The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-04-09
HAS RECORD OF
STATE BANKS
r. B. OGLESBEE COMPLIES
RECORD OF STATE BANKS
SINCE INCORPORATION
ACT OF lS73-INTER-
ESTING FACTS
SHOWN.

hlter several mOntnS spent II go
ing over old records in the auditors
Office and in the office Of THE secre-
tary of State, R. B. Oglesbee, mead Of
the bank department in the auditors
office, has just finished the irst com-
plete record of state banks in Indiana
Heretofore the information in regard
to state banks has never been collect
ed and classified, and in making up
the record it was found that there was
absolutely no information in the bank
department in regard to the organiza-
ton and business of many of the
banks
The record which has been made up
by Mr.. Oglesbee will show wnen each
bank was incorporated, whether or
not it is now in existence and if not
what disposition has been made OF IL
5suiness and Twill Indicate in just
what books the record of the bank IN
detail may be found There is seldom
day in the auditors Office that in
formation as TO the business of some
state bank is not needed and the new
record will be of inestlmable value
The record shows some interesting
facts in regard to state banks
Under the act of February Z, 1873,
authorizing the Incorporation of banks
Of discount and depos sit, generally
spoken of as state banSs," says Mr..
Oglesbee, There have been 354 banks
incorporated, of which 257 are now in
existence March 81, 1909 and 252
are open and transacting business, two
being in the process of voluntary liqui
dation for the purpose of consolidat-
ng with other institutions and three
icing recently incorporated and rot
'et open.
"Of the ninety-seven banks which
we're incorporated and are not now
Existing. thirty-two were reincorpor-
ated and continued in business and
TX never completed their organiza-
ion and did not open, leaving sixty
state banks which opened and subse-
quently ceased business. Three OF the
sixty were absorbed by other banks.
hree retired from the state system
and became private banks, and TWEEN
ty-four were converted into national
BANKS. Fifteen closed voluntarily,
ayirg all depositors in full, and ff
.een failed. Two suspended, but re-
opened within a few day.
Nine of the failures occurred in
1893. due to the pane occurring early
in that year, and four have occurred
n the last ten years. 1t is apparent
from the reports and papers on file
n the bank department of the state
auditors Office that a closer supervi
sion of the banks would have decreas-
ed the number and extent of the fail
rres in 1893.
NO records have been kept show
ing the proceeds to depositors in the
failed banks, but in most instances
they were paid in full, and it does
not appear that in any case the loss
reached so per cent. The total loss
to depositors in the state banks OF In
llama during the thirty-hve years
since the state bank law was passed
has been practically inappreciable as
compared with the total deposits in
that time. Taken as whole, the
banks have lost more, many tunes
over, from unpaid loans than their
customers have lost from bad bank
ing.
Each OF the failures was due di-
rectly to some violation of law or to
the neglect of some general and fun
damental principle of sound banking.
Banks which are prudently and hon
estly conducted do not fail CT if by
unusual stress, due to general panic,
such a bank is compelled to suspend,
tte depositors will suffer only the in
convenience of brief postponement
and will in the end be paid in full"