The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-19
Birmingham Trust Award ed Loan on Bid of
 33-4 Per Cent SHOWS CONFIDENCE IN CITY'S FINANCES Effect of Local Action Is Expected to Have Tremendous Influence
 on Outside Capitals
 Attitude

At the meeting of the commissioners yesterday morning the city borrowed sooo'- | GOO from the Birmingham Trust and Say | ings company at the lowest rate ever | given Birmingham in the history of the municipality.
 1 loan was made bearing interest at 3l per cent for four months at the dis count rate The offer was accepted after competitive bids had been received and opened from Otto Marx & Co.,, the Bir- mingham Trust and the American Trust and Savings bank.
 The exclamation of discount rate as made by the bankers is that all interest on the loan will be deducted at the be- ginning rather than to be paid by the city at the expiration of four months
 President crawfords bid of per cent straight excited some question as to whether he was not somewhat lower than tie Birmingham Trust It was found after fauring that the discount bid was the lower of the two. Mir Marx bid frac- tion over per cent straight Col. Tom Smith. vice president of the Birmingham Trust; Webb Crawford Of the American and Otto Marx were present when the bids were opened by President Exum. All the bids were very low. but Colonel Smith drew the prize.
 Colonel Smith was congratulated warm l ly by the other bankers upon his sue cessful bid, and the commissioners ex- tended their thanks to the Birmingham Trust for the splendid offer made and accepted The money will be used by the commissioners in settling the deficit of the city so far as this sum will go. It will run for four months and will be paid at maturity from the funds to be derived | from the bond issue. The bids were made at the request of President Culpepper Exum, in charge of the financial department. He made 1t | plain to the financiers that Birmingham desired the very lowest rate possible to secure. The placing of such large sum at so low rate of interest Is direct result, it Is stated, of the negotiations of MT. Exum of the finance department l in whose confidence the other commits sioners were taken as matter of cour- tesy. The success of MT. Exum in at taining such victory over past financial l mented upon freely yesterday in business | circles.
 Fine Tribute. to City
 The offer to lend Birmingham money at such low figure was taken yester- day to be splendid tribute to the in tegrity of the city and the personnel of the commission.
 The loan of yesterday is taken as pos tive indication that all the money needed | by Birmingham. can be secured. Evensif the highest bid of yesterday. which was from Otto Marx & Co.,, had been accept ed, that figure would have been very much below the rate paid in the past.
 President Exum said yesterday after the bid of the Birmingham Trust had been accepted that the compliment paid the city by the Birmingham Trust and the other bankers was fully appreciated and should cause the citizens of the city to feel that every confidence was maintained in the city by the bankers.
 Colonel Smith Talks
 Colonel Smith, when seen later, said he did not care to exploit the fact that his Ddiih was slSSSsSluiiy ooPpiSAh5 eiAS SAeJ {, but did say:
 "The acceptance of our offer of $5OO,OoO | at discount rate of 3A per cent demon- strates that faith is held in the commits sioners and the city's future. We offered to lend the city s3OooOO by an associated arrangement some weeks ago, when we did not know anything about the finan- cial condition of Birmingham. The fig ures laid before us that Birmingham owed s1 OsO, ,00O was sufficient to discour- age almost any banker. However, our bank had faith in the integrity of the commissioners, their determination to get Birmingham on a financial basis and their serious task facing them. We then | consented to lend the required sum at a rate of per cent We have recently been | informed of the condition of Birmingham financially. From the figures Brming- ham will be in good shape within short time.
 We took the view that all interests here should cooperate with the commis- sioners. Our institution always endeav- ors to connect itself with the best in terests here We did not fail to grasp the fact that the commissioners needed every assistance that could be rendered l,by the people of this community We