The Cairo bulletin., 1910-10-27
THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER ~, 1910.

to know your business himself; he
left that to a subordinate, who usu
ally knew very little ABOUT 1t, which,
Of course, accounted for the many
banking failures OF those years. For
a banker Of the old school to solicit
a mans aecount would have been
unthinkable. Such a thing as adj
nertising in the press for business
was not dreamed of. Generally
speaking, the old time American ban
ker fought he was doing you a favor
by taking your account.
We have changed all that very
much for the better. we have taken
a lesson from the French banker.
The French banker is indeed very
close to the people. He is his de-
positors' advisor in about everything
except religion and politics. Even
in politics he Is sometimes consult
ed. In almost all cases he Is his de-
posters investor. He has a thor.
ough knowledge OF his clients bust
ness because his client has such con-
fdence in him that he tells him
eve"y detail. He knows the charac-
Ter of his client thoroughly. The
client, In turn. knows all about his
banker, for the banker makes a sort
Of comrade of him. The result is
that France. in proportion to area
and population, Is the wealth'est ma
ton In the world. It's people are the
most frugal, and, ind vidually and
collectively. the most proyident. The
wealth OF France Is the most evenly
distributed. There are no panics in
II serse that other counties ex-
"~ien"e them. Though no country
las had as many political troubles.
more wars--more revtolut ors- IN
he last hundred years or so. none
rs mad less financial trouble. On
he contrary, France always has
Neen In a position to help other
Countries ont Of financial diffnpl-
$ wrhiSs ceetuyv. French bank
"5 have twce helner the Bank of
>o'and out of a serious situation.
The real reason OF the financial sol
'ftv Of France is the mutual conf
'ence between banker and deposi
+nr.
We, in the United States, have not
gone thus far in intimacy between
banker and depositor. but some dav
We may reach that stage of intin,a I
@eiafions and the sooner the better.
Let us be thankful for the improved
ment already made. The banker, on
his part. will reach the desired rela-
tions quickest by forgetting all
about the exclusive banker of the
past, getting as close as possible to
his client, and that will be facilitate
ed 4 he will advise with him when
go wrong, ~ well as when /,
he is prospecting. 1t is easy enough
to tell him what to do with mis-
money hen he has plenty of it, but
1t Is as important to go with
him int5tSis affairs when they are
@f ~NS
am certain that If hard
and fast condolences existed between
banker ana deDosators. our events
wouh have more money and We
would lose less. This would neces.
sari'y mean much to the country at
as well as to ourselves. For I
what, after all, eauses panics? Prin.
cipaily lack or confidence.
To inspire confidence is not neces-
sarily a rare attribute. A broad be.
lief In YOU country is the next.
Then, confidence in yourself, In your
skill and Judgment. And don't be
timid in expressing yourself about
things o believe to be wrong, OF.
pecially when you see your clients
expenses increasing and his deposits
decreasing Your word would carry
far in this matter OF undertaking.
the worth of the dollar. In the end,
your client VIII esteem you the more
for your unpleasant comments.
BE careful too, not to display A.
preference for a big depositor
against a small. The small man In
This rarid'v expar~Fng country soou
becomes big-and a big one some
times becomes small. We want
democracy as well as intimacy in the
clients alike. You will have to dis
eliminate very little, for business in.
generally has improved along
with banking methods. The increase
IN population considered, bankers
have less to contend whit in the way
OF adventurers and crooked meth
DDS. Commercial morality has i'm
proved. Commercial ethics are bet.
ter. BspFs are less and less the
V ct'ns Of swindlers and unscrupu-
lous tradesmen, The bank In indeed
as n Of the chief functions
of society and also one of it's sus.
tanning elements, and the banker, II
rightly uses his powers, may be.
come as publicly influential as the
statesman and the clergyman,
While we must cultivate the en-
confidence Of the people who do
business with u.s., we must never
that the esteem In which the
banker is held today has also
brought a dee per responsibility upon