21
THE CHICAGO BANKER
September n, 1909}




. I 0111
Bankers who contemplate attending the Convention of the American Bankers Association, during the week of September 13th, are cordially invited to visit our offices, located in the Chicago Savings Bank Building, at the corner of State and Madison Streets the most interesting location in the business and shopping district of Chicago.
LUCIUS TETER, President _	!?M^McCQRMICK, Vice-President
HOUSTON JONES, Cashier
Im! m ?׳׳ ׳ k •a׳•׳.-.	; a
EDWARD P. BAILEY, Vice-Pres.
George L. Ramsey
Cheyenne Convention
‘,The Panic of 1911” was the subject of the address by George L. Ramsey, of Helena, at the Wyoming convention at Cheyenne, this week, tie said in part:
In taking advantage of an invitation to address the bankers of the Wyoming association, I felt that I would be expected to contribute nothing more than a neighborly sort of a talk. While it is true that distance and the contour of the mountain ranges and the route of the railroads do not contribute toward׳ a close business relation between Montana and Southern Wyoming, it is true that we have a very close intercourse with the northern part of your state, particularly that broad expanse of splendid country which is becoming widely known as the Big Horn Basin. And in addition, there is the general neighborly community of interests between the two states arising from our products of range and mine.
For many years, Montana has been the largest wool producing state in the union; Wyoming has been recently running 11s a close second; this year our production will exceed Wyoming I think, by perhaps a million pounds of wool, but I am half inclined to the opinion that next year the wool production of Wyoming will exceed that of Montana, but in yielding first place to your state, let it be said that we are at the same time, beginning the contest of acreage and muscle toward becoming the greatest wheat producing stale in the whole union. In the marking of commercial development, it seems not more than yesterday that Montana was counted a state of no particular value except for metals and the naturally cured grass of its ranges for the fattening of sheep and cattle. While to-day, we enjoy the anticipation of producing this year ten million bushels of wheat, in ten years our production will surpass the generous forty-six million bushels of the Palouse Valley in Washington, Oregon and Idaho and in fifteen years we expect to be producing one hundred million bushels of wheat, which will far exceed the yield of Minnesota or Dakota— all this will be accomplished by scientific farming and by virtue of the government irrigation canals and the awakening of our people to the possibilities of our climate and soil in growing the grain of the breadmaker.
Bankers’ conventions to a certain degree are moments of felicitation and congratulation, especially in the midst of such a prosperous season as we now enjoy and in the face of the wonderful products which the registers will record for 1909, and it is therefore with some little hesitation that I place myself in the roll of a pessimist by the adoption of the subject to which I am to speak— no one enjoys particularly the discussion of an unpleasant topic, but let it be said in the beginning, that I am naturally optimistic and feel sure I see fully as much of the bright side of things
exposition, and I consider his words a fitting-conclusion to this address:
“In view of the great work of developing the industries of not only the southern section, but of any section, and in view of the important part that the banks must necessarily take in it, the imperative need of substantial co-operation among banks and bankers is plainly apparent. To prevent loss, to divide responsibility, to shoulder in common the burden of uplifting their section: to advise against undesirable risks and commend the worthy ones; to freely give and receive in-
a . w . BUCK
Cashier First National, Ebensburg, Pennsylvania
formation, which tends to prevent financial loss or to increase the legitimate profits of the one or the other : to post each other as to conditions financial or political, which might affect the investment of money either favorably or adversely : to encourage the immigration of worthy capital and labor; to confer with each other in mutual confidence—in short, to co-operate fully and freely with each other and their patrons, both as individuals and as corporations, is the duty of bankers from the viewpoints of business expediency, commercial safety, patriotic co-operation and the general promotion and inspiration of
Calaveras County Bank
The Calaveras County Bank, Angels, Cal., has elected the following officers: Directors—John Raggio, Warren Rose, J. A. Peirano, J. R. Dor-roh, H. S. Blood, James Logomarsino, F. J. Sohnskv; president, John Raggio; vice-president, Warren Rose; cashier and secretary, D. Muscio. A dividend of 8 per cent was declared.
such as the securing of reasonable rates on fidelity bonds and the cleaning of time locks, state association work has had great value. In this and some other states, the division of territory into districts, each having its own local branch of the state association, works for good in matters of local interest.
The American Bankers Association, with its over ten thousand members, has no peer among the business bodies of the world. At its meetings questions of national importance are discussed, and the committees which it appoints take up matters of great import and handle them with efficiency and success. The influence of the association on federal legislation, exercised through its committees, has been very valuable. It also has a department with skilled employees whose time is devoted to the protection of the members from criminals. The legal department gives excellent service in the investigation of statutory provisions throughout the country affecting commercial transactions, and crystallizes the information into laws which are proposed for enactment in the various states. In many instances these become the basis for excellent legislation.
״While great things have been accomplished, these various forms of organization are only at the beginning of their usefulness. The local clearing houses will readily find ways to employ their machinery for the benefit of the members. The development of a system of check upon the operations of large borrowers, in which neighboring clearing houses can join, is an opportunity for improvement. State associations need not confine their work and influence exclusively to matters directly connected with banking alone, but using their machinery in the collection and dissemination of information, can accomplish great things for the people of the state at large. The Minnesota Bankers Association has already made a start in this direction by taking up, through a committee, the question of interesting the young men of the state in the opportunities of agriculture. The American Bankers Association," in a broader and larger way, can, as the currency and monetary question is worked out, turn its attention to other problems, in the discussion of which the financial ability and experience of its leaders, backed by the moral support of its army of members, will have vast influence. It is to be hoped that the tariff , which should be absolutely a business proposition, may ultimately be taken up by a commission of experts, without reference to political bearing, in which event united action and decision by the associated bankers of the country on material points would produce results. There are, in the future, opportunities sufficiently great to inspire and encourage united and vigorous effort. The views of one of our bankers of national reputation (Colonel Robert J. Lowry• of Atlanta,_ Ga.) on some of the matters referred to are admirably expressed in the following extract from his address delivered recently before the bankers of Idaho, Oregon and Washington at the Seattle