The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1907-11-21

NOVEMBER 81, 1907.
just 80 often, and in the aforesaid in
stance [ have little doubt but that It
shall go on repeating itself, and keep
pointing to the consequences as an OBJ
Ject lesson for generations to come, un-
less the people awaken to the fact that
they themselves are in measure re-
sponsible and instrumental in aiding
and abetting universal wrong, by en-
trusting their hard-earned savings to
the care of INSCRIPTIONS financiers,
masquerading under the honorable IT,
tie of bankers. The people of this
country are naturally banking people.
Nearly everybody either saves some
thing or wants to save something
most of them the latter-but neverthe-
less, every man that ever thinks of GO
ing into business, or ever thinks of be-
ing anybody in the world, at least has
an ambition to save some money. If
he can accumulate part of his earnings,
he is storing up the goods which he ex-
poets at some future time to enjoy. 1t
is savin2s that counts in attaining q
competence, and there is where the
usefulness OF banks comes in. Today
there is OH deposit in all kinds of banks
and banking institutions approximate
ly fifteen billions of dollars.
The very fact that almost everyone
has desire or ambition to save, is one
of the primary thoughts in banking.
If they don't put it away for future
needs, as general rule they spend it
foolishly; and those who profit by the
spendthrift habit of others, usually
carry out the prodigal's original inten-
tion and start banking account Of
their own. In any event, the absolute
necessity of banking institutions is
most apparent. Now the banker is
generally looked upon by great many
people as an elderly gentleman, about
the age of fifty, with gray hair and al
together very fine looking specimen
of manhood; wears good clothes, comes
down to work in his automobile about
ten or eleven a. M; walks into his pri-
vate Office in the bank, touches but
ton and when his boy comes in, de-
spatches the business of the day in
short order; takes the money away
from the poor people, who are waiting
for him, before some one else turns
the trick; throws some of them in jail,
perhaps, goes over to his club and has
a brOlled duck and bottle of cham
pagne for his lunch; goes back to the
bank for few moments to see how
things are moving along, and then
journeys to the lake or plays golf for
the rest of the afternoon. That is all
very we'll to imagine, but it is a decid-
edly fictitious picture. I want to as.
sure you that the banker is only an
ordinary man and made out OF the
same stuff that we are all made out of.
But bear in mind this one truth, the
banker must be banker only.
When you see q man operating a
bank, who is also operating factory,
a store, groggery, or any other kind
of business outside of his calling, he is
not banker. As the sense of my SUBJ
ject applies strictly to city bankers, no
allusiOn is made to their country
brethren, where very often, for lack of
proper conveniences, some side iseue
becomes necessary and profitable ad.
junct to said bank, and furthermore.
facilitates the needs and Requirements 9
of their customers. However, l do in
fer that no city banker can honestly
operate bank and do it justice, who
is engaged in other enterprises, for if a
s0-called banker is allowed free rein to
take the peoples money with his right
hand and use it with his left to pro-
mote his private ventures, any adverse
commercial conditions affecting the
money market, such as appears to be
the case at the present time, would
prove most disastrous to the welfare of
the banks depOsitors.
There is also prevailing impression
on the part of the public that the man
who has the most elaborate furnished
banking quarters is necessarily the
strongest banker 1 could cite several
instances where men, classed among
our most successful financiers in their