[Volume XXV
THE CHICAGO BANKER
20
TOM RANDOLTH, President ALBERT N. EDWARDS, Yice-Prest. EDWARD HIDDEN, Vice-President W. L. McDONALD, Vice-President L. B. TEBBETTS, Vice-President THOS. W. CROUCH, Vice-President HENRY KOEHLER, Jr., Vice-Prest. W C. FORDYCE, Vice-President J. M. WOODS, Secretary L. S. MITCHELL, Treasurer A. G. DOUGLASS, Asst. Secretary R. L. GURNEY, Mgr. Savings Dept. W. V. DELAHUNT, Trust Officer ROBT. H. CORNELL, Rl. Est. Officer BRYAN & CHRISTIE, Counsel
COMMONWEALTH
TRUST COMPANY, ST. LOUIS
<1 Accounts of Banks and Bankers receive special attention. Collections promptly made and remitted. Corporation and individual accounts solicited. Special departments for handling Estates, Trusts, Real Estate, Bonds, Farm Loans and Mortgages.
Capital and Surplus $5,500,000	Resources over Fifteen Millions
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this effect on the part of any such national bank would be just cause for the forfeiture of its charter. All national banks which have taken advantage of the law referred to are required to withdraw from the agreement, and to notify the Comptroller’s office that they have done so."
This formal action by the Comptroller’s office follows up the policy of that office in dealing with the Oklahoma situation since the law providing for guaranteeing bank deposits went into effect. Bank examiners in Oklahoma have been directed from the beginning to report to the Comptroller’s office any facts which come to their notice regarding the action of national banks in that state in seeking to avail themselves of the Oklahoma statute. It was through the information from these national bank examiners that the Comptroller’s office was advised that more than one-sixth of the national banks in Oklahoma had adopted measures for guaranteeing their deposits under the state law. In correspondence between the Comptroller’s office and these banks, as fast as the facts were disclosed, advices were given that the policy of guaranteeing deposits under the state law must not be adopted by national banking institutions. The replies of the Oklahoma national banks were varied in their nature, but amounted substantially to an explanation that their competitors were taking advantage of the law and made it necessary for all or none to do so. As an illustration of the character of these replies to the Comptroller, one national bank in Oklahoma admitted that a course had been adopted by its officers which gave the bank the advantages of the state guarantee system. In announcing to the Comptroller of the Currency that this course would be abandoned, the question was submitted to the Comptroller’s office whether under the national banking law a national bank would be privileged to enter into an insurance scheme for the guaranteeing of its own deposits.
This raised a new question for the Comptroller, and the reply made by Acting Comptroller Kane was that under the law as it exists there is no objection to a national bank guaranteeing its
St. Louis Shipping Currency
The banks and trust companies of St. Louis this week made the largest shipments of currency and silver of any one day since October 3, last year. The demand is due, in the main, to the fact that the cotton outturn is moving about thirty days in advance of the usual time, and also to the indications that the cotton production may surpass all previous records.
The bank clearings of the last six weeks also are regarded as indicative of a vigorous resumption of activity. Large gains have been made and the clearings for seven months show a net increase of $14,760,090 over the corresponding period of 1906.
Outgrows its Quarters
For the second time in its history, the Farmers National of Lexington, Okla., has outgrown its quarters and will move into larger offices at North Broadway and Main Street. A large fireproof vault is being built in the new quarters, and a late model burglar proof safe will be installed.
Overrules Oklahoma Banking Law
It has been disclosed by the reports of national bank examiners to the Comptroller of the Currency that 56 national banks in Oklahoma availed themselves of the state law for guaranteeing bank deposits. This action by the banks was taken in various forms, all of which are not known to the officials here. The action was taken before the recent decision by the Attorney-General of the United States declaring that it is unlawful for a national bank to guarantee the deposits of other banks, whether national or state.
In pursuance of the decision by the Attorney-General, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, T. P. Kane, has officially notified all national banks in Oklahoma of the decision of the Attorney-General, that it is illegal for the officers of any national bank to enter into such an agreement as is contemplated by Section 4 of the Oklahoma statute relative to guaranteeing deposits, and that “persistent and willful action to
The deposits of the Union Bank and Trust Company of Houston, Tex., have been swelled beyond the most sanguine expectations of the officers of that institution in the last few, months.
The Western National of Fort Worth
John M. Shelton, stockman and banker, has disposed of his holdings in the Western National of Fort Worth, Tex., and has resigned as vice-president of the institution. W. H. Eddleman, formerly president of the bank and recently retired from the active management of its affairs, has purchased Mr. Shelton’s stock.
Mr. Shelton built the Western National Bank Building and was one of the prime movers in the organization and early management of the bank, which has grown into one of the city’s leading financial institutions. No successor to Mr. Shelton has been announced.
The Rich Hill Bank of Butler
The Rich Hill Bank of Butler, Mo., is not liable for the $40,000 worth of stock it held in the defunct Bates National of Butler, according to an opinion handed down by the United States Court of Appeals, affirming the finding of the Circuit Court. William J. Butler, receiver for the Bates bank, brought suit against the Rich Hill Bank, Frank McVey and W. F. Tygard, to recover a stockholder’s assessment, levied by the Comptroller of the Currency, alleging that the Rich Hill Bank owned forty shares of $100 each in the name of Tygard as trustee; that the latter had the stock transferred to McVey, who, the petition alleged, was a farmhand in Tygard’s employ and insolvent; that the transfer was made for the fraudulent purpose of avoiding the additional liability in said stock.
The Court of Appeals, in affirming the decision of the lower court, states that the petition of the plaintiff failed to allege the insolvency of the national bank at the time of the transfer and asserts that there is no evidence to show that the Rich Hill Bank or its officers had knowledge of the bank’s insolvency at the time of the transfer.