The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-04-25
ADDRESSES
DELIVERED At
BANKERS MEET
Continued from Page l }

be to create confidence on the part
of the bankers.
There is prejudice existing
against interchange of credit infor-
nation which should be overcome.
The bankers of the country Should
know to what extent their customers
are involved and the officers of the
federal reserve bank should furnish
any member bank, applying for the
information, the exact amount OF in
debtedness Of any person, firm or cor
poration in the district.
My predecessor in his annual ad-
dress at Jacksonville, year ago, re-
ferred to a banking law of New York
state, which makes it misdemeanor
to give false statement of financial
resources to a bank when negotiating
a loan. Some one has said: "There is
no moral distinction between the
merchant making a false statement
to bank than the highwayman who
takes wallet from a bank messen-
ger in the streets. l heartily agree
with the person making that state
ment and we could not do better
than to pattern after the great
stateaof New York, by writing into
our statutes a law which would pro-
tect banks against false statements
made by borrowers. Such a law
should be considered at the next
session of our Legislature, and l do
most respectfully call the attention
of the legislative committee of this
Association again to this important
question. Since our last convention
the state of Florida has been Won
derfully blessed. The development Of
Florida and the South since the year
1880 has been nothing short of Won
derful and our progress can better
be understood by referring briefly to
a few figures: he banking strength
of Texas today is "a times greater
than it was in 1880; West Virginia
81 times greater; Alabama 20 times
greater; South Carolina 20 times
greater; Georgia Is times greater,
and Florida $50 times greater.
Every southern state has made
progress, but none OF them can COM
pare in growth and development to
our own fair State Every section Of
our State has prospered and the
growth both in population and
wealth has been phenomenal. AS the
custodians of deposits aggregating
something like seventy millions of
dollars, and as the representatives of
banks that have capital and surplus
to the amount of twenty millions of
dollars, we should continue to con-
duct ourselves SO that our actions,
not only in business but social life,
can never be justly criticised. We
should strive to reflect the highest
ideals and noblest sentiments, and If
our lives are fashioned in that sort
of mould, we will have the CO.
operation of every business man anu
be honored and respected by every
citizen of the State of Florida.
The demand of the times is for no.
BILE men; men who have high con-
ception of life and duty; men who
can be trusted; men who will hon
estly aid fearlessly do their full duty
at all times and under all circum-
stances:
I'VE live in deeds, not years; in
thoughts, not breaths; in feelings,
not in figures on dial. We should
count time by heart-throbs. He most
lives who thinks nest, feels the no.
blest, acts the best -
"These truths come to us more and
more the longer we live, that on
what field, or in what uniform or
with what aims we do our duty,
matters very little, or even what our
duty is, great or small, splendid or
obscure. Only to find our duty GER
tainly, and somewhere, or somehow,
to do it faithfully, makes us good,
strong, happy and useful men, and
turns our lives into some feeble echo
of the life of God"
In conclusion desire to thank the
members and officers of this associa-
ton for their hearty support and CO.
operation, and may the years which
are before us bring each and every
one of you much happiness and pros
perity.