The herald., 1897-04-11
Mrs. Marsh of Gr0t0n in
the Front Rank
LOOKS AFTER ALL THE LOANS
THE ONLY WOMAN WHO SIGNS
BANK BILLS
incidentally She Is President OF
Typewriter neutrality-suspicious.
urer Of Carriage Company


Marsh of this place is the only woman
whose signature appears on bank piils.
This happens because she is the presi-
dent of the First National bank of Gro
ton, an institution which does very
large business with corporations and
private individuals whose operations
are extensive In addition to perform
ing the duties of bank president, Mrs.
Marsh Is the head of the Groton Type
writing Machine company, and treas
urer and director of the Groton Car
riage company. She finds time to do all
this and have that leisure which is ne
cessary to a woman who enjoys the adj
vantages of society
The husband of Mrs. Marsh was cap
italist and one of the business pillars OF
Groton. When he died, year and half
ago, people wondered how the large In
terests of his estate would be handled.
Mrs. Marsh quickly solved the problem
by assuming the discharge of the duties
which had devolved upon her late hus-
band. The business men of Groton,
while they deeply respected Mrs. Marsh.
were little inclined to doubt her ability
to successfully carry on the role she had
undertaken. The lady said nothing, one
way or the other, but in very short
time demonstrated to the entire satisIac-
ton of the business community that she
was fully capable of handling the busi-
ness of the bank, the typewriting COM
pany and the carriage mandatory.
In a town like Groton, the president
of the leading bank must be person OF
s,,If ant iu
officials task to pass upon every loan
the bank is asked to make before the
money is handed over. In case of very
| hard problem of this sort 1t is the custom
| to submit the matter to the board of di-
rectors. Ordinarily, it is not the part OF
wisdom to bother the directors with
matters of this sort. because the presi-
dent of the bank is there for the purpose
of making those decisions, the directors
having other things to attend to. Mrs.
| Marsh is TO be found at her Office In the
bank every day in the secular week and
keeps as sharp an eye upon the business
of the institution as the keenst man who
could be placed in that position.
She meets the customers of the bank
and talks over the financial situation
with them. The applicant for a loan is
directed to her, and finds that he not only
has a kindly listener, but one who never
loses sight of the interests of the bank
| for moment. On several occasions
men whose financial conditions are un-
like Caesars wife have sought to induce
Mrs. Marsh to permit a loan of the banks
| funds to them. Every attempt Of this
sort has failed, and beside that the wo-
man bank president has permitted the
| applicant of this nature to understand
! that she clearly perceived his scheme
and his reasons therefor.
| Just as often as occasion demands
| crisp. new bills are secured from the
| treasurer, bearing the banks name.
When these bills come by express from
the treasury department at Washington
they lack the signature of the president
and cashier of the bank for which they
are intended. Until these signatures
are placed on the new notes they are Of
no use, that is, the notes. One sigma
ture will not do. That is why Mrs.
Marsh's signature makes money. She
signs the bills in clear, strong hand,
and the chances are that few persons
who see the notes of the Groton bank.
with wv. M. Marsh, President" inscrib-
ed thereon imagine that the name is that
of woman.
When the board of directors holds a
meeting, as it must at least four times Z
year. Mrs. Marsh presides over the de-
liberations of the body in as thoroughly
businesslike and parliamentary q man.
ner as could be desired If 1t IL an infor-
NAL talk, she enters into the discussion
of the financial problems as thoroughly
as the best man amongst them. If It il
formal meeting, she treats the mem
bers Of the board with as rigid an eti-
quette as that observed by the greatest
bank official in the greatest financial
center. She is very popular among ths
bank employees, from messenger tn
cashier and there is not one of them who
does not thoroughly respect her, both
for her uniform kindness and her eter.
ling ability.
The duties devolving on Mrs. Marsl, IN
addition to the banking business.
through her other interests require close
attention. 1t is necessary that the az.
fairs of the typewriting machine COM
pany be watched with as good financial
judgment as those of the bank. or
course the details of the transaction are
attended to by other persons. but II u
Mrs. Marsh's brain that governs the or
ganization's finances. Not an action OF
any moment is taken without Ser nd
vice and approval. She is familiar with
the extent to which credit should be
granted to customers of the company.
and knows at all times how collections
are, and keeps carefully in mind those
firms or individuals who are slow In
making a settlement.
The best of judgment is necessary n
avoid loss from the giving of credit One
OF the notable tributes to Mrs. Marshsp
Judgment is that the percentage Of losses
from uncollected bills or financial disas-
tiers with which the company is afflicted
is so small percentage that it amounts
to little or nothing. She does not trust
to the word of subordinate in the mat.
Ter of the state of the Organizations ac.
counts, but. being thoroughly familiar
With the most complicated methods Of
bookkeeping, scans the books herself.
Ind in this way forms her judgment q
o the trend of affairs
The third of the principal interests of
Which she keeps watch and ward 10 tho
arriage company. The ramiflcaQions of
his business are widely divergent from
hose Of the first two, but Mrs. Marsh'n
'ersatile genius grasps them without
if1culty. As treasurer. It = her duty
i sign the checks. know where The difRer-
mt sums are going and what they oro