Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1911-06-29

The organizers Of the proposed
central state bank which was refused
Z charter BY the state charter board
held 4 meeting last evening. i may
he that an appeal win be taken 70
the supreme court to determine the
boards right to refuse charter:
The board acted under a new law
passed last winter.
BY inference It was admitted py
each side at the hearing that there
was not room for two more new
! banks in Abilene. There are three
banks now; the fourth one failed
{ some time ago and the guarantee
fund still has certificates ont to pay
Siepositors. The bank commission
or, who is one of the members Of
the charter board. said he had In
yestigated the field and was sure
that Abilene could not support over
four banks and that the fourth bank
was not Q necessity.
The vote on the two propositions
was rather mixed. The secretary Of
state voted against both charters,
The attorney general voted for both.
The bank commissioner voted for the
Commercial, because 1t was the first
to file its application, and voted
against the Central. This action
gives Abilene a fourth bank.
An three members Of the charter
board were satisfied that the fin
ancial standing Of the men behind
both banks is all right. It was sim
ply a question as to whether Abilene
needed more banks.
The new law provides that the
charter board may turn down the
application Of a bank for . charter
in case It 10 not satisfied With thq
financial condition Of the msn be.
hind iii n believes that smother
bank IL not Necessary to handle the
business Of a community.
The three members Of the char
ter board explained their votes and
made them part Of the record in
order to serve notice on the financial
men Of the state as to what the
future policy of the board win be.
In explaining his vote, Secretary
of State Sessions said: r
+'Whether the new law is good
or bad or whether we like or dislike
1t, ID not the question now. 1t is
the law and will be the law until
set aside by the courts or repealed
by the legislature. As long as it
is the law / propose to abide By 1t
and exercise my own discretion in
an applications presented for bank
charters.
1.-TWO different sets OF men are
now asking for bank charters from
Abilene. This Is the first contrO-
versy to come up under this law In
Vulnerable ones will come up unless
some aggrieved party sucteeds in
knocking out that law in the courts
"There are three banks now in
that town, one of which is guar
anteed state bank. Each set, by
inference, if not by open statements
admfts that Abilene is not five
bank town. The bank commissioner
after an Investigation says that it
is possibly a four-bank town but not
five. History shows that a fourth
bank has gone to the bad. At least
the town has never been able to
maintain four good banks
'This year Is not very propitiOus
time to launch a fourth or fifth bank
in Abilene or any other Kansas town
which has only been supporting three
banks in the past. In these unset
tied timex It seems to me that this
board should be mighty careful in
doing anything that win tend IN the
least to dIsorgani1e banking eondl-
tions anywhere IN the state. The
tendency everywhere except In Kan
aas during the past two or three
rears a to consoIidate and strength