The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-01-10
NEW ENGLAND IS
BEHIND BOSTON
IN BANK FIGHT
Only Objections to Regional
Institution in Hub of Uni
verse Came From Hart
ford and New Haven.
COMMITTEE HEARS
FORTY WITNESSES
Statistics Presented Showing
Increase in Cotton, Woolen
and Shoe Manufacturing
in Last Ten Years.

BOSTON, Jan. 9.-Bankcrs from five
New England states and a part OF
gional bank in this city at the hearing
today before Secretaries McAdoo and
Houston, the committee on reserve
bank organizations. Objections to the
plan came from Hartford and New
Haven.
The committee listened to forty wit
nesses and will hear more tomorrow.
The greater part of the testimony ap-
peared TO be cumulative, majority
Of the bankers believing that the dis
trict should include all New England.
President j. Fl. O'Neill of the Federal
Trust company favored going outside
New England and taking in the north
ern part of New York.
Maine and New Hampshire bankers
were in favor OF regional bank here,
and Robert W. Taft of Providence said
that five out of eight banks in his city
favored Boston.
Praises Boston System.
Nathan A. Gibbs of Norwich, Conn,
insisted that the Boston system OF col
lections was far ahead of New York's,
but II. W. Stevens of Hartford said
that the sentiment in southwestern
Connecticut was all for New York as
the regional center. On the other hand
Vice President A. l.. Ripley OF the Mer-
chants National bank of this city said
he knew the financial condition in New
Haven and Hartford and he thought
he could convince bankers there of the
desirability of making Boston the cen
ter.
Governor David /. Walsh favored
Boston and opposed cutting off any
western Massachusetts cities from the
district. He said that perhaps south
western Connecticut should be included
in New York district
Increased Business.
Statistics showing the increase in the
last ten years in cotton, woolen and
shoe manufacturing in New England
were presented by Elwin G. Preston,
former secretary of the chamber Of
commerce, who favored making the six
New England states a regional bank
district with Boston as the center,
The greater portion of the forenoon
session was. occupied by. o. NJ. w.
Sprague, professor of banking at Har-
ward university, who held that Boston
should have a regional Institution rath-
er than branch Of one in New York,
because bank there would maintain
steady low discount rate.
''The establishment in the north
eastern section of the country of one
large bank at New York. he said,
would be unavoidable and contrary TO
the spirit of the act. There should be
at least three banks between Maine
and Florida and four of the total of
twelve authorized TO oe established in
the country. Boston should have a
bank for Maine, New Hampshire, Yer
mont, Massachusetts,. Rhode Island and
a part of Connecticut, with a branch
institution at Hartford"
Bankers Views.
The attitude of the Boston Clearing
House association was presented by
Thomas p. Beal and Alfred l.. Ripley,
both of whom favored q central bank
here
To letters sent TO 100 banks in Mas.
sachusetts asking for an opinion on
the regional bank proposition, Charles
p. Blinn, Jr., president of the Massa-
chusetts Bankers association, said he
had received 1l0 replies, OF which
eighty-two favored a regional bank in
Boston and twenty-eight preferred New
York Mr. Blinn divided the country
into eight districts with centers at
New York, Chicago. ST. Louis, Boston.
San Francisco, New Orleans, Atlanta
and Denver, naming the cities in the
order OF the size Of their banking busi-