Mower County transcript., 1904-03-30
PROGRESS IN BANKING. !
One of The Pioneer Bankers Tells of
/ Early .Experiences-The Banks In
terested in Creameries and Stock
Prophecy of The Farmers lncreas-
ed Advantages.

At the annual meeting Of the bank
ers of the first congressional district
held here last week, G. B. Kellar, presl-
dent of the First National Bank OF
Albert Lea, made the response to Ma
yor Cooks address of welcome. 1t was
so replete with interesting experiences
and kindly words for Austin that we
reprint it entire. He said:
One day a gentleman came into our
bank soliciting all ''ad" for his Direct
ory. AS 1 glanced over his book nn-
der the GAS" in the division for Mime
sofa, noticed the space given to Aus
tin read like this:-"Austin is the
County Seat of Mower County, and is
situated % miles from Albert Lea"
So, brother bankers of the First Dis
trict Group, we are here today % miles
from Albert Lea to partake of the hos
pitality SO generously accorded us by
his Honor, the Mayor of this thriving
City of Austin. And it strikes me as
very appropriate and fitting that the
first meeting of this Group should be
held in this beautiful City.
remember distinctly that when we
emigrated from neighborlng State
to Albert Lea in 1856, there being then
but log houses in the village, Austin
was considered quite a town. Our
nearest physician lived here, and my
father used to haul his wheat to the
mill at the river here to be ground into
flour. My first sight OF the City was
in passing through on my return from ,,
the Army in the early Sixties, The
contrast of the City today, and as it
looked as | passed through it's one
street, with it's log and frame buildings,
then, is very great.
Later,-in 1876, when we started
a small bank in Albert Lea, we were
greatly assisted in our organization by
your first banker here, Mr. Harlan W.
Page; and when we erected our first
bank building we built it exactly'as
the old First National here, on a cor
ner lot, situated about the same as this.
And during few years following this
we looked upon the First National
Bank, which was the only one at Aus
tin, as a sort of parent bank, and de-
pended on it for help in carrying us
along.
Before the advent of railroad to
our town, it was no easy task to get
currency, and | made many trips here
in horse and buggy for it. If the
emergency was great, would make an
early start, as I did one morning before
breakfast, arriving here before the
bank was opened, and returned in time
to use the currency in the afternoon.
Wonderful changes in the banking
business in this Group have come to
,Ix IF honkC
in the sixties. l am more familiar
With the conditions in our own County,
and will mention that as all illustra-
ton, assuming that the conditions are
about the same in the other Counties
of this group.
At the time our bank was establish
ed in 1867, it was the only bank in the
County for many years, and the near
est bank west OF us was at MankatO.
Now we have ten banks in our County,
with a combined capital of $4,000,
and deposits of over $1,00O,0O0.
You may ask, what is the cause of SO
great change? The reply is,-it is the
result of the COW. The banks and the
cows are working together for the pros
perity of our community. The changes
began when the creameries were first
ORGANIZED. Before this, the farmers
made very poor grade OF butter, hav-
inc no ice and no conveniences, and
were obliged to retail it to the stores
at very low prices, taking their pay IN
trade.
An enterprising man in our town
made money by going to the stores,
buying up the poor butter, taking it to
his establishment, washing it out III
cold water, resulting and coloring it,
and shipping it East as dairy butter
Then a stock company was organized
and teams were sent out to gath
er UP the cream among the farmers,
but in about two years their entire
capital was used up and they went, out
of business. Not until the farmers
took hold of the creameries themselves,
assisted by the banks, did they succeed.
In our County we have 27 creameries,
whose monthly output averages about
$4,000. Not failure has been known
among them, not a dollar lost that was
advanced by the banks.
The prosperity Of the rural commun.
tiles means the success Of the bank.
During the depression Of business the
last two years, the community that
gave the most attention to the Dairy
and Stockraising business there you
will find banks with plenty of deposits,
and easy money. If we would have
strong and prosperous banks in rural
districts the banks and farmers must
work together for one common end.
There was time when the banker
was looked upon as a cold-blooded in
dividual, but the rural communities
have found by reciprocal relations that
the banker is indispensable. They
have also learned that the faithful
banker stands as bulWark between
the confiding people who entrust to his
care the hard earned savings, and those
persons of q speculative tendency, who
would use all the banks funds if they
could, in doubtful ventures. They
have learned that it is the mission of