The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-06-07

-. = rived settlers
49, in the Cumber-
land valley of Pennsylvania and Mary
land. From that extensive race, which
began to come to the United States in
17eo, have come the principal bankers
of the country. The Drexels were Ger
mans from the Tyrol; Fahnestock,
partner of Jay Cooke, came from the
bankers of Ephrata; the Beimonts,
Koontzes and Astors are Germans.
The same genius you see around Frank
fort, Germany, and in Hamburg and
Berlin for lending money at interest
belongs to the old German stock
which came over with William
Penn and the Calverts and Gen.
Spottswoode. From the little Ger
man towns along the South Noun
tain, which sends fine class of
immigration to the far west, proceed
the bankers like the Boslers, of Car
Isle, and Mr.. Nicodemus, of Hagers-
town. The latter has two banks in
Hagerstown and is the richest man in
western Maryland, where it is popular
ly said that his investments at Spencer,
Ia, are equivalent to a gold mine. I
took advantage of the young mans
visit to ask some questions about west
ern methods as they would appear to
fresh eastern eyes.
stYou have not been very long, Mr..
Nicodemus, in the west?"
''Three or four years; my father has
two banks in Clay county, Ia; one Of
them is savings bank, and another a
regular bank of loans. Clay county is
in the northwestern corner of Iowa,
not far from Dakota and Minnesota.
It was among the later counties set
tied and built up in the state, as you
can see by the fact that it's county
seat of Spencer, a place Of three thou
sand Inhabitants, was named for SEN
ator Spencer, of Alabama, who once
was a politician Of Iowa. He died the
other day in Washington. Our county
is not very far from Sioux City, where
these great collapses have just taken
place among the bankers. What hap
pens with us epitomizes the general
condition Of the west. We have a good
many eastern settlers, who alleviate
the hardness of the society. We have
q town called Emmettsburg, where
everybody is Irish. Other settlements
are altogether Scandinavian"
'sWhat is the first difference you
note between such old eastern society
as that around Hagerstown and the
new western society?"
s'For the present, everything in
b.
tains to money and materiality. They
have not had time to get down to
cordiality and faith in each other. In
the struggle to maintain their foot
hold where they have settled, politics,
courtesy and everything become sub
sidiary. In the banking business out
there you want to say very few words,
the fewer the better, and put every
thing down in writing, the more
definite the better"
rs not money lending in the far
west risky business now?'
Every. You hardly know what to
lend on. The state legislature, ope-
rated by the agricultural constituent
cies, are constantly attempting to pass
laws to repudiate contracts. The cur
rency issue and the silver issue belong
to the same category. We lend money
and put in our loans the specification
that it is to be repaid in gold or COLDS
equivalent in any other currency or
coin. That is subject Of complaint;
but as we give them gold, we demand
gold back again. The money we lend
now has an interchangeability with
gold at par. They would like to return
it in some deprecated currency or
metal, and, therefore, we make them
sign contract to pay it in gold. The
legislature is constantly hammering at
that subject, and it is made a subject
of complaint. In the same way they
are attacking the insurance companies
It is common in the west when man
insures for him to give his note for
one-half payment, that is the sec
ond half. In many cases he does
not pay the note, and yet if
he loses his property he insists
that this note is cash, though
1t has been protested. They
have attempted in the legislature to
make the mere note without any real
ity to it hold the insurance company
or factor. So, in the matter of mort-
cages, there Is a constant struggle In.
the Legislatures to tax the man who
holds the mortgage, instead of taxing
the land which is nortgaged. A farmer
comes to us and wants to mortgage
his farm, and we let him have the
money. Then histpolicy is to tax our
mortgage and dodge the tax on his
land, but we, meantime. are merely
out of money. They are still working
on that line, though they have not yet
been successful
81 suppose the railways are pressed
in the same manner2'
"oh, yes; the 1awmaking power is
always cunning for the railroad, as IL