochester, Minnesota, has purchased the stock of the Rochester National Bank, the oldest banking institution in the city. H. M. Nowell, president of the Rochester Na tional, has been in the banking business for the past 48 years. The Rochester National had deposits of half a million dollars. No change mill be made in the man agement of the First National, the offi cers being : J. H. Kahler, chairman of board ; C. A. Chapman, president ; Burt W. Eaton, vice president; L. J. Fiegel, cashier; F. L. Josselyn, assistant cashier; E. A. Cegal, assistant cashier. Buy Interests at Kasson C. L. Palmer, of Britt, Iowa, his son, C. G. Palmer, a former cashier of the bank, and G. Skogsmark, present cash ier, have purchased the interests of W. N. Parkhurst in the National Farm ers Bank, of Kasson, Minnesota. This in stitution was organized in 1902 by Mr. Parkhurst and J. G. Little, Sr. It is capitalized at $40,000, with a surplus of $10,000. Celebrates 20th Anniversary The Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, re cently celebrated its twentieth anniver sary. To commemorate the occasion, the bank sent out to its customers and friends a four-page folder, tabulating the growth of the institution. This bank now has resources of nearly a million dollars. Officers include: E. O. Habberstad, president; O. G. Anderson, vice president; G. R. Johnson, cashier; O. O. Olsen, assistant cashier. Farmers State, Wabasso The Farmers State Bank of Wabasso, Minnesota, has been reorganized with the following officers: Wm. Raveling, president; Yal. P. Jenniges, vice presi G. H. RICHARDS Secretary dent; Wm. F. Smasal, cashier; W. R. Remark, assistant cashier; Wm. Ravel ing, Yal. P. Jenniges, Aug. Bloedow, J. M. Little and A. J. Fritz as directors. Minnesota Banker Dead A. J. Kile, chairman of the board of directors of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Minneota, Minnesota, died recently at his home in that city. He was a pioneer business man in Min neota. Changes at Glenwood George W. Hughes and R. Ci Klinkenberg, president and cashier of the First National Bank, Glenwood, Min nesota, recently disposed of their in terests in the First National Bank to M. Z. Daily, A. L. Warner and Tom O. Mason, and at a special meeting of the directors the following officers were elected to fill the vacancies of Mr. Hughes and Mr. Klinkenberg: A. L. Warner, president; M. Z. Daily, cashier; who, with W. F. Dougherty, C. M. Tor rens and Tom O. Mason, comprise the board of directors. Air. Warner, the new president, is also president of the Bankers National Bank of Minneapolis. Mr. Daily; the new cashier, comes to Glenwood from Faribault, Minn. For a number of years he was cashier of the First National Bank at Elk River, and later vice president of the Faribault State Bank. He has been in the bank ing business in Minnesota practically all his life. Duluth School Savings Students in Duluth, Alinnesota, schools deposited $14,625.65 through the Du luth Banks School Thrift Association during the month of May, which es tablishes the highest savings record for that month since the association was organized. This amount is an increase of $2,651.34 over the amount local pupils saved during Alay, 1923. During the month a total of 50,912 deposits were made, which is an increase of 12,695 so THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER deposits over the record in May, 1923. New accounts gained during the month totaled 152. Speaking of the benefits to the school through thrift work, Carl T. Wise, prin cipal of the Lincoln junior high school, says: ‘ 1 The outstanding educational values of school banking are personal thrift, the actual mechanical part taken in banking, and united thrift effort. Classifying the school as a civic unit, one may say that students gain a com munity consciousness, have community effort, and the results gained therefrom shoAV to what extent that consciousness is effective. In a democratic form of government, concerted effort for worth while projects can not be over-estimated in education.” of $400,000.00. Officers include : Leon A. Williams, president; M. E. Garrison, vice president; L. Anderson, cashier; M. J. Moriarty, assistant cashier; H. O. Ivragness, assistant cashier; F. M. Kuhlman, bookkeeper and stenographer. First National, Delano A new bank known as the Security State Bank has been opened for business at Hammond, Minn. The new bank is located in the building formerly occupied by the Farmers State. Officers of the new institution are : President, N. Schouweiler; cashier, G. N. Reppe; assistant cashiers, W. E. York and A. S. Funk. The new institution is capitalized at $20,000.00 and has deposits of $440,000.00. De Graff Banker Dead James J. McQuaid, president of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of De Graff, Minnesota, and a resident of Swift county since 1876, died recently at his home in De Graff. Mr. McQuaid was 86 years of age at his death and was a native of Ireland. He was actively en gaged in the grain and stock business and farming until the time of his death. The cause of death was pneumonia. New Bank at Hammond A. H. Ney, of the First National Bank of Delano, Minnesota, has been elected cashier of the Security State Bank o f Maple Lake, Minn. W. B. Lennan, formerly of the First National Bank of Mason City, Iowa, has been elected as sistant cashier of the First National Bank of Delano to succeed Mr. Ney. Has 30th Anniversary The Citizens State Bank of Slayton, Minnesota, recently celebrated its thir tieth anniversary. This institution is capitalized at $40,000 and has deposits Realtors and Bankers Meet Plans for furthering commercial and agriculture activity in Otter Tail county were discussed at meetings at Fergus July, 1924 Falls of the Otter Tail County Real Estate Board and the Otter Tail County Bankers Association. A feature of the plan was an extensive advertising pro gram, which will be financed by private subscriptions and through a grant from the Otter Tail county commissioners. W. H. Evans, Minneapolis realtor, officially represented the Minnesota Realty Association. Mr. Evans spoke before the real estate men in connec tion with the reorganization of the Otter Tail board, which is now being ef fected, and before the bankers on “ The Present and Future Farm Land Market in Minnesota.” He pointed out that a large number of men who sold their farms are now buying them back or purchasing others, that the number of farm purchases in the state is on the increase and that many people from outside Minnesota are now acquiring land in the state. Duluth Chapter Elects George Jacobson, of the First Na tional Bank, was elected president of the Duluth, Minnesota, chapter, Ameri can Institute of Banking, at the annual meeting and banquet of the institute at the Chamber of Commerce. Other o f ficers elected are Russell Burns, Amer ican Exchange, first vice president; S. J. Nelson, Northern National, second vice president; secretary, Julia Cum- Bureau o f Canadian Information The Canadian Pacific Railway through its Bureau of Canadian Information, will furnish you with the latest reliable information on every phase of in dustrial and agricultural development in Canada. In the Reference Libraries maintained at Chicago, New York and Montreal are complete data on natural resources, climate, labor, transportation, business openings, etc., in Canada. Additional data is con stantly being added. Development Branch If you are considering the establishment of your industry in Canada, either to develop your Canadian business or export trade, you are invited to consult this Branch. An expert staff is maintained to acquire and investigate information relative to Canadian in dustrial raw materials. Information as to such raw materials as well as upon any practical problem affecting the establishment of your industry, includ ing markets, competition, labor costs, power, fuel, etc., is available. No charge or obligation attached to the above services. Busi ness men and organizations are invited to make use of it. C A N A D I A N P A C I F I C R A IL W A Y De p a rt m e n t of C olo nization and D evelo pm ent W in d s o r Station M ontreal, Can. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis C. P. R . B u ild in g M adison Ave. at 4 4 t h St. New Y o rk 1 65 E. O nta rio St. Chicago July, 1924 THE mings, Bank of Commerce & Savings; treasurer, Howard Bernard, American Exchange; executive council, Paul Ru dolph, First National; J. R. Colbeck, Minnesota National; Lucille Filiatrault, Bank of Commerce & Savings. Robert McGee, of the City National Bank and retiring president of the in stitution, presided. Rev. Harry G. Walker was the principal speaker and chose as his topic, “ Confidence.” He emphasized the need of confidence be tween the public and the banker, and the need of confidence of people in themselves and in the times in which they live. Other speakers were George Glick and Lewis G. Castle. Clyde Peterson, Central high school student, entertained with songs. A dance followed. NORTHWESTERN BANKER Norum, chairman of Agricultural Com mittee; Geo. H. Newbert, chairman Banking Practice and Ethics Committee ; C. J. Eklund, chairman Legislative Com mittee. The constitution and by-laws recom mended by the Minnesota Bankers As sociation was approved and various mat ters of interest were discussed. The association also passed a resolution, whereby all banks in the county will close on Saturdays at 1 o ’clock p. m., during July and August. This is in ac cordance with a similar resolution passed by the Isanti and Chisago County Bankers Associations. 81 Retires at Bricelyn George S. Smith has retired as presi dent of the First National Bank, of Bricelyn, Minnesota, on account of ill health. He is succeeded by E. 0. Lund. P. J. Flo has purchased Mr. Smith’s stock in the bank. Minneapolis Banks Merge The Republic State Bank and the Security State Bank of Minneapolis have been merged under the name of the Se curity State Bank and will use the bank ing home of the Security State at Nicol let and Eleventh Streets. The new bank will have total resources of about $700,- Resigns as Cashier G. M. Seaberg, who has been cashier of the Truman National, Truman, Minne sota, for the past twenty years, has re signed from that position to take care of his extensive real estate holdings. His duties as cashier are being looked after by Vice President R. G. Yandry. Kanabe Bankers Organize At a meeting of all the bankers of Kanabe County, Minnesota, held at Mora, a county organization was ef fected to be known as the Kanabe County Bankers Association, and the following officers were elected to hold office until the first annual meeting: V. W. Peterson, president; A. T. Westrom, first vice president; E. J. Palmer, second vice president ; Frank P. Powers, secretary; M. F. Skoglund, treasurer. Chas. T. Peterson, chairman of Educational Committee; Geo. H. ST. PAUL M INN. W o r k in g A s s e ts T H E IN V E N T O R Y Commercial Research is the f i n e s i e v e which successful business uses to secure greater profits from the possibilities hidden in the Working Assets. It is this sieve that separates the Quick from the Dead in Inventories. It determines t r u e lines, quantities, prices— and all other factors which are potent in effecting a higher rate of turnover. It is one thing to know the annual turnover; quite another, and more important, to know at all times, all the motive forces behind turnover and how these forces can be increased in power. A comprehensive system for analyzing markets and merchandise— a c o n t r o l system for mer chandise inventories— is a fundamental neces sity toward securing more frequent turnover. Such a system puts the Working Assets to work more fully; decreases costs, increases profits; makes smoother progress and greater strength assured. E R N S T A U D IT S menea £ Robert at Seventh ¿ I n t r o n i Bank for fvwvS? at W o rk E R N ST & — SYSTEM S TAX S E R V IC E N E W YO RK BUFFALO ROCHESTER BOSTON CLEVELAND CIN CINN ATI TOLEDO COLUMBUS PROVIDENCE PHI L A D E L P H IA BALTIMORE R IC H M O N D YOUNGSTOWN A KR ON CANTON DA YTON LO U IS V IL L E DETROIT G r an d rapid s KALAMAZOO PITT SB URGH WH EELING ER IE CHICAGO M ILW AUK EE M EM PH IS M IN N E A P O L I S ST. PA U L DAVENPORT INDIANAPOLIS ST. LOUIS K A N S A S CITY OMAHA DEN VER LOS ANGELES ATLANTA NEW ORLEANS DALLAS HOUSTON FO RT W O R T H SA N ANTO NIO WACO SA N F R A N C I S C O TAX O F F IC E : 9 1 0 TO 9 1 8 M U NSEY B L D G .. W A S H IN G T O N , D. C. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis THE 82 Hold Annual Peony Show The 1924 peony show, put on by the First National Bank of St. Paul, was a great success, with thousands of blooms on exhibition. The show is open an nually to amateurs only, and is divided into two classes. Besides the sweepstakes prize, in both classes, five prizes in each of twenty-five classes were awarded. ,J BANKER Will Direct Potato Shipping Fred P. Fellows, former vice president of the Capital Trust and Savings Bank, St. Paul, also former president of the Minnesota Bankers Association, is the new director of the finance and account ing department of the Minnesota Potato Growers Exchange, with headquarters in St. Paul. He will be in charge of the financing and marketing of the several million bushels of potatoes marketed an nually by this association. 000. Geo. F. Kirscher continues as pres ident of the bank, with A. R. Chestnut as vice president and C. A. Peterson, cashier. Edward Mattson, who was in charge of the insurance department of the Republic State will continue in that capacity for the Security State. 3§ p NORTHWESTERN L. M. Lilly to Leave L. M. Lilly, vice president of the Farm ers and Merchants State Bank and of the Grand Avenue State Bank, St. Paul, "" " G e n e r a l V M o t o r s A c c e p t a n c e NEW ^ C o r p o r a t io n Y O R K C IT Y M arch 3 1 , 1 9 2 4 Capital................................................... $ 9 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 Surplus & Undivided Profits........ 3 ,7 4 9 ,0 0 0 Total Resources............................. $ 1 1 1 ,0 0 6 ,0 0 0 ‘D ipjicto'RS C U R TIS C. CO O PER, PresidentA L B E R T L. DEAN E, Vice President IRENÉE d u PO N T , President, E. I. du Pont de Nemours (cf Co.; and, Director General Motors Corporation. LA M M O T d u PO N T , Vice President, E. J. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; and, Di rector General Motors Corporation. PIERRE S. d u PO N T, Chairman, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; and9 Gen eral Motors Corporation. O. H. P. LA FA RG E, General Motors Corporation. JOHbi J. RASK.OB, Chairman Finance Committee, General Motors Corporation; and, Director E. J. du Pont de Nemours & Co. T he o b lig a tio n s o f th is in stitu tio n are reg ard ed as an a p p rop riate and sou n d m e d iu m fo r sh o rt te r m i n v e stm e n t b y a la rg e b a n k in g c lie n tele. T h e y m ay c o n v e n ie n t be o b ta in e d d e n o m in a tio n s in and su itable m a tu ritie s. A d d ress F in a n c ia l Sales D e p a r t m e n t at a n y o ffice. JO H N J. SC H U M A N N , J R ., Vice President D O N A L D M. S P A ID A L , Vice President ALFR E D 'H . S W A Y N E , Vice President and Directory General Motors Corpora tion. Sxecurive Offices 224 W est 5 7 T H Street, N ew Y ork. C it y Officers ALFR ED H. S W A Y N E , Chairman C U R T IS C. CO O PER , President JO H N J- S C H U M A N N ,J R ., Vice President ‘Bt^ajcchcs A L B E R T L. DEAN E, Vice President ATLANTA D a'Y T O N JAM ES H . M cM A H O N , Vice President BOSTON DENVER PH ILA D E LPH IA REUNE M A R T I N , Treasurer BUFFALO D E T R O IT PITTSB U R GH GEO. H . B A R T H O L O M E W , Secretary C H IC A G O K AN SAS C IT Y P O R T L A N D , ORE. C IN C IN N A T I LOS ANGELES ST. LOUIS CLEVELAN D M IN N EA PO LIS SAN FRANCISCO D O N A L D M .S P A ID A L , Vice President L IV IN G S T O N L. SH O R T , Counse! F. S T A N L E Y j. ‘j&iK P A R S O N , Auditor JOSEPH L. M YE RS General Manager, Financial Sales Department. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis N EW Y O R K D A LL A S W A S H IN G T O N , D .C . LO N D O N , ENG. TO RO N TO , CAN ADA July, 1924 severs his business connections with both institutions July 1 to become vice presi dent and general manager of the Chicago Acceptance Corporation, at Chicago. Mr. Lilly organized both of the banks which he is now leaving. Ottertail Bank Election At the meeting of the Farmers State Bank of Ottertail, Minnesota, the fol lowing directors and officers were elected: Directors: IT. H. Brutlag, H. A. Schultz, Herman Grefe, Ernest Dreyer, Chas. Wegener. The officers are: H. H. Brutlag, pres ident; H. A. Schultz and Herman Grefe, vice presidents; C. F. Stephens, cashier. Control Changes at Glenwood Control of the First National Bank of Glenwood, Minnesota, has been changed to A. L. Warner and M. Z. Daily, the latter being active as cashier, Mr. War ner, president. R. C. Ivlinkenberg, cashier of the First National Bank, has resigned to go into the wholesale salted peanut busi ness, and insurance. Tells About Europe Europe, regarded from the standpoint of production and employment, is in ex cellent condition, better than an Amer ican visitor has any reason to expect, in the opinion of E. W. Decker, presi dent of the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis, who arrived home re cently after a two months’ tour of Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and England. Mr. Decker, with Mrs. Decker and their two daughters, Susan and Eliza beth, sailed from New York on March 27, disembarking at Naples and traveling northward. There are two things, however, which Europe must do to bring about the re turn of genuine, stable prosperity, Mr. Decker declared. They are : ‘ ‘ Settle the reparations question and balance the budgets of the various na tions. “ Stabilize the currencies of the sev eral countries, which only can be done by adoption of a permanent gold basis. “ In both Italy and France, agricul tural conditions are very good, with no unemployment whatever, the fields beau tifully cultivated and crops excellent, due to plenty of rain. Italy is prosper ous, with a big export business, a bal anced budget and widespread confidence in the ability and integrity of Premier Mussolini. France has virtually com pleted her restoration of the war area. ‘ ‘ The French people show a tendency toward more modified feelings toward Germany, especially in regard to the Ruhr and the reparations question. Bel gium also is on the upgrade. Holland has been hit hard by the volume of Ger- July, 1924 T II E man marks dumped on the country by Germany and by the loss of shipping bus iness caused by the collapse of German industry. England has turned the corner in her post-war adjustment, with unem ployment still a big problem but decreas ing. The English are great financiers. They have cut expenses, increased taxes and are coming steadily closer to the payas-you-go system.” NORTHWESTERN BANKER POLITICS AND BUSINESS Politics would not disturb business periodically if all office seekers had the courage of their convictions. Honesty should be a factor in politics as well as in business. It is every citizen’s duty to vote and all voters should be in politics. THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK D U L U T H , M IN N . CAPITAL, SURPLUS AND PROFITS, $4,000,000.00 The hank o f c o m p le te p e r s o n a l s e r v ic e . Declares Conditions Unfair 11 The reason the farmers in this sec tion are not richer is because the cards have been stacked against them,” de clared E. G. Quamme, president of the Federal Reserve Land Bank, recently at a meeting in St. Paul in which he assured the president of the American Wheat Growers’ Association that it had the sup port of the St. Paul association. ‘ ‘ The farmers of the northwest are just as thrifty as ever. They are more effi cient. They are producing more per capita than ever before. ‘ 1 The East is prospering on cheap food produced at the expense of the western farmer. ’ ’ Ole Sageng, candidate for United States senator, and W. J. Brown of Thief River Palls, president of the wheat grow ers, spoke as well. Other speakers were W. B. Bosworth of Ada, Edward Hagen, Chippewa county, and John Burgess, Min neapolis, vice president of the Metropoli tan Bank. If Tg r a d e B urglar Ò5M.ARM. T h is tem is R e q u ir e d U n d e r w r it e r s G rad e S ystem by the t o r ie s THE HIGHEST GRADE H ig h e s t the by G rade the a n d Sys In s u r a n c e th e H ig h e s t P a s s e d a n d L is t e d U n d e r w r it e r s Labo ra , In c . W e Have C omplete t r ic a l Bank Mo re E lec Local B urglar A larm S ystems T han A ll O t h e r C ompanies bined. C om THE O U T W A R D SIGN OF INWARD SECURITY” S E N D TO US FOR INFORMATION A B O U T Va u l t C lassificatio n s O . B. M C C L I N T O C K C O . PAID UP C A P IT A L M O R E T H A N * 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 MINNEAPOLIS. MINNESOTA 30 C H U R C H ST. COPYRIGHT 647 S A N TA FE AVE. 1924 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis O . B. M C C L I N T O C K CO. Northwestern Banker Advertising Pays 83: THE 84 N O E T II W E S T E E X BANKEE July, 1924 Elected Cashier Clarence S. Johnson has been advanced from assistant cashier to cashier of the Security State Bank, of Houston, Minne sota. He succeeds the late Norman E. Forsyth. Heymann Elected President J. A. Heymann has been promoted from the position of cashier to presi dent of the Caledonia State Bank, of Caledonia, Minnesota. A. M. Eiken, formerly assistant cashier succeeds Mr. Heymann as cashier. Elect New Officers C. A. Schrunk, of Minneapolis, Minne sota, has accepted the position of cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, of Russell, Minnesota, to succeed Lud vig Hanson who resigned. M. Glemmestad was elected first vice president. First National, Courtenay The First National Bank of Courte nay, North Dakota, has been reorganized with the following officers in charge : President, H. W. Hooper ; vice presidents, R. B. Milne and C. H. Prosser; cashier, George E. Berg; assistant cashier, D. H. McCully. All the stock is now owned by Courtenay people. The bank is capital ized at $25,000.00. Surplus, $4000.00. File Application The Mercantile State Bank of Minne apolis, Minnesota, has filed application with the comptroller of the currency for conversion to the Mercantile Na tional Bank. " r T 1H E C on tin en tal an d C om m ercia l B anks, and **“ the co m p on en ts fro m w h ich th ey sprang, have always h ad th e guidance an d leadership o f m e n — m en capable o f th in k in g in term s o f states and sections an d continents, m e n o f vision and pur pose w ith m in d s to conceive and the will to execute large plans. L ike the B anks and th e bu ildings, the present directors and officers have been b rou gh t together by a centering— a centripetal process, w hich m ay be defin ed as a process o f natural selection w hen applied to m e n .” Elected Vice President Jens Svee succeeds the late C. J. Chamberlin as vice president of the Ramsey County National Bank of Devils Lake, North Dakota. Ponsford Elected President James J. Ponsford has been elected president of the First State Bank of Stewartville, Minnesota. He was for merly vice president of the bank. M. J. Dixon, formerly cashier, has been elected vice president and H. N. Lenton has been promoted from assistant cashier to cash ier. Lloyd Benedict has been elected as sistant cashier. ___ An excerpt from " The Making o f a Modern Bank,” a copy of 'which will be sent to any banker free upon request. T heCONTINENTAL COMMERCIAL B A N K S C H IC A G O Wells Banker Dead Clarence E. Anderson, cashier of the Wells National Bank of Wells, Minne sota, died recently in a hospital at Red Wing, following an operation. He had been ill for several months. Mailing L is t s Will help you increase sale3 I Send for FREE catalog giving county and prices on thousands o f classified names of your best prospective custom ers—National, State andLocal—Individuals. Professions, Business Concerns. ~ 7/ G u a r a n t e e d C £ , 'O by refund of J ‘ e a c h Resources More Than $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 ,0 0 0 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis " An Extra Measure o f Service ” July, 1924 TH E NOR THW ESTE R N BANKER 85 NORTH D AK O TA B A N K N E W S O F F IC E R S N O R T H D A K O T A BANKERS A S S O C IA T IO N M. R. Porter, President, Vice President Scandinavian-American ® ank-...................................................................................................................... Minot Blanding- Fisher, Vice President, President Ramsey County National B a n k .......................................................................................................... Devils Lake R. H. Garmer, Treasurer, President First Bank of Flaxton. ................ Flaxton W. C. Macfadden, Secretary.................................................................................. Fareo NORTH DAKOTA BANK NEWS The Green State Bank has changed its corporate name and headquarters from the Greene State Bank, Greene, North Dakota, to the Security State Bank at Tolley, North Dakota. The Security State Bank of Milton has moved to Orr and is now operating under the title of Security Bank of Orr. C. I. F. Wagner succeeds Jas. A. Brown as cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Rolla. Mr. Wagner was for merly vice president. The Michigan City Bank, which has been operating under a special deposit arrangement, reopened for general bank ing business on June 2d. Mary E. McSherry is the new book keeper with the Pisek State Bank. Michael Tschida succeeds Jos. P. Hess as director and vice president of the Merchants State Bank at Glen Ullin. The State Bank of Hannah, which has been operating under a special deposit arrangement, reopened for general bank ing business on June 2d. Clarence Thompson succeeds R. 0. Knudsen as assistant cashier of the State Bank of Bremen. A charter has been issued to the Union Bank of Portal with an authorized capi tal of $15,000.00. The directors are as follow s: Jerry Daley, Arthur Kateley and C. H. Marshall. Is Elected Vice President R. D. Gillies, cashier of the Cando Na tional Bank of Cando, North Dakota, since 1904, has been elected vice presi dent of that institution. The cashiership has been filled by the election of K. K. Brainard, formerly cashier of the First National Bank of Durand, Wisconsin. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Another Bank Reopens Northeast Bankers Meet The sixth bank to be reopened in North Dakota through assistance of the $10,000,000 agricultural credit corpora tion, with headquarters in Minneapolis, was reported recently, when the First State Bank of Hastings, Barnes county, resumed business. The bank closed last fall because of “ frozen assets” and I oav reserves. The credit corporation aided in reorganiza tion and loaned money direct to the stockholders. The bank has a capital of $15,000 and deposits of $175,000. A. Eggan is president and 0. T. Olson is cashier. The present state government was commended, need of legislation to pre vent further issuance of tax-exempt se curities was expressed, and elimination of banks of small usefulness by consoli dation or liquidation was urged in reso lutions adopted by the northeastern dis trict of the North Dakota Bankers As sociation at Grand Forks, North Da kota. J. H. Lyford, of Fail-dale, was elected president; P. E. Johnson, of Petersburg, vice president; C. S. Robertson, of Milton, secretary-treasurer. Missouri Slope Meeting The Bank of Valley City of Valley City, North Dakota, has been reopened. The same officers, with the exception of E. O. Nestoss, cashier, and J. J. Early, will have charge of the bank, it was stated. Valley City Bank Reopens Herman Leutz of Taylor was elected president of the Missouri Slope Group, North Dakota Bankers Association, at the annual convention held at Mandan, North Dakota. Other officers are : George Leonhart, Hazelton, vice president; E. O. Tollefson, Dickinson, secretary; E. A. Ripley, Mandan, treasurer; R. E. Truesdale, Mott, member of state nominating com mittee ; A. H. Peterson, retiring presi dent, member State Bankers Associa tion Council. Dickinson will entertain the group next year. Two More Banks Reopen The State Bank of Hannah and the Michigan City Bank of Michigan, North Dakota, have been reopened for business. The officials of the State Bank of Han nah are: President, C. B. McMillan; vice presidents, Thomas Prior and Alec Reid; cashier, M. J. Dixon. The capi tal stock of the bank is given as $40,000, surplus, $10,000 and deposits, $300,000. The officials of the Michigan City bank are George Reed, president; Oliver Knudson, vice president; and Lulu Ivnudson, cashier. The capital o f this bank is $10,000, surplus, $2,000 and deposits, $150,000. Robbery at Abercrombie Robbers recently broke into the State Bank of Abercrombie, North Dakota, and escaped with $5,000 in cash, $4,200 in Liberty bonds and an undetermined amount of collateral. Wires were cut and a telephone employe gagged. A posse followed the trail into Minnesota near Wheaton. Lindquist Elected President F. D. Lindquist, vice president of the State Bank of Dundee, Minnesota, has been elected president and August Suding has been advanced from assistant cashier to vice president. F. D. Sontag is cashier and H. N. Rye is assistant cashier. Children know, Instinctive taught, the friend and foe. — Scott. Wheresoever you see your kindred, make much of your friends.— Proverb. A distant relative who is “ close” is both far and near. THE 86 NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 G-arner Banker Resigns <s> 3 Isaac Sweigard, president of the Farmers National Bank, of Garner, Iowa, has resigned. He is succeeded by J. N. Sproule, former vice president. Stanhope Banker Dead I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y 1 7 7 6 - 1 9 2 4 Hans Fardal, one of the organizers of the Stanhope State Bank, of Stanhope, Iowa, and inactive president of that in stitution until the past year, died re cently at his home in Stanhope after an illness extending over the past two years. His son, Elmer G. Fardal, has been presi dent of the bank since his father’s re tirement in January of this year. Palmer Banker Dies N E H U N D R E D and forty-eight years ago today a little group of serious-minded men cut the bonds of race, of family blood, of natural loyalty and of com merce that they might have the freedom of strong men — able and anxious to per form the duties of productive citizenship, in industry, in thrift, in moderation and in respectful recognition of law fully constituted authority. O As we celebrate this day let us be proud and grateful for their purpose; let us pledge ourselves anew to the kind of freedom they established. F. S. White, at one time cashier and later vice president of the Farmers Sav ings Bank, of Palmer, Iowa, died re cently at Webster City, Iowa, following an extended illness. Mr. White had re tired from business several years ago on account of ill health. Is Elected President O. G. Hamilton has been elected presi dent of the People’s State Bank, of Guthrie Center, Iowa, succeeding to the position left vacant by the death of the late Senator F. M. Hopkins. Mr. Hamilton was for a time cashier of the Farmers Savings Bank, Hepburn, Iowa, acted as receiver for the Clarinda Trust and Savings Bank, and later be came vice president of the Clarinda Na tional Bank. Two years ago Mr. Hamil ton succeeded his brother, the late W. K. Hamilton, as cashier of the People’s State Bank. He was former county su perintendent of Guthrie county for nine years. Installs Radio Set The First National Bank, of Webster City, has installed a radio set for the benefit of their reports as received three times each day from Station WHO, Des Moines. Ida Grove Banker Married riRnVERS ALiNational Bank“ ^ * Union Sto dtVards - Chicago Reese F. Kiner, assistant cashier of the Anderson Lipton & Co. Bank at Ida Grove, Iowa, was married recently at the Little Brown Church in the Vale, Nashua, Iowa, to Miss Ludmilla Clara Hlavaty, of Wagner, South Dakota. They will make their home in Ida Grove. New Banks at Beaver A new bank known as the Farmers Savings Bank, of Beaver, Iowa, has been opened for business with capital stock of $20,000. Henry Bruns, Sr., is presi dent of the new institution. Other offi cers include: H. A. Bruns, cashier; Lenon Sifrit, assistant cashier. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis THE July, 1924 I O W A NORTHWESTERN 87 BANKER B A N K N E W S COUNCIL O F A D M IN IS T R A T IO N Iow a B an kers A ssociation A D M IN IS T R A T IV E C O M M IT T E E C. E. Narey, President, President First National B ank.............Spirit Lake Carl M. Keck, Vice President, Vice Pres. Commercial Savings.Washing-ton Fred S. Richards, Treasurer, Cashier First National B ank...........McGregor Frank Warner, Secretary ...................................................................... Des Moines G R O U P C H A IR M E N C. E. NAREY President C. C. Jacobsen, Chm. Group 1 ...........President First State Bank, Mapleton E F King, Chm. Group 2 . . President First National Bank, Webster City. M. C. Sweney, Chm. Group 3. .President Mitchell County Savings, Osage Wm. Reinecke, Chm. Group 4 ...........Cashier Strawberry Point State Bank Fred Durbin, Chm. Group 5 ...........: ............ Cashier Malvern National Bank W . C. Bergman, Chm. Group 6. . . .President First National Bank, Newton W. R. Finlayson, Chm. Group 7, Pres. First National Bank, Grundy Center Joseph Kelso, Chm. Group 8................. Cashier Bank of J. Kelso, Bellevue D. V. Ferris, Chm. Group 9 ...........Cashier First National Bank, Diagonal C. D. Evans, Chm. Group 1 0 . . . Cashier South Ottumwa Savings, Ottumwa T. R. Richardson, Chm. Group 11,Cash. Commercial State Bank, Mediaplois A. M. Henderson, ex-officio.........Cashier First National Bank, Story City FRANK WARNER Secretary Twelve Hundred Iowa Bankers at Mason City Convention “Shop talk’1 and development of a greater Iowa form basis of best meeting in history of state association ROM north, south, east and west, nearly fifteen hundred bankers gath ered to attend the thirty-eighth an nual convention of the Iowa Bankers Association, held at Mason City, June 16, 17 and 18. C. J. Wohlenberg, president of the Holstein Savings Bank, was elected presi dent for the ensuing year; M. C. Sweney, president of the Mitchell County Savings Bank of Osage, was elected vice presi dent; and N. C. Hoffman, cashier of the Murray State Bank, was elected treas urer. Dubuque was selected for the 1925 convention city. Royal entertainment by the Mason City hosts, a brilliant array of speakers, and fair weather contributed to an enjoyable and profitable meeting that was warmly indorsed by countless groups of bankers and their wives in their conversation heard around convention headquarters F M. C. SWENEY https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis By J. J. W engerí Associate Editor Northwestern Banker NEW OFFICERS ELECTED President—C. J. Wohlenberg, Holstein Vice President—M. C. Sweney, Osage Treasurer—N. C. Hoffman, Murray Secretary— (re-elected) Frank Warner, Des Moines and at the various places of entertain ment. W. G. C. Bagley, vice president of the First National Bank of Mason City, de serves much credit for his work as chair man of the entertainment committee. Due to him, golf, sightseeing tours, musi cales, stag parties and the annual dance were all made most enjoyable events. Preliminaries to the convention were held Monday afternoon at a gathering of the presidents and secretaries of the ninety-nine county hankers associations. C. R. Wooden, of Centerville, president of the organization of officers of the county bankers associations, presided at this meeting and gave a brief talk on some of the problems of the day. C. E. Narey, of Spirit Lake, president of the Iowa Bankers Association, then spoke on the successful work of the legis lative committee during the past year following which R. O. Byerrum, secre tary of the Scott County Bankers As sociation and cashier of the Bettendorf Savings Bank, introduced the question, ‘ ‘ Should we have a state law to forbid banks paying in excess of 4 per cent on time money?” Others who spoke on this topic were F. S. Richards, chairman of the com mittee of Group Four; A. S. Lund of Northwood, president of the Worth County Bankers Association; C. G. Cole, of Manchester, president of the Delaware County Bankers Association; George W. Gates, of Marble Rock, president of the Floyd County assiciation, and J. B. Van Horn, of Iowa City, president of the Johnson County Association. “ County Credit Files” was the sub ject of discussion led by Carl E. Childs, secretary of the Poweshiek association, a Grinnell banker. Earl Barger, of Charles City, secretary of the Floyd County Bankers Association, and W. A. Sandburg, of Lytton, president of the Sac county association, followed. Another topic discussed was whether N. C. HOFFMAN THE 88 NORTHWESTERN BANKER 1924 The Measure of Service is reflected in the satisfaction ex pressed by custom ers of a bank. M an y out o f tow n banks have ex pressed their satisfaction and ap proval o f the prom pt and efficient w ay in which the Consolidated N ational Bank handles their busi ness. Y e a r s o f experience enable us to help you in every w a y -a n d you w ill find that our officers take an earnest interest in your problem s. The Consolidated N ational Bank w ill give you its full m easure o f service as your Dubuque correspondent. Consolidated National Bank U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P O S IT O R Y DUBUQUE, IOWA Burns Brothers Company D es M oines, Iow a DEALERS AND DISTRIBUTORS Investment Securities 313 Fifth Avenue https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Phone W alnut 1057 July, 1924 or not a state committee should be ap pointed to appoint a general clearing house plan. “ The Worth of Diversifying Loans” was discussed by Ivan 0. Hasbrouck, of Des Moines, president of the Polk county association; Fred H. Wray, of Waterloo, president of the Black Hawk county as sociation; and Harry T. Broders, of Hartley, president of the O ’Brien as sociation. Methods of improving the state vig ilance committee work was discussed by H. C. Berger, of Storm Lake, secretary of the Buena Vista connty association; Gleorge Kriebs, of Elkport, president of the Clayton county association; George W. Gates, of Marble Rock, president of the Floyd county association, and A1 Sanderson, of Melbourne, president of the Marshall county association. J. F. Weber, president of the Wapello county association, and an officer of an Ottumwa bank, led the discussion on the new bank tax law, dealing chiefly with what bankers can do in its administra tion. W. A. Dexter, of Toledo, president of the Tama county association, and Carl H. Lane, of Indianola, president of the Warren county association, also spoke on this subject. “ What Can Iowa Do for H erself?” was a question which Harry B. Allfree of the First National Bank of Newton, a member of the legislative committee of the association and vice president of the Iowa Good Roads Association, opened for discussion.' At the close of this meeting the follow ing officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, Al. Sanderman, cash ier of the Melbourne Savings Bank and president of the Marshall County Bank ers Association; vice president, A. P. Cronk, cashier of the First National Bank of Everly and president of the Clay County Bankers Association; sec retary-treasurer, H. L. Swenson, cashier of the First National Bank and secre tary of the Clayton County Bankers As sociation. The convention pi’oper opened at 9 o ’clock Tuesday morning, with C. E. Narey of Spirit Lake, president of the association, presiding. Following invo cation by the Rev. Cuthbert F. Hinton, of St. John’s Episcopal Church of Mason City, the address of welcome was made by C. H. McNider, president of the First National Bank of Mason City. Mr. Mc Nider’s welcome was brief but it drew a hearty applause from the delegates assembled in the convention hall. E. W. Miller, president of the Com mercial National Bank of Waterloo, pre sented the ivory gavel to Mr. Narey at the close of the annual address of the president. Committee reports were then presented in the form of a sixty-page booklet. July, 1924 THE W. W. Head, president of the Omaha National Bank and of the American Bankers Association, spoke next on the program. Mr. Head’s subject was, “ Too Much Joy Riding.” He pointed out the reason for the present disparity of prices and stressed the importance of equity in costs of production and taxation. He concluded his address with the comment that artificial price-fixing would not be successful over a period of years. Senator H. S. Van Alstine, vice presi dent of the Gilmore City Exchange Bank, spoke on “ Corn Sugar as a Market for Iowa Corn.” The morning’s session was concluded with a meeting of the American Bank ers Association members from Iowa. The following elections were made: Thomas Watts, of Grand Junction, was elected member of the executive council; A. M. Henderson, of Story City, was made member of the council to take his seat if the Iowa members of the na tional association grows to 1,100 mem bers; 1. 0. Hasbrouck, of Des Moines, was made state vice president and Mel vin Ellis, of Charles City, nominating committeeman and S. T. Cole alternate committeeman. Vice presidents for the various divi sions were Mr. Knapp, of Des Moines; Gus Steuben, of Davenport; H. B. Allfree, of Newton; and C. E. Beman, of Oskaloosa. The Iowa Entertainers opened the afternoon session and were followed by one minute reports from the various group chairmen. Addresses by E. H. Lauer, of Iowa City; Major A. P. Simmonds, of New York City; and H. E. Byram, of Chicago, president of the C. M. & St. Paul Railway, filled the rest of the afternoon. Mr. Lauer, a rapid and energetic speaker, described the bankers short course, which is being offered by the university, aiM told of the interest that is being displayed in its development by men who have had some experience with it. Major A. P. Simmonds, of New York, who was in the military intelligence bu reau during the World War and still re tains a connection with it, spoke of the dangers of the encroaching radicalism in America. H. E. Bryam, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, con cluded the afternoon program with his address on “ Public Interest in Trans portation Problems.” He stated that railroads are now making a “ fair re turn” on their investments and there fore cannot be accused of maintaining exorbitant rates. He stated further that the railroads welcomed discussions of rates and concluded with the asser tion that it is apparent that the intent of some group leaders to take the rail roads out of the hands of their present https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis NORTHWESTERN BANKER 89 W orking W ith Prom pt, efficient serv ice is naturally our first and greatest concern in handling correspond ence. A t the sam e time, we are alw ays looking fo r w ays to serve you better, to fit our fa cili ties m ore closely to your needs. For this reason, suggestions from banks we serve are alw ays w elcom e. Ba n k e r s Trust Ga Ba n k Cor. 6th.andLocust Sts, Des M oines Capital $1,000,000. Surplus $ 2oo,ooo. M ember Federal Reserve B a n k OLD l in e : CEDAR RAPIDS LIFE INSURANCE CO. General Agency Chances Open in Four Western States A Good chance for Bankers with Ability of Management C J B ß io itb in s . J* r«a C J3 . S u o A o c t a . S e cy. HOME OFFICE : CEDAR RAPIDS. IOWA 90 T II E NORTHWESTERN BANKE R C ooperation Accepting accounts from bank ers is an easy and delightful piece of business. Paying for these accounts in service rendered is an entirely different business. The Stock Yards National Bank desires accounts from banks and has developed ways and means of serving these banks in exceptional ways which make them permanent customers. THE STOCK YAR D S N A T IO N A L B A N K of Chicago July, 1924 managers must be considered by the pub lic not as a promise but as a threat. The convention closed with the Wed nesday morning session which was fea tured by addresses by Fred I. Kent, vice president of the Bankers Trust Com pany of New York, and the Honorable Kenesaw Mountain Landis, former fed eral judge and now commissioner of base ball at Chicago. Mr. K ent’s address on “ America and the Dawes Plan” is print ed in this issue. Judge Landis spoke on various forms of fraud. He took a rap at Germany’s “ Mark Game,” pointed out interesting fallacies in the attitude of those op posing the bonus and said something con cerning gubernatorial and presidential pardons. His address held the undi vided attention of the audience for nearly an hour, following which invitations were presented by various cities for next year’s convention. Dubuque came out successful and the convention was ad journed. Peoples State Bank Reorganized Owing to the death of Hon. F. M. Hopkins, president of the Peoples State Bank, Guthrie Center, the official force was recently reorganized at a meeting of the directors. O. G. Hamilton, for merly cashier, was chosen president, K. B. O ’Dair, cashier, H. L. Cowden, as sistant cashier, Charles Flanery and W. F. Moore, vice presidents. The word of God tends to make large-minded, noble-minded men.— Beecher. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. -—Proverbs of Solomon. Treat your friend as if he is to be come your enemy.—Laberius. The fewer desires, the more peace.— Wilson. A man’s mind is known by the com pany he keeps.— Lowell. FIRST NATIONAL BANK, DIRECTORS B. F. SWISHER Pickett, Swisher & Farwell R. J. HOXIE Secretary Waterloo Fruit & Commission Co. A. M. PEACE Vice President E. E. P EEK Vice President Waterloo Bldg. & Loan Association. H. W. GROUT Real Estate C. A. MARSH President /â6S https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis rPHE First National Bank of Waterloo is 1 equipptd to give you the highest degree of SERVICE, and do it promptly and efficiently at all times. Fifty-eight years of steady con servative growth enables this bank to extend such service. OFFICERS C. A. MARSH, President A. M. PLACE, Vice President W ILL A. LANE. Cashier p W FTOTTAfFV. Assistant Oashipr O. L . M O R R IS , Assistant Cashier Total Resources Over $2,900 ,0 0 0 .0 0. XK^aterJoo, /<o w a DIRECTORS W. W. MARSH President Iowa Dairy Separa tor Co., President Associated Mfg. Co. J. T. SULLIVAN Lawyer. J. O. TRUMBAUER Vice President Farmers Loan and Trust Co. H. A. MAINE President H, A. Maine Sc Co. WILL A. LANE Cashier THE July, 1924 NORTHWESTERN 91 BANKER Seen and Heard at Mason City Pred Jones, deputy superintendent of banking for the state of Iowa, attended the convention and spread cheer in his wake with a score of mirth-provoking stories. “ Fred” at one time was con templating a life behind the footlights but banking proved too popular. W. G. C. Bagley, vice president of the First National Bank of Mason City, acted as general promoter and announcer at the big “ Pow-wow” and prize-fight at the armory. Tex Rickard has nothing on W. G. C. when it comes to staging some classy battles. reports that the new home of the re cently merged First National and Iowa National banks is rapidly nearing com pletion and that early fall will probably see them doing business in the big new building. C. H. McNider, president of the First National Bank of Mason City, was the hit of the convention with his address of welcome. Mr. McNider, who is a former president of the I. B. A., announced that he would only talk about a half an hour and then proceded to put out a real genuine welcome in just about three minutes. Needless to say, Mason City lived up to his promises. Basil I. Peterson, vice president of the Stock Yards National Bank of Chicago, was perhaps the most distinguished look ing man at the convention— needless to say, he was a distinct and decided suc cess at the big ball at the armory. A. K. 0. Cochrane, author, and golfer par-excellence of the Union Trust Com pany of Chicago, shot a mean 37 on the country club course at Mason City— he —$— Gordon Shaffer of the Second National Bank of New Hampton, blew some wicked notes on his accordion at the big “ Pow-wow” — which all proves that you can get a lot of keen enjoyment out of a new kind of banker note.— Mr. Shaffer’s are of the very latest variety. F o r SIXTY-TWO YEARS we have rendered a service that has won us the confidence and friend ship of our correspondents. We know this, because we have grown and our service has grown propor tionately in importance and value. — $— Robert L. Leach, superintendent of banking, was on hand at the convention with the report that banks in general are rapidly getting in better shape. We solicit your business on the basis of this service. “A big, friendly institution where the spirit is C. B. Mills, president of the Midland democratic and it is a pleasure to do business.” National Bank of Minneapolis makes a mighty good policeman—there’s a story out that he had a lot of fun with the help of Ben Larsen, cashier of the Se curity Trust & Savings Bank of Fort Dodge. It seems that there was a raid— but then we aren’t going to print all the details— anyhow, we must admit that “ Charlie” makes a good “ copper.” The Foreman National Bank TheForeman Trust andSavings Bank ( Succeeding Foreman Bros. Banking Company ) S.W . Cor. LaSalle and Washington Sts. Chicago, 111. Combined Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits exceed $6,000,000 — $— Percy Hall of the Mechanics and Met als National Bank was there with a smile and cordial greeting for his numerous Iowa friends. “ Percy” was formerly secretary of the Iowa Bankers Associa tion. W . M . HETHERINGTON, President J. C. COLLIER, Vice President H. A. KOESTER, Cashier H. C. W . SCHOLZ, Asst. Cashier F I R S T N A T IO N A L B A N K ■ —$— DUBUQUE, IOWA Capital, Surplus and Profits $ 500,000.00 Resources 4,900,000.00 A. F. Dawson, vice president of the First Iowa National Bank of Davenport, Accounts of Banks Solicited Write Us for Terms FIRST N A T IO N A L B A N K SPIRIT LAKE, IOWA C A P IT A L S U R P L U S A N D P R O F IT S - - - $50,000.00 45,000.00 Whatever may be your business in Spirit Lake, the First National Bank meets the requirements of those desiring complete banking serv ice, and invites your patronage on that basis. O F F IC E R S C . E . N A R E Y , P resid en t ^ https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis J . H . R O Z E M A , C ashier ---------------------------- ---—r 92 THE NORTHWESTERN July, 192A BANKER was the envy of every embryo golfer at the convention. James Cummins of Ringheim Com pany, Des Moines, reports a “ wet” con vention—he was a member of the early morning swimming party at Clear Lake. K eeping Tour Business Up to Tour Standard —$— C. J. Wohlenberg, president of the Your service to clients must not suffer— even when it’s on out-of-town matters. As your correspondent in this territory this strong, progressive institution will give your business the same care, the same prompt atten tion, you yourself would give it. Security State KEOKUK IO W A Transparent Insertable Label Guides A new transparent guide has been developed by the General Fireproofing Company, with these exclusive advantages: cut and s m o o t h— easy to handle in file. Indexing — Slip in the label— guides can be read from either front or back. Two-Line Label— Ample space for two typed lines— upper line at extreme top edge of tab, where it is wanted. La bels furnished in perforated sheet form. Reversible Tabs — Tabs read from e i t h e r side— hence guides are reversible. For ex ample, first and third posi tion guides are interchange able in thirds. Ease in Using— Labels can be instantly inserted. Tabs clean Double Strength and Wear — One-piece construction — tabs are part of the linen ledger or gray pressboard guide, with added strength and protection of iy2 point celluloid fold. No cut out or dove-tailing of foreign materials to weaken the tab. all standard card and vertical filing sizes. Tabs Y ' to 4"-— fifths and thirds. Special size guides to order. KOCH BROTHERS - - - Des Moines, Iowa H O L S T E I N S A V IN G S B A N K Capital $90,000.00 Surplus and Profits $70,000.00 This bank invites correspondence from banks and bankers. You’ll find a warm, courteous atmosphere in all of your transactions with this insti tution. CHAS. J. WOHLENBERG, President HOLSTEIN, IOWA https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis L. A. Andrew, president of the Iowa Farm Credit Corporation, and former president of the I. B. A., attended the convention and renewed acquaintances with old-time friends. Ivan 0. Hasbrouck, cashier of the Cen tral State Bank of Des Moines, was there with his golf clubs. He was usually teeing-up for his first drive just when the sun came over the horizon. —$— Hanford MacNider, president of the First National Company of Mason City, presented the Hon. Kenesaw M. Landis to the convention. It is understood that Hanford’s J udge Landis p r e f e r s Straight-Eight to the general run of pullman cars. John Corley of Polk, Corley and Wheelock, Des Moines, had the distinc tion of being elected the first secretarytreasurer of the new Iowa Bond Dealers Association. John is quite a golf player and it is whispered about that he had a private match with A. K. O. Cochrane — however, no one has the official dope on this rumor. Com plete Size Range— Made in We sell desks, filing cabinets, safes, office supplies. Let us mail you samples of these new guides for your inspection. Fourth and Grand Ave. Holstein Savings Bank, motored down to Mason City with his wife and family -—accepted the nomination for president of the association— was elected— and made a distinct hit with his poetical acceptance— the poetry being inspired by a card sent by Walter W. Head at New Year’s. D. R. Wessling and A. R. Wolf, both of Lytton, Iowa, and both dealers in Wessling Services, were at the conven tion with smiles and hand-clasps for their friends and customers—-they con veyed the “ Pal” spirit that they advertise. Walker —$— Hanna was unanimously elected president of the new Iowa Bond Dealers Association. The new associa tion has long been an idea of his and the presidency of the association shows the appreciation of the members for his work and inspiration. Henry C. Priester, president of Priester, Quail and Cundy, investment bank ers of Davenport, was the ‘ ‘ Sees all— Knows all” man at the organization meeting of the Iowa Bond Dealers Asso ciation. “ H y ” answered all questions whether they dealt with the Dawes plan July, 1924 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER 93 J f ^HE -L old goes “ Iow a N a tion a l” steadily com b in in g forward, con serv ativ e m an a g e m e n t w ith p r o g r e s s iv e s e r v ice to the b a n k e r s a n d b u sin ess in terests of Io w a . V isit us when D es M oin es. the fin est you com e to L e t us sh o w y o u Safe Deposit Vaults in t h e s t a t e . OFFICERS H o m e r A . M i ll e r C ly d e E . B r e n t o n H . T . B la c k b u r n P r e s id e n t V ic e P r e s. G eo . E . P e a r s a ll A lb e r t J . R o b e rtso n J. R . Capps W a l t e r H . M i ll e r R . li. C h a se , Jr. Jam es F . H art J. B u rson S h erm an W . F o w le r V ic e P res. V ic e P r e s . V ic e P re s. C a s h ie r A s s t. C ash . A s s t. C ash . A s s t. C ash . A s s t . C ash . A s s t. C ash . DIRECTORS G eo. N . A y re s H. T . B la c k b u r n C ly d e E . B r e n l o n H o w a r d J . C la r k G a r d n e r C o w le s J . H . C o w n le E. C. F in k b in e J. B . G reen W m . C. H arb ach G. M. A F . H . L u th e M . M a m le lb a u i n E . T . M e r e d it h H o m e r A . M ille r G eo . E . P e a r s a ll R a lp h H . P lu m b M . S h lo s s E . R . S to tts O. P . T h om pson n E vera Io w a National bank D e s M o i n e s S a v i n g s Ba n k a n d Tr u s t Co m p a n y Iowa's Largest Bank - Des Moines - Sixth and Walnut https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis THE 94 NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 or the price of a certain bond on the Alaska Stock Exchange. A t your service in Eastern Iowa and —$— Frand Ward, manager of the bond de partment of the Iowa Loan and Trust Company of Des Moines, motored up to Mason City and dispensed his cheery smile freely to everyone. He was only seen to frown at one time— and that was when some one cut in on his dance at the armory. —$— Howard Fuller, vice president of the W estern Illinois Iowa Loan and Trust Company of Des Moines was an interested front row spec tator at the prize-fights on Monday even ing. Howard says that he enjoys a prize fight better than anything— with the pos sible exception of Sunday-school picnics. eopj C L I N T O N , I O W A .' Remember i t this w ay *-•"PEOPLE S TRUST Emil Webbies and C. T. Simmons at tended the convention as representatives of the First Iowa State Trust & Savings Bank of Burlington. Mr. W ebble’s can didacy for the presidency in 1924 is rap idly gaining momentum. —$— George Malcolm, cashier of the Drov a ? V W E I N V I T E the VV D a ven p ort bu sy ness ofiban\s and b a n \ ers in the confidence A M E R IC A N COMMERCIAL S SAVINGS BANK s /* D A V E N P O R T , IO W A that correspondent re' lationship with us will p rove m utually pleas' an t and profitable. “ The Bank of Stability and Progress” O F F IC E R S If You Choose R . O . H u tc h iso n P r e s id e n t Jam es Loonan V ic e P r e s id e n t C h a r le s W . l i n o op C a s h ie r E . A . S c h a e fe r the Blackhawk National of Waterloo for your banking- connection, in this territory— you need not worry about the manner of efficiency in the handling of your items, nor the matter of service — because those are the two factors upon which the Blackhawk National was founded. A s s t . C a sh ie r L .ila M a r c h a m A u d ito r https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Blackhawk National Bank W aterloo, Iowa ers National Bank of Chicago and Frank THE July, 1924 NORTHWESTERN Covert of that institution, attracted con siderable attention as the “ gold-dust twins” of the windy city. Mr. Covert has recently become connected with the Drovers and is now travelling Iowa. y | ^HE D es M oines business of Iowa banks is invited. —$— W. H. Witte, cashier of the Farmers These banks are thoroughly equipped in every department Savings Bank of Bennett, Iowa, who always takes an active interest in the affairs of the association, expressed him self concerning the Mason City meeting by saying that it was to he classed as the most worthwhile, constructive and pleas ant convention that he had ever at tended. Valley National Bank AND Va l le y S a v in g s Bank —$— George Emery, vice president of the Stock Yards National Bank of Chicago, was seen everywhere around the con vention. He seemed to be busy and happy greeting old friends and making new ones for the Stock Yards National. — $— C. A. Barr, vice president of the Con tinental & Commercial National Bank of Chicago and former vice president of the Des Moines National Bank, was a prominent figure at the convention. Mr. Barr seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly renewing his old acquaint ances. 95 BANKER D E S M O IN E S , IO W A Established 1872 Combined R. A. CRAWFORD President Capital and Surplus $ 1, 100, 000.00 C. T. COLE, J r. Vice-President D. S. CHAMBERLAIN W . E. BARRETT Vice-President Cashier JOHN H. GINSBERG Asst. Cashier C. M. CORNWELL Asst. Cashier When Banke Friends —$— J. A. Parden, recently appointed bank One of the banker’s frequent tasks when the head of a family has died, is to advise the widow and children in selecting a memorial. examiner for the state of Iowa, was a real benefactor to weary travelers when he met them at the station in his big limousine and whisked them up to con vention headquarters at the Hanford. —$— George Kuhns, president of the Bank ers Life Company of Des Moines, en tertained the bankers with his portable radio set— Mr. Kuhns reports a very good demand from the bankers for these portable sets that he demonstrates. He is a true friend of the family when he suggests that they consult Capitol Hill first. Here they are protected against exhorbitant charges and se lect only from monuments of proven quality. Write for Free Samples and Prices C A P IT O L —$— H IL L 100 E. LOCUST ST. W. D. Howe, Irving Bank-Columbia M ONUM ENT Established 1888 COM PANY DES MOINES, IOWA Trust Company, was very enthusiastic about the greatly improved business con ditions in the middle west. He returned to New York by way of the Illinois Con vention at Decatur. Frank Stewart of the Camp-Thorne Company of Chicago was one of the early risers at the big meeting—he sold about a million bonds before breakfast and then absolutely refused to sell any more that day. —$— J. Rider Wallis, cashier of the Federal Bank & Trust Company and Albert Wharton, assistant cashier of the Con solidated National Bank of Dubuque, are largely responsible for Dubuque’s win ning out in the race for next year’s con vention city. They’ve promised a royal entertainment for 1925. God only needs to deliver a sinner to his own conscience to be avenged of his sin.—Wilson. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis OFFICERS C a p ila l, J u r p lu s Allred G.Smilh, Chairman Alfred C.Smifk,Prej\ HalleckW 5eaman,YPrej! George L. Curl h?,ViresOliver P Pelly; Cashier. P r o T ^ iiw ’ ^ 7 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 A b a n k w h ere th e service is g ra tify in g to all. dreds of Io w a b a n k ers h av e m a in ta in e d an A b a n k w h ere h u n accou n t fo r years. I f y o u are c o n te m p la tin g a n ew co rre sp o n d e n t get in to u c h w ith th e C ity N a tio n a l. ASSETS OVER S IX T R IL L IO N D O L L A R S 96 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 M. C. Sweney, president of the Mitchell County Savings Bank of Osage, was very frank in admitting that he had all of the essential qualities of a successful vice president for the Iowa Bankers Associa tion. His speech of acceptance drew a large volume of applause from the con vention. MERCHANTS NATIONAL, BANK C E D A R R A P I D S , I O W A Our Declaration N July 4, 1776 the United States of America issued its Declaration of Independence — a declaration which tore asunder its chains of bondage and gave it an opportunity to develop into the greatest world power since the dawn o f history. Our Declaration to the banks and bankers of this territory is to serve them efficiently— Give their account our personal at tention— Assure them that our strength and resources are at their command— If our Declaration o f banking serv ice is in line with your desires in the handling o f your Cedar Rapids ac count send it to The Merchants. R E S O U R C E S $ 13,000,000.00 James T . Ham ilton, C ha irm a n James P. C. E. E. E d w in H. N. E. Ham ilton, President F rick , V ice President P lnney, V ice President H. Furrow , V ice Pres. Boyson, V ice President I https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis R oy O. Folsom, V ice President IVIark J. myers, V .Pres. & Cash. Fred A . Groeltz, V ice President S . E. Coquillette, Asst. C ashier E. B. Zbanek, Asst. C ashier N. C. Hoffman, cashier of the Murray State Bank, and newly elected treasurer of the I. B. A., has an enviable reputation as a hunter— in other words he is “ some shooter” —he insists, however, that he shoots only with a shotgun and not with African dominoes. C. C. Jacobson, chairman of Group One and president of the First State Bank of Mapleton, motored to Mason City with his wife and daughter. “ Charlie” is a regular Barney Oldfield when it comes to cross-country driving. Tug O’ War Called Off Great disappointment was expressed at the annual Iowa Bank group meetings when it was announced that a tug o ’ war at the state convention in Mason City between the big boys and the little boys was to be called off. The little boys were to be represented by A. S. Bagnall of the Live Stock National of Chicago; John Miller, Farmers State Bank, Paton, Iowa, and C. J. Wohlenberg, president of the Holstein Savings Bank, Holstein, Iowa. The big boys were to be represented by S. E. Coquillette of the Merchants Na tional Bank, Cedar Rapids; Dunlaj) C. Clark, Continental & Commercial Na tional Bank, Chicago; and Martin New comer, Cedar Rapids National Bank, Cedar Rapids. Odds were being given on the little boys’ team. Postville State Bank The Postville State Bank of Postville, Iowa, held its regular annual meeting of stockholders and directors recently, at which all of the old officers and di rectors were unanimously reelected. The annual report of business for the year shows the bank to be in its usual strong condition. A dividend of 5 per cent was declared, payable immediately; $1,000 was placed in the surplus fund and $4,000 was placed in the undivided profit account. The Postville State Bank is one of the old institutions of northeastern Iowa, having been origi nally established in the year 1870. Resigns as President At a meeting of the board of direc tors of the Logan Trust & Savings Bank, Logan, Iowa, Almor Stern tendered his resignation as president and as a direc tor of this bank and retires from con nection with the bank. William Canty was elected president and will give a July, 1924 THE portion of his time to the management thereof. Dr. M. A. Humphrey was elected chairman of the board of direc tors. Mr. Stern retains his farm loan business and will give that line his at tention, and this business is entirely separated from any connection with the bank. Halversons Buy Interest At a meeting of the stockholders of the West Union State Bank, West Union, Iowa, a deal was concluded whereby H. R. Halverson and H. S. Halverson obtained the controlling interest in the bank. A complete reorganization of the bank will be made. H. R. Halverson becomes president; H. S. Halverson, vice president; Ben Servatius, vice presi dent; J. H. Werre, assistant cashier. David Beck and Gust Anderson were elected directors. Arrangements were completed for the charging oft of all poor paper and the building up of an adequate reserve. Work on Building Progresses Construction work on the new UnionDavenport Trust & Savings Bank at the southeast corner of Main and Brady streets, Davenport, Iowa, is progressing so rapidly that hopes are held by o f ficials of the institution that they will be able to occupy the building early in October. A carload of marble, which will be used in the mammoth lobby of the bank, arrived and will be placed within the next few weeks. Several carloads of marble will go into the building. Plastering of walls on the upper floors is also in progress, while the passenger and freight elevators have been installed and are now in use. N O RTH W ESTERN BANKER ciers of the county attended the meet ing, which wms held as a picnic, with lunch served at noon by ladies of the Montour American Legion Auxiliary. Prank Warner, of Des Moines, sec retary of the Iowa Bankers Association, gave a talk on the protective value of the organization which has selected and armed 3,400 special deputies in the state with 34 and 44 calibre revolvers, rifles and sawed-off shot guns, resulting in a very material decrease in the number of bank robberies. J. 0. Trumbauer, vice president of the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank in Waterloo, gave a very interesting and entertaining talk, and other talks were given by H. K. Denmead, cashier of the First National Bank of Marshalltown; G. R. Wrage, director of the Gladbrook State Bank; and J. H. Willett, director of the First National Bank of Tama. Greenfield Banker Dead E. H. Beekford, connected with the Adair County Bank, of Greenfield, Iowa, for the past forty years, died suddenly at his residence in that city. He was president of the institution. Des Moines A. I. B. Elects Raymond G. Miller of the Capital City State Bank was elected president of the Des Moines chapter of the Amer ican Institute of Banking in the meeting at the Harris-Emery tea room. Paul M. Thompson of the Mechanics Savings Bank was elected vice presi dent; J. N. Coffey of the Home Savings Bank, secretary; C. A. Erickson of the Security Trust and Savings Bank, mem ber of the board of governors. C. J. Flory, C. L. Varnum, J. E. Brasburg, L. A. Warren board of governors. Dele gates to the national meeting in Balti- lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll[||||||lillllHlllllllllllllHllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllili BANK EQUIPMENT Renews Incorporation Articles Renewed articles of incorporation of the St. Anthony Savings Bank, St. Anthony, Iowa, were filed recently at the office of the county recorder, re newing the incorporation which had ex pired by limitation. The bank is cap italized for $20,000. The directors are E. E. Cooper, E.. G. Allbee, W. D. Drew and John Mackin, of St. Anthony, and W. H. Harlan, of Nevada. Cooper is president of the bank, Mackin vice presdent, and Albee cashier. Tama County Bankers Meet W. A. Dexter was elected president of the Tama, Iowa, County Bankers As sociation at the meeting of members held recently in Lewis’ Park, near Mon tour. D. E. Goodell and Chalmers Win ders, of Tama, were elected vice presi dent and secretary-treasurer, respec tively. Between fifty and sixty finan- https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 97 AMERICAN FIXTURE CO. K ANSAS C IT Y , MO. ¡IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH THE 98 NORTHWESTERN BANKER Bankers Know th a t th e first e le m e n t in sa v in g is to sto p u p th e le a k s , y e t so m e b a n k e r s still p r o ffe r p e r s o n a l su re ty — a d a n g e r o u s a n d w a ste f u l p r a c tic e . S c h o la r s a n d p r a c tic a l b u sin e ss m e n c h o o se b o n d s e x e c u te d b y a su rety c o m p a n y in p r e fe r e n c e to a p e r s o n a l g u a r a n te e a n d c o u rts p r e fe r , m a n y r e q u ir e , c o r p o r a te su rety. July, 1924 more will be J. E. Atwood, C. L. Varnum, L. M. Tesdell, H. R. Clingman, John Rowe, W. N. Scott, Ralph H. Peterson, K. L. Pattoroff, Irene Meyers, E. A. Regan and L. A. Warren. T. J. Hyne of the Des Moines Na tional Bank was awarded the scholarship by the Des Moines Clearing House for receiving the best grade in the final ex aminations of the chapter year. James Hart, assistant cashier of the Iowa Na tional Bank, is a candidate for the na tional executive council. I W e o ffe r th e serv ices o f a c o m p a n y w h ic h is a c c e p te d as su rety Award School Prizes b y th e U n it e d S ta tes G o v e r n m e n t . Federal Surety Company A number of cash prizes were recently awarded by the Farmers Savings Bank of Plymouth, Iowa, to the pupils of their local school for highest ranking in grades. Davenport, Iowa The Federal Agent in Your Community is Waiting to Serve You The New Spirit of Banking Titonka Banker Dead Fred R. Amesbury, one of the organ izers of the Titonka Savings Bank of Titonka, Iowa, and president of that in stitution since 1917, died recently at Sheffield, Iowa, after being sick only a few days with influenza. Guthrie County Bank Notes The bank of yesterday was inclined to be a cold, imper sonal financial machine. The most significant development in the bank today is its growing friendliness and helpfulness. It is this spirit that you will find a part of all of our deal ings with banks and bankers. Every transaction must measure up to a standard of ac curacy, promptness and friendliness. Waterloo Bank & Trust Co. W a t e r lo o , Io w a “TH E BANKERS’ BANK” H ere is a bank for banks and bankers —a stron g financial profits. surplus and undivided O u r service to correspon dents is prom pt and painstaking. Iowa National Bank Davenport, Iowa LOUIS G. BEIN, Cashier HERMAN STAAK, Asst. Cashier https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ) H. L. Moore, of Panora, was elected a director and vice president of Yale Savings Bank to fill the vacancy caused by the death of F. M. Hopkins. Mr. Moore is also connected with banks at Panora and Bagley. organization backed by a half m illion dollars in capital, Forty members of the Guthrie County Bankers Association were entertained recently in Bayard, Iowa, by the banks of Yale, Jamaica, Bagley and Bayard. The occasion was the annual meeting of the county association. The enter taining banks had arranged for 6 :30 dinner at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, following which Hon. Glen P. Kimball, of Council Bluffs; Mike McDonald, of Bayard, and Carl S. Foster, deputy su perintendent of banking, all gave in teresting talks. An orchestra provided music during the dinner. H. L. Moore, of Panora, was elected president of the association, succeeding J. C. Chamberlain, of Bayard, C. H. Sayre, of Guthrie Center, was re-elected secretary-treas urer. Preliminary plans were made for the annual picnic. CHAS. SHULER, President FRANK B. YETTER, Vice Pres. WM. H. GEHRMANN, Vice Pres. Guthrie county bankers were much pleased at the election of S. L. Rutt, of Casey, to the presidency of Group Six. Mr. Nutt had served for some time as very efficient secretary of this group. Mr. and Mrs. S. L. Rutt, of Casey, in June attended the commencement ex ercises of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Their son was a member of the graduating class. Mr. Rutt is president of the Rutt National Bank at Casey. \ THE July, 1924 NORTHWESTERN BANKER 99 Renews Bank Charter The Crawford County State Bank of Denison, Iowa, has renewed its articles of incorporation for a period of twenty years. This institution has been estab lished since 1884. It is capitalized at $100,000, has deposits of $1,000,000, sur plus of $25,000 and undivided profits of $16,000. Fire Does Damage A fire of unknown origin did slight damage to the interior of the Citizens State Bank of Oakland, Iowa, in the early morning of June 10th. About 4 o ’clock a. m. the night watch noticed a small streak of smoke coming from the window in the toilet room on the ground floor. The alarm was turned in and the chemical engine arrived in short order and very quickly extinguished the flames. The fire started apparently in an old sweeping compound barrel. The walls on each side of the barrel were burned through to the brick and had the fire not been found just when it was serious damage might have been done. Trine Elected President After nearly forty years of service with the Marshalltown State Bank of Marshalltown, Iowa, C. C. Trine, vice president, was elected president of the institution to fill the position left vacant by the death of the late Albert F. Balch. Mr. Balch has served in practically every capacity with the bank of which he is now president, having started in years ago as an errand boy at a salary of $3 per week. Harry W. Jennings, cashier, was elected a director of the bank, filling the vacancy caused by Mr. Balch’s death. Reorganizing Forestburg State At a special meeting of the stock holders and directors of the Forestburg State Bank, Forestburg, South Dakota, the bank was reorganized and re-capital ized by substantial local business men and farmers and new officers elected as follows: President, S. S. Judy; vice president, E. C. Ellingson; cashier, R. B. Laird; directors, S. S. Judy, G. B. Wilder, R. W. Burrill, J. T. Fairfield and E. C. Ellington. The stockholders, besides the foregoing, are Thomas Fer guson, Fred Gibbs, Henry Ostenson, A. Zoss, John Maurer, Fred Maurer, I. S. Strand, Isabell M. Judy, Robert Laird and Adie B. Judy. Changes Name The name of the Gold and Co. State Bank, Big Stone, South Dakota, has been changed to the Big Stone City State Bank. Officers of this bank are : W. H. Gold, president; A. P. Heinen, vice president; C. F. Schaefer, cashier; M. H. Gold, as sistant cashier; M. G. Clark, teller. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Guaranty Service in London c o m p a n y established its first office in London more than a quarter o f a century ago as the pioneer among American banks in England. 1 he growth in the volume and scope o f business necessitated additional facilities, and this Company now has three offices in the British Capital and one in Liverpool. These offices are complete American banks, handling business in the American way. T h ey afford our correspondents and customers excep tional facilities, as well as the advantages resulting from intimate knowledge o f both American and foreign business. h is T Guaranty Trust Company o f New York NEW Y O R K LIV ER PO O L LONDON PARIS HAVRE BRUSSELS ANTW ERP A t the S to c k y a r d s — The Live Stock National Bank offers every service when your customers buy or ship to the Sioux City stock yards. Located in the center of activities at the fastest growing market in the world— an account here enables you to give the best of service to your customers. W e invite your Correspondence T h e Live Stock National Bank Located at The Stock Yards S IO U X C IT Y , IO W A THE 100 NORTHWESTERN IO W A STATE T R A V E L IN G M E N ’ S A S S O C IA T IO N THOSE ELIGIBLE TO MEMBERSHIP ARE: white male persons over 18 and not more than 55 years of age, who travel for business purposes any portion of the year in addition to their other duties. This Association Offers: Accident Insurance at actual cost — It has never exceeded $9.00 a year. many bankers are members of this association. have not joined, send for an application now. July, 1924 BANKER If you Rockford Banker Dead B. A. Wallace, pioneer business man and banker, connected with the Rockford State Bank of Rockford, Iowa, since 1887, died recently at his home in Rockford. He had been president of the Rockford State Bank for several years, and was wrell known to members of the Iowa Bankers Association. Mr. Wallace came to Iowa from Ohio, his native state. He entered the em ploy of the Rockford State the year of its organization, 1887, later became its cashier, and more recently its president. Burton Carrott, vice president, has been elected president of the bank to succeed Mr. Wallace. Remsen Banker 111 H. E. R E X , S ec'y and Treas. D E S M O I N E S , IO W A Flem in g B u ild in g N O T A R IA L SE A L S Des Moines Rubber Stamp JVorks “ S A M E D A Y S E R V IC E ” 206 Fifth Ave. DES M OINES The Old Way Squeezing Out the Chautauqua Frank Spiecker, cashier of the First Trust and Savings Bank of Remsen, Iowa, has been confined in a hospital for the past three weeks and will probably take a four months’ rest on account of high blood pressure. Merger at Armstrong The State Bank of Armstrong is being consolidated with the First National Bank of Armstrong, Iowa. Through the terms of the merger, the depositors of the State Bank are fully protected and the payment of their deposits are guar anteed by the First National. Prior to the merger, the First National had capi tal stock of $50,000, surplus and profits of $25,000 and deposits in excess of half a million dollars. Selection of officers after the consolidation has not yet been announced. First National, Perry At a recent meeting of the directors and stockholders of the First National Bank of Perry, Iowa, Dr. H. A. Foltz was elected vice president. Other officers include: J. M. Grimes, president; C. R. Lyon, vice president; H. L. Thomas, as sistant cashier. Farmers National Guarantee H ow often have you said, “ N ever a g a in ? ” H ow often have you been told that it was the only pos sible w a y ; that a Chautauqua could not operate without the guarantee? B U T IT C A N . W E A R E D O IN G IT. W e have a proposition for your town for next year. Write for our plan. W rite for references. THE TR A V E R S C H A U T A U Q U A 5th Floor Liberty Bldg. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis DES MOINES, IO W A Reopens The Farmers National Bank of Red Oak, Iowa, has reopened for business. L. A. Hatswell, a retired farmer, is the new president of the bank. C. L. Ellis of Marcus, Iowa, for the past three years associated with the office of the Federal National Bank and who has been assisting Receiver E. B. Wilson, becomes vice president of the concern and will make his home in Red Oak. A. O. Norene, former cashier, is back at his old job and C. S. Fridolph is the new assistant cashier. Six men, two of whom were former directors, composed the list of directors. They are L. A. Hatswell, 0. K. Olson, F. W. Dixon, C. L. Ellis, Walter Sellergren and Clifford Powell. The direc tors met Saturday night and elected officers. July, 1924 THE NORTH W ESTERN BANKER 101 bond issues. Prompt in form ation concerning them. C ountry-w ide distribution o f them. A t your service Í Symbols of security Through over fifty-two years, \ R and MCNally & C om pany, in their Bank Publications, have offered bankers information that can be relied on implicitly. Our vast resources have been com bined with painstaking accuracy, infinite, patient research and intimate knowledge of banking needs, to uphold this cherished reputation. So you will find that when that perplexing H and M C N a lly < B an kers D i rectory— Blue Book The Bankers Monthly Key to the N u m erica l S ys tem o f t h e A . B. A . Bankers Equip ment - Service Guide Bankers Equip ment Bulletin Banking and Business Ethics Maps for Bankers question arises in your business, one or the other of the R A N D M C N A L L Y Bank Publications always an swers it ! A nd as the vaulted domes and marble columns of your bank symbolize s e c u r i t y , so the name R an d M cN a l l y on each of these publications is your abso lute assurance of accurate and authentic information. Dept. G -29, 536 S. Clark Street, Chicago E sta b lish ed Official Numbering Agent, American Bankers Association https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis of the City of New York 57 Broadway C A P IT A L ................................................... I ..................................... $ 2 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 2 4 ,0 7 1 ,6 4 7 S U R P L U S A N D P R O F I T S ................................................... D E P O S I T S ( M a r c h 3 1 , 1 9 2 4 ) .............................................. 4 2 4 ,6 1 3 ,2 0 2 O F F IC E R S A L B E R T H. W IG G IN P re s id e n t V ice PresM ieiitst S A M U E L H. M IL L E R H EN RY OLLESH E1M ER C A R L J. S C H M ID L A P P A L F R E D C. A N D R E W S REE V E SCHLEY ROBERT I. B A R R S H E R R I L L SM ITH A ssistan t V ice P residen ts E D W IN A . L E E M. H A D D E N H O W E L L W IL L I A M E. P U R D Y A L F R E D W . H U D SO N G E O R G E H. S A Y L O R GEORGE HADDEN J A M E S L. M IL L E R C o m p t r o lle r C a sh ier T H O M A S R IT C H IE W IL L IA M P. H O L L Y D ili D T O ItS H E N R Y W . C ANNON E U G E N E V. R . T H A Y E R A L B E R T H. W IG G IN C A R L J. S C H M ID L A P P JO H N J. M IT C H E L L G E R H A R D M. D A H L GU Y E .T R I P P ANDREW FLETCH ER J A M E S N. H IL L R E E V E SCHLEY D A N IE L C. J A C K L IN G II. W E N D E L L E N D IC O T T C H A R L E S M. S C H W A B W IL L IA M M. W O O D S A M U E L H. M IL L E R J E R E M I A H M IL B A N K E D W A R D R. T IN K E R H E N R Y O L L E S H E IM E R E D W A R D T. N IC H O L S A R T H U R G. H O F F M A N NEW COM B CARLTON F. EDSON W H I T E F R E D E R I C K H. E C K E R A L F R E D P. SLO A N , Jr. E L IS H A W A L K E R WE RECEIVE ACCOUNTS OF BANKS. Bankers, Corporations. Finns or Individuals on favorable terms, and shall be pleased to meet or cor respond with those who contemplate making changes or opening new accounts. Through its Trust Department, the Bank offers facilities as: Trustee under Corporate Mortgages and Indentures of Trust; Depositary under reorganization and other agreements; Custodian of securities and Fisca1 Agent for Corporations and Individuals; Executor under Wills and Trustee under Testamentsry Trusts; Trustee under Life Trusts. R an® MSNa l l y & C ompany L a r g e s t P u b li s h e r s o f B a n k in g P u b lic a tio n s in th e W o r ld . The Chase National Bank 1856. FOREIGN DEPARTMENT THE 102 NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 Celebrates Golden Anniversary In S i o u x C i t y W e stand ready to serve the financial and commercial in terests of this terri tory. CECU RITV 4hnPNATIONAL BANK I Capital and Surplus $700,000 A. B. DARLING. President L. R. MANLEY, Cashier R. E BROWN. Assistant Cashier O. BONESTEEL, Vice President GEO. 0. CALA,, Vice President V Steady, Substantial Growth Commenced Business September 20, 1920 DEPOSITS D E CE M BE R 31, 1920________________ $401,240.71 DECEMBER 31, 1921________________ $1,023,010.71 D E C E M B E R 31, 1922________________ $ 1 ,2 3 7 ,6 7 1 .6 0 D E C E M B E R 31, 1923____ Capital $250.000.00 $1,666,461.16 Assets Two Million Dollars THE U n it e d S t a t e B a n k DES MOINES, IO W A Royal Union Life Building— Seventh and Grand The Cedar Rapids National Bank "With Capital, Surplus and Profits of $ 950,000.00 and Resources $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 Invites N e w Business OFFICERS: o\REcr https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis RALPH VAN VECHTEN Chairman of the Board GLENN M. AV KRILL President GEO. B. DOUGLAS Vice President MARTIN NEWCOMER Vice President KARL H. REHNBERG Vice President GEO. F. MILLER Vice President CHAS. C. KUNING Cashier PETER BAILEY Assistant Cashier MARVIN R. SELDEN Assistant Cashier GEO. W. SWAB Assistant Cashier ANNA R. SMOUSE Assistant Cashier BERTHA M. WOLF Assistant Cashier The Mitchell County Savings Bank of Osage, Iowa, observed its golden anniver sary recently and throughout the day pa trons and friends of the institution at tended the “ reception and open house” at the bank and were given suitable sou venirs of the occasion. The bank was organized May 28, 1874, as a private bank and was known as the Mitchell County Bank, with Sweney Bros., Charles and J. Henry, as proprie tors. A neat folder sent to friends of the bank, giving a short history of the en terprise, concludes with the following re marks : “ This bank continued its healthy growth under the management of its founders, but in 1880, J. Henry Sweney retired in order to take a law course, and James I. Sweney, the younger brother, succeeded him in the firm. On December 3, 1906, the bank was incorporated under the present name of the Mitchell County Savings Bank, with Charles Sweney as president and James I. Sweney as cash ier. Two years before, M. C. Sweney joined the bank force as assistant cashier. “ In January, 1915, due to failing health, Charles Sweney retired and James I. Sweney was elected to fill the vacancy and M. C. Sweney was elected cashier. In 1919, M. C. Sweney was elected presi dent, succeeding James I. Sweney, who withdrew to devote all his time to his own interests, and Paul D. Sweney, a son of James I. Sweney, who had served for several years as assistant cashier, was elected cashier. “ Prom small beginnings the bank has grown steadily with the community, working at all times to promote the gen eral welfare, and the reward has been found in the loyalty, confidence and sup port of those it has served, which has brought about steadily growing resources until, at the present time, the deposits are more than half a million dollars.” Monticello Banker Dead H. S. Richardson, of Monticello, Iowa, and for some time cashier of the Mon ticello State Bank of that city, died re cently of heart trouble. Elected Vice President H. P. Hancock has been added to the officiary of the State Bank of West Union, Iowa, as vice president. Mr. Hancock is a West Union attorney. Is New Cashier Prank Chatman has assumed the duties of his new position as cashier of the Mitchell County Savings Bank of Osage, Iowa. Paul Sweney, who retires from that position to go to Peoria, 111., will make the change about July 1st. THE July, 1924 NORTHWESTERN 103 BANKER V '///SS, !\ / / Investment Service to Banks HEN seeking employment for surplus funds we wish to call your attention to our bond and investment depart ment. W 1 N In this department we carry a well diversified list of market bonds, bonds of Iowa municipali ties and cities, local corporation issues, and first mortgages on real estate. These securities are carefully selected and represent an invest ment of the bank’s own funds. A circular describing any of our holdings will be mailed you on request. NtRAL STATE BANK D es M o in e s Banking, T rusts & In vestm en ts of Safe Deposit Vaults M e m b e r https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis F e d e r a l R e s e r v e S y s t e m ' 104 THE N O R T H W E ST E R N BANKER July, 1924 Rfearly Half a Century of Rational Ban\ing on Walnut Street 5 t V Year A fte r Year — an increasing number of banks choose this institution as their Des Moines correspondent. W hy ? Because the Des Moines National is adequately equipped and ready at all times to serve its correspondents promptly and carefully through its several departments, specializing in every phase of modern banking. We cordially invite banks and bankers in this section of the Middle West to write us in regard to business problems. If we can serve you, we will be only too glad to do so. DesMoinesNational Bank 6th &“Walnut Sts. " C7 in e Capital $l,000,000 W It il c li u it k~ Total Resources More Than Sixteen Million Dollars OFFICERS L O U IS C. K U R T Z Chairman of the Board DIRECTORS H E R B E R T L. H O R T O N Assistant Vice President JO H N H . H O G A N C L A R E N C E A . D IE H L President Assistant Vice President W . J. M U R R A Y W A L T E R J. R O B E R T S Vice President Assistant V ice President H . R. H O W E L L R. H . C O L L IN S Vice President Assistant Cashier H . E. R U M S E Y E D W I N F. B U C K L E Y V ice President Assistant Cashier A N D R E W J. H U G L IN GEORGE D. TH O M PSO N Cashier H . C. A D A M S Fiscal Loan Agent for Iowa The Travelers Insurance Co. Assistant Cashier T A M L I N S. H O L L A N D Assistant V ice President Mgr. Bond Department W . J. M U R R A Y V ice President President, Boekenhoff Cafe CHAS. A. R A W SO N Co. Pres. Iowa Pipe and Tile Co. H . J. B O E K E N H O F F H . B. H A W L E Y R A L P H E . R O L L IN S Pres. Great Western Insur ance Co. V ice Pres.-Treas. Rollins Hosiery Mills JO H N H . H O G A N Penn Mutual Life Ins. Co. President H . R. H O W E L L G E O R G E C. W I L L I A M S L O U I S C. K U R T Z Pres. L. H. Kurtz Co. W illcox, Howell, Hopkins & Mulock ANDREW J. H U G L I N Cashier H . E. R U M S E Y W . W . SEARS Pres. Sears Automobile Co. FRED W . W E IT Z Chas. Weitz Sons N. M . W I L C H I N S K I Pres. Younker Brothers, Inc. ) ..9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . , 9 . . 9 . , 9 . , 9 . a9. , 9 . M «< ltM «..«..9 . . 9 « 9 » « » 9 ..« M « .. « ..9 . . « . 9 .. 9 . . 9 . . « . . 9 . . « . . 9 . . 9 . ^ . . 9 .. 9 . . 9 „ 9 ,. 9 . . 9 . . 9 „ 9 M9 , t9 H9 , . 9 , ^ „ 9 , . 9 „ 9 (. 9M9, (9N 9, . 9w 9H 9l,9 „ 9n9M https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 . . 9 , . 9 , #9. . 9 , . THE July, 1924 NORTHWESTERN BANKER THE BANK SERVICE WITH A P E R S O N A L TO U C H - T O D ELEG ATE responsibility is easy, but the result is often unsatisfactory, simply because the substitute lacks a subtle quality which is the sine qua n on of success. That quality is The Personal Touch. The Wessling Services were created to give busy bankers a service with The Personal Touch. Hundreds of institutions over the central and middle west are using the Wessling Services, and many are writing unsolicited letters of appreciation of its sincerity, its flexibility, its business-building, money-getting power. The art work and literary composition in each program is the best we can procure. Sprightly and original as is everything Wessling Services offer, there is ever perceptible an under tone of quiet dignity, in keeping with conservative banking tradition. The cost of the program from which you might select is probably less than you will expect. If you or your secretary will drop us a line, we shall be pleased to forward full information. Planners and Creators of Original Bank Services L Y T T O N , IO W A https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 105 106 THE NORTHWESTERN BANKER July, 1924 i IN D EX TO AD VERTISERS A A lly n & C o .............................................. A m e r ic a n B o n d & M o r t g a g e C o .. . A m e r ic a n C o m m e r c ia l & S a v i n B a n k ...................................................... A m e r ic a n F ix t u r e C o ........................... A m e r ic a n N a tio n a l B a n k .................. Page . . . 75 . . . 46 gs •■ • 94 ... 97 ... 81 II B a n k o f A m e r i c a ........................................ B a n k e r s A c c id e n t C o ................................. B a n k e r s S u p p ly C o .................................... B a n k e r s T r u s t Co., D e s M o in e s ......... B la c k h a w k N a tio n a l B a n k .................... B r e n n a n & C o., J o h n A ............................. B r o k a w & C o ................................................. B u rn s B ro s. C o ............................................... Page F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , O m ah a ........... 2 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , S io u x C i t y . . . . 2 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , S p irit L a k e . . . 91 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , W a t e r lo o . . . . 90 F is h e r C o ........................................................... 44 F o r e m a n N a tio n a l B a n k . ........................ 91 F o r g a n , G r a y & C o .................................... 49 O G 71 58 64 88 94 48 49 88 C C a n a d ia n P a c ific R a ilw a y C o ............... SO C a p ito l H ill M o n u m e n t C o...................... 95 C ed ar R a p id s L ife I n s u r a n c e C o ......... 89 C e d a r R a p id s N a tio n a l B a n k ...............102 C e n tra l S ta te B a n k ...................................103 C e n tra l T r u s t Co., o f 111........................ 72 C h a p m an , P. W ................................ 51 C h a se N a tio n a l B a n k ................................ 101 C h e m ic a l N a tio n a l B a n k ......................... 45 C ity N a tio n a l B a n k , C lin t o n .................. 95 C itiz e n s T r u s t & S a v in g s B a n k ......... 71 C o n s o lid a t e d N a tio n a l B a n k , D u b u q u e 8 C o n s o lid a t e d N a tio n a l B a n k , D u b u q u e 88 C o n tin e n ta l & C o m m e r cia l N a tio n a l B a n k ............................................................. 84 C r a d d ic k S e r v i c e ........................................ 78 G e n e ra l M o to r s A c c e p t a n c e C o r p .. . . 82 G ir a r d N a tio n a l B a n k ............................. 83 G o r d o n -V a n T in e C o .................................. 108 G re a t W e s t e r n I n s u r a n c e C o .................. 62 G u a r a n ty L ife I n s u r a n c e C o ............... 62 G u a r a n ty T ru s t Co., N ew Y o r k ........... 99 II H a m m o n d P r in t in g C o............................. H a n c o c k M u tu a l L ife I n s u r a n c e Co., J o h n ............................................................. H o lle y & S on s Co., L. W ........................ H o ls t e in S a v in g s B a n k ........................... H o t e l M o r r is o n ............................................. H y n e y , E m e r s o n C o................................... 76 57 44 92 94 50 I I llin o is M e rc h a n ts B a n k ..........................108 I n t e r -S ta te B u s in e s s M en ’ s A c c id e n t A s s o c ia t io n ............................................... 75 I o w a L o a n an d T r u s t C o ........................ 1 I o w a M u tu a l L ia b ilit y In s. C o ............. 59 I o w a N a tio n a l B a n k , D a v e n p o r t . . . . . 98 I o w a N a tio n a l B a n k , D e s M o in e s . . . . 93 I o w a N a tio n a l F ir e I n s u r a n c e C o ... 60 I o w a S ta te T r a v e lin g M en ’ s A s s o c .. .100 D K D e s M o in e s D u p lic a t in g C o .................. 44 D e s M o in e s L ife & A n n u it y C o ........... 56 D e s M o in e s N a tio n a l B a n k . . . . . . . . . 104 D e s M o in e s R u b b e r S tam p W o r k . s . 100 D r o v e r s N a tio n a l B a n k ........................... 8 6 K o c h B r o s ........................................................ 92 E E p p le y H o t e ls C o ........................................ 44 E r ic k s o n Co., In c., C. E .......................... 98 E r n s t & E r n s t ............................................... 81 F F a r m e r s B o n d & M o r t g a g e C o ............. 66 F e d e r a l L a n d B a n k .................................... 76 F e d e r a l S u r e ty C o ...................................... 98 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , C h ic a g o ......... 42 F ir s t N a t io n a l B a n k , D a v e n p o r t . . . . 131 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , D u b u q u e . . . . 91 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , D u lu th ........... 83 F ir s t N a tio n a l B a n k , L i n c o l n .............. 7± https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis O m ah a L ife I n s u r a n c e C o ..................... 57 O m ah a N a tio n a l B a n k ............................. 77 O m ah a P r in t in g C o ................................... 72 P P a c k e r s N a tio n a l B a n k .......................... P e o p le s T ru st & S a v in g s B an k , C lin to n ........................................................ P h o e n ix T r u s t C o ..................................... P o lic y h o ld e r s N a tio n a l L ife I n s u r a n ce C o....................................................... P o lk , C o r le y & W h e e lo c k C o ................. 75 94 67 71 48 R R a n d , M cN a lly C o ..................................... 101 R o y a l U n ion L ife In s u r a n c e Co. . . 54, 55 R o_ss-G ould C o .............................................. 84 > i S i S e a b o a rd N a tio n a l B a n k ........................ 74 S e c u r ity S ta te B a n k , K e o k u k ............. 92 S io u x N a tio n a l B a n k , S io u x C ity . . . .102 S ta n d a rd L ife I n s u r a n c e C o ...........40, 41 S ta n le y -H e n d e r s o n C o ............................ 66 S ta te C e n tr a l S a v in g s B a n k ................. 45 S to c k Y a r d s N a tio n a l B a n k , C h ic a g o 90 S to c k Y a r d s N a tio n a l B a n k , O m a h a . 75 S tra u ss & Co., R o b t . S............................... 52 T T r a v e r s C h a u t a u q u a ................................. 100 T r u e -W e b b e r & C o ..................................... 91 Xu L in c o ln N a tio n a l L ife I n s u r a n c e C o .. 61 L iv e S to c k N a tio n a l B a n k , S io u x C ity 98 L y tle C o ............................................................ 3 M M e ch a n ic s & M e ta ls N a tio n a l B a n k . . M e d ica l L ife I n s u r a n c e C o.................... M e rc h a n ts N a tio n a l B ank, C ed ar R a p id s ........................................................ M id la n d M o r t g a g e C o ............................... M id la n d N a tio n a l B a n k ........................... M u tu a l T r u s t L ife A s s u r a n c e C o ........ Page N a tio n a l P a r k B a n k .................................. 43 N o rth A m e r ic a n N at. L ife A s s u r a n c e C o ..................................................................... 57 N o r th e rn T r u s t C o ...................................... 67 N o r th w e s t e r n L ife I n s u r a n c e C o ........ 61 N o r th w e s t e r n N a tio n a l L ife I n s u r a n ce C o.......................................................... 70 61 96 66 80 63 N N a tio n a l B a n k o f th e R e p u b l i c ........... 4 '. N a tio n a l C ity C o ........................................... 101 N a tio n a l L ife A s s o c ia t io n ....................... 59 U U n ion T ru s t C o............................................ 39 U. S. C h eck B o o k C o . . ............................. 70 U n ite d S ta te B a n k ................................... 102 U n ite d S ta tes N a tio n a l B a n k , O m ah a 76 U n iv e r s a l L ife I n s u r a n c e C o............... 63 V V a lle y N a tio n a l B a n k ............................. 85 w W a t e r lo o B a n k & T r u s t C o ................... 98 W e s s lin g S e r v ic e s ......................................105 W e s te r n L ife I n s u r a n c e C o................. 61 W h e r e to B u y P a g e ................................. 68 W h ite , P h illip s C o ..................................... 48 July, 1924 T IIE NORTHWESTERN 107 BANKER Gordon-Van Tine Barn No. 401 1921 Price 1922 Price $1107 $1077 now $ 9 7 2 Keeping Home Dollars at Home The concern which is persistently milked of profits, sooner or later, becomes lifeless and inert, with out vitality. Some profits must be put back into a business, if greater and continuous profits are to be extracted. If this holds true in the business world, it holds equally as true for a community. A community, persistently milked of its capital, soon ceases to be either a profitable place to do business, or a happy place in which to live. If all the dollars sent out of the Corn Belt in the last ten years for investment in outside securities, either good or bad, had been invested at home, the Corn Belt would be a far more prosperous section today. Diversified Agriculture a Solution G ord on -V an Tine Can Help Those sections of the country which are most prosperous today, are the sections where diversified farming is the rule. Particularly is the Corn Belt adapted for such operations. There is practically no type of farming, out side of tropical, which cannot be conducted here today. Diversified crops, dairying, stock raising, all these offer a wealth of opportunity. To such farseeing communities, Gordon-Van Tine can offer invaluable aid. Whether it be homes or farm build ings— and never were the latter needed so much as at present—-their efficiency of design, their quality is guaranteed absolutely top grade. More than that, our huge volume, our system of pro duction, our Ready-Cut method of building and selling direct to the consumer, enable us to offer the lowest prices in America today. We would appreciate being permitted to serve you and your clients. Many bankers are finding our FREE BOOKS on Homes and Farm Buildings of invaluable, daily assistance. We would like to send them to you. The coupon brings them free of charge. Mail it today! And the wise bankers of the Corn Belt are advocating such operations—are putting a solid foundation under their communities by advising the putting of money into local businesses, whether of town or country. Gordon-VanTineCo. ESTABLISHED G ordon Van Tine Co., 397 Case Street, Davenport, Iowa. Please send me you r free books on H om e, Barns and Building Materials. I©e5 S a tis fa c tio n G u a r a n t e e d or M oney Back Resources Over $1,000,000.00 R E F E R E N C E S : Any Bank In Davenport; Continental and Commercial National Bank, Chicago, III.; National City Bank, New York City 397 Case Street https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Davenport, lows j N a m e ________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________ M E E T I N G T H E G R O W I N G N E E D S OF T H E G R E A T M I D D L E W E S T A, H E three banks which have united to form the Illinois Merchants Banks have for many years paid more than ordi nary attention to the development of their services to banks. T Today, their combined resources and facilities offer special advantages which appeal strongly to bankers. Capital and surplus amounting to $45,000,000 with total resources well over $400,000,000 place them in an unusually strong posi tion— and a fully equipped organization of long and wide experience assures ser vice at all times of the highest standard. Correspondence or interviews with our officers concerning your Chicago requirements is invited. C A P I T A L A N D S U R P L U S - F O R T Y -F I V E M I L L I O N D O L L A R S Il l in o is M e r c h Ba n k s IL L IN O IS M ERCHANTS TRUST THE COM PANY CORN ants EXCHANGE N A T IO N A L BANK cA consolidation o f the Illinois Truil & Savings cBank and The ¿Merchants Loan & Trull Company Until completion o f well half of Illinois ¿Merchants Dank Duilding remains at its present location Clark and Jackson Streets La Salle and Adams Streets C H IC A G O https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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