Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-02
Ranks and Banking.
trite and true that oom.

=. K a saving trlte ana true ulat COM
~ Is the life of trade, and the
p%c1 hr;Sm applies as equally to the busi-
aphollsn hanking as to any other COM
ness enterprise. Formerly the RI
merc' Sotween the banks, if indeed any
vary ~ existed, was solely concerning
1lVa's, large accounts, and the smaller
the W.. lett to take care of themselves.
toih ~, Tho last four or five years the sit
Bs, ta II, has decidedly changed. The
u1aal]est accounts are now sought with
ssarncss. and inducements of all kinds
eass;stent with safe banking are held
co., a IN attraction to customers. One
9l a" a is pleased with a nicely-bound
dePoyl.book; another is gratified because
ele am have his little country checks
he ,1ac,ed without charge. Some are
eSo,,torcd because the bank has solicited
ll'a;r accounts, while others derive a
l l'ore substantial qualification from ac-
foundations in the form OF temporary
loans and discounts.
'ot amonp some of the older bank men,
accustomed to new ways and perhaps
. trile impervious to new ideas, there
s.II survives the notion that it is a vio-
lotion of propriety if not, indeed, of fair
1oaline for one bank to solicit the ac-
ao,nt Of another banks customer. Some
" further and consider it to be some
That out of good taste for a bank to
make auy open efforts to increase its
Inc of depositors. Such fanciful ideas,
however, have but little place in the
olose and active competition of modern
t;mes, Those who hold them are
classed by their fellows among the him
darers of progress, and institutions de-
dominated by such principles are likely
to be but lagggards in the race. Methods
which might have been, and no doubt
were, very excellent twenty-five years
400 are quite out of place now. Bust
ness now is too close and competition
too keen to admit any restrictions save
those imposed by honest dealing and a
faithful performance of contracts. 1t
would, however, be far from correct to
suppose that a new bank depends for
even the greater part of its deposits
upon customers obtained from other in
stitutions. The establishment of a new
bank implies of itself an increase in the
commercial activity of the place where
it is located. 1t shows that new indus
tries have been developed, that fresh
enterprises are on foot, that new firms
are commencing business, and it is to
secure the custom Of all these that a
bank was organized. Again, by the
efforts Of young institutions to secure
trade many persons are induced to open
a bank account who never kept one
before, and thus money formerly
boarded finds its way into the channels
of legitimate trade. The number
of these small accounts, which amount
in the aggregate to a large sum, will no
doubt be greatly increased by the re-
which, though tritling in itself, is pc
culiarly Objectionable to persons whose
small mean have been the result of a
self-denial bordering on parsimony.
The foundation of the prosperity of a
bank is the line of deposits. This is the
Mbstructure upon which the whole
business of the institution rests. To in
crease this by every legitimate means is
a primary and all-important object.
And the word legitimate is not used in
ssense opposed to dishonest or unfair,
but simply to indicate those methods
which experience has proved to be con-
sistent with the principles of sound
banking as opposed to such practices as
do not commend themselves to the
Judgment Of careful tinanciers. Men
ton has been made of special induce
ments held out by various banks in or
der to secure an increase of custom, but
these are Of no value unless upheld by
a general feeling of confidence among
the public. This feeling of confidence
is not to be obtained by irregular and
spasmodic efforts, by special induce
ments, nor by ingenious advertising. 1t
is indeed no plant of hasty growth, but
requires long years Of careful, honest,
and successful management to bring it
to perfection. Yet without it the in
crease of a banks business drags slowly
and heavily along. Men are very
chary in trusting their money to the
~sate-keeping of others, and, as has been
indicated, new institutions have many
difficulties against which to contend.
Yet the old established banks are not
without their drawbacks also, moro
dangerous than those which beset their
Younger competitors, because uore IN
s!dlous and less easy of correction.
Chlef among these is over-contidence, an
Idea that the community could not get
along well without them. This
feeling leads to a disposition to neglect
new business and to rely on the old
Standing accounts. These latter drop
on one by one, and, their places not be-
ing supplied by new accounts, the bust
ness imperceptibly declines, and when
once the affairs of any old institution
get on the down grade it is very hard to
recover the lost ground.
Another drawback to old intitutions
Is having men at the head who have out
l'ed their usefulness. Old clerks who
a%e devoted the best part of their lives
~ the service of the bank should be
paced on the retired list with q vote of
.naAks and a substantial recognition of
.ne value of their service in the shape
III a reasonable pension. Again, m old
, ,tfa is apt to get out of sympathy
WIN the times and to fall into a rut. as
Ie phrase is, from which it is almost
IMPOSSIBLE for the younger and more
aae'lfe members of the force to extricate
IT. IT. not TO mention the danger they incur
81. reiorming themselves out Of the in
olltlllOR Hltorathav q ,.;cl- 1vhioh aofs