The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-06-29
State Association Is in Session
at Excelsior.
FINE REPORT OF Mr.. GREsS
W. {. Lee Of Long Prairie Was Chot'
en- President Of Society for
the Ensuing Year.

Excelsior, June 2l.-The seventeenth
annual convention of the Minnesota
State Bankers association opened this
morning, with $50 delegates in attend
ance. The session was slow in getting
started, and it was after eleven o'clock
when President Cliff w. Gress of Can
non Falls called the members to order.
The president in his report made a
number of suggestions which were in.
dorsed by the association. He believed
that the present national bankruptcy
laws should be amended and that the
present method of examining national
banks is inadequate. He thought that
the force of examiners should be in
creased and that the position of national
bank examiner should be free from any
POLITICAL influences.
He thought it should be sal
aired position, which should be occupied
ing.
The work of p. NJ Kerst, the Mime
sofa bank examiner, was highly COM
mended. President Gress was of the
opinion that the legislature should in
crease the appropriation to $4,000 for
the maintenance of the office. The eX-
pense of the office for the past year was
more than $1,000.
He reported that at present there are
$50 state, 249 national and 1873 private
banks in Minnesota, total of S7S, an
increase of 46 over the year previous.
The total deposits last year aggregat
ed more than $2OO,OOO,OOO. A full II
per cent of the banks in Minnesota are
in the State Bankers association, as fol-
lows: 227 national, 100 private and 34l
state.
Only two national banks have failed
in Minnesota since 1897, said President
Gress. One of them paid SO per cent of
its liabilities, the depositors only losing
a per cent on their deposits. The other
is the Faribault bank which now is in
process of liquidation. Since 1897 only
one state bank has failed, and it paid its
depositors in full. At present there are
only sixty banks in Minnesota using the
American Bankers association system OF
money orders.
The Minneapolis chapter of bank
I clerks defeated the st. Paul chapter in
debate. This is the second year that the
Minneapolis clerks hold the cup The
Minneapolitans had the affirmative of
the question, Resolved, That the Ma :
tional banking law should be amended so
as to permit the loaning OF money on
real estate securities.' The st. Paul
clerks retaliated in the afternoon by de-
feating the Minneapolis chapter at base
ball by a score of to A.
Officers for the present year were
elected as follows: President, w. f.
Lee, Long Prairie; vice president, c. B.
Griffith, Sleepy Eye;' secretary, Ernest
c. Brown, Minneapolis; treasurer, j. C.
flooding, Rochester.
There has been keen contest for the
secretaryship. o. NJ Nelson of the First
National bank of st. Paul and F. E.
Holton OF Minneapolis were active can
didates, and Mr.. Brown only won out
by plurality of three votes. George Fl.
Prince of the First National bank of ST.
Paul has held the office of treasurer for
the past eight years, and he declined to
accept it again.
The members of the association were
entertained at Tonka Bay hotel last
evening. Lafayette C. Young, an editor
from Des Moines, Iowa, who was with
Secretary Taft's Philippine party, gave
description of the trip. around the