The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-28
With Age and
POintless
TALK ABOUT BANKS
Fails to Stir City's Finan-
cial Circle.

Under faring headlines and with
double-leaded type, the Worcester Only
yesterday printed the astounding
statement that Worcester banks refuse
to lend money for d less rate than 5
per cent
Had that statement been printed 20
years earlier. it would have been a
scoop. But inasmuch as no Worcester
savings banks-and the Only's charges
apply to savings banks and no others
have departed from the rate of per
cent for small loans in the last two
decades, yesterdays article failed to
stir up financial Worcester.
The excitement produced by the al
legged scoop was akin to what would
have followed the announcement of the
result of the civil war or any other re
mote event, which, though ancient
history to the rest of the world, might
be supposed to have the charms of
novelty to the Rip Van Wrinkles of the
Gram.
As regards the further statement
that Worcester banks are bound to-
gether by an iron-clad agreement not
to bid against each other on loans for
less than per cent the statement is
branded by many of Worcesters lead
ing bankers as false. Every national
bank now doing business in the city
has many loans let out at rates far be-
low 3 per cent. AS for the savings
banks long custom has fixed the rate
on small mortgage loans at 8 per cent.
This figure has been reached not by
any iron-clad agreement, but has been
determined by the conditions of the
financial market, just as the price of
any commodity is settled. Every gro
Ger and butcher charges substantially
the same prices fer the same articles.
Trade forces them to do so. But they
have no distinct understanding among
themselves as to the prices to be
charged 1t is precisely the same with
the savings banks.
Should the Worcester savings banks
cut down their rates the result would
be an immediate cut of the rate of in
terest paid to depositors. After ma
ture elaboration, the stockholders of
Worcester banks have decided not to
follow the example Of the banks of
New York and other large cities, which
have decided to cut their rate on de-
posits from per cent to 31a per cent.
They can maintain the old rate be-
CeiuSe luGlE loans are all small ana
let at large interest. In the cities
where larger loans are made, bankers
have to content themselves with small
er rates and, therefore, are compelled
to pay smaller interest to depositors.
The situation in a nutshell is whether
Worcester Savings Banks are to be run
in the interests of a few large borrow
ers, or for the people at large. Un-
questionally it would accommodate
many business men if they could get
as good rates for their loans in Worces-
ter as in Boston and New York But,
on the other hand, the present ar
rangement is by far the best for the
masses, who are now enabled to get 4
per cent on deposits and from all ap-
pearances are likely to do so for some
time to come.
THE article in question has nothing
to do with national banks in Worces-
ter" said James P Hamilton, of the
Worcester National Bank. THE at
tempt to make out that all the banks
in town are parties to an iron-clad
agreement is absurd. There is no Ma
tional bank that has not papers to show
it has made loans below the rate of 5
per cent. Most of the kilograms state
ments are distorted and untrue"
The cashiers and presidents of the
Quinsigamond National, Five Cents
Savings, the Peoples Savings and many
other local banks made similar state
ments. All refused to admit that any
thing in the way of a mutual under
standing between the banks existed.