The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-04-27
RESOLUTIONSPASSED.
By the st. Louis Furniture
Board of Trade.
A Country Merchant Sends a strong
and Pointed Letter on the subject
toa Local House.

to Local House.
The St. Louis Furniture Board Of
Trade on Friday night passed the
following resolutions, bearing on the
arbitrary charge of the local banks
for collecting country checks:
Whereas, 1t having been a rule
universal for the banking houses OF
this city to accept for deposit the local
checks of merchants outside the city.
and
Whereas, This has become a
business custom among outside mer-
chants, to make purchases subject to
settlement with their own local checks,
not only for this, but all other princi-
pal cities, and
Whereas, To now insist upon a
change from the advantages compet-
ing cities still offer will result in great
loss in trade to the furniture and
kindred lines; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the ST. Louis
Furniture Board of Trade considers
that the action of the st. Louis banks,
through their clearinghouse Associa-
ton, is of great detriment to the busi-
ness interests of the city, and hereby
protests against the further enforce
ment of this arbitrary ruling, and
asks for its repeal, or modification so
that individual banks may make ex-
ceptions with their customers in case
they may desire"
The matter was discussed at length
and Messrs. Kregel, Reardon and
Kaiser were appointed committee to
confer with committees from other
trade organizations, including the
Merchants Exchange and the Whole
sale Druggists Club, at meeting to
be held in a few days, at which the
exchange charges will be discussed.
1t was stated at the meeting that
several of the members had found it
decidedly to their advantage to open
accounts with Chicago banks, through
which they cleared their country
checks.
The j. Kennard & Sons Carpet Co.
received a letter from a Missouri GUS
toner Friday, which deals anything
but gently with ST. Louis banks and
bankers. The letter, emitting name
and location, is as follows:
Gentlemen: We have yours of the
9Th inst. returning our 81, ,7S3 check on
the Bank of . We note what you
say in regard to the price the st.
Louis banks want to charge you for
collecting the same. We have re-
ferred the matter to our local bank,
but they are not willing to give US the
exchange for any lower price. Or
dinarily We would not have any
trouble getting St. Louis exchange,
but our banks claim that the new
Clearing House means snnihilatiOn to
country banks, and that they will not
lend the st. Louis Clearing House
uhUu W uE1Nc GuCA1bCINCb O1G vi
ness.
If this unjust rule is carried into ef-
feet it will force US, as we'll as other
country merchants, to do our banking
in ST. Louis or some other large city
This We cannot afford to do, as we
sometimes need to borrow money, and
during the entire ten years we have
been in business, we have never been
able to borrow a dollar from a st.
Louis bank, Notwithstanding the fact
that we have kept deposit with one
st. Louis bank almost the entire time.
Twice we made application for loan
from this bank, and both times were
taken into the Presidents Office, seat
ed comfortably in an armed chair and
interrogated very closely as to our
ability and inclination to pay and
both times we were informed that they
could not advance US the money un-
less we could give st. Louis real estate
or city bonds or some other commodi-
ty that country merchants do not deal
in, for security.
We do not wish to trouble you with
our tale of woe, but we merely write
the above to show you why We take
the stand we do. We are for the in
terests of the country banks first, last
and all the time, because they help us
when st. Louis banks refuse to do so.
We are not attempting to force you or
any other st. Louis house to accept
our local checks at loss. We have
decided that we will pay all debts con-
tracted prior to this rule, not in st.
Louis exchange, but will send the
money by prepaid express, and here
after if our friends in St. Louis can
not make arrangements with their
banks so that they can handle our
paper at par we will be compelled to
transfer our trade to some other city.
We will hold the check above referred
to'until We get your reply.
Savarsl Gf To,.iu fr-ros ara now