The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-04-24
BANKS GIVE INDEX
TO CITY'S GROWTH
Clearing House Association
Has Exceedingly interest
ing Financial History.
CREDIT BALANCE SYSTEM
ONLY ONE INSTITUTION THAT IN
StSTS ON DAILY SETTLEMENTS

OF Salt Lake is shown in the record OF
the bank clearings. and at the close OF
the year 1909 attention was called with
considerable pride to the fact that
there had been an increase Of more
than eighty millions in the total of the
cIearings here over the preceding year.
Total bank clearings for the year end
ing December 81. 1909, were 1897 ,49S,-
362.68 as compared with a total OF
S257, OS3, 974.32 for the previous year, a
gain Of more than 80 1-3 per cent
It is interesting, therefore, TO glance
backward for . period Of eighteen
years. one year after the organization
OF the Salt Lake clearing house, and
find that the total clearings for the
day Of March 81, 1891. were S3l4 rlSf.sS.
This total was considered large, ana
following the day of this tremendous
showing in the finances Of the city was
a period of three months during which
the daily totals did not reach nearly
$500, 900 per day. The total bank clear
ings for the year 1891 were S61, S94, SIG.
Clearings for April q. typical day
OF the present time. were S1.164.S5S.9S.
Clearing House History.
The Salt lake clearing house was or
in its membership, as follows: Wells,
Fargo & Co., No. l; the Deseret Ma
tional, No 2; Mccormick & Co, No. 8;
T. r. Jones, No. 4; the Union Nationa!
bank, No. 5; the Commercial National
bank. No. 6; the Utah Commercial g
Savings bank, No. Z, and the Bank Of
Salt Lake, No. 8. The institutions
were numbered from 1 10 s in the order
OF the granting Of their charters, and
each institution paid over to the Clear
ing House association the sum OF $500
for the privilege Of joining.
The purpose OF the organization was
the bringing about of greater facility
in making exchanges between the
banks Of the city and doing away with
much work in keeping accounts be-
tween the different institutions. In
stead Of each bank being considered a
separate individual, the institutions did
business with the clearing house and
thus eliminated a large amount of
bookkeeping. The only additional help
required was g manager. who should
be a salaried person and is always
chosen from some expert accountant Of
one OF the banks, each institution
being considered in turn according to
number
The first officers Of the Clearing
House association were as follows: J.
+. Dolly, president; L. S. Hills, vice
president; NJ. E. Cummings, secretary
and treasurer; ]. z. Dooly, L. S. Hills,
T. r. Jones, w. S. Mccormick and NJ.
]. Cheesman executive committee.
At the present time the officers are
as follows: L. S. Hills of the Deseret
National bank. president; W. S. Nc
Cornick of Mccormick & Co., vice pres
ident; L. H. FarnswOrth, cashier OF the
Walker Bros bank, secretary and
treasurer; J. w. Boud of the Utah
Commercial & Savings bank, manager
The executive committee is composed
OF the following, including the presi-
dent, vice president and treasurer and
secretary Of the association: L. S. Hills,
w. S. Mccormick, Charles S. Burton.
cashier of the State Bank OF Utah;
Frank Knox. president of the National
Bank OF the Republic. and L. H. Farms
worth, president OF Walker Bros
bank.
How Officers Are Chosen.
An interesting feature of the regu-
lations is the fact that the president,
vice president and additional members
OF the executive committee are chosen
from the presidents OF the different
banks in rotation according 10 number;
the secretary and treasurer is chosen
from the cashiers Of the different
banks, and the manager from among
the expert accountants OF the different
banks, each institution being given a
place among the officers in turn. For
example, the president OF the clearing
house last year was w. 8. Mccormick.
OF the Utah National bank. No.
u. At the end Of the term he was
succeeded by the president Of the Des-
eret National bank, No. 2, and AIr. Nc
Cornick became vice president. Next
year Mr.. Mccormick should be presi-
dent again, as president OF Mccormick
& Co., No. 3. The present secretary and
treasurer is cashier OF Walker Bros
bank. and next year the place VIII go
TO the cashier Of the next bank in or
der. the Continental National, No. 6.
An interesting bit Of banking his
tory ia contained IN the records OF the
clearing house from the time of its first
organization, twenty years ago, when
there were eight Institutions up to the
present time, when the number Of
financial institutions IS eleven and in
cludes as the latest member No. 10 on
the list. II has been said that the orig
inal number OF banks In the clearing
house was eight. 1t should be under
stood that Walker Bros bank was the
oldest institution OF the kind In the
city, having been organized In 1859, and
$1,000 ---eGAN 70 c~RkDSS0 W hk-fO NIAECii
the first number in the clearing house
in 1SS5, five years before the organiza-
ton Of the clearing house, however, a
charter was obtained whereby the In
stitution became the Union National
bank Of Salt Lake. and the bank &C
cordingly was given its place in the list
according 20 the date Of it's charter.
The national charter was given I'D In
1884. and has since been known as
Walker Bros. bankers, as II was pre-
vious TO taking a national charter.
The bank Of Wells, Fargo & Co., a
branch institution Of the big express
company, was purchased by Walker
Bros. in April. 1906, and passed out of
existence as a separate institution. The
number in the clearing house was left
vacant. The bank of T. r. Jones & Co.
was purchased by Mccormick & Co. in
June, 1902, ard it's number, 5, is now
vacant The Commercial National bank
obtained a new charter IN place Of the
expired one IN the spring Of 1909. The
institution retains its original number.
s. The Bank OF Salt Lake was changed
10 the American National bank ON No
vemDer II. 1880, and passed out of ex-
istenee in 1886.
Other institutions Of the clearing
house which have Joined since its or
ganization are as follows: The State
Bank of Utah, No. 9, Joined July 2s