Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1822-10-15
Rank o. Ssates. Oet. I,Is2a,
Espositson Of the President Of the
Bank to the Stockholders.

nial meeting IN IotSs ~ was tns ultVn~
t;on TO have given them such view.
was. however, advised that it would
be more expedient to reserve the COM
mnnication Foe a committee, and my o.
pinion was cheerfulty surrendered,
But as it is nv determination IN a few
months to quit the station with whlcn
YOU have honored me, and as my ST.
lence on a former occasion has Kept
vou as well as the public, in great
MEASURE Ignorant of the difficulties In
w,ich found the bank, and has suo-
;a.ted the administration, of which |
hove besn a member, TO censures which
we're u.foun led, and which have fallen
IN many instances. from the lips of the
very persons who were she authors OF
the errors and mismanagements, to use
no harsher language, by which this IN
tut ution was brought TO the verge OF
bankruptcy and ruin, ] will now pre-
sent 10 YOU a short view of the progress
and present state OF the bank. You
will probably raise committee OF in
soection and investigation, and as far
Az any facts or circumstances, which l
shall present, NAV be deemed material,
their accuracy or error may be ascer-
tanned.
The institution commenced active
banking operations about the list Jan.
1917. aud in the course of that year es-
tablrsh6a eighteen branches, being ell
that have been established. Oae was
nroieceed at Augusta. but on re-consld-
aration was abandoned. The report OF
the committee of congress, made IN
Daea,nber. 1915, has made you fully ac~
onaintsd with so many o. the leading
details Of the previous management
and the lapse of time has made them
so much less interesting than they
wonld have been at an earlier day, that
mean 20 d. little more in relation to
the period which preceded 1919, than
nressnt the results as they will De ex-
hibited ia the state of the bank, when |
Game into It.
The bank, Immediately on it's come
mencemant. did very extensive busi-
nsss-imported vast sums of specie
Maid ira notes. and those of the Offices,
without references to the places whore
thew ware payable. sat the bank, and all
the principal Offices north OF the Poto-
mac. while they were. under the char
ter. necessarily received every where
in paydlant Of debts to the government
of the United States; and drafts were
eiven without Limit, onthe parent bank
and northern .icss by the western of
fees at par, or atpremium merely no.
minat AS soon as the notes OF the
southern and western Offices were PAID
or received by the bank and northern
offices they were returned to them and
ye-issue1 in perpetual succession. An
ACCOMMODATING exhibit ID will shew the
enormous amount OF the notes OF south.
ern and western offices which became
cbarceable on the bank. directly, and
indirectly. through the northern offices
The result was that the bank and the
great northern Offices were drained OF
their capital, and. on the Goth July,
lSIS. only eighteen months after the in
stitution began its operations, it was
ohliyed to commence rapid and hea-
Wv curtailment of business Of the bank
and its Offices During all this time It
had the advantage of immense govern
mani deposits. st the moment these
cnrtailnents were ordered, the govern
mem 1eposites in the bank and its
branches, including the deposltes OF
nabl:c others, amounted to eight mil
lions Of dollars, (0) and they had been
larSer at preceding periods. Curta'l-
rnents were ordered from time to time.
at the southern and western Offices, to
the amount of seven millions Of dollars,
and at the parent bank to the amount
of two millions, though at the latter
thew we're made to the amount or Do
600 900. and upwards, between the SOth
Julv. 1915. and the LIST April, 1919.
No cnrtailments were ordered at The Of
6cas Of y. Y aud Boston, because there
was no room for them, vet necessity
obliged them TO reduce their business
very much, The curtailments at al
points. l..ithin the shove mentioned
dates. ~ being eight months, were DO
ssol59 80. We. after these immense
and rand curtailnents, the most'sensi.
BILE and vital points, New York. Phil
aaelphia aud Boston, we're inhOltely
in worse condition than when the reme-
DIV was devised :,
An accompanying exhibit (o) will
shew the DISTRIBUTION OF capital at the
close of this period. At that moment
The alsconntI line of the important OF.