The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-07-28
THE BANKER AND BUSINESS.
His Assistance In Building Up the Com
mercial Interests of His Com munitv.

I Com.
mercial Interests of His Com munity.
At the recent meeting of the North
Dakota Bankers association at Fargo
Attorney w. A. Scott of that city.
read most interesting paper on
"Ehe Bankers Assistance in Build
ing up Commercial Interests in His
Community" In the course of his re-
marks he said:
"You may have great power, but
my dear friends, you have heavy re-
sponsibilities, and have taken upon
yourselves heavy burdens and grave
trust. You have made the neighbour
hood in which you live one financial
family, adopted it's residents as your
children, and made yourselves the
common father, the patriarch of the
tribe.
"Do not invest the trust funds in
your hands belonging to others in
your own private business ventures.
Pass not upon your own credit. Play
no favorites and have none. Pro-
mote no fake enterprises nor sell wind
broken horses.
when the young men and young
women in your vicinity wish to marry
and become Industrious citizens, give
them the community credit and help
them to build homes and give them
opportunity to work. Seek out the
industrious man in your town and
loan him the neighborhood credit.
| 'You must do the thinking fnan-
cially for your community, must be
the husbandman who prepares his
ground in ample season, and saves
up his seed for the coming crops in
safe places.
'You must finance the enterprise
that benefit the community, whether
public or private and that offer a
chance of work to your laboring men.
Such enterprises call for the public
funds. Have you not these in your
keeping? My friends, if you read your
account books, you will find two
classes of funds entrusted to your
keeping.
First, Active Credit. This is the
money of every day exchanges. The
farmers eggs, the COW, waiting in ex-
change for the mower when it comes
along haying time, the farm on tap
for a more convenient one perhaps
nearer town. The goods from the
merchants shelves to be replaced
with fresh supplies. These credits
are the yard sticks of trade. Your
duty is to keep them handily on the
shelves in sight, so that those that
really own them, feel that they can be
had at once. whenever a material
thing presents itself to be measured
up. Strive to teach your local mer-
chant to buy his goods cheap, and
sell them at small profits, so that trade
exchanges will be made in your midst.
Build up markets for your produce,
stock, milk, eggs and raw material
generally. Trade at home yourselves
while, thank God. we have, most of
us, minds broad enough to see that
local barriers to trade are foolish in
the end, and that local tax to keep
your neighbor out is foolish, if he
wants to come in. Strive to create a
spirit in your midst of loyalty to each
other. Preach brotherhood and
square exchange that the people may
see that they are children of one COM
mon family, and that all work to-
gether for the general good, so that
the exchanges in your midst all APP
pear upon your balance sheets, and
while the yard sticks of exchange may
be in use during the day. all of them
return to your shelves at night.
Second, Passive Credits. The
wealth of the community. The last
years crop of wheat not used up in
producing it. The farm retired; to be
drawn upon for a livelihood. The
life insurance money of the widow and
the fatherless. The savings of the
thrifty to assure to themselves a COM
Portable old age. Toward these funds
your duty is the most burdensome
your foresight the. most required.
r You must need be quasi God-like.
1t is grave trust.
Actual settlers alone sustain land
values. Therefore you must aid i'm
migration in every way possible. Dis
courage the holder of wild land. en-
courage the man in your community.
who practices mixed farming, estab-
fishes creameries and cheese factor
les. Take a little time so to finance
the affairs of men who are here in our
midst that they will prosper and stay
in this state.
"Give the boy that will farm the
land some encouragement in the way
IL