[Volume XXV THE CHICAGO BANKER 8 THE FARMERS’AND MECHANICS’ NATIONAL BANK OF PHILADELPHIA, PA. 427 CHESTNUT STREET Capital - - - $2,000,000.00 Surplus and Profits 1,325,000.00 ORGANIZED JANUARY 17, 1807 Dividends Paid - $12,777,000.00 OFFICERS Howard W. Lewis, President Henry B. Bartow, Cashier John Mason, Transfer Officer Oscar E. Weiss, Assistant Cashier ACCOUNTS OF INDIVIDUALS, FIRMS, AND CORPORATIONS SOLICITED PRESENT NUMBER OF STOCKHOLDERS 930 STATE BANK OF CHICAGO ESTABLISHED 1879 S. E. Corner La Salle and Washington Streets Capital $1,000,000 Surplus and profits (earned) 1,300,000 Deposits 19,000,000 OFFICERS H. A. Haugan, President L. A. Goddard, Vice-President Johx R. Lixdgren, Vice-President Hory S. Henschen, Cashier Frank I. Packard, Asst. Cashier Henry A. Haugan, Asst. Cashier Samuel E. Knecht, Secretary William C. Miller, Asst. Secretary YOUR CHICAGO BUSINESS RESPECTFULLY INVITED year of $4,069,475.44. The ordinary receipts amounted to $8,558,912.39, of which the principal items were from the liquor tax, $2,643,-264.35; excise tax, $2,999,910.19; fees from the department of state, $1,313,239, and the insurance department, $1,261,328.48. The Guaranty Loan and Trust Company The new Guaranty Loan and Trust Co. of Cleveland report capital of $25,000 with the following officers : Herbert W. Cole, president; W. N. Boerstler, vice-president, and L. M. Cole, treasurer. The Shorter the Better The latest simplified spelling list calls it “det.” That’s the stuff—cut it down all you can.—Cleveland Leader. The State Board of Commerce At the meeting of the State Board of Commerce at Columbus, Friday, the following officers were elected : President, George E. Pomeroy, Toledo; A. M. Kittredge, Dayton, vice-president; Gilbert H. Stewart, Columbus, general counsel; Francis B. James, Cincinnati, assistant general counsel; Karl IT. Booth, Columbus, secretary; C. D. Firestone, Columbus, treasurer; commissioner, Allen R. Foote; executive committee officers, Amos B. Narry, Cleveland ; Samuel Scovil, Cleveland ; George W. Bright, Columbus; E. L. Buckwalter, Spring-field ; George W. Yost, Belleaire; Nathaniel H. Davis, Cincinnati; J. J. Dauch, Sandusky, and Mi Otis Hower, Akron. Bank Clearings for Two Cities Bradstreet’s table of bank clearings for the principal cities of the country for week ending November 19th, shows that the clearings of Cincinnati for that week were $29,531,000, an increase of 36.1 per cent, while the clearings of Cleveland for the same week were $16,539,000, a decrease of 4.2 per cent. No Radical Tariff Changes “There will be nothing radical done about the tariff,” declared Speaker Cannon in an address at the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce last Tuesday night. “We shall carry out our promises that were made in the republican platform, but there will be no radical changes. “Inside of a hundred days after the next Congress convenes there will be a revision of the tariff, but it will not please every one.” Test Case to Determine Right of Trust Company Can a trust company organized under the laws of Ohio act as the executor of an estate? This is the interesting question argued in the Supreme Court Wednesday. The case came up on error from the courts of Clark County, and is styled The Union Savings Bank and Trust Company against The Western Union Telegraph Company. The trust company was represented by Lawrence Maxwell, of Cincinnati; Andrew Squire, Cleveland, Edwin S. Houck, Springfield, and Charles L. Spencer, of Xenia. The telegraph company’s interests were argued by Edward Barton and Robert S. Alcorn, of Cincinnati, and Messrs. Martin & Martin, of Springfield. The question originated because of the death of a man at Springfield who had secured a judgment against the telegraph company for the killing of some trees on his property by wires of the defendant company. He took no steps to collect the judgment, and at his death the trust company was made executor of his estate and revived the legal claim. The telegraph people resist on the grounds that the trust company cannot act as an executor. The general assembly has on several occasions refused to place such a provision in the statutes. S. B. Rankin, Secretary of the Ohio Bankers Association, is sending out the following warning to bankers : A minister’s son in Southeastern Ohio recently forged a $25 check on a member of our association. His plan is to present himself to a local M. E. pastor and after much talk, gets his new acquaintance to identify him at the bank when he offers a check to which he has forged his father’s name. It is said that he has been doing this sort of thing for the past three years and his father heretofore has taken care of the checks. This method of operation may be of interest to you as the young man may call upon you at some time. Cincinnati Banks The consolidation of various banks in Cincinnati in recent years has served to place the remaining institutions in an independent position. With the absorption of the National, Lafayette, and the Ohio Valley National Banks by the First National, and the absorption of the Third National and American National Banks by the Fifth National, two banks are now in control of the business which a short time ago was distributed among six, and competition has been narrowed to an unimportant amount. Cincinnati is now recognized as having fewer commercial banks in proportion to its size and commercial importance than any other city in the country, and there is therefore believed to be something behind the current talk that a new institution will shortly be organized by a combination of financiers who are not satisfied with the constant reduction in banking competition in the city. The current talk may serve to hold other contemplated bank mergers in abeyance.